Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 381 All Mothers-in-Law Are Like This

Besides the unusual route they took to get in, the place where Shen Qingzhou and Lu Jia hid was also quite special: in a narrow passage leading from the back garden gate to the ancestral hall on the west side of the Yan family.

In front of the ancestral hall is the memorial hall set up for Yan Shu. If you listen carefully in the evening breeze, you can still faintly hear the chanting of sutras for salvation in the memorial hall.

The last time Lu Jia lingered in this back garden, the Yan family had also set up a mourning hall. It's quite a coincidence that it's happening again this time.

"Let's wait here and let He Qu and the others go inside to look for people."

According to what Shen Zhui brought back, Lu Ying's situation was not optimistic. However, Lu Jia did not know martial arts, and if she went too deep, it would be inconvenient to retreat in case of an emergency. So Shen Qingzhou led her to a secluded spot near the back garden entrance.

He Qu followed the route given by Lu Jia and entered in a roundabout way. In the main room on the other side, Lu Ying had already passed over Li Mama, who was kneeling in the courtyard, and arrived in front of Madam Yan.

“Granny Li is clumsy and deserves to be punished, but it’s not worth Mother getting so angry. I’ll take her back and reprimand her.”

Now that her mother-in-law's disgust was written all over her face, there was no need to hide it anymore. Lu Ying had come to take her away.

With a white flower in her hair, Madam Yan, dressed in plain clothes, still exuded an imposing aura. Upon hearing this, she slammed down the cup beside her: "Are you here to plead for mercy, or to intimidate me?"

“How dare the daughter-in-law show defiance? She has come to plead for mercy.”

"You are not strict with your subordinates, and you allow them to behave disrespectfully in front of their mother-in-law. What right do you have to plead for her?"

Lu Ying raised her head: "Then what should Mother do? Please enlighten me."

"Kneel down!"

Lu Ying said, "Your daughter-in-law has been working hard on the affairs of the manor recently, and so far, she has not made a single mistake. If Mother still wants your daughter-in-law to kneel down, your daughter-in-law will naturally not dare to disobey. However, considering that your daughter-in-law has worked hard even if she has not made any great contributions, could you please release Granny Li?"

"You dare to negotiate with me?" Madam Yan sneered, then her eyes flashed with a sharp light: "You learned this from your father, didn't you?!"

Lu Ying looked up and said, "Even if my daughter-in-law is guilty, her guilt does not extend to her parents. It is probably inappropriate for my mother to target my father in front of me."

"How dare you talk back!"

Madam Yan gritted her teeth and glared at the old women standing on either side: "What are you all standing there for?! Since when has a daughter-in-law of the Yan family been allowed to be so disrespectful?"

The old women rushed forward, grabbed Lu Ying, kicked her in the back of the knee, and forced her to kneel on the ground!
Madam Yan said, "Beat him!"

The old women casually pulled out two cloth mallets and began to pound on all the areas covered by Lu Ying's clothes!
This method is extremely insidious. The club is wrapped tightly with layers of cotton cloth, so that it does not cause external injuries when it hits the body, but directly strikes the bones, flesh and internal organs. In severe cases, the liver and gallbladder are shattered, and not even a bit of skin is scraped off the face!
In the past, this was something that the mistress of the inner quarters used to punish concubines, maids, and servants. But Madam Yan used it to deal with the woman she had married through proper matchmaking, which shows how much hatred she felt at this moment!
Lu Ying had been cautious ever since she entered this house. Except when Yan Qu went crazy and there was no way to avoid him, she was always on guard. She never expected to be treated like this today!

She panicked for a moment and begged for mercy, but Madam Yan ignored her. So she shouted loudly!
She was, after all, Lu Jie's daughter. The reason why Madam Yan used such methods to deal with her, instead of openly killing her, was that she still had some fear of Lu Jie deep down!
At this point, how could they allow her to shout loudly and attract people from the front yard?
They immediately ordered the old women to gag her!
Just then, a person rushed in from outside, his face cold and sharp, and blurted out, "Mother, what are you doing?!"

He was still holding a riding whip, clearly Yan Liang who had just returned from outside. Madam Yan said coldly, "I'm dealing with the women, what business is it of yours?!"

"Is she just an ordinary woman?" Yan Liang pointed his whip at Lu Ying, who was lying on the ground. "She is the mistress of my Yan family! Right now, all the affairs inside and outside the manor are waiting for her to handle!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Madam Yan slammed her hand on the table. "I am the mistress of this mansion! Just because I let her take over for a few days, does he dare to climb all over me?"

“Mother understands better than anyone that in our Yan family, there is no precedent for a widow to still hold the power of managing the household affairs! Even if she were to relinquish power, there is still the Dowager Madam above her!”

Madam Yan was stunned by these words, her face turning pale. She glared at Lu Ying with a contorted expression, then turned her even more fiery gaze to Yan Liang: "Whose side are you on?!"

"I won't help anyone!" Yan Liang rolled the riding whip in his palm and said to Ying Zi, who was following behind him, "Help Li Mama help the young mistress back to her room."

Yingzi and the other woman quickly stepped forward and helped Lu Ying out.

Yan Liang waved for everyone to leave, then approached Madam Yan: "Mother is becoming increasingly impatient. Especially in situations like this, we must not treat her this way. If something were to happen to her at your hands today, wouldn't Lu Jie have even more reason to oppose us?"

"If he dares, does that mean I can't just kill her?!"

“You are truly unreasonable!” Yan Liang said. “It seems that since Father left, Mother has become increasingly unable to handle things independently.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Yan's face twisted even more: "That's right! All of this was caused by Lu Jie and his gang conspiring to kill your father! They made me a widow, and they've brought our Yan family to this state!"

"You have no idea how good we were to Lu Jie back then, but he was two-faced. He climbed to the top by stepping on your father's corpse!"

"He is your father's killer! I wish I could personally destroy Lu Ying and send her to Lu Jie, but you still help her, and you even blame me for treating her this way!"

"What's wrong with me disciplining my own daughter-in-law?"
"Aren't all mothers-in-law like this?!"

Yan Liang pursed his lips and glanced towards the main room, then said in a deep breath, "If Grandmother heard this, I wonder what she would think?"

Madam Yan gritted her teeth, unable to utter another sound.

Yan Liang picked up the two plaques that had fallen to the ground and said deeply, "My mother has managed everything inside and outside the house so well over the years, which shows that she is a wise and clear-headed person."

"Father's death is certainly painful, but in the face of adversity, we hope Mother will prioritize the greater good. Lu Ying's status is different; we cannot touch her right now."

After saying that, he turned around and strode out.

Enraged, Madam Yan grabbed a cup and threw it at his back.

The cup certainly wouldn't reach Yan Liang's back, but the sharp shattering sound it made when it hit the ground still made Yan Liang stop at the foot of the steps, frown, and look up at the mansion in front of him, which also seemed about to crumble.