tallest building

Chapter 131 Unable to Tolerate

Despite Wen Mingqian's repeated attempts to comfort her, Liu Cuiyi remained dejected and wept uncontrollably.

Wen Mingqian then asked, "You didn't call me here today just to see you cry, is there something else?"

“Sister, this family…” Liu Cuiyi cried, “can’t tolerate me anymore.”

"Why is that?" Wen Mingqian asked. "But who told you anything?"

"Madam, you don't know, the Zhou family is truly heartless. Our daughter has been married into their family for seven or eight years, and she has always been obedient and virtuous, cautious and timid. Even when her mother-in-law is difficult and her husband is unruly, she has never done anything out of line or said anything out of line."
Although she didn't give birth to a son, she endured the hardships of childbirth many times.

Leaving aside the usual humiliations I've suffered, this time it's really gone too far.

It's all because my son-in-law has a cousin's wife who came to the capital with her daughter in June and has been visiting this house frequently. This mother and daughter have no good intentions and are only trying to cause trouble. Our lady is easily influenced, confused in her mind, and sharp-tongued.

They've been completely bewitched by this mother and daughter, and now they're trying to kick our girl out of the house.

"Why are they treating Cuiyi like this? What did Cuiyi do to offend them?" Wen Mingqian asked.

"This Aunt Shao's daughter was originally betrothed to someone, but for some reason, they divorced less than half a year after the marriage."

Now that they've come to the capital, and we're the only family in the city with relatives there, it's natural that they'll come too often.

"But who knew they would try to get rid of me so that my cousin Shao could take my place," Liu Cuiyi said.

"Was your mother-in-law persuaded by her? Or did Zhou Jingsan have his own ideas?" Wen Mingqian asked.

She truly never expected that Liu Cuiyi would encounter such a thing. Logically speaking, the customs of the Great Qi were open-minded, and it was common for women to remarry after being divorced or abandoned.

Many widows were even allowed to remarry, though some remained chaste.

People still have reservations about women remarrying, but unlike some dynasties, they don't strictly prevent it.

Even so, no other woman's original wife was forced out, which shows that this woman from the Shao family was wicked.

Besides, what kind of good stuff is Zhou Jingsan? Moreover, he has a large group of concubines. Isn't this Shao family girl a bit too indiscriminate?

“That philanderer Zhou Jingsan, he’ll take any guy who’s even remotely decent,” Liu Cuiyi sneered. “What’s more important is my mother-in-law. Those two women have given her so much sweet talk that she’s determined to kick me out.”

“You need a reason to kick them out. No matter what, you were married through proper channels. Does the Zhou family really have no shame? What will others think?” Wen Mingqian said. “Madam, I actually suspect that the Shao family mother and daughter have quite a bit of savings. Our family has only been outwardly prosperous these past years; in reality, we’re quite empty inside.” Zhao Mama didn’t care about being laughed at at this point. “Our son-in-law is idle and a spendthrift. A few years ago, he bought an official position with silver, just for the sake of sounding good. In reality, it was just an empty title, and the few taels of salary he received weren’t even enough to fill a gap in his teeth.”

When the ladies of this household got married, each of them received a large dowry. If it weren't for our daughters using their own savings to help them over the years, the Zhou family would probably be starving.

Furthermore, that mother and daughter often brought a Taoist nun with them. The nun was charlatan and eloquent. Our grandmother and wife were the most superstitious about these things. The nun said that our daughter was unlucky, which was why she had few children, while their eldest son was destined to have nine sons.

They also said that the girl surnamed Shao was destined for good fortune and fertility, and that her birth chart was perfectly compatible with our son-in-law's. If the two of them were to be together, they would not only have many children and grandchildren, but also be destined for wealth and prosperity.

"The Zhou family has fallen on hard times, but instead of blaming themselves, they blame me, saying that their family started to decline after I entered the family."

Now that a few more people have chimed in, won't they dislike me even more? And to make matters worse, I miscarried, and my family won't stand up for me. What should I do, sister? At this moment, Liu Cuiyi was filled with worry and didn't know what to do.

“They haven’t kicked you out yet, so there’s still room for maneuver,” Wen Mingqian said. “What’s this? Just stay calm and don’t panic. We’ll figure out a solution.”

"Good madam, this old servant knew you had a way. Our young lady is counting on you." Zhao Mama said gratefully.

“Cuiyi, although your family can probably't help much, they still need to know about this,” Wen Mingqian began to suggest. “But they alone aren't enough. I'll find a few more influential people to help you put in a good word.”

The Zhou family may want to divorce you, but they can't completely disregard their reputation. If they lose face, they won't be able to kick you out.

“Even if they can’t save face for a while, they probably won’t give up.” Liu Cuiyi shook her head with a bitter smile. “Actually, I also want to just leave, but I can’t let them kick me out like this. I can disregard everything else, but I can’t leave my two daughters to these wolves and tigers, and I can’t disregard the reputation of my family.”

“Cuiyi, listen to me, patience will help.” Wen Mingqian further comforted her, “I dare say that with this little bit of decency, they can tolerate you for another year or two. There are so many things you can do in this year or two, who knows if you can’t turn things around?”
Besides, while you can wait, the Shao family girl can't. If she were to consort with Zhou Jingsan without any official status, she would lose face. Not only would she be barred from the Zhou family, but no other family would want her either.

Besides, even if you end up divorcing, it has to be you who proposes it; you can't let them get away with it so easily. People always want more, and the Zhou family has been bullying you for a long time.

“Yes, that’s what I said too. Even if our girl has to leave in the end, we’ll make sure they pay a heavy price,” said Zhao’s mother. “We absolutely cannot just quietly kick them out!”

“Cuiyi, you can’t be weak anymore. It’s good that you have Aunt Zhao by your side, someone you can discuss things with,” Wen Mingqian said. “Just focus on getting better. I’ll go back and find someone to help. Don’t worry!”

"Sister, I'm so sorry. I can't help you with anything and I'm always causing you trouble." Liu Cuiyi felt very apologetic.

"Why are you being so polite with me? You treat me like an older sister, and I'll definitely protect you like a younger sister." Wen Mingqian gently patted her back. "Your health is the most important thing. Don't overthink things. The worst outcome is just getting out of this hellhole. Don't you agree?"

"I understand, sister. With your reassurance, I'm no longer afraid," Liu Cuiyi nodded.