A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

June 26th, just as dawn broke.

When Chen Tianwei opened her eyes, a thin layer of orange light was already reflected on the window paper. She lay there for a while and heard people talking in the courtyard outside, someone moving a table, and a rooster crowing—today was her wedding day.

Her dowry wasn't much, but everything she brought was presentable.

Two camphor wood chests, four new cotton quilts, a set of copper basins and mirrors, two sets of silk clothes, and a complete set of makeup that Wang Jinzhu prepared for her alone—two jars of face cream, three tubes of lip rouge, two bottles of perfume, a box of face powder, plus a carved makeup box, which Chen Tianfang made overnight and brushed with tung oil three times, so shiny that it could reflect a person's image.

If this set were sold in the prefectural city, it would be worth at least thirty taels of silver. Chen Tianwei knew its value, and his eyes reddened when he bought it.

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), Chen Tianwei sat in the house in the old courtyard, waiting to have her hair combed.

The door creaked open and two people entered.

Chen Xiufen walked ahead, with Liu Yiyi following behind. Chen Xiufen's eyes were still a little red, but the swelling had gone down, and she could see people clearly. Liu Yiyi, who was more than four months pregnant, walked slowly, holding a comb in her hand.

"Tianwei, let me comb your hair." Liu Yiyi smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to her. "Come on, sit down."

Chen Tianwei did not move.

Logically, one should have their hair combed by a woman of perfect fortune—a woman with both parents alive and two children. Liu Yiyi has only been married for less than a year, and she doesn't even know the sex of the baby in her belly. How can she be considered a woman of perfect fortune?

But she is the second sister-in-law, and she came voluntarily; it would be unlucky to kick her out on the wedding day.

"Second sister-in-law, my eldest sister-in-law will be here soon. We've already arranged for the village chief's wife to comb her hair."

Liu Yiyi paused, her smile unchanged: "Then can I help you straighten your clothes?"

As she spoke, her gaze swept around the room and landed on the two camphor wood chests in the corner.

"Wow, this vanity case is so beautiful." Liu Yiyi walked over and touched the carvings on the case. "Did your sister-in-law make it for you? What's inside?"

"It's makeup my sister-in-law gave me." Chen Tianwei stood up and quietly moved the box behind him.

Chen Xiufen stood at the door, squinting at the box, without saying a word.

Liu Yiyi withdrew her hand, patted her stomach, and said, "Okay, I'll go back and rest first, and come back when the banquet starts." As she turned around, she glanced back at the two boxes.

Chen Tianwei watched her figure disappear through the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

She got up, fastened all the brass clasps on the two chests tightly, and then placed a neatly folded quilt on top of them.

Not long after, Wang Jinzhu arrived, followed by Aunt Zhou from the village chief's family.

Aunt Zhou was quick and efficient, combing her hair, twisting her face, and inserting her hairpin—a series of movements that flowed smoothly. Wang Jinzhu personally applied her makeup—evenly spreading face cream, applying a thin layer of powder, and using that orange-pink lip rouge.

Chen Tianwei in the bronze mirror looked like a completely different person.

"It looks beautiful." Wang Jinzhu took a step back. "It goes perfectly with my wedding dress."

Chen Tianwei looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but laugh.

Outside the door, firecrackers were already popping out sporadically, signaling that the wedding banquet was about to begin.

Old Chen was the busiest. He ran around inside and outside countless times, his voice hoarse from shouting, arranging seats for relatives and greeting neighbors.

He had favored the second wife for so many years in his life, and now he was desperately trying to regain some face in front of the first wife. Although this wedding dinner was just a simple meal in the morning, he insisted on making it look respectable, as if he wanted to have "I am a member of the first wife" engraved on his forehead.

Chen Defu sat at the main table of the Chen family, holding a teacup and smiling: "Old Chen, you've already set up four or five tables for the wedding banquet so early in the morning, that's quite a spending spree."

Old Chen took a sip of tea, wiped his mouth, and said, "That's my own granddaughter! It's her first time getting married, how could I not care?"

Chen Xiufen and Chen Yang sat in the corner of the last table, watching Old Man Chen busy himself trying to please the eldest son's wife. Chen Xiufen couldn't enjoy her food at all.

Back then, her son Shujie was simply carried away in a sedan chair.

At the end of the Si hour (9-11 AM), firecrackers went off and drums were beaten, signaling the arrival of the wedding procession.

Wang Xiaobao was dressed in a brand-new blue cloth long gown with a big red flower pinned to his chest. He was tanned dark, but had a silly grin on his face. He and the wedding party deftly lifted the two camphor wood chests from the Chen family onto the donkey cart.

"Let's lift the sedan chair!"

As soon as the donkey cart started moving, Chen Tianwei, her head covered by a red veil, boarded the cart with the help of Wang Jinzhu.

When they arrived at the Wang family's house, it was already midday, and the main banquet was in full swing.

The Wang family courtyard was truly bustling with activity. To welcome his new bride, Wang Dali slaughtered a whole pig and brought two jars of fine wine from town. The feast was a full twelve tables, stretching from the courtyard all the way to the alley entrance.

Four dishes and eight bowls were served in a streamlined manner—braised pork, stewed chicken, sweet and sour fish, and garlic-flavored pork belly, all steaming hot, no worse than the restaurants in town. Wang Dali stood at the door, clutching a handful of wedding candies, stuffing them into everyone's hands, his mouth stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

The villagers ate with grease dripping from their mouths, their chopsticks never stopping.

Several aunties gathered around Wang Guilan: "Guilan, your family really went all out with this feast, wow, it's the first in the whole village to have one."

Wang Guilan beamed from ear to ear, her hands still busy piling meat into the other person's bowl: "Eat, eat as much as you want, there's plenty for you today!"

As the second sister-in-law, Liu Yiyi, heavily pregnant, also came with the wedding procession. She sat at the Wang family's table and ate more happily than anyone else. Pregnant women have good appetites; she finished one bowl of rice and then had another half bowl, her chopsticks specifically picking out pieces of braised pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat.

"Yiyi, slow down," someone kindly reminded her.

Liu Yiyi didn't even look up: "I'm eating for two. How can I have the energy if I don't eat my fill?"

As she ate, her eyes kept glancing towards the Wang family's new house, as if she were plotting something.

The family had a lively and bustling day, and it wasn't until evening that Wang Jinzhu's family went home.

That evening, at the Wang family's residence.

The new house was in a side room added to the backyard of the Wang family. Although it was not big, it was clean and bright. Double happiness characters were pasted on the windows, a bright red wedding quilt was laid on the bed, and peanuts, red dates and longans were pressed under the pillows.

Wang Xiaobao and Chen Tianwei shyly completed their wedding night.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Chen Tianwei got up to wash and dress. The new bride had to serve tea to her parents-in-law the next day, so her makeup couldn't be sloppy. She opened her makeup box, took out face cream and face powder, and applied her base makeup.

Then she reached for the lip rouge.

There was an empty space in the velvet groove inside the box.

She paused for a moment, thinking she had misremembered the location, and took everything out of the box, placing it one by one on the table.

Two jars of face cream are here.

Two bottles of perfume are here.

A box of face powder, there.

Lip rouge—only one tube left.

There were originally three: bright red, orange-pink, and red bean paste. She used the orange-pink one yesterday, and it's still in the box. The bright red and red bean paste ones are gone.

She opened the second camphor wood chest, which contained clothes and bedding. She turned it upside down, but found nothing.

One jar of face cream is missing.

She clearly remembered that there were two jars of face cream, one for her own use and one as a spare. She opened one jar yesterday morning, while the other remained sealed, the wax seal untouched.

Now, it's gone.

Chen Tianwei sat on the edge of the bed, a scene flashing through her mind—Liu Yiyi touching her dressing case, smiling and asking, "What's inside?"

And then there's Chen Xiufen, standing at the door, squinting at the direction of the box.

Yesterday, I was busy from morning till night, with guests coming and going, and many people entering and leaving the house. But she fastened the two trunks with brass buckles and put quilts on top of them.

Ordinary guests wouldn't rummage through the bride's dowry chest.

Only those who know what's inside can actually do it.

Chen Tianwei took a deep breath, got up and pushed open the door.

In the courtyard, Wang Xiaobao was chopping firewood. Seeing her come out, he grinned and said, "You're up? Mom steamed some brown sugar buns—"

"Xiao Bao," Chen Tianwei interrupted him, "Go find your sister-in-law now and tell her that something is missing from my dowry chest. Two tubes of lip rouge and a jar of face cream, both from the batch your sister-in-law made herself."

Wang Xiaobao's smile vanished instantly. "Who stole it?"

"Don't make a fuss yet," Chen Tianwei said in a low voice. "Let your sister-in-law make the decision."