Springtime Farming: A Happy Wife At Home

by Usui Takumii

not mine, novel bin dot me and all novel updates. Also at ao3.

1. 00 to 20

Qiao Xuan, daughter of a county magistrate, supposedly had a fiance that everyone envied. But then her father's legal wife schemed against her, and married her into a farmer's family. On the night of her wedding, after seeing how shabby her room was, Qiao Xuan hung herself. When she opened her eyes again, a different Qiao Xuan had transmigrated onto this body.

The new Qiao Xuan stared at her husband and frowned after seeing how shabby the house looked. "Don't worry. I know that you didn't want to marry me, so I won't touch you. I'll apply for a divorce tomorrow and give you back your freedom." But wait, Qiao Xuan hadn't figured out what was going on yet! She couldn't get a divorce, or else her father's legal wife wouldn't forgive her. Also, she was a woman of a different world and possessed special powers. Couldn't she just build a business from here?

So it was decided. Qiao Xuan began assisting her husband and slapped the faces of all who wronged them. They kept leveling up, and went from being a poor farmer's family to becoming the richest family in the area. Those who bullied her regretted their actions, and her husband had regrets too. "I never said I wanted to divorce you." Qiao Xuan was perplexed when he was pressing her down on the bed. Why did he suddenly decide against getting a divorce?

Time-Travel For Wedding

Feeling dizzy, with her mind blurring, Qiao Xuan, who was lying in bed, heard the knock on the door.

Then came the voice of a middle-aged woman, who sounded nervous as she asked. "Duan, what happened just now? Is something wrong?"

"…I am fine, Mom. It was just that I hit the chair accidentally."

The woman instantly got nervous. "What? Are you hurt?"

"No, I am fine! You must be very tired today from everything. Go and sleep now!"

"Alright… but you… you should sleep earlier too…"

It was quiet outside the door, but Qiao Xuan was thinking inwardly. "Damn, what is a man doing inside her room?"

She opened her eyes suddenly.

The moment she looked up, she met a pair of cold-looking eyes staring down at her. She gasped and then started to cough loudly, with hands covering her mouth.

She glanced at the room, which was full of red decoration as well as the sticker of Double Happiness – it was a room meant for a wedding night!

"You… you…" Qiao Xuan sat up quickly and shrunk herself to the corner of the bed, glaring at the man with her eyes widened. "Stay away from me!"

The man sneered slightly and snapped at her with gritted teeth. "You mad woman, you are totally unbelievable! You didn't have to marry me if you didn't want to! But for my sharp discovery, my bride would have hung herself on the wedding night! That would ruin my future, and my family's too!"

Qiao Xuan was dumbfounded and eventually saw the hanging white scarf dangling over the beam. The whole scene looked quite scary, especially when the background in the room was in full red.

Below the white scarf was a chair that had been upturned. It must have been this cheap husband of hers who came to save her, when a strange sound arose, causing his mother to come over and check what was going on.

Suddenly, Qiao Xuan felt dizzy and turned pale, as the memory of the original host emerged inside her mind, stirring crazily inside her head.

The original host wasn't born lowly, compared to this husband's family which was only a farming household. Instead, she was the Miss of the County Magistrate's family, daughter of a concubine.

This daughter of a concubine had been engaged to someone when she was young. That was when her mother was still alive. Her fiance turned out to be an excellent man, who passed the Imperial Examination and was ranked third. He even got the chance to practice to become the County Magistrate in a neighboring county.

Theoretically speaking, the two families should have held the wedding in utter happiness.

But Mrs. Dong, the lineal wife of the family, disliked Qiao Xuan's birth mother. So she stopped Qiao Xuan from marrying an excellent and promising man like that.

Therefore, she abducted Qiao Xuan by luring her to visit the temple, and got someone to push her into the water.

However, this plan, which should have been done secretively, did not work out. Qiao Xuan was saved by Shao Yunduan from Shaoding Village, namely this bridegroom standing in front of her.

Since the two of them had some skin-to-skin interaction, a wedding had to be hosted just to keep the girl's reputation as pure and innocent.

That made Mrs. Dong extremely cheerful.

What a wonderful end it turned out to be! 𝒩eew updates 𝒂t n𝒐vel/bi𝒏.com

On one hand, she did not have to be burdened with the possibility of killing one person, and on the other hand, Qiao Xuan was able to marry a farmer's family where she was going to suffer throughout her whole life, having no chance of turning the table of her own destiny!

Therefore, Mrs. Dong informed her husband about this, and swiftly ordered the engagement of Qiao Xuan to be broken off. Later, she got Qiao Xuan to marry the Shao Family within no time.

Qiao Xuan, who was feeling furious and sad, lost all her hope. When she was under heavy guard and monitoring, she could do nothing about her life, but still, she still held some hope.

But when she got married this time, she secretly lifted the red veil over her head and saw this shabby-looking, dungeon-like place. She suddenly felt coldness casting over her body. Feeling that she had no future to look forward to, she decided to hang herself in extreme despair…

However, Shao Yunduan came and saved her right on time. But, actually speaking, the original host was already dead. It was a new Qiao Xuan when she woke up again, a time traveler.

No Divorce

Qiao Xuan could not help but feel sorry for Shao Yunduan, who looked furious as he sat on the chair with his hands on his knees, and a straight back.

Honestly, it was a misfortune for any family, when their daughter-in-law decided to hang herself on wedding night.

If the bride really died, the whole family would turn into a laughing stock in front of numerous households, and would be looked down upon by everyone around.

Anyone would get very angry and get furious…

But… that was not her business!

Qiao Xuan was groaning inwardly. What a shitty business she found herself in!

Shao Yunduan, who looked seriously annoyed, said coldly, "If you don't want to marry me, fine! I will send you home early tomorrow morning. Don't worry, I will tell the County Magistrate that it is we, the Shao Family, who don't deserve you. I will mention that clearly on our divorce paper, so you won't be blamed in any way."

The couple had already exchanged the dowries and gifts, and done the wedding proceedings. In the modern world, it basically meant that the two of them had already got legally married at the Civil Affairs Office!

Although one night had passed and nothing happened, Qiao Xuan would either divorce on her own or get divorced by this man.

Startled, Qiao Xuan shook her head. "No, no. I will stay!"

She must not leave. If she was divorced by the husband the following day after the wedding, she would never be rid of the fact that she had been 'rejected' by her husband, no matter how well-written the divorce paper was.

Also, maybe her selfish and ruthless father would not accept her to the family either, claiming that no one from the Qiao Family would ever be divorced. After all, she was married off and basically given to her husband's family. She believed that Mrs. Dong and her father would definitely do something like that.

When that moment came, her future would be nothing.

Even if there was the slightest possibility that her horrible father and Mrs. Dong decided to accept her, would she be able to live a good life? Would she have a completely new life ahead of herself?

…It would not be a matter of whether there would be a whole-new life, but whether she would even have a life!

However, if she stayed with the Shao Family, the situation might be a little more promising.

She was the daughter of the County Magistrate, which was nothing in her own family but could become her protection talisman in her husband's family. As long as she made full use of her family background, she would definitely have a good life here.

Also, this husband of hers had a pair of broad shoulders and narrow waist, giving out an excellent air. His nose bridge was tall and he had a very sharp silhouette on his face. His eyes seemed sparkling as well!

Well, he was very handsome in her eyes, and she was not in a disadvantageous position either…

This husband of hers was a student at Minghua College in the county, and he had passed the imperial examination as the Cultivated Talent at this young age, so probably, he was going to become some Recommended Man, or even an Advanced Scholar in the future… that would make her life even more promising.

Besides, she could decide things later, looking at what happened in the future. At the moment, it was obvious that she should stay with her husband's family so that her life could be better.

Hence, she was not leaving!

When the decision was made, Qiao Xuan struck her own thigh and squeezed out some tears from her eyes, remembering that she had time-traveled to such a terrible situation.

Tearfully, she looked at Shao Yunduan and sobbed. "It was my mistake a moment ago to have done such a stupid thing. Now I have realized what is more important for me, so don't worry, I will never do that again!"

"Hehe!" Shao Yunduan sneered as if the ice in his eyes had been scattered. "You are the Miss of a noble family, but we are just a poor family in the countryside. I should not deserve you, so I won't blame you for making that mistake! If you don't like this arrangement, you truly don't have to bear it. I will tell Officer Qiao that it was all my fault, and in a couple of years, when you move away with Officer Qiao when he gets transferred to somewhere else, no one will know about our wedding. By that time, you can find your own Mr. Right. That sounds perfect, doesn't it, Second Miss?"

Shao Yunduan had not been very happy about this marital arrangement either, but what else could he possibly do about it all this while?

He jumped into the water to save someone, when he saw it happen in front of his eyes. He had not expected the consequences of it at the time.

Moreover, he had thought that he could tolerate this Second Miss of the Qiao Family by treating her well.

But he had not expected that she would rather kill herself on their wedding day, just because she disliked his family!

That irritated Shao Yunduan completely.

On the other side, Qiao Xuan was also complaining heavily inside her head. The original host had left her in such trouble! T/his chapter is updat𝓮d by n𝒐v(ê(l) /m

But she was not going to get divorced, never!

Promise

"No…" Qiao Xuan started to act unreasonably. "I am not leaving… anyway. It was my fault for what I did. I apologize for that! If you are not okay with it, just tell me what you want me to do!"

"Hehe!" Shao Yunduan still sneered.

Qiao Xuan tried harder. "We have gotten married today, so if we get divorced tomorrow, our two families would be laughing stocks in front of everyone! You have to think for your whole family, if not for yourself."

Shao Yunduan got so annoyed by her shameless words. He said ironically, "Thank you for your concern about my family!"

"Oh well… you don't have to say that. I mean, we have to think about the best method to deal with the situation, don't we? Divorce isn't the best solution, obviously!"

That, of course, was crystal clear to Shao Yunduan!

Even though he himself wasn't so interested in this marriage, yet everyone in and outside the village, his family and friends, either his acquaintances or strangers, were all jealous of him when they learned this news.

Everyone was saying that the Shao Family had gotten lucky.

Moreover, it was being said that because of luck, a poor man like Shao Yunduan was able to become the son-in-law of the County Magistrate!

Therefore, he himself could not imagine how many snickers he would receive, if they were divorced the next morning after the wedding.

Well, it was his bad luck that brought him to this situation.

Qiao Xuan was observing the man who wasn't looking that cheerful, but at least, he did not seem to look as determined as he had been about divorce a while ago. Feeling slightly relieved, she begged in a soft voice by making a secondary proposal. "What about we do it like this – you accept me for the time being, but in a couple of years, we get divorced on the right occasion."

Shao Yunduan. "…"

Shao Yunduan was confused. He asked with a low voice and eyebrows raised. "Is that what you are truly thinking? It would not be the best time for you after a couple of years."

Qiao Xuan did not care much and said casually, "I will only be 17, or 18 years old in a couple of years. What should I be worried about anyway?"

Shao Yunduan. "…" That was a very confident claim!

Shao Yunduan had no idea how to counter those words.

Alright then, if that's what she wanted, he would have no objection.

"If you want to stay at my place, then you will have to behave like the daughter-in-law of the Shao Family and do what a daughter-in-law should do! You should never be impolite to my parents, or my siblings."

"Also, we are a poor family and have no servants to serve you. So, you have to do everything yourself. Our food is simple and ordinary, mostly to keep away hunger, that's all. You have to know about all of these."

Qiao Xuan replied without thinking. "Sure, I understand it all!"

Shao Yunduan was still sneering inside his heart. She understood it all? She must be joking, no? He did not think that she understood anything!

But it was the only way to deal with the situation right now, and that was what they had to accept.

Well… what about the future? Suddenly, Shao Yunduan had some anxious thoughts crossing his head.

Well, he had to stop thinking about the future at this moment. Besides, he was going to get this spoiled girl out of the Shao Family after one or two difficult years anyway!

During the upcoming years, it would already be enough for him, as long as she did not cause any trouble and lived obediently with him.

It was a quiet night.

The following morning, Shao Yunduan woke up Qiao Xuan by shaking her.

She drowsily opened her eyes and saw Shao Yunduan standing by the bedside, looking properly-dressed.

He said as he saw her waking up, "Time to get up now."

Qiao Xuan let out a small sound, blinked her eyes, yawned and then nodded slightly. "Okay, getting up now…"

No daughter-in-law of any family should sleep in – she was well aware of this point.

Actually, when the original host was residing at her own home, she was a pitiful little girl who was forced to get up earlier than the morning roosters!

Only she understood how miserable her life was, after all, she had been a very ordinary girl in the modern society in her previous life. But even if that was the case, she had never gotten up so early! FiNd 𝒖pd𝒂tes on n(𝒐)/v𝒆l𝒃𝒊n.c𝒐m

She was a newly-wedded woman, who was supposed to serve tea to the elderly people in the family and had to address them differently henceforth.

After she washed herself up, Qiao Xuan went for the meeting with the Shao Family, officially.

First Day Of Wedding

The Shao Family's Old Master had three children. Shao Yunduan was not born as the eldest one.

His grandparents had already passed away, and Old Master Shao as well as his three brothers were already separated from the family.

Shao Yunduan's father was called Shao Dakun, and his mother was addressed as Ms. Fang.

His elder brother was called Shao Yunlian, the eldest son amongst all the siblings. Shao Yunlian's wife was called Ms. Xu and they had a boy and a girl together. Shao Yunlian's son, namely Shao Yunduan's nephew, was called Shao Junyan. He was six years old and his niece Shao Qing was only three years old.

Shao Yunduan had named both his nephew and niece, which pleased the children's parents completely. They believed that their children's names sounded better than those of other children in the village.

Also, if the children were named by a person who could read, then it would mean a good beginning, which might bring in more auspiciousness.

Shao Yunguang was the second brother, and he was yet to get married.

But the reason why Shao Yunduan, who ranked the fifth in the family, got married first was only because he saved Qiao Xuan who fell into the water, and that basically hastened the wedding to take place – to keep the girl's reputation clean.

Shao Yunhuai was the fourth brother, ranking the seventh in all the siblings. He had a twin sister called Shao Taotao, who was only 13 years old this year.

The Old Master's second child was called Shao Dalou, and his wife was addressed as Ms. Niu.

They had two sons and one girl together, namely Shao Yunshan, who ranked second among all the siblings, and Shao Yunqiao who ranked fourth.

Shao Yunshan married Ms. Zhang and they had one son and daughter together, namely Shao Juan and Shao Xianwen. Shao Yunqiao was not yet married and he was seeking a proper suitor at the moment.

Their daughter Shao Meiling was only 15 years old this year.

Shao Dashi, who was the Old Master's third child, married a woman called Ms. Ma. Thê sourc𝗲 of this content n/o/v/(𝒆l)bi((n))

Their eldest daughter, Shao Meizhi was already married whilst the younger daughter Shao Xiaozhi was just three months younger than Shao Taotao.

Their son Shao Yunjiang was 15 years old, ranking sixth among all the siblings. He was yet to get married and was studying in the county.

At this moment, Qiao Xuan only got to meet the eldest family, whilst the second and third families would arrive by evening for a family-reunion dinner, when they would all meet.

Qiao Xuan bore everyone present in mind. Luckily for her, not many people were there yet.

The Shao Family were very curious and nervous about this well-born daughter-in-law of theirs, and they looked quite ashamed too. Her in-laws looked as if they were trying hard to press down their anxiety.

Qiao Xuan greeted them politely and said with a smile, "Dad, Mom!"

That put the burden off their shoulders totally.

Good, good! This daughter-in-law had a nice temper!

Shao Yunduan, who knew what Qiao Xuan was like in the past, let out a sigh of relief as well. This woman was not going to make a fuss here, and was even behaving better than he had anticipated. Had she really thought everything through?

There were not so many complicated rules in farmers' families, so all was done after the daughter-in-law served the tea and met each of the family members.

Ms. Fang, her mother-in-law, passed on some auspicious and encouraging words, before everyone was dismissed and went down to their own business.

Qiao Xuan thought for a while and followed Ms. Fang directly.

In this era, it was very important to get a good impression from the mother-in-law.

As long as the mother-in-law stood by the daughter-in-law's side, she would have a firm status at home. Otherwise, there would be endless trouble and problems coming onto her unexpectedly.

The Shao Family were sizing her up on the sly when she served them tea. So did she!.

Moreover, she paid extra attention to her mother-in-law, who was the key.

As far as Qiao Xuan could tell, her mother-in-law was generally a nice woman, which made it much easier for her to carry out her own plan.

"Mom…" Qiao Xuan caught up with Ms. Fang, showing a nice smile and looking rather obedient. "Please, tell me what I should do, and teach me if I am not familiar with anything."

"Oh…" Ms. Fang smiled brightly and looked at Qiao Xuan with a friendly gaze. "It is okay. Just take good care of your husband, so that he can concentrate on studies. You don't have to worry about family affairs."

She was the daughter of the County Magistrate! It was absolutely normal for her to stay away from housework, which was taken care of by someone else in the family. It did not have to be her concern.

Ms. Fang was already very happy when she saw her behaving so obediently. She was not going to make her do any housework!

Qiao Xuan was very surprised, but started to chuckle inwardly. It was a smart decision of hers to have made such a move.

She insisted on showing how willing she was to learn to do housework, which pleased Ms. Fang, who became increasingly glad and turned even more determined to let her take a rest instead.

Qiao Xuan, who failed to persuade Ms. Fang, gave up eventually.

The Wood Superpower

Qiao Xuan was wandering about in the yard where she planned to confirm one thing.

There was a loquat tree planted on the side of the yard.

The fruits on the tree, which were still quite green, were starting to turn yellow. They were hanging on the branches. It seemed that the fruits would become ripe and tasty enough in a dozen days.

She walked forward and stretched out her hands. She put her palms on the trunk of the tree that was more than 30 cm thick, gathering her concentration on it. Slowly, the whole tree started to turn greener, as the twigs grew wildly and leaves opened up. For a moment, the fruits on the tree started to turn yellow and ripe, one bunch after another…

Qiao Xuan withdrew her hands instantly, seeing that the effect was far better than she had expected.

The moment she withdrew her hands, the unusual growth of the tree stopped all of a sudden as well.

She looked down at her hands, feeling extremely glad.

She had felt something weird the night before, when she wasn't in a clear state of mind. In the morning when she was washing herself, she found that the moment she touched the water, a kind of sensational feeling appeared instantly, and within a few moments, some peculiar information emerged and filled up her head.

Only at that moment did she become sure that she had obtained a wood-like superpower.

Wood generated water, so the superpower would become exceptionally strong when she touched water.

Qiao Xuan, who felt as if she had received a new kind of toy, planned to have a try.

At this moment, she saw a bunch of mint leaves which seemed very thin. So she squatted and reached out to the bunch with a slight touch.

That small touch of hers did not cause any changes upon the mint. But when she concentrated and tried to gather a stream of spiritual power into the plant, and had the mint placed in the center of her mind, the bunch started to grow instantly…

She withdrew her hands and was completely sure about her abilities.

She closed her eyes and tried to enjoy her superpower. This ability of hers was not only able to give a boost to plants, but also sensed all kinds of moves around her through the plants, since the roots of those plants were interconnected with each other, underground.

For example, at this moment, when she lightly touched one bunch of mint, she instantly got a clear knowledge of all the grass and woods in the yard, even about the ants in each corner, as if everything was moving right under her eyes.

Therefore, she believed that she was going to have an easy time catching the animals and birds in the mountains!

Also, she could see that the range of her super powerful senses could expand further, as the power became stronger.

That pleased Qiao Xuan thoroughly. ÚpTodated 𝒏ov𝒆ls on 𝒏o(v)𝒆l()bin.c𝒐m

What was more, that superpower had given her an extra space, which was completely barren at the moment and had not opened the access to her. But she knew clearly that there would be one day, when she became qualified enough to enter that place and could make good use of it. But the qualifications which she needed for it were not clearly known to her. Still, she was sure that it was related to her superpower as well.

What she could sense right now was that there seemed to be an extremely advanced system connected in space, through which she was able to find all knowledge related to plants.

Motivated, Qiao Xuan was more certain that she was not going to have a boring life from this moment on. She had a lot to explore, like this superpower of hers.

At around nine or so, the breakfast was ready for the family.

After she finished the tea-serving step, her father-in-law, the elder and second brother as well as Shao Yunduan, all went to the village to work as laborers. At this moment, they just returned home.

It was the spring season, the best season for farming. Hence, all farmers were very busy with farming.

It was a bit cool in the morning, which was the best time for work. All hard-working families would get up early to do some work on farmland to start the day with.

What surprised Qiao Xuan was that Shao Yunduan went down to the farmland and did labor work as well!

Wasn't he a man who only read books?

Suddenly, she had a nice impression of this man – he seemed like a good person!

A Surprise Scene

Soon after breakfast, the family found that the loquats in the yard had ripened! And the mint, which had just been planted a couple of days earlier, was now flourishing vividly too!

They all spoke highly of this magical scene and held a heated discussion among themselves.

But no one was able to draw a conclusion of why that happened, so they all agreed to believe that it was because this patch of land was in a rich environment. Maybe the water and the soil had turned better, causing the loquats to ripen faster, and for mints to flourish more wildly!

Qiao Xuan had a smile on her face, feeling very proud – these were her achievements!

Shao Yunhuai, the seventh brother of the whole family, was nicknamed Little Seven. He was physically agile and loved to explore the woods and valleys whenever he had time. Therefore, he always brought back home some wild roosters, birds and rabbits for the family to eat. When he saw the yellow loquats, he could not help but climb onto the tree quickly and picked a large bucket of the fruits for the family to eat.

"Ah, the loquats seem to taste sweeter and have more tender flesh than those in the past year!" Shao Yunguang spoke in a praising tone, as he grabbed an armful of them.

Ms. Fang glared at him. "You are talking nonsense! You don't even remember how they tasted last year!"

Shao Taotao smiled and said, "Mom, I am not sure if other people might remember, but I am sure that third brother should definitely remember the taste! He loves all sorts of fruits, he must be right about it!"

Shao Yunguang really loved food. He was a very persistent foodie, who would even hold the hive tightly in his arms and run for as far as one whole mountain, even when he was chased by wild bees after he tried to get the delicious honey. That experience of his made him the object of laughter in the whole village for half a month!

Hearing what Shao Taotao said, everyone could not help but laugh. Thê sourc𝗲 of this content n/o/v/(𝒆l)bi((n))

When they were done with tasting loquats, they went down and continued with the labor work.

Ms. Fang stopped Shao Yunduan and glared at him. "Where are you going? Your father and your elder brother and third brother can do the labor work, but you will have to keep your wife company, okay? She has just become part of our family. Don't give her the cold shoulder!"

Then Ms. Fang turned to Qiao Xuan with a sweet smile. "Ms. Qiao, your husband is a very nice person, but he is a little bit careless. Men are always like that, right? If you are unhappy about anything he does or says, just tell me, and I will seek justice for your sake!"

Qiao Xuan smiled brightly. "Mom, my husband is a good person and he is very careful too! Don't worry, I won't be unhappy! It is my fortune to have met such a nice husband and mother-in-law!"

Well, she knew pretty well how to behave at this moment – a mother could criticize her own son, but she as the wife could not say anything bad about him.

Qiao Xuan suddenly felt that she was making a smart move!

Sure enough, Ms. Fang smiled even more brightly after hearing her exaggerated praises. She chuckled. "You are such a nice girl! It is our fortune to have you as the daughter-in-law, and Yunduan's fortune too, hahahah!"

"I feel so honored to have been praised by you, Mother-in-law!"

"No, no, it is all because you are a nice child!"

"I will definitely learn from you and become a good daughter-in-law for the Shao Family!"

"Okay, okay! Hahahahah!"

Shao Yunduan. "…"

He was totally dumbfounded hearing how well the two women were getting on with each other.

He wondered what position he was at the moment. He even suspected that he had misunderstood what he had just heard!

What on earth was going on?

His mother was not very satisfied with his brother's wife, actually, and had been complaining about her, who seemed quiet but was actually really selfish and full of tricks inside her head.

She even did not like the neighboring village girl, whom his third brother had laid eyes on. She complained that such a dull boy should not have teamed up with an even more dull girl, if they wanted to have a smooth life. More importantly, that girl was parentless and had a greedy brother and sister-in-law who seemed to be extremely annoying and insatiable.

But why was his mother behaving like this, when it came to his wife?!

Your Company To Me

Shao Yunduan, who had turned completely stunned, and messy in his head, came back to himself after a slight push from his mother and uttered a very confused sound. "What?"

"What?!" Ms. Fang glared at him, seemingly displeased by how slow his reaction was. Then she gave him a look and said, "What are you staring at? Go and keep your wife company!"

Shao Yunduan moved his lips. "…"

What more could he say?

"Okay, Mom…"

Saying yes was the only thing he could do right now…

Ms. Fang then turned to Qiao Xuan and consoled her with a smile, before leaving in satisfaction. DiisCoover 𝒖pdated novels on n(o)v. 𝒎

She had met numerous people in her life, and was very sure about her own judgment of her daughter-in-law. The girl was a pure, open and straightforward person, who was born in a noble family but had no arrogance in her. She did not look down at the Shao Family, and respected her mother-in-law completely. Ms. Fang had all the reason to show more care towards her.

Also, her son was a man with a gloomy personality, who was really suitable for an open and easygoing girl like her.

What a great match written in destiny!

Shao Yunduan looked at Qiao Xuan, and complications arose in his eyes and heart.

"You are really capable of making my mom happy."

Qiao Xuan showed a modest smile. "Thank you for your compliment!"

Shao Yunduan's words got stuck in his mouth!

"I am not praising you, okay? Don't thank me!"

Qiao Xuan almost felt like bursting into laughter, seeing how he looked so wronged and speechless. She could not help but feel like teasing him. "Oh well, Mom told you to keep me company, how do you plan to do that?"

Shao Yunduan was actually a well-mannered man who barely threw temper at people.

But for some reason, he truly got annoyed whenever this woman started to talk!

When he saw her blinking and waiting for him to give a reply, Shao Yunduan answered stiffly. "Anyway you like."

Qiao Xuan tilted her head and thought for a while. "What about teaching me to write? I am not very good at holding the brush-pen, and you have to correct me one step after another, okay?"

What she meant was that he could stand behind her back, hold her hands in a flirtatious and nice way! When Qiao Xuan said the words, Shao Yunduan subconsciously had this image in his head. His eyes widened in astonishment. "You…"

So shameless!

Qiao Xuan covered her mouth and chuckled merrily so much so that the man in front of her got really angry and his face was distorted. She waved her hands and said with a smile, "I am just joking with you. Don't be so serious! I am going to sort through my dowries. You don't have to keep me company. You can do whatever you want. Bye!"

Shao Yunduan. "…"

Shao Yunduan was so angry as he saw the woman leaving from there. He could not help but feel his heated ears. He mumbled to himself through gritted teeth and left in irritation.

He was sure that the girl did not change, but had her mind undergone a transformation after experiencing death once? It was indeed an enormous change, after all!

Could she have decided to open up herself, since she was already stuck in a bad marital situation?

Shao Yunduan could not help but let out an emotional sigh. "Women's mood is just like the weather of June, so fickle and changeable!"

Qiao Xuan had 26 sets of dowries, which were transported into the Shao Family the day before, causing much jealousy among neighbors and friends.

Normally, village girls had at most six or eight sets of dowries when they got married, and even fewer families were able to offer 12 or 16 sets.

People kept saying that the Shao Family were getting lucky because of the moralities which their ancestors had accumulated. Their newly-wedded daughter-in-law had so many dowries that were really enough for the whole family to live on for one lifetime.

Qiao Xuan rolled her eyes and sneered.

Those dowries were just numbers on the surface. All the 26 sets contained low-quality things.

For example, according to the notes of Dowrey Notebook, there should be one pair of treasured vases, which, however, turned out to be a pair of very cheap porcelain vases wrapped in large boxes and was still counted as one dowry piece.

Dowries

Another example was the clothes. Those 'Garments for Seasons' were either cheesecloth or hemp cloth. There was not even a set of ordinary silk, let alone the newly-launched brocade.

Moreover, those cheap things were all put in large boxes and counted as four sets of dowries.

As for 'Money in the Bottom of Boxes'…

It took Qiao Xuan ages to dig out those few sporadic coins.

Well, as the saying went – 'a starving camel is still bigger than a horse', even though the dowries were not that abundant, they were still better than that of village girls.

But those things, when compared to the real daughters of County Magistrate, were simply an insult and humiliation. But for Qiao Xuan, she believed that these things were enough for her life for now. DiisCoover 𝒖pdated novels on n(o)v. 𝒎

Even this small amount was already a large sum for the farmer families!

So, Madame Qiao might have humiliated or heavily stricken the original host of the body, but for her, it was nothing.

Compared to being completely poor, she was happy that she was able to get these to start with. She could just earn money if she needed it.

She was going to strike them back in the future! That should be extremely relaxing for her!

When she was done sorting through the dowries, Qiao Xuan generously handed out the cloth to her mother-in-law and Ms. Xu, the elder brother's wife. She gave the clothes to the family for making dresses.

For the farmer's families, such garments were already treasure, though they were not so valuable in her eyes.

Both Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu were startled in disbelief.

Ms. Fang was hesitant. She desired those things, but was worried that others would spread the rumor that she was stealing her daughter-in-law's dowries.

Honestly, when the dowries were transported to her family the day before, she had heard many sour words from the other members in the family, who kept sneering and could not hide their jealousy.

Qiao Xuan smiled with bright eyes, seeing their reaction. "It is a small gift, Mom. You shouldn't consider me as an outsider, now I am your daughter-in-law, otherwise I would feel so unassured about myself! We are a family, aren't we? We should stick together, right?"

Ms. Fang laughed and accepted the gifts, then she added. "Dowries are the supporters of a daughter-in-law, and you should keep them instead of wasting them! We have a long life to share together."

Qiao Xuan felt warmth attacking her heart. She was truly moved somehow. She nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Mom!"

Then, she took out two flourishing-looking silk flowers and gave them to Shao Taotao and Shao Qing respectively.

In her eyes, these silk-flowers were roughly made. Yet they still cost as much 25 wen for one pair, which was a huge expense for rural families.

Ms. Xu was very glad and expressed her thankfulness on behalf of Shao Qing. Shao Taotao liked the flowers too, and said thank-you with a reddened face, before putting the flowers on head. All women present spoke highly of how she looked.

Qiao Xuan felt a bit guilty after she gave out the garments and silk-flowers, since she did have a selfish purpose. So, she made more effort in trying to give compliments, which led to a happy laughter among all the women.

She was actually testing how her mother-in-law, brother's wife and husband's sister were like, when she gave out so many gifts. If any of them was greedy, she would know.

But none of them were so.

Even though Ms. Xu might seem to have some selfish thoughts, she still believed that her thoughts were reasonable.

At this moment, Qiao Xuan felt totally assured.

What she did not know, however, was that it was Ms. Xu's turn to feel guilty.

The moment Qiao Xuan became part of the family, Ms. Xu had been put into shadow. So she had been feeling really annoyed by how she behaved. When she saw how Qiao Xuan tried to please their mother-in-law, she had been cursing her as 'shameless' inside her head.

But Qiao Xuan turned out to be so generous that she gave her so many garments, two of which were thick enough to be made into cotton coats in winter. She even gave Shao Qing such a beautiful silk-flower!

So, she suddenly felt that she should not have cursed her and thought of her as someone shameless.

Bad Intention

Her sister-in-law was so generous and the husband was now the Cultivated Talent. He was surely going to become better and bring more honor to the family. No, he was not a selfish and cold-hearted man.

She decided to treat the couple well, so she could have a better future with them too!

Before her sister-in-law came to the family, she was the one who did all the housework. So there was no need to be sour about this. After all, she was the daughter of the County Magistrate!

As Ms. Xu thought everything through, she even fastened her steps on the way to wash clothes by the riverside.

However, on the way there, she ran into Ms. Niu. She greeted her and said, "Hey, sister-in-law!"

"Oh hi." had been really sour about the newly-wedded bride the day before, and when she saw the sets of dowries carried into the house, she became so jealous that she hardly slept during the night.

Therefore, when Ms. Niu ran into Ms. Xu at the moment, her eyes brightened and she decided to pick on this woman in front of her.

"Are you on the way to wash the clothes?" Ms. Niu sized up Ms. Xu and smiled. "Honestly, you should teach some things to the newly-wedded sister-in-law! You should bring her along with you for the housework."

Ms. Xu was startled for a moment and then replied with a smile. "I don't think she has any clothes to wash today. I will ask her tomorrow."

replied. "She doesn't have any clothes to wash? But she can help you, can't she? Oh my god, look at these many clothes. Are all of them to be washed by you alone? You were doing the housework all by yourself in the past, but now you have a helper, who should share your burden, right? Doesn't your mother-in-law say anything? It is such an unfair move for you!"

"You are just too conventional! You are her elder sister-in-law, and also the senior member of the family. Now Ms. Qiao is married to our family, so no matter which family she comes from, she should still respect you! Well, I think that she is looking down on you!"

"You should build an image for yourself and tame her! Otherwise, she will act over the top and cause you trouble. You won't like it! Trust me, you are too honest and you will be bullied! I care for you, that is why I am reminding you!"

Ms. Niu was in the middle of her happy talk, when suddenly a loud voice arose from behind. "What are you talking about?"

Ms. Niu and Ms. Xu were both startled, as they turned around and saw Ms. Fang coming their way.

Ms. Xu was surprised and was about to give an explanation. "Mom, I…"

"Stand aside!" Ms. Fang snorted as she threw a cold glance at Ms. Xu.

She sneered at Ms. Niu. "What are you sharing with my daughter-in-law? How about repeating it in front of me, so I can also learn something from you to see what mistakes I have made, which you are trying to teach my daughter-in-law!"

Ms. Xu flushed, not knowing what to do. Thê sourc𝗲 of this content n/o/v/(𝒆l)bi((n))

Ms. Niu panicked but soon calmed down, thinking that her sister-in-law was talking louder and looking excited. Could it be because they got the daughter of the County Magistrate as the daughter-in-law?

The thought made her feel even more sour…

As jealousy arose into her head, Ms. Niu felt even more envious and she responded with a strange smile. "Look at you, it seems as if you are interrogating me! People might think that I have made a mistake. You are now the County Magistrate's in-laws, and you have suddenly become very arrogant. You don't even think of me as part of your family any more, do you?"

"Stop spreading your nonsense!" Ms. Fang snapped at her and cursed heavily. "I know you are just jealous! I heard those disgusting words you said yesterday, but it was a happy and auspicious wedding scene where friends and families were all around, so I decided not to argue with you at the time! Does that make you feel as if nothing was heard by me? Yes, I am arrogant, so what? You can be arrogant too, if you can afford it! If you can't, just shut up!"

Ms. Niu's face flushed out of anger. "You…"

10 Mother-in-law's Anger "What?!" Ms. Fang was never a loser in arguments. She had her hands over her waist and snapped at Ms. Niu. "I don't need you to teach my daughter-in-law! Only stupid people would listen to your advice instead of mine! Just save your breath! You can teach your own daughter-in-law if you have the time. I heard that your daughter-in-law again sneaked food to her mother's family a couple of days ago, didn't she? Oh god, what a nice daughter she is right? On the other hand, I am really lucky to have gotten such a wonderful daughter-in-law!"

Ms. Niu shivered out of anger. Her eyes widened and her face turned green.

Her eldest son's wife, Ms. Zhang had always favored her own family. She had been sneaking things from the Shao Family to her own family ever since she got married, to show filial piety to her own parents.

At first Ms. Niu and her husband knew nothing about it. They both assumed that the family must have been robbed somehow, which caused a great deal of laughter among fellow villagers.

When they knew that it was Ms. Zhang's deeds, they became extremely annoyed.

But Ms. Zhang, whenever he was caught, begged them for forgiveness with tears in her eyes. Yet not long after, she started to make the same mistake again. Vissit novelbin.c.𝒐m for updates

However, she was a lucky mother who had given birth to one daughter and one son, whilst the other son of the family had not yet found a suitor.

With one son and one daughter as the leverage, Ms. Niu and her husband would not be able to divorce Ms. Zhang easily. Also, if they were going to find another daughter-in-law for their son, it would cost more money too.

Therefore, Ms. Niu tried to find ways to deal with Ms. Zhang every single day.

While one of them tried to find a way to hide the things, the other spared no effort to steal the stuff.

There was always chaos happening in their house.

Ms. Zhang was a strange woman too. If she failed to steal something for a long while, she would simply pull out the carrots and cabbages from the yard, and deliver them to her mother's home.

When Ms. Fang mentioned this point, Ms. Niu was stabbed deeply in her heart and lungs.

Seeing that she got so angry that she could not utter a sound, Ms. Fang snorted arrogantly and glared back at Ms. Xu. "What are you standing here for, huh?"

Ms. Xu, who had seen her mother-in-law throwing temper in such a way, got so frightened that she almost collapsed. "What?!" She answered anxiously. "Okay, Mom! I will go and wash clothes now, yes, now…"

With that, Ms. Xu dashed off.

Although her mother-in-law had never set up traps for her or scolded her unreasonably, for some reason, Ms. Xu was very scared of her mother-in-law! When Mother-in-law was wearing a serious look on her face, Ms. Xu would dare to utter no sound.

Ms. Niu regained her breath and shivered. "You… don't be so happy this early! You never know what your new daughter-in-law is like! You may have gotten one who can do nothing but wants to be spoiled all the time! That would be a big joke for your family!"

Ms. Fang would have been worried about this before the wedding, but now, she was not concerned about this matter!

She sneered ironically. "Alright then, I am waiting for you to laugh at me, if you can!"

Having said the words, she ignored Ms. Niu and walked away.

Ms. Niu let out a cry of anger. "Damn, this Ms. Fang is such a witch! What is she so proud of? As long as our brother defends us, she will have no place in the family! Our brother is the head of the family, not her!"

Only now did she realize that she did not have to argue with Ms. Fang. There was simply no need!

Ms. Niu was thinking about having a discussion with her husband and her sister-in-law, Ms. Ma about how to find a good match for her son and daughter. They needed money to start to prepare the gift!

Since Ms. Fang had Ms. Qiao as the daughter-in-law, she would need to help them prepare some gifts too, right?

Her brother had always been very generous to his siblings.

As she thought about this, Ms. Niu started to get really happy and decided to turn to Ms. Ma for a conversation…

Kindness... Maybe?

Qiao Xuan was completely unaware of how her mother-in-law had thrown her temper. She herself had not finished sorting her dowries yet, and was entangled in this errand again.

However, when they were having lunch, Qiao Xuan noticed that there was some strange expression on her sister-in-law's face, especially when she was facing mother-in-law… She was trying to avoid her eyes!

That made her feel quite surprised.

She was wondering if there was anything that happened between mother-in-law and sister-in-law when she had not been around.

But she was not going to ask them about the matter, after all. Therefore, she just pretended as if she hadn't noticed anything, and still spoke with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law with a smile.

Thanks to her conversation with both of them, Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu suddenly seemed to have gotten out of the awkward air, for some reason.

Ms. Xu could not help but feel more assured.

Ms. Fang, however, was still wearing a cold look. Yet inside her heart, she started to like Qiao Xuan more and more, thinking that it had been the correct decision to have gotten a daughter-in-law like this.

As for Ms. Xu… She was a person with a heavy heart, and loved to split hairs. She tended to turn a deaf ear to any kind of persuasion. In the past, she would have shared some of her thoughts, but after years of living here, she was not bothered to say anything like that anymore. Her husband was honest and devoted to his parents, and Ms. Xu, despite her heavy mind, was never bold enough to cause any fuss.

Well, it would always be better, if the atmosphere at home could be more bustling.

Farmers' families attached more importance to breakfast and dinner. When they were well-fed at breakfast, they could go out and do labor work with more strength. After they were done with a day's work, they would treat themselves a better dinner. As for lunch… that was the meal they would eat least properly.

At lunch today, the dishes were porridge with red beans, properly dense, served with a few pickles. It was enough for them.

After two meals, Shao Yunduan found that Qiao Xuan did not show any disdain towards the food served at home. And it seemed that Qiao Xuan had not even shown any disdain towards anything at home either…

Honestly speaking, Shao Yunduan was very surprised by this behavior of hers, and suddenly, he felt somehow guilty.

He had not thought that she would be this good. He started to believe that he must have misjudged her somehow.

Since she was behaving so cooperatively, he was wondering if he should offer some kindness?

After all… she was a newcomer to the Shao Family, and might feel a bit restrained and unaccustomed to the surroundings.

However, Shao Yunduan did not feel like making the offer first. After all, Qiao Xuan had annoyed him badly first! Vissit novelbin.c.𝒐m for updates

He was in the middle of his confused thoughts, absently staring at Qiao Xuan for a long while before he realized that. Qiao Xuan spotted his stare and chuckled. Then she approached him and said in a low voice, smilingly, "Hey, anything you would like to tell me, Darling?"

Shao Yunduan felt as if he had been caught red-handed. He replied calmly as he withdrew his look. "Nothing. It is just that… you are new here, and you can tell me anything, if you feel that you are in trouble."

Qiao Xuan blinked and showed a smile. "Sure!"

Shao Yunduan was startled, as his heart skipped two beats forward at this moment.

He had thought that she would counter him again, but when he, unexpectedly, heard this word spoken in a sweet, girlish voice, he almost did not know what he ought to do.

He avoided looking at her out of nervousness and said, "…Okay then, I have to go!"

Qiao Xuan nodded, trying hard to hold her laughter as she replied in an even sweeter voice. "Okay, take care, Darling!"

Shao Yunduan dashed off as if he were escaping from something.

Seeing the way he left, Qiao Xuan believed that this man was running away in embarrassment.

She burst out laughing with a bent back.

This man was so funny! Hahahaha…

For one moment, she felt that her mood was elevated. Humming a song, she turned around and continued with her task of sorting her dowries.

There were many kinds of things lying around which had been exaggeratingly-packed, many of which she had yet to sort out.

At around 4 in the afternoon, Shao Xiaoqi came home from somewhere, covered with mud and grass. Even the straw-shoes were filled with dirt.

Sister-in-law Robbed

But, despite the dirty look, he had two wild roosters in his hands, both alive!

"Mom, Mom! Fifth Sister-in-law! Look at the wild roosters I have caught!" Shao Xiaoqi smiled brightly, as he raised the wild roosters in his hands, which looked very beautiful with the colorful feathers.

Qiao Xuan, who had been done with dowries-sorting, was in the middle of chit chatting with Ms. Fang whilst babysitting some children!

Qiao Xuan's eyes brightened, when she saw that. She praised him constantly with surprise on her face. "Wow, you are so excellent, Qi. You have caught the wild roosters alive!"

Qiao Xuan was speaking out of her heart, since it was not something she had seen before.

Shao Xiaoqi wasn't so familiar with his fifth Sister-in-law, so he gave a small smile as he was praised and said in a bashful voice, "…I did not catch it exactly, it was the trap that did the job."

Qiao Xuan continued with her praise and smiled. "That is equally excellent!"

Ms. Fang was also glad. She said with a bright smile, "That is true! Qi loves traveling into the mountains and often brings us some wild animals! He is so good at it! Oh man, we don't have to kill any roosters tonight for dinner, when we already have these two! We can spare the two roosters at home! Good, this is really good!"

Qiao Xuan echoed her words. She again praised Shao Xiaoqi and asked him about how exactly he hunted the animals. They were soon in a heated conversation with each other.

As Qiao Xuan was listening to the tale so carefully, Ms. Fang felt so pleased sitting next to them. FiNd 𝒖pd𝒂tes on n(𝒐)/v𝒆l𝒃𝒊n.c𝒐m

Ms. Fang was truly happy. The events did make her feel pleased, for real.

Qiao Xuan was a newly-wedded bride, and was supposed to have a family reunion dinner with all the three children of the Old Master in the family. Qiao Xuan was going to meet the second and the third families for dinner this very night.

It was also a welcome-dinner for the newly-wedding bride. So there would be a lot of food served.

When Ms. Fang thought of how she would have had to kill roosters for the second and the third section of the family, she felt her heart aching, since they were all very greedy people.

Ms. Fang had originally planned to serve two pieces of meat, one fried fish and one huge bowl of unserved chicken for the reunion dinner tonight, which had been the leftovers from the wedding the day before, when the banquets were filled with dishes.

However, the sisters-in-law of the second and the third section of the family had stolen all of those remainders away, before she could realize!

But for the wedding that took place the day before, she would have had a row with them.

As she thought that she had to kill the well-fed roosters to serve them this very night, she felt even more distressed.

Unfortunately, it was a dinner to show her care to the newly-wedded daughter-in-law, so she was going to kill the roosters, no matter how much that would hurt her heart!

However, her youngest son caught two wild roosters today, instead!

These two wild roosters looked very well-fed, which would save her from killing any more roosters this evening. That was why Ms. Fang felt extremely pleased.

After they exchanged a few words, Ms. Fang believed that it was time to get water boiled so as to kill the wild roosters in the kitchen, seeing that the dinner time was approaching.

Qiao Xuan offered to help, but Ms. Fang turned her down. She spoke a few nice words about her and Qiao Xuan dropped the offer, eventually.

Qiao Xuan returned to her room and felt bored, thinking that she should not go on like this any more. She should pick up some skills about making the soles or anything, so she could kill the time instead of feeling so bored.

She was just thinking randomly, when she saw Shao Taotao entering. Shao Taotao was startled at the sight of her, and then she started to mumble in panic, with her head lowered. "Fifth Sister-in-law…"

"What is wrong, Taotao?" Qiao Xuan walked forward and asked concernedly. "Why are your eyes so red? Did you cry? What happened?"

She had to ask what happened to her sister-in-law, who was in such a mess.

Hearing what she asked, Shao Taotao felt even worse. She almost burst out in tears. "Fifth Sister-in-law, the silk-flower you gave me was robbed away by Second Sister and Fourth Sister… I am sorry, Fifth Sister-in-law, I didn't mean… to let it get snatched…"

Horrible People

That was the Fifth Sister-in-law's gift to her… but it was stolen away by her cousin within half a day. Shao Taotao was feeling both sad and guilty.

Second Sister and Fourth Sister? Qiao Xuan was startled.

She was a concubine's daughter. She had one sister who was born by the Madame of the family and one younger sister who was born by another concubine… Neither of them were easy to deal with. Hearing what Shao Taotao said, she understood mostly what was going on.

However, these two cousins should belong to the second and the third sections of the family. Moreover, her mother-in-law did not look like someone who was easily bullied, nor did this sister-in-law of hers look like a timid person…

What made these two cousins so wild?

"How could they be so unreasonable? It is totally irritating!"

Shao Taotao felt even worse and a little annoyed too. She pursed her lips. "Dad is always defending them! He says that even though we come from three different sections, we are still one family and we should get on well with each other. We are the eldest of the family and should take care of everyone. Moreover, we should not be so critical about everything. They are family, anyway, right?"

Qiao Xuan felt speechless.

It seemed that such a thing had happened many times. No wonder those two cousins dared to bully Taotao without fearing anything.

Her mother-in-law might not be an easygoing person, but her father-in-law was the man of the family. So no matter how much her mother-in-law tried to throw temper and have a row, she could do nothing about the father-in-law who was determined and resolute.

After venting out her complaints, Shao Taotao felt slightly better. She could not help but feel that she was much closer to Fifth Sister-in-law at this point.

She looked up at her and said, "I am sorry not to have defended myself for the silk-flower, so it was stolen away. I am sorry, Fifth Sister-in-law!"

Qiao Xuan shook her head quickly and said, "It is not your fault! It is they who are terrible!"

She raised her eyebrows. "But my gift should not be stolen away so easily. You go and trick them into our yard, and I will help you to get back the silk-flower." FiNd 𝒖pd𝒂tes on n(𝒐)/v𝒆l𝒃𝒊n.c𝒐m

She just could not bear the anger that her gift to her sister-in-law was pulled away, especially when her sister-in-law came to share her grievances with tears in her eyes.

Shao Taotao was surprised and sounded hesitant. "That doesn't seem right… what if father knows about it… what if…"

Qiao Xuan consoled her. "Father is a reasonable person too, right? That is the gift I gave you, and it should not be snatched away by other people! It would sound really unreasonable, right?"

Obviously, her father-in-law was an honest person, the eldest brother who tried to bear all responsibilities. But she was a member of the eldest section and now that the people from the second and the third section had developed the habit of stealing and robbing stuff, they would definitely turn to her in the near future.

She was not only helping her sister-in-law, but also clearing the path for herself in future life. This was something she was going to get involved in and solve.

Hearing her words, Shao Taotao thought for a while and nodded hesitantly. "Fifth Sister-in-law is right… and it sounds reasonable too. But I am not sure if they will return the silk-flower anyway?"

Qiao Xuan smiled. "We can talk to them in a nice way, and I believe that they will be able to return the silk-flower. Let's have a try anyway, okay?"

Although Shao Taotao did not believe her words, she truly missed her silk-flower, and was angry too. So, with a little conviction, she nodded. "Yes, you are right, Fifth Sister-in-law. I will get them here now!"

Soon, Shao Taotao came with her cousins Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi.

Qiao Xuan turned to them as she was in the yard, smilingly.

The girls were startled, and after a while, they realized that this must be the wife whom their cousin had married the day before.

Qiao Xuan Sees It Through

Qiao Xuan looked very pretty, and she was the daughter of the County Magistrate. The soul, at this moment, had been changed, so by this point, she looked confident, calm, presenting an air of dignity.

Both Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi instantly showed some fear.

"Hi, Fifth Sister-in-law…'

"Greetings… Fifth Sister-in-law…"

Shao Meiling was 15 years old, an age when girls loved to dress up well. She could not help but size up Qiao Xuan on the sly.

Seeing how she was dressed and what she was wearing, she could not help but show some greed.

Same went for Shao Xiaozhi. She couldn't help but think of how her mother talked to her sixth brother about how lucky their fifth brother was, that he ran into the daughter of the County Magistrate and saved her. Her mother wished that it was her own son who had gotten involved in the incident!

If that had happened, then this fifth Sister-in-law would have been Sixth Sister-in-law on her side!

In this way, they would have become rich too, and her own sixth brother would have had a promising future!

As she was thinking, Shao Xiaozhi could not help but place her eyes upon the beautiful hairpin on Qiao Xuan's head, thinking that if this woman were her own sister-in-law, then she would definitely have been able to ask her for that hairpin in a fair and open way!

Suddenly, an idea flashed across her head. She could ask her uncle for help. Uncle would definitely say yes to her request!

If her uncle could help her, Fifth Sister-in-law would definitely have to obey his order, otherwise she would be considered as a woman without filial piety!

Shao Xiaozhi could not help but feel cheerful, and involuntarily showed a look of joy.

Qiao Xuan had been sizing up these two girls, who were too young to hide their inner feelings.

So, Qiao Xuan had a good idea of what they truly were thinking.

Suddenly, she felt disgust arising inside her head.

On the other hand, she felt lucky that the eldest section of the Shao Family was not like this.

She replied to them with a smile and said, "You are the two cousins from the second and the third section of the family, aren't you?"

Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi nodded. "Yes, we are…"

Qiao Xuan glanced over their heads. These two cousins were getting on well with each other, weren't they? Taotao's two silk-flowers were right on top of their heads, one for each!

Qiao Xuan took a step forward and removed the silk-flowers off their heads and said with a smile, "Aren't these the gifts I gave to Taotao? Taotao, you are so nice to your cousins, even lending the flowers to your cousins! Taotao, I gave the gifts to you, you can let your cousins wear them for a while, but do remember to keep them well okay? They are my gifts to you!"

Shao Taotao got so happy and took the silk-flowers, nodding with a smiling face. "Thank you Fifth Sister-in-law, I will definitely keep the gifts well!"

She swore that she was not going to wear the silk-flowers in front of them. She was going to put them on at her own home, or just in the yard, not when she was out!

Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi were dumbfounded.

Only now did they realize what happened. They exchanged a look between themselves, and their faces started to sink.

They did not know Qiao Xuan well, so they did not dare to do anything to her. But they could show a bad look to Shao Taotao instead.

"Taotao, how can you be like this! Didn't you say that you gave the silk-flowers to us as a gift?!"

"You are a liar, Sister, I am going to tell Uncle about this!"

Qiao Xuan turned speechless. This justice-filled tone would have generated a misunderstanding towards Taotao, if the truth had not been known to her earlier.

Shao Taotao's face flushed as she argued. "I didn't give them to you as the gift, you took them on your own!" Điscover n𝒆w chapt𝒆rs 𝒐n n0𝒗e(l)bi𝒏.com

Shao Meiling said, "But you didn't say no, right?! What do you mean by taking them back now?!"

Shao Xiaozhi spat out. "Bah, you are shameless!"

Shao Taotao was annoyed. "You are the shameless one!"

However, that was what Shao Meiling had been waiting to hear…

Fifth Sister-in-law

That was exactly what Shao Meiling was waiting to hear. She went forward and was about to slap Shao Taotao, while cursing seriously. "You damn girl, how dare you curse me!"

Qiao Xuan, who saw that they were at the edge of starting a fight, stopped them instantly and said, "What are you doing! Don't hit people, just talk!"

Shao Meiling, who was both annoyed, ashamed and angry, cried loudly. "Ah, Fifth Sister-in-law is hitting me, she is hitting me!"

Qiao Xuan, "…"

This huge chaos was heard by Ms. Fang, who rushed out and snapped. "What are you two doing again, Meiling and Xiaozhi?"

Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi, who had never taken Ms. Fang's family as someone important since their eldest uncle always spoiled them, got a bit frightened by Ms. Fang at the moment.

They understood that Ms. Fang was a fierce lady, who had even gotten into a fight with their mother before.

But it was Ms. Fang's merit of being so fierce, otherwise the other members of the family would have stolen everything away from their family.

And Ms. Fang and her children might have been fed on grains only.

Hearing how her mother-in-law snapped at the cousins, Qiao Xuan smiled inwardly and could not help but praise her mother-in-law.

"Mom, here is how it happened!" Qiao Xuan took a step forward and recounted the whole story in a brief manner.

Ms. Fang's face sank as she asked Shao Taotao. "Is this what really happened?" Upd𝒂ted chapters 𝒐n n𝒐

Shao Taotao nodded, feeling wronged.

Ms. Fang threw a why-not-do-something look at her own daughter and said nothing. What else could she say? Her husband kept defending those annoying family members and she was the only one who dared to talk back to him. Their children did not dare to say a thing at all!

That was why after a long while, those cousins found her children to be easy targets to bully!

Ms. Fang would not spoil Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi.

She looked serious and said, "Taotao told you that it was not a gift, it was just a loan! What are you making a fuss here for? Just get your mother to buy the stuff you want! You aren't young girls any more, and you are still so unreasonable! You will have trouble in the future if you continue like this. Stop making a fuss here!"

Shao Xiaozhi shed tears and mumbled in a small tone. "You are being partial to Third Cousin! She gave it to us as a gift, it is her fault!"

Qiao Xuan rolled her eyes inwardly. This girl was turning confounding truth and lies, and blaming Ms. Fang for favoring her own child! But that was her own child, wasn't it normal that she showed some preference to her?

Shao Taotao said, "I didn't! You stole them!"

Ms. Fang got impatient too. "Heard that? Taotao didn't give them to you as gifts! Stop bullying her, or I will go to your mother and seek justice, if you are ever found bullying her again!"

Well, Ms. Fang was feeling very stressful recently, when her youngest son got married this year.

Her daughter was 13 years old and they needed to find a suitor for her soon. If she was a person who was easily bullied and could not counter a thing, what would happen to her when she got married in the future?

She had to help her a little.

Ms. Xu was not reliable. She was a tricky lady who always dodged trouble and never wanted to offend anybody. She could not even tell who had bullied them either!

But her son's wife seemed good. She had just come to the family and knew how to defend Taotao.

That was why she was going to show her preference clearly!

Shao Meiling and Shao Meiling had a guilty look on their faces when they were snapped at by Ms. Fang.

Shao Meiling bit her lips, and suddenly, she gave Shao Xiaozhi's arm a pull and ran away.

Shao Taotao became anxious. "Mom, Second Cousin and Fourth Cousin must be running away to tell Second Sister-in-law and Third Sister-in-law about this matter now!"

Ms. Fang sneered. "She can do whatever she likes. I don't care."

Ms. Niu's Dislike To Qiao Xuan

"As for you… keep your back straight. Don't give out your things if you don't want to! Get them back if they dare to rob you of it, or hit them! In this way, they would be scared, otherwise they would get increasingly unreasonable! Also, if you are wronged, tell me, don't just shed tears. The more you cry, the more easily-bullied you appear to be!"

"Mom…" Shao Taotao's eyes turned red, as she lowered her head gradually.

Ms. Fang became both concerned and annoyed. "What are you shedding tears for? I am just teaching you what to do!"

Qiao Xuan patted Shao Taotao's shoulders slightly and consoled her. "Mom, Taotao is a kind-hearted girl, much better than those girls. She can rectify her flaw, but gradually…"

Ms. Fang sighed slightly. She knew that. She had just gotten a bit anxious at that time.

She couldn't help but blame her husband, who had messed up everything.

Ms. Fang threw a gaze at Qiao Xuan with a satisfied look. "You are a good girl, you defended Taotao. You have to be careful in the future, understand?"

"Got it, Mom!"

As they were talking, Ms. Niu and Ms. Mang came inwith Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi, looking furious.

Ms. Niu, who had just been mocked by Ms. Fang earlier in the morning, was already filled with anger. And at this moment, she was totally thronged with the feeling of deep hatred and grudge.

She stepped in the yard and said with a cold smile, "Eldest Sister-in-law, you are indeed on the air right now, aren't you? You have become so different after you have added a good daughter-in-law to your home. Are you taking yourself as some Madame of some mansion? Meiling addresses you respectfully as Aunt, but you are bullying her, your own niece?"

Then she turned to Qiao Xuan and let out a sneer. "Honestly, you, I don't care even if you are the daughter of the Emperor. Now, you are the daughter-in-law of the Shao Family, so you should show respect to your cousins and sisters. It is your first day here and you are already trying to turn cousins against each other and cause trouble. What is your purpose?"

"Are you trying to turn the family members against each other, because you think that you have been demeaned to become a part of our family?"

Ms. Mang added more words. "I totally agree! Your behavior is way over the top! If you don't want to be married to our family, you can just turn away. Our family is not a very high-status family, but we haven't forced you to be part of us! What is your purpose of causing trouble and setting up conspiracies, so that everything suddenly becomes wrong in our family?"

"True!" Ms. Niu was so annoyed. She had found Qiao Xuan increasingly displeasing to her eye! Điscover n𝒆w chapt𝒆rs 𝒐n n0𝒗e(l)bi𝒏.com

Her son was studying with Shao Yunduan in Minghua College in the county, but Shao Yunduan made it to the Cultivated Talent, whilst her own son failed because of bad luck. After that, Shao Yunduan married a rich wife, and with the help of the wife's father, he was going to take off!

On the other hand, her son would fall far behind in the family!

That was so wrong!

Qiao Xuan was cursing Ms. Niu as evil inside her heart. This woman might not have any idea of what 'killing people by stabbing the heart' meant, yet that was what Ms. Niu was doing!

If her mother-in-law had been a confused woman, she would have been convinced by what she heard just now. She surely would have assumed that whatever Qiao Xuan did might be related to this reason. That would make her life difficult here!

Luckily, her mother-in-law was a woman with a clear mind!

Qiao Xuan was no longer anxious any more.

She was the junior member of the family, a newly-wedded wife to one of the sons. So, she did not counter Ms. Niu at the moment. Instead, she turned to Ms. Fang with a pitiful look on her face.

Ms. Fang squinted at the two women and said, "My daughter-in-law knows how to defend her sister-in-law one day after she steps into this family! I am really happy about that. You two don't have to worry about our family affairs!"

Not A Match With Ms. Fang

and Ms. Mang threw an angry glare.

Ms. Fang smiled again. "There is some misunderstanding between the cousins. What are you doing here babbling at my door? Ms. Qiao, tell them what happened?"

The more they looked down at Qiao Xuan, the more Ms. Fang was going to raise her.

Ms. Fang had sharp eyes. She could tell that her daughter-in-law was capable of dealing with the situation. She had been on her own for years, and now with a helper next to her, she was not going to give up.

"Okay, Mom!" Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile and recounted the incident in just a few words.

Ms. Fang sneered in satisfaction. "Heard that? Just teach your children well. After all, it is never good to be so intimidating. They are girls, okay?"

Ms. Mang showed a terrible look on her face. "This is nonsense! Xiaozhi said it differently!"

Ms. Niu was more clever than Ms. Mang. She glared at Shao Taotao and said, "So it is Taotao's fault, isn't it? Taotao, you gave out presents and said that your cousins bullied you. That is unreasonable. You are not a little girl any more, don't just lie!"

Taotao was angry. "That is not true!"

"Now you are countering the elder in the family! Just look at her, Elder Sister-in-law, you must teach her a good lesson!"

Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi followed Ms. Niu's lead and kept saying that Shao Taotao gave them the gifts first before regretting it and calling them robbers.

Ms. Mang joined them and kept saying bad words about Shao Taotao. All of them combined forces at this moment.

Shao Taotao became so anxious that she almost cried. She did not know how to defend herself but kept insisting that it was not like how they were saying it. "No, I didn't! It is not true!"

But her words were so weak that she was completely defeated.

Even Ms. Fang turned pale with anger.

Qiao Xuan said, "Taotao won't give out those flowers as presents, because they are my gifts to Taotao who cherishes them. Also, she likes silk-flowers and she would not give them out to anyone else."

Ms. Niu sorted, rolled her eyes and said, "The girls won't have lied!" Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

Qiao Xuan retorted. "Taotao won't lie either. You weren't present there. Why do you think Taotao was lying?!"

Ms. Fang said coldly, "True, I believe my daughter!"

Qiao Xuan added further. "Meiling and Xiaozhi are not little girls any more, why don't they understand that they should not accept the gifts from Taotao, when they know that those gifts are from me to her?"

Shao Meiling countered immediately. "Taotao did not say that it was a gift to her!"

Qiao Xuan asked her. "Why didn't you ask?"

Shao Taotao said, "I did!"

Shao Meiling, "…"

Ms. Fang said coldly, "Anything else? Just leave if you don't have anything more to say. You will get no dinner tonight if you keep pestering me. Eat at your own home instead!"

Both Ms. Niu and Ms. Mang were angry.

That was not a reasonable thing to say. Only those who knew how to insist and make a fuss of the matter would be the final winner.

But obviously, they could not override Ms. Fang.

They neither lost nor won.

It was impossible to get back whatever Ms. Fang had taken away.

And this Ms. Qiao was even more annoying! She was the daughter of the County Magistrate, sharp-tongued and not at all well-behaved. Bah!

Oh true, she heard from her son that this daughter was just a concubine's daughter whose mother already died. She was not good at all!

But she did have 26 sets of dowries… Ms. Niu was really jealous…

Talking Sense With Them

Ms. Niu said ironically, "You are really sharp-tongued, Niece daughter-in-law, so good at talking! But you are a daughter-in-law, so I suggest that you should learn how to behave well. Look at Ms. Xu, she is a good example for you. Learn from your sister-in-law!"

Qiao Xuan did not care at all. Điscover n𝒆w chapt𝒆rs 𝒐n n0𝒗e(l)bi𝒏.com

She did not show any anger but stared at Ms. Niu who seemed annoyed. She smiled. "Thank you, Second-Sister-in-law!"

got suffocated. "…"

Ms. Mang's eyes rolled as she shouted. "Honestly, Niece daughter-in-law, you can't just favor Taotao, not us. Shouldn't you be giving Meiling and Xiaozhi gifts too?"

Ms. Niu's eyes brightened too. That was a way to cut in. She snorted sarcastically. "True, Niece daughter-in-law, you are not looking down at us and planning to give us nothing, right?"

Before Qiao Xuan could say something, Ms. Fang countered. "Of course not, when Ms. Zhang got married, you gave us no gifts either, right? There is no such rule here at our place, is there?"

Most of the rural families were poor, and it was already a big thing for a newly-wedded bride to give presents to her husband's family, not to every other family member.

No one from other families would come and ask for gifts.

Ms. Mang mumbled, feeling unconvinced. "That is different. Ms. Zhang is poor, but you are the daughter of the County Magistrate, you should not be stingy!"

"That is true!"

Ms. Fang smiled coldly. "But they are both daughters-in-law of the Shao Family, and they should do the same thing, shouldn't they? Stop babbling here!"

These greedy women always thought of tricks to get things for themselves.

Ms. Niu and Ms. Mang saw that Ms. Fang were talking fiercely and unreasonably, and that they could get nothing good out of her, so they made a few complaints and left with their daughters.

Ms. Fang mumbled. "Damn women…"

Shao Taotao let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly. "You are excellent, Mom, Fifth Sister-in-law!"

"You!" Ms. Fang poked her forehead. "Just watch carefully and learn from your fifth Sister-in-law!"

Shao Taotao smiled. "I got it, Mom!"

Qiao Xuan smiled too.

Ms. Fang added. "Just leave them alone. They are always shameless. If they dare to trouble you privately, just come to me!"

"Okay, Mother-in-law!" Qiao Xuan smiled. "If they ever come to me again, I will try and talk sense into them!"

Ms. Fang understood what she meant by 'talking sense into them'. She laughed and nodded happily. "Very good!"

Ms. Fang turned around and continued to walk into the kitchen, where she saw Ms. Xu craning out her neck around the corner of the wall.

Ms. Xu got startled, but could not hide fast enough when she was found. She forced a smile as she walked out carefully. "Mom, I have just come out of the farmyard…"

Ms. Fang was aware that she had been watching the show standing in the corner for a very long time.

She always hid when something happened. Whenever the other family members came to seek trouble, she always hid away, instead of stepping up and offering help.

She knew pretty well what she should do. She was an obedient and down-to-earth person, who kept half of their earnings and gave half to her mother-in-law. She and her husband were not capable people, but they did save some money.

She only cared for herself, her husband as well as her children, instead of anyone else.

Ms. Fang did not want to reveal her secret. She answered briefly and said calmly, "Wash your hands and come to help me in the kitchen."

Seeing that her mother-in-law did not blame her, Ms. Xu nodded and answered yes.

Unreasonable And Wrong Ideas

At first, they all assumed that it was the end of this errand. However, when the two families from the second and third sections of the family came around for the dinner, the issue was mentioned once again.

Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma kept complaining in front of their eldest uncle, not only about Shao Taotao, but also Qiao Xuan.

They kept insisting that Shao Taotao did not show any sisterly love to the cousins and that Qiao Xuan was looking down upon them.

Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi seemed really saddened, sitting next to them.

Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu were busy at the kitchen, where Shao Taotao was giving them a hand. It was only Shao Yunduan, as well as other junior members of the family, who listened to the narrative with a frown and could not interrupt them.

Both Second Uncle and Third Uncle were also helping their own family members in a seemingly concerned and kind way.

The eldest uncle became so guilty that he kept apologizing and started speaking nice words, whilst throwing a look at Qiao Xuan and suggesting that she should apologize too.

After all, Qiao Xuan was his daughter-in-law, and a father-in-law was not in a good position to blame his daughter-in-law directly. Moreover, Qiao Xuan was a newly-wedded daughter-in-law, and he had no choice but to show her some respect.

Qiao Xuan understood her father-in-law's hints, but she ignored them deliberately.

She truly felt that these people were so morally sick!

It was so tiring that her father-in-law could do nothing about it!

Eldest Uncle became disappointed inwardly and he kept sighing.

He was blaming his daughter-in-law inside his heart. Even if she did not understand his hint, she should have heard the complaints!

She had looked down upon her sister-in-law and countered the senior members of the family. She should naturally feel ashamed enough to make apologies!

What was she thinking?

Second Uncle said, "Brother, you should teach your children a lesson. They can't be so unreasonable, right? We are a family!"

The sixth son of the Shao Family could not help but laugh, after holding his words for a while.

"Elder Uncle, you should ask Fifth Brother if there is any need to become a scholar, when he can't even teach his wife a good lesson? Saint says that a qualified scholar should be able to rule the family and keep peace in the world, right?"

The sixth son could not help but glance at Qiao Xuan, getting really annoyed inside his heart.

Why had it not been him who had saved this girl?

Had he married the daughter of the County Magistrate, he would have been assured of a promising future! Damn, his fifth brother kept getting good things happening to him and never thought about sharing the fortune with his brother. If his fifth brother had asked him to keep him company the other day, he might have become the candidate for this girl's husband!

His brother married the daughter of the County Magistrate. What kind of girl should he marry so that he could override him in the future?

Eldest Uncle did not understand what the Sixth Son was implying, but he showed a look of admiration towards this boy. Suddenly, he felt that he could give his son a lesson, even if he could not do anything to his daughter-in-law!

Eldest Uncle turned to Shao Yunduan and said in a displeased voice, "Your sixth brother is right! Yunduan, we should keep peace in our family. Isn't it good that we live in harmony? Tell your wife to say sorry to Second and Third Sister-in-law! We are all family members, and it is fair if every girl in the family gets the same thing, including Juan!"

Juan was only five years old, the daughter of the second section of the family.

Qiao Xuan turned to look at Shao Yunduan.

Shao Yunduan nodded at his father and gave a consoling look at Qiao Xuan, asking gently. "Ms. Qiao, can you recount what happened?" Điscover n𝒆w chapt𝒆rs 𝒐n n0𝒗e(l)bi𝒏.com

Qiao Xuan felt that she had been repeating the same thing all the time. But she had no choice but to say the whole thing again.

"Mom and Taotao were both present. You should hear their words, regarding whether I was disrespecting the Second and Third Sister-in-law. I am not bold enough to take over the entire blame!"

"Mom also pointed out that when Elder Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law first got married to the family, they did not seem to give anyone any presents. So why are you treating me differently? Are you looking down at me, or bullying me or trying to cause trouble to me in particular?"

Ms. Fang's Fury

Eldest Uncle was taken aback.

So were Second Uncle and Third Uncle as well as everyone else apart from Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma.

This Ms. Qiao was being so unfriendly to them!

Eldest Uncle could not utter a single sound.

Third Uncle had a hot temper. He struck his head and snapped furiously. "I am your Third Uncle, and I can teach you a lesson! What attitude are you holding towards us? We are the senior members of the family! Brother, your daughter-in-law is indeed capable, isn't she? She doesn't think we are important at all!"

"True! You are a daughter-in-law who doesn't respect senior members of the family. We will file a complaint against you, even when the County Magistrate asks about it!"

"Fifth Son, what are you staring at? Teach your wife a lesson! Have you read your books in vain?!"

Qiao Xuan was about to say something when Shao Yunduan shook his head at her slightly. "I will get my mother here!"

Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma both panicked. They were about to stop him when a cry was heard.

Qiao Xuan had just taken out her handkerchief and sobbed. "This is so unreasonable of you all! You are senior members, and you are bullying me unfairly! Why can't Elder Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law do what they want, but not me? Are you all looking down at me? What have I done to irritate you all?"

Qiao Xuan turned around and ran into the kitchen.

She was not in a position to argue with them, so she went to fetch her mother-in-law instead.

Soon Ms. Fang rushed out angrily and snapped at Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma. Follow the latest novels 𝒐𝒏 n𝒐

"Shame on you! Have you decided to continue dwelling on this minor thing? My daughter-in-law has just been married to our family and you, the so-called senior members are causing her trouble! You better have no daughter-in-law in the future, otherwise I will cause them trouble too!"

"Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma, just tell me, what has Ms. Qiao done so that she disrespects you all, only because she is not under your charge? You got your daughters to bully my Taotao and my daughter-in-law, damn you all! Bah!"

Eldest Uncle's face flushed. He felt that he was humiliated facing the newly-wedded daughter-in-law and his siblings' family. So he snapped. "Just stop it, Ms. Fang, we are all a family."

Ms. Fang, who was feeling so angry and annoyed inwardly, mumbled with a sneer. "You think we are all a family, but they don't think we are! Otherwise they would not have caused trouble to our daughter-in-law!"

"You!" Eldest Uncle got both embarrassed and annoyed.

He had not expected this to happen. He had thought that when Ms. Qiao made an apology, the whole thing would just pass.

Then nothing like this would have happened.

But Ms. Qiao just did not want to give in.

She could adjust her behavior as a junior member. She should not have countered the senior members. The whole family should be in harmony!

Ms. Ma argued. "You should give gifts to everyone, or you give them to no one. Ms. Qiao is just unfair, and we are not to be blamed."

"True!" Ms. Niu added, thinking that Ms. Ma was being clever for the first time as she hit the key point. "Ms. Qiao only gives presents to Taotao and Qing, because she looks differently at us two families and doesn't regard us as her own!"

Qiao Xuan blinked. "Aren't we already two families? We are not one, isn't that what Second Sister-in-law said? Of course I prioritize my own family when I have presents. Since there is none left, no one outside the immediate family would get anything!"