CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 248: THE FOURTH HOUSE WANTS TO SPLIT (THIRD UPDATE)

Mu Zhenzhen ran crying to the Old Mu Family just as they were having dinner. A bowl of meat soup was placed in the most prominent spot; Old Mrs. Mu first served Mr. Mu, then Mu Xiangxiang, and then Mu Dazhong.

Finally, it was Mu Danian’s turn. He watched Old Mrs. Mu’s hand holding the soup ladle, ready to ladle it into his bowl.

Mu Zhenzhen burst in. "Mom, save some for me."

Old Mrs. Mu quickly withdrew her hand, picked up the entire bowl of meat soup, and placed it beside herself.

"What’s wrong, my dear daughter? What happened? Did someone bully you? Or did someone hit you?"

Mu Zhenzhen’s face was flushed, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were torn, as if she had been beaten up. Old Mrs. Mu held Mu Zhenzhen, calling her sweetheart, and started crying fiercely.

The others also stepped forward to comfort Mu Zhenzhen.

Only Mu Danian felt like the sky was falling; the meat that was so close to his mouth had flown away.

It was clearly his turn! How could it just disappear?

Mu Danian was extremely frustrated. Why was he so unlucky, and why couldn’t this wretched second sister come in a little later?

The Old Mu Family members acted as if they had encountered a major life and death event, showing extreme concern for Mu Zhenzhen.

But apart from Old Mrs. Mu and Mr. Mu, there weren’t many who were genuinely concerned.

Mrs. Jin anxiously asked, "Zhenzhen, did you borrow the fifty taels of silver?"

In the morning, Mu Zhenzhen left in a very high-profile manner, which made Mrs. Jin feel hopeful that her husband might still be able to borrow those fifty taels of silver, but now her sister-in-law returned looking very disheveled.

Hopefully this time, it hadn’t failed again.

Mu Zhenzhen covered her eyes, sobbing. "I’m sorry, sister-in-law, I borrowed the silver, but it got stolen halfway, and they even took my jewelry and clothes. If I hadn’t run fast, I would’ve lost my life."

"What? The silver’s gone?" Mrs. Jin’s face turned ashen, and she grabbed Mu Zhenzhen’s sleeve to question her. "How could such a big thing happen and you come back alone? Why didn’t you let Zhuangzi accompany you back? You know how important this silver is to your brother, you..."

Mu Zhenzhen looked bewildered. She was just leveraging the situation; even if she did borrow the silver, she would have to think it over carefully before deciding whether to give it, so why was Mrs. Jin speaking to her like this?

Before Mu Zhenzhen could speak, Mu Xiangxiang chimed in. "Sister-in-law, my second sister is already like this, why are you saying such sarcastic things, making it sound like my second sister wanted to be robbed. If you’re in such a hurry to find silver for big brother, go borrow it from your home, don’t use my second sister as a scapegoat, she’s a living person, she can feel pain."

Mu Xiangxiang was the Old Mu Family’s only unwed daughter, and being young, she was treated extremely delicately. With her joining in, Old Mrs. Mu directly kicked Mrs. Jin.

"Move aside, you vile woman, don’t get in the way here."

Mrs. Jin was kicked to the ground, Mu Dandan and Mu Yingying rushed up to help her, Mu Yingying opened her mouth and was about to argue with Old Mrs. Mu, but Mrs. Jin pinched her arm.

"Patience in small matters leads to peace in big matters!"

She had to endure it; once her husband became a scholar, she could break away from these shameless, poor relatives.

"Sweetie, Zhenzhen, don’t cry, mom has already taught your sister-in-law a good lesson. If you have any grievances, tell mom, mom will help you out."

Mu Zhenzhen wasn’t truly sad in the first place. She cried because of the strange taste of the dumplings at the third branch, which suffocated her. Crying made her feel better.

"Mom, Zhuangzi divorced me, saying I... saying I focused too much on my maternal family. Those fifty taels of silver were the last connection between us; from now on... from now on I can’t go to Zhuangzi’s place anymore."

"What? That lazy wretch dared to divorce you? I’ll confront him, see if I don’t carve up that brat. He ate so much of this old woman’s rice, and says he’ll divorce my daughter just like that!" Old Mrs. Mu shot up, ready to rush out, but was stopped by Mu Zhenzhen.

"Mom, please don’t go, I couldn’t bear the shame!"

The members of the Old Mu Family were somewhat shocked by the news of Mu Zhenzhen’s divorce.

After all, a woman getting divorced wasn’t a glorious thing, especially now when the Old Mu Family had Mu Dade aiming for the title of Champion Scholar.

People say a divorced woman is worse off than a dog (in ancient times), and even if it turned into a big deal with the husband’s family, it might not end well.

"Then what should we do?" Old Mrs. Mu was at a loss.

"Let big brother take the exam. If he becomes a scholar, I will go to Zhuangzi’s house and show them how blind they were to dismiss me."

"But we have no travel expenses!" Old Mrs. Mu furrowed her brow, sighed, and then said. "That stubborn girl from the third branch has a heart of stone; she won’t hand over the formula even if it kills her, and the third son is despicable. Sigh, why did I give birth to such an ungrateful child? If I had known, I should’ve strangled him at birth...."

Mu Dajiang, the old Mu family’s fourth son, felt a pang in his heart listening to Old Mrs. Mu’s curses.

He had a premonition that someday his mother might curse him like this too.

Mu Dajiang glanced at his daughter Xiaxia’s bowl, containing half a sweet potato, a few black soybeans, and two greens, which was worse than what Shuang used to eat.

Mu Dajiang suddenly had an idea; maybe the fourth branch should consider separating.

Otherwise, the children might really starve to death.

Mu Zhenzhen felt she had stirred up enough emotion, so she got to the point. "Mom, why not let big sis advance the money first? Let big brother write her an IOU, and when he becomes a scholar, he can pay her back."

Mu Xianxian, who was watching with interest, stiffened her face and quickly said. "Mom, I’d like to lend it, but as you know, Jianmin and I’s shoe store hasn’t been doing well recently, and I don’t call the shots in the Cao Family, you see...."

"Big sis, stop making excuses. You know full well whether you manage the accounts at the Cao Family; otherwise, you wouldn’t be looking to take a recipe from Shuangzi."

Mu Zhenzhen was quite articulate at this point, exposing all of Mu Xianxian’s tricks.

Mu Xianxian’s face shifted colors, but she still wouldn’t relent.

She had refused her father’s request for money back then. If she agreed now, wouldn’t she be slapping herself?

And she only wanted the recipe; if her family couldn’t get it, she wouldn’t give in. At worst, she wouldn’t want the recipe anymore.

"Dad, Mom, since Xianxian’s been staying here for a night, the household might be running behind. I’ll head back early tomorrow morning. If there’s anything you’d like to eat, let me know, and I’ll have the servants bring it to you when I get back."

This was Mu Xianxian’s usual tactic: avoid a situation when she couldn’t refuse. At worst, she’d never come back again, and since Xiangxiang was brought back, there’d be one less mouth to feed, saving a considerable amount of money for her own family.