CHAPTER 1339: CHAPTER 683: TURNING OUT THE DIRTY LAUNDRY (PART 2)

Lady Zhou sat restlessly, her face ashen.

Lian Lanlan sat next to Lady Zhou, perching on the very edge of her chair, her face turning alternately red and pale.

"A life..." Lian Manman shot Lady Zhou a cold smile, then turned her head to Lian Zhizhi and said, "Sister, do you know why whenever there’s any sign of trouble with the Old Master or Old Mistress over at the old residence, Father and Mother immediately arrange to call a doctor?"

"I don’t know." Lian Zhizhi said.

"I don’t know either. I asked Father, and he said he couldn’t really explain it, just felt like doing it. Whether it’s a real illness or a fake one. Father also said, everyone has a heart, and the human heart is made of flesh." Lian Manman said.

"Not necessarily." Lian Zhizhi said.

"Yes, it depends on the person." Lian Manman said, "Father said Xiao Ba died because there was no one to call a doctor for him. Xiao Ba’s real parents can’t be like Xiao Ba; they’re doing it as a way to repay the debt owed to Xiao Ba back then."

"Debts always have to be repaid. If not paid off when alive, they must be continued to be paid even after death." Lian Zhizhi said.

"Some people really have so many debts they aren’t worried at all." Lian Manman glanced at Lady Zhou, hinting deeply.

Back then, when Lady Zhang was in such a critical condition, Lady Zhou stubbornly refused to call a doctor, leaving Lady Zhang nearly dead with her unborn child. But now, Lady Zhou feigns illness just to spend money calling a doctor to buy sweet soup.

Is there any stronger contrast than this? If Lady Zhou had even a bit of a conscience, how could she brazenly manage such an act?

Lian Manman subtly looked over and saw Lady Zhou sitting rigidly in the chair, sweat on her forehead soaking her hair.

Lian Manman knew Lady Zhou was now very uncomfortable, both physically and mentally. For someone like Lady Zhou from a farmstead family, a lifetime spent sitting cross-legged on a heated-bed platform, sitting on a chair or bench was always unfamiliar.

Lian Zhizhi and Lian Manman chatted slowly, moving from one topic to another, all mentioning Lady Zhou’s harsh treatment of Lady Zhang. Lady Zhou and Lian Lanlan listened beside them, inevitably breaking into cold sweat, but dared not interrupt.

What Lian Manman was doing now, farmstead folks had a slang term for it, called "turning the small intestine", which meant digging up past ugly deeds and misdeeds, also known as settling old scores.

Since the person came to them, it would be a pity not to take advantage and reprimand them properly. Moreover, people like Lady Zhou tend to forget their own misdeeds, not reminding her might lead her to genuinely believe she is somehow noble, a great benefactor deserving of anything.

Lian Manman and Lian Zhizhi leisurely conversed, while Lady Zhang closed her eyes, leaning back and dozing off.

This was rough on Lady Zhou and Lian Lanlan.

Lian Lanlan was anxiously wanting to butt in, to plead with Lady Zhang for help, but dared not speak. Lady Zhou was well aware of her treatment towards daughters-in-law and grandsons and granddaughters. Now, she was asking them for help; if they started airing grievances, fiercely so, and she interrupted, risking annoyance, potentially leading to no help at all, what then?

She had to let them vent, at least they were not cursing or hitting, merely talking, which was relatively polite.

Lady Zhou felt as uncomfortable as Lian Lanlan, but not out of urgency, rather stifled resentment.

Yesterday, why did she pretend to be foolish? Not solely due to being skinned so harshly by Old Master Lian, where she couldn’t maintain her dignity, opting to feign ignorance instead. Lady Zhou feigned foolishness for another crucial reason; she shrewdly realized what was about to unfold.

Lian Lanlan was determined to save Jin Suo’s father and son, and to save them, Wu Lang’s help was essential. Lady Zhang would not respond to calls, and Old Master Lian’s fury made Lady Zhou aware that for Lian Shouxin’s family to help, she had to step forward. She couldn’t just hold a sovereign posture as an elder and give orders; she had to humbly lower herself before Lady Zhang.

No one knew better than Lady Zhou herself what she had done to Lian Shouxin’s family, though she would never admit it aloud. Therefore, no one understood better than her what she owed Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang’s family.

Thus, she chose to feign foolish rather than sick. You could still expect a sick person to speak a few words, but you couldn’t place any demands on someone mentally dull, as that would be unrealistic.

Unfortunately, her act fell apart, though no one directly exposed her. She did not want to drink that bitter medicine again, and Lian Lanlan’s pleading was unbearable.

Yes, it was after Lian Manman and the others left that Lian Lanlan repeatedly pleaded, which led to Lady Zhou "regaining her senses".

Ultimately, Lian Lanlan was her own daughter. Her sons had their wives and children, no need for her to worry, but her daughters, being wives and mothers in other households, needed to bear so much, so it fell on her to care for them.

Lady Zhou always believed daughters were extensions of herself, a younger version living again through them. If daughters lived poorly, Lady Zhou shared that pain. Moreover, she felt if her daughters lived poorly while daughters-in-law lived well, it was akin to her personally suffering beneath the daughters-in-law’s well-being, which she couldn’t stand.

Her eldest daughter was already ruined, only this eldest daughter remained by her side; she absolutely couldn’t let her be ruined too.

Her willingness to come, was already a gesture of submission and self-abasement to Lady Zhang. Doing this was not solely for Lian Lanlan’s sake. No matter how much she adored her daughter, Lady Zhou wouldn’t soften to Lady Zhang just for her daughter.

Feigning foolishly, she naturally heard Lian Shouren and Lian Shouyi’s reproaches toward Lian Lanlan, and later also heard Lady Da Zhou’s blame on Lian Lanlan.

She was even more afraid than Lian Lanlan.

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The first Chapter is presented, attempting for more updates shortly, catching a cold, unsure if it can be typed out, continuing to request base monthly votes. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes, monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)