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Chapter 320: Chapter 320: The Hen That Doesn’t Lay Eggs
However, Si Xiaohui was not willing to yield. With her brother-in-law’s support now, she wasn’t afraid of Tong Yao at all, "What do you mean I’m creating trouble out of nothing? Our mom came all the way from Li City and you didn’t bother visiting her. Now we came to see you, and we’ve been waiting outside for ages. Is this how a daughter-in-law should behave?"
Tong Yao was originally going to ask Lin Fengying if she had eaten, but upon hearing Si Xiaohui’s words, she replied sarcastically, "If you’re such an expert at being a daughter-in-law, why don’t you bring your mother-in-law home and treat her like a queen?" 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
"You..."
Si Xiaohui was left speechless and flushed with anger.
Tong Yao knowingly pointed out that she and Song Yu had eloped, deliberately making such remarks. Wasn’t it clear that she was disrespecting her and rubbing salt in her wound?
Si Xiaohui’s eyes turned red with grievance as she pulled Lin Fengying in front of Tong Yao, "Mom, are you just going to stand there and let her bully me?"
Lin Fengying was at a loss as to how to handle the squabble between her daughter and daughter-in-law, but was surprised when her daughter dragged her into it. She sighed helplessly, "You both need to stop this. We’re all family. It would be embarrassing if outsiders see us arguing like this so early in the morning."
Tong Yao curved her lips in an implied smirk, "Do we lack in scandals? "
There were already issues with her mother-in-law and brother-in-law, and now there were problems with Si Xiaohui and Song Yu. Even though she didn’t live in the village, she knew that their family had long become the laughing stock of others.
They committed shameful deeds yet were afraid of being laughed at - wasn’t this just foolish denial?
Upon hearing this, Lin Fengying shot Tong Yao a guilty glance, feeling there was a hidden meaning in her words.
However, Si Xiaohui thought that Tong Yao was targeting her. She heated up like a balloon about to burst, "What do you mean by what you said, Tong Yao? Are you saying that I am shameless and that I embarrassed myself by eloping with Song Yu?"
Before Tong Yao could respond, she continued, rapid-fire, "So what if I eloped with Song Yu? My mom and my brother didn’t say anything, who are you to judge? I lost face, but it didn’t affect you, did it? Who do you think you are?"
Song Yu quickly held Si Xiaohui and whispered, "Xiaohui, what are you doing? Apologize to your sister-in-law right now."
He was genuinely afraid that Si Xiaohui would start a fight with Tong Yao. His uncle was kind to them, but he had his own family. How long can he take care of them once Si Xiaohui and Tong Yao ruin their relationship?
His elder brother and sister-in-law were his closest relatives. If he managed to offend them too, that would really be throwing away a winning hand.
Not to mention when they get married, his brother might be generous and give them a larger dowry. If they break their ties now, they would end up with nothing.
Lin Fengying also tried to calm them down, "Yes, Xiaohui, quickly apologize to your sister-in-law."
Although she was asking Si Xiaohui to apologize to Tong Yao, her attitude was rather nonchalant and carried a hint of indulgence. It was clear that she was trying to take advantage of the situation to teach Tong Yao a lesson.
Tong Yao was no fool, she could clearly see Lin Fengying’s attitude. Instead of getting angry, she simply laughed.
"You’re right, I’m neither a green onion nor a garlic bulb, so why don’t you leave my store? I can’t fit such a big Buddha in this small shop of mine."
Si Xiaohui felt as if she had punched cotton. Seeing that Tong Yao didn’t seem to care and was even telling her to leave, she became even angrier. She shoved Song Yu away and glared at Tong Yao.
"What right do you have to kick me out? This is my brother’s territory too. As his sister, I have every right to be here. Who do you think you are?"
Now that her uncle was backing her and helping her open a store, she didn’t have to rely on Tong Yao anymore. Furthermore, her elder brother wasn’t present, so she felt empowered and fearless.
She wasn’t stupid, her mom didn’t scold her loudly, which clearly meant she supported her. Since that was the case, what was there to be afraid of?
So what if Tong Yao was capable?
As a woman, wasn’t she still dependent on a man for her livelihood?
Besides, Tong Yao and her brother had been married for such a long time and they still didn’t have a child. Maybe she couldn’t even conceive. It was a blessing that her brother hadn’t divorced her yet. Who did she think she was?
Thinking of this, Si Xiaohui looked disdainfully at Tong Yao’s stomach, blurted out, "You’ve been married for over a year and there’s still no movement in your belly. What’s the difference between you and a barren hen? If it weren’t for my brother’s consideration for your father, he would have dumped you a long time ago. There are plenty of women who would love to be with my brother, you are not indispensable..."
"Slap..."
A loud slap silenced Si Xiaohui. In disbelief, she covered her face, unable to recover for a long while.
Song Yu and Lin Fengying were equally shocked by Tong Yao’s action. They never imagined she would actually hit someone, and paused, stunned at the sight.
Tong Yao shook her hand off, her eyes were icy cold as she stared at Si Xiaohui, "What Ahchen thinks is between us as husband and wife, it’s none of your business. It’s certainly none of your business when it comes to having a child. If I hear you talking nonsense in front of me next time, slapping will be the least of your concerns."
All three present were witnessing Tong Yao’s wrath for the first time. Despite her young age, Tong Yao had experienced two lifetimes, and there was always a mysterious fierceness in her eyes. It was like a cold knife, piercing straight through the heart, making people feel chills down to their bones.
Si Xiaohui, frightened, backed down immediately, lying low after being subdued. It wasn’t until she realized that she had been slapped, that she turned to pull Lin Fengying and weep uncontrollably.
"Mom, she hit me! You could never bear to hit me, how could she?"
Lin Fengying returned to her senses, looking at her daughter’s reddened cheek from the slap, her own expression became serious. Tong Yao had slapped Si Xiaohui in front of her, clearly disregarding her as a mother-in-law. However, she was inherently weak and couldn’t confront Tong Yao directly, especially after witnessing her intensity earlier.
But as a mother-in-law, she couldn’t appear too weak in front of her daughter-in-law either. After a while, Lin Fengying, with a long face, spoke, "Yaoyao, it’s true that Xiaohui deserved a slap for her foul mouth, but while I’m present, it’s not anyone else’s place to discipline her."
Tong Yao cast an emotionless glance at Lin Fengying, "Had you disciplined her while she was insulting me, I wouldn’t have taken matters into my own hands."
Feeling Tong Yao’s scrutiny, Lin Fengying grew nervous. She had neither the wit nor the justification to reply at that moment.
Frustrated at her mother’s timid behavior, Si Xiaohui turned angrily to Song Yu, "Are you blind? Did you not see me getting slapped?"
Truthfully, Si Xiaohui had always found Song Yu pleasing back in Li City, as she always felt he had a promising future. However, since coming to Kyoto, seeing the city’s prosperity and her uncle’s kindness towards her made her feel like she had transformed from a country chicken into a phoenix. Gradually, she started to look down on Song Yu.
As her sense of superiority gradually grew, her attitude towards Song Yu also started to change. Now, seeing Song Yu not standing up for her, she felt even more outraged than when she was slapped by Tong Yao.
