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Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Aunt and Sister-in-law Conflict 2
Lin Fengying and Si Boyi had no appetite left. After a quick meal and cleaning up, they thought about Si Xiaohui staying in Tong Yao’s bridal chamber, worrying that Tong Yao might have concerns. Lin took Tong Yao aside and said,
"Yaoyao, Xiaohui has been upset recently, crying about not having her own room. Since you two rarely come home, I let Xiaohui stay in your room. If you mind, I will ask her to move out right now."
"If Xiaohui wants to stay, let her stay, it’s okay, she doesn’t have to move. She just needs to not touch my stuff." Since she didn’t often return home, Tong Yao didn’t have much of an issue with this. However, she did want to make it clear regarding her belongings in the room.
Lin Fengying let out a sigh of relief, quickly promising, "You can rest assured, I’ve already told her not to touch your things."
Tong Yao nodded with a smile, "That’s alright then." It was just a room, so letting Si Xiaohui stay was acceptable. Once she earned money, she could just build a larger house for herself in the future.
She didn’t notice that Si Chen’s brows slightly furrowed upon hearing that Si Xiaohui was staying in their bridal room. He then walked to the door and gently knocked twice, "Xiaohui, open the door."
Shortly after, the door was pulled open from the inside. Si Xiaohui, her eyes reddened, looked at Si Chen, "Are you also here to scold me?"
Si Chen remained silent, stepping right past her into the room. A glint of panic flashed in Si Xiaohui’s eyes.
Having caught a glimpse of Si Xiaohui’s guilty demeanor, Tong Yao had a bad feeling. She quickly entered the room to check the boxes of belongings her parents had given her as part of her dowry. To her shock, it was worse than she had imagined.
Before leaving, she had neatly put her belongings into two large redwood boxes and even locked them. Now, the locks on both boxes were broken.
"How did the locks break?" Lin Fengying, who just entered, also noticed this. She looked at the boxes with a pained expression. These two redwood boxes were part of her daughter-in-law’s dowry. The boxes weren’t cheap, and they were intact when she cleaned the room when Tong Yao left.
"Isn’t it obvious?" Si Boyi glared at Si Xiaohui. "There’s no one else living in this room. Who else can it be but Xiaohui?"
He had not expected Si Xiaohui to dare to touch Tong Yao’s dowry gifts. Boyi was angry at the sight, feeling they had lost face: Tong Yao had come from the city, in a better condition compared to their rural family. By doing such a thing, Si Xiaohui was essentially trampling on their family’s name.
Lin Fengying hit Si Xiaohui out of frustration, "You foolish girl, didn’t I tell you not to touch Yaoyao’s things?" Recalling the promise she had made to Tong Yao moments before, she felt like slapping herself.
Caught in the act, Si Xiaohui felt panicked. Yet, she stubbornly defended herself, "Who told her to lock her things up like we were thieves? If she doesn’t want me to touch them, then I will."
Lin Fengying was furious and upset. She never imagined her once obedient daughter would have changed so drastically. She felt too ashamed to face Tong Yao and her elder son, saying in fuming anger, "Yaoyao, I failed to discipline Xiaohui. Check what is missing, and I will replace it for you."
Tong Yao did not say anything. Pouting, she opened the boxes, only to find more than half of the items missing. Two unused pure cotton bedsheets on the top layer were gone, as were several lipsticks and hair ties with scarves. Even two autumn coats were missing.
The more she looked, the angrier Tong Yao became. She turned to Si Xiaohui and questioned, "Where did my sheets, clothes, hair ties and lipsticks go?"
If Si Xiaohui had asked to use these things, she would have been more than willing to give them to her. But taking them without asking was considered theft. If she let her off easy this time, she would only get worse. Tong Yao refused to indulge her.
Si Xiaohui retorted arrogantly, "You took all the money my brother earned, so what’s wrong with me using some of your things?"
Upon hearing this, Si Boyi couldn’t hold back his anger and scolded, "Those are your sister-in-law’s things. What makes you think you can use them?" As her elder brother, he felt intensely embarrassed by his sister’s actions.
Many people in the city looked down upon country folks. Now that Si Xiaohui had done such a thing, she had dragged their whole family’s reputation through the mud.
Lin Fengying was so angry that her lips were trembling, "Speak up, where did you take the things? They are part of your sister-in-law’s dowry, who told you to touch them?"
Upon seeing everyone siding with Tong Yao, Si Xiaohui became panic-stricken and played the victim, "Why don’t you all just kill me? Ever since she came to this house, you all favor her. Who’s your real daughter, who’s your real sister? You all favor outsiders! Even if outsiders bully me, you all bully me too. If you really want me dead, just say so! I can die right now, so I won’t be a burden to you!"
Sure enough, hearing that she wanted to die, Si Boyi and Lin Fengying were visibly disturbed. They confessed that they hadn’t shown much concern for Si Xiaohui recently, when she was having a hard time outside.
Now that she had taken the things, they couldn’t very well drive her to suicide over it.
Seeing her daughter crying her eyes out, Lin Fengying didn’t know what to do. She was both distressed and conflicted over how to handle the situation when Si Chen, who had so far been silent, suddenly spoke.
"Where did you take the things?"
His voice was indifferent, and though he didn’t seem angry, his demeanor was even more frightening than if he’d been throwing a fit.
Si Xiaohui’s sobbing immediately stopped. Among all her family members, she wasn’t afraid of her mother or her second brother, but she was afraid of her eldest brother.
Clutching at straws, she choked back her tears and asked, "Brother, do you also want to push me to death?"
Tong Yao, furious, glared at Si Chen. Her eyes were filled with murderous intent. Humph! If Si Chen favored Si Xiaohui this time, she would move out of the family home and live alone once she returned.
Si Chen clearly didn’t fall for Si Xiaohui’s act. Frowning, he asked, "Where did you take the things?"
Realizing she couldn’t fool them, Si Xiaohui finally confessed in a soft voice: "I used the lipsticks and gave one to Lijuan. I also used the hair ties. The bedsheets were taken to the tailor shop to be turned into clothes. I didn’t have money to pay for the tailoring fees, so I used your coats as payment."
If she could have worn Tong Yao’s clothes, she would not have grudgingly used them to cover the fees. After all, Tong Yao’s clothes clearly looked much more expensive than the tailoring fees.
Lin Fengying almost fainted upon hearing this. She furiously asked, "Where are the new clothes made from the bedsheets? Why haven’t I seen them?"
Si Xiaohui replied with an aggrieved expression, "I was afraid you all would find out, so I kept them hidden and didn’t dare to wear them."
After she spoke, she pulled out a dress and two jackets from under her pillow. The clothes were brand new and shiny, clearly never worn before.
Lin Fengying poked Si Xiaohui’s forehead, "Are you trying to kill me with anger?"
With the situation having progressed this far, Lin Fengying really had no other options. Extremely embarrassed, she said, "Yaoyao, these two outfits were made from your bedsheets, so take them with you to the city to wear. I will also buy two new bedsheets for you, and however much your lipsticks and hair ties cost, I will repay you. It’s my fault for not disciplining my daughter properly."
