Seeing the flash of triumph in Qian Xiaoqingâs eyes after hearing those words, Yang Chuxia couldnât help feeling annoyedâwhat a pair of fools, aunt and niece both.
"Second auntie, donât take this the wrong way, but youâre not so old as to be all bones yetâwhy canât you wash clothes? And even if you canât wash them, canât this beloved niece of yours? Sheâs been staying at your house for so long; whatâs wrong with helping out by washing a few clothes?"
At this point, Yang Chuxia decided to lay it all out. "Everyone knows what youâre trying to do, second auntie, and Iâm sorry to speak bluntly, but only because my cousin has a good temperament does she put up with your scheming. If it were me, you think Iâd tolerate having a girl in the house who dreams all day of climbing into my husbandâs bed and then expect me to wait on her? You must be dreaming! I would have thrown her out long ago."
"You, you, you always meddle too much!" Ms.Qian of the Wang Familyâs face turned red when Yang Chuxia spoke so bluntly. She had indeed wanted to matchmake her niece with her son, but that didnât mean she didnât know it was wrong. Being called out like this, she couldnât save face.
"Enough nonsense. I donât need you meddling in my familyâs affairs. Where is my nephew? Have him come out to me."
"Who do you think I am, interested in poking my nose into your familyâs business?" snorted Yang Chuxia. "I had no intention of meddling. But if youâre looking for your son, go search somewhere else; my cousin isnât in our village."
"Second sister-in-law, my nephew really isnât at my home," said Ms.Wang, joining in at the right time.
In her heart, Ms.Wang thought, from the way her second sister-in-law spoke, it seemed her niece-in-law must have taken the children back to her parental home. Therefore, she was all the more reluctant to divulge her nephewâs whereabouts.
"No, I donât believe it. He has nowhere else to go but your place. Iâm going to search, and if you donât let me, Iâll just park myself at your house and not leave." Ms.Qian of the Wang Family was convinced her son was there.
Hearing her unreasonable bluster, Yang Dachuan simply waved his hand, "Take these two aunt and niece and let them search."
Ms.Qian and Qian Xiaoqing, as if injected with adrenaline, rushed into the yard.
But after looking through one room after another, one courtyard after another, there indeed was no one to be found.
What remained were Yang Xiayunâs courtyard and the courtyard of Yang Qingrui and his brothers that had yet to be searched.
Yang Xiayun straight away blocked them, "Donât you dare search my courtyard. Whoever tries, Iâll beat them up!" And with that, her eyes narrowed slightly, her furious demeanor reminding Qian Xiaoqing of Yang Chuxia from the past.
"You brat, I want to see if your cousin is here or not!" Ms.Qian of the Wang Family was rude, pushing past to enter.
"Stop her! Letâs see who dares to be presumptuous in my courtyard," Yang Xiayun commanded, "Second auntie, youâd better think before you speak. My room is my private space, and even if he is a cousin, heâs still an outsider; how could he possibly be in my courtyard?"
Thinking it over, Ms.Qian realized her logic was soundâher niece was already betrothed to a nobleman from the Capital City, and she surely wouldnât jeopardize that by hiding someone in her room and giving anyone leverage against her.
With that in mind, she moved on to Yang Qingruiâs courtyard.
Upon seeing Yang Xiayunâs courtyard and the maids behind her, Qian Xiaoqing felt a pang of jealousyâthose two sisters were just too lucky.
When they reached Yang Qingruiâs courtyard, he had just stepped out of his study. He was immediately displeased to hear that his courtyard would be searched.
"Second auntie, are you joking? No one is allowed to search my courtyard," Yang Qingrui refused directly. "My cousin isnât at our place, and not only can you not search my courtyard, but you canât search the others either. What do you think you are, the government? Thereâs a saying, that searching signifies a familyâs decline. What exactly are you trying to imply, second auntie?"