Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Making Mischief (9)_1 Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Making Mischief (9)_1 A circle of people shook their heads, looking at the delicate and tender, pale and soft Ruan Jiaojiao not too far away, indeed finding it hard to believe.
The Li Family continued, âIt was just two pheasants, and if she wanted them, so be it, but after taking them to cook and eat, she didnât even let my daughter and son-in-law get a glimpse of the meat!â
âLater, a wild boar was finally encountered, and this time it was the four brothers who hunted it together. Shouldnât the meat be divided equally then? Right? But do you know what her mother-in-law did? Out of more than two hundred fifty pounds of meat, her eldest son got one hundred pounds, and the rest was divided among the other sons, while she herself took the spare scraps straight to her eldest sonâs house.â
âAll this is just food, missing a bite wonât make much difference, but her sonâs leg was broken yet she could refuse to help, keeping all the money for her eldest son to build a house. Thatâs not all; she even had the nerve to send my daughter back to ask us for money. Can you believe having such a mother? Isnât this heartless? Even a stepmother wouldnât be this cruel, right?â
The Li Familyâs expression was convincing, and her speech rose and fell dramatically as she spoke. Most of the onlookers believed her words, but there were still those who expressed disbelief: âThese are all born of the same mother; how could she be so biased?â
No sooner had this been said than someone retorted, âItâs not impossible; I heard long ago that the Ruan Family favors the granddaughter over the grandsons. With nine boys, they finally have one granddaughter; maybe itâs a case of ârarity makes preciousâ?â
ââRarity makes precious,â and now youâre quoting literature?â someone laughed at the person who had just spoken.
The bystanders also laughed, and even the person who had made the remark laughed, adding, âI heard this expression in the radio dramas.â
The Li Family, noticing the topic drifting away, hurriedly brought their attention back: âWhat do you think, isnât what her mother-in-law did cold-hearted? I came here today not looking to make trouble, just wanting the Ruan Family to give a clear statement.â
âWhat kind of clear statement?â
âHow much money she took out for her eldest son to build his house. I wonât even mention my son-in-law, just the other sons, they should get equal treatment, right?â the Li Family responded.
âThatâs fair,â they agreed.
âThatâs fair,â echoed several people, satisfying the Li Family as she watched. She simply wanted to swing public opinion to her side, so that when the commotion started, sheâd have people to back her up.
However,
she had forgotten that the Ruanlin Family was no pushover, willing to let her tarnish their name. As she spoke here, someone had already rushed over to report to them, and upon hearing this, Ruanlinâs expression immediately darkened.
To them, Liao Zhaoji was like a single ratâs dropping ruining the entire pot of porridge for the Ruan Family, utterly loathsome.
Ruan Jiandang still had a plaster cast on his leg, which should have kept him in the hospital for two more days, but their small household had run out of money and had been relying on the Ruanlin Familyâs funds. He felt uncomfortable about this, and since Ruan Jianguo was constructing a house, he, despite the inconvenience of his injured leg, wanted to help out and so had checked out of the hospital early. After all, his condition wasnât serious and rested on recuperation.
The intent to divorce Liao Zhaoji was there, even after returning, he didnât bring it upânot because his heart had softened or he had changed his mind, but because he didnât want to create a commotion during such a festive time, bringing bad luck to his eldest brother.
Ruanlin shared this sentiment, so she turned a blind eye to whatever Liao Zhaoji did, no matter how displeasing, for the past few days.
Moreover, although divorce was not a rare event nowadays, society still tended to be more critical of divorced women. Ruanlin didnât want to ruin her prospects of remarrying.
But now that she had given Liao Zhaoji face and she had the audacity to shamelessly act first, no one could blame her for publicly humiliating her in return.