Chapter 171: Respectful and Obedient_1
"It’s not as serious as you’re making it out to be." But having trespassed on her sovereignty, Lin Yue acted like a pushover around Zhao Erhu, who only showed her fear when she truly annoyed him. Despite her fear, she still mumbled under her breath, not willing to give in. Seeing Lin Yue’s unrepentant demeanor, Zhao Erhu’s expression grew even uglier.
It seemed he had spoiled his little wife too much these past days, and now Niuniu was getting out of hand, increasingly disrespectful towards him, her husband—and he couldn’t allow that. Slamming his hand on the table with a force that startled Lin Yue, he expressed his disapproval.
"Nonsense! Just look at what a mess you’ve made of yourself these past few days. Do you really have no wish to live? Let me tell you, from now on you follow the routine I’ve set for you to the letter. If you behave like you did these past days, see if I don’t deal with you!" Zhao Erhu, of course, would never really do anything to Lin Yue, but he had to flex the authority of the head of the household to intimidate his little wife.
Lin Yue had initially felt guilty about her attitude towards Zhao Erhu, which had angered him, but now she bristled at his domineering orders. If she caved to Zhao Erhu this time, she would end up completely under his thumb in the future. In matters between husband and wife, it was either the east wind that prevailed over the west or vice versa, based on who was more dominant.
With this in mind, Lin Yue’s attitude towards Zhao Erhu became much tougher. Of course, a direct confrontation with Zhao Erhu wouldn’t work—her slight frame was no match for him, and she stood no chance of winning. If the hard approach wasn’t possible, she’d have to resort to softer tactics.
Lin Yue went through all the possible strategies in her head and picked the most simple and crude method: to act up, play the victim, cry, make a fuss, and threaten self-harm. These were time-tested secret weapons a woman could use against a man, still effective after many years and used by many women. Hadn’t the elder sister-in-law employed the same tactics against Zhao Erhu? And in the end, he was helpless against her until Lin Yue had to intervene and handle the situation herself.
No sooner said than done, Lin Yue’s eyes flashed, her expression instantly turning sorrowful, her large eyes misting over as she looked accusingly at Zhao Erhu, "Zhao Erhu, you heartless man, all the hard work I do is for this family! How dare you yell at me! Waaah, you’re so heartless, I can’t live this life anymore. You ungrateful wretch of a man, your conscience must have been eaten by a dog, I might as well die now..."
Zhao Erhu was genuinely worried that he might have really frightened his little wife, considering how timid she used to be. Although she was much better now and no longer afraid of him, fundamentally, she hadn’t changed, had she?
But as soon as he heard Lin Yue call him a ’heartless butcher,’ Zhao Erhu started to get worked up. His brow furrowed deeply, and he became exasperated, wondering which shrew had corrupted his wife during the days he had been unconscious. If he found out who, he would certainly put an end to their association, to prevent his wife from being led astray—he would be the one to suffer the headache.
Listen to this, just listen to all this nonsense she’s spouting—it’s getting more and more outlandish. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was a heartless brute who bullied his wife.