A Good Country Wife

"Do you think I don’t dare? You stinking woman, vixen, you’ve confused Erhu until he doesn’t know what’s good for him and doesn’t recognize his own kin anymore." Zhao Yunxiang somehow convinced herself that Zhao Erhu’s refusal to lend her money was instigated by Lin Yue. She didn’t realize Lin Yue wouldn’t have known about her borrowing money issue, yet she blamed all of Erhu’s changes on Lin Yue.

"Sister-in-law, don’t go too far. After all, where did my sister-in-law offend you? You seem to always target her. It was clearly your son, Lin Youjin, who was bullying his brother, trying to snatch his things, and not only that, he was beating and kicking his own sister. Sister-in-law didn’t say anything, so how could it be her instigation?" Liu said, sticking to the facts. Although she felt partial toward Lin Yue, she didn’t distort the truth because of that.

Zhao Yunxiang, however, saw it differently. In her eyes, Liu had sided with Lin Yue against her not once but twice. She had kept her grievances to herself out of respect for her elder brother, but now she could no longer contain her anger. Sneering, she looked at Liu with mockery, "How much benefit did this sly fox from the Lin Family give you to make you speak up for her like this?"

Liu, mocked by Zhao Yunxiang in such a manner, turned red with anger and frustration. She was speaking out of a sense of fairness because it was Zhao Yunxiang who was in the wrong, but now, because Lin Yue had recently paid her a generous wage, she felt somewhat uneasy. Accused by Zhao Yunxiang, she began to feel guilty, and her words lost their initial clarity and decisiveness, "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? I’m just speaking about the matter at hand, don’t make a fuss."

"Zhao Yunxiang, if you have a problem, it’s with me. What does my big sister-in-law have to do with it? She’s telling the truth. Don’t bite like a mad dog. If you have an issue, come directly at me. If I’m scared of you, I won’t carry the name Lin."

Lin Yue felt that her patience had been sufficient in the past, and even though Zhao Yunxiang hadn’t gained any advantage, Lin Yue had been on the defensive. This time, she took the initiative. Thanks to the previous encounters, people already thought of Zhao Yunxiang as someone who liked to pick on and trouble Lin Yue. If the two of them came into conflict, anybody would first think of Zhao Yunxiang as the instigator. Indeed, that was the case, but without Lin Yue’s provocation, things wouldn’t have escalated so severely. However, given Zhao Yunxiang’s volatile temper, especially when facing Lin Yue, she was easily set off like a firecracker.

"If I don’t take care of you, the little vixen, today, I won’t be called Zhao Yunxiang."

And so, it was unclear who threw the first punch, but what everyone saw was Zhao Yunxiang scratching Lin Yue first, and then they started fighting. What was originally a children’s quarrel escalated into an adult conflict, with Liu trying to break it up.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, what are you doing? You’re grown adults fighting like this, the kids are watching. Stop it, stop fighting!"