A Good Country Wife

Lin Yue watched Zhao Erhu rush to the city in such haste, thinking there must have been something urgent waiting for him to handle, so she didn’t ask any more questions.

After Zhao Erhu had gone to the city, Mrs. Liu came over and shared a big piece of local gossip with Lin Yue: Chunxi’s husband, Zhao Jingui, had returned, but he didn’t come back alone, he brought with him a *****. It’s said that he married this wife in the city, who was much prettier than Chunxi, exuding a feminine charm that made all the lecherous men in the village stare with gaping eyes.

This truly was massive news for the village. It had been several years since Zhao Jingui, Chunxi’s husband, was last seen, and everyone thought something bad might have befallen him. Even Chunxi and her family thought so. Now, Zhao Jingui had returned safe and sound, bringing with him a delicate *****. This set all the gossip-mongers’ eyes on them, as they loitered near Chunxi’s house all day long, doing nothing but trying to pick up some juicy bits of news.

There was indeed a bustle at Zhao Jingui’s house, and within no time, new information spread: Zhao Jingui intended to demote Chunxi from wife to concubine. Zhao Jingui’s household was in an uproar, with Chunxi seeking death and asking for life; the tumult of adults and children crying turned into a pitiful scene.

Understandably so. She had withstood several years of hardship waiting for her husband to come back, only for him to bring another woman home. And not just that, but he even intended to demote her from wife to concubine. That was something no one could tolerate. Zhao Jingui’s mother, of the You Family, was known for being fair, but unexpectedly, she did not stand up for Chunxi this time. Her only demand was that Zhao Jingui must not mistreat her grandson.

"Mother, that’s certain. Xiaoquan is my son as well, my only flesh and blood at the moment. How could I possibly mistreat my own child?" Zhao Jingui answered readily. Even if his mother did not mention it, Xiaoquan was his own son, after all.

The woman Zhao Jingui brought back was named You Family. Being clever, You Family, despite feeling uneasy inside, showed a very appropriate and generous attitude on the surface, quickly echoing Zhao Jingui’s words, "Yes, mother, Gui’s son is also my son. I will treat Xiaoquan as my own child. Don’t worry."

"That’s good. All I want now is to live peacefully with my grandson. Whatever else you want to do, I’m too lazy to care about, just don’t wrong my grandson." Mrs. You had been angered by Chunxi’s recent behavior. If Chunxi were a good woman, she wouldn’t let her son do such things. But Chunxi, a woman as fickle as the nature of water, was so ungrateful to even do that sort of thing despite how much Erhu’s wife, such a good person, had helped her family. She was truly heartless. Her son had finally returned, and she couldn’t be bothered to ruin their relationship over such a woman. It wasn’t worth it.