Farm Girl's Manor

Madame Zhao, who had originally thought her son’s words were reasonable, immediately sided with Mrs. Zhao upon hearing her beloved daughter’s tearful complaints. She sternly scolded Mr. Zhao, who wore a look of displeasure, "How can you say such things about your own niece? Have you forgotten how your sister sewed stitch by stitch, all to support your education? If it weren’t for your sister, would you have become a Jin Shi and enjoyed your current glory?"

Mr. Zhao had never imagined that what he considered to be a couple of harmless truths would be twisted by his mother and sister into such an accusation, and he too felt his anger flare up momentarily.

But as he watched his sister, her face streaked with tears, the image of her working by the dim light until the rooster’s crow, barely resting on the bed before dawn to save up for the next semester’s fees for him, his anger gradually faded. With a sense of resignation, he said, "Mother, Meijiao is indeed my niece, and how could I not be fond of her? It’s just that aside from having been married and having three children, there is truly nothing else to fault about that man. I’m afraid that if we let this opportunity pass, we might never find a better match."

Mrs. Zhao, standing behind Madame Zhao, saw her husband relent and a deep disappointment flashed in her eyes. She could not stand her aunt-in-law always leveraging those old favors to make excessive demands.

Meijiao was raised by the old lady and developed an arrogant and spoiled temperament. She not only looked down on her aunt by marriage, but also dismissed her uncle, daring to talk back to him frequently.

If it weren’t for such a disagreeable character, why would her marriage to a wealthy and amiable family not have flourished? Instead, she acted high and mighty, disrespecting her in-laws and husband.

Even after years of not bearing children, the family endured her for six long years. But two years ago, she had angered her mother-in-law to the point of paralysis, prompting her husband’s family, despite the risk of Zhao Family’s retribution and their own ruin, to divorce her on the grounds of three grave sins: disobedience, lack of filial piety, and childlessness.

Wasn’t it she who had her eyes on that family, and after much difficulty, her master had managed to inquire about them, only for her to suddenly take issue with the fact they had children? What had she been thinking earlier?

Truth be told, Meijiao was just a merchant’s daughter, only known because of her family’s connections with her master. Despite being discarded for her poor demeanor, at twenty-five she was already an old maid, yet she still regarded herself as a youthful noble daughter in full bloom!

Although Mrs. Zhao despised this, she had no say here and could only silently watch and wait to see what sort of trouble her aunt-in-law and cousin were going to stir up next.