The young Liang Qing heard her mother’s words, her ears turning red, and her voice became tiny. "Mother, please stop."
Seeing her speak with the volume of a mosquito, Old Lady Liang felt quite distressed.
"If I were any older, I wouldn't even be able to hear you. Can't you speak up a little?"
Scolded by her mother, Liang Qing immediately pouted, feeling somewhat aggrieved. "I don't want to talk anymore."
Old Lady Liang was exasperated. "Look at that, just look at that. With her porcelain heart, she’s ready to shatter if anyone says a few words to her. What will she do when she goes to her husband’s house?"
Every mother hopes her daughter can be a bit stronger; otherwise, she will surely be bullied once she marries into her husband's family.
Old Lady Liang had been strong her entire life, and she couldn't bear to see her own children being bullied; it would be enough to make her die of anger.
Liang Qing pouted and explained with a hint of grievance, "I want to be bold, too," but she just couldn't bring herself to be.
The dragon has nine sons, and each has a different personality.
The three Liang siblings were the same.
The eldest sister, Liang, was steady and had a good head on her shoulders when facing problems.
Liang Jin was gentle by nature and treated everyone with courtesy.
Then there was Liang Qing, who had turned into a little white rabbit; if anyone scared her, she would surely cry.
Old Lady Liang was worried, complaining, "I don't know who she takes after. If she weren't my own flesh and blood, I’d suspect the midwife had swapped her."
How could someone as sharp-tongued as her have given birth to a little white rabbit?
Hearing this, Liang Jin laughed. "You know you're sharp-tongued?"
Old Lady Liang immediately slapped her son on the back. "Go drink your hawthorn tea and stop acting so frivolous."
Liang Jin said with a smile, "Alright, alright, I won't say anything."
Old Lady Liang felt that she would have to put more thought into her youngest daughter's affairs.
The child was weak; it would be best to find parents-in-law with good temperaments, or she would eventually come home crying.
As for the husband, he had to be someone who cherished his wife, or how would she ever get by?
Seeing her mother looking so troubled, the eldest sister advised her, "It's alright, Little Sister is only fourteen; it's still a long way until she's sixteen or seventeen. We’ll look slowly; we’ll surely find a suitable family."
Old Lady Liang sighed. "That’s all we can do for now."
Liang Jin suddenly thought of something and said with pleasant surprise, "Mother, what do you think of my brother-in-law?"
The fourth son of the Wu family was a very good person—polite, articulate, and broad-minded. He had a great personality.
Moreover, his mother-in-law's family was very kind. If the two families could marry, it would be like adding family to family.
But as soon as Old Lady Liang heard this, she immediately refused.
"No way. That Wu family is just a bunch of country folk. If your sister marries there, who knows if they’ll make her feed the pigs?"
Liang Jin:...
"Why would you say that? There's nothing wrong with being from the country. Besides, my brother-in-law is a *tongsheng* just like me; who knows, he might become a *xiucai* in the future."
By then, you wouldn't even be able to climb the social ladder to reach them.
Old Lady Liang glared at him. "Is your skin itching? You’ve only been at your in-laws' for two days and you dare to talk back to me?"
Hmph, there really wasn't a single good one in that Wu family.
They had corrupted her son in just one day, and they still wanted to marry her daughter? In their dreams!
Liang Jin was speechless and muttered, "Wu the Fourth is handsome and bright-eyed; he might not even look at us. You’re the only one who’s so picky."
However, he said this quietly, and Old Lady Liang didn't hear him.
But seeing her son's expression, Old Lady Liang knew he wasn't saying anything nice.
If it weren't for the fact that her eldest daughter was rarely home, Old Lady Liang would have wanted to beat the boy.
"Drink your tea!"
Liang Jin:...So much for being your favorite son.
Old Lady Liang: Loving her son didn't stop her from picking up the broom.
If he needed a beating, he was getting one.
The eldest sister stood by, torn between laughter and tears, and hurriedly put food in Old Lady Liang's bowl. "Alright, alright, both of you say less. Let's just talk about this at home; don't say it in front of the sister-in-law, or it will make people unhappy. Who knows, maybe the in-laws have already arranged a marriage for the brother-in-law. Let's just pretend we never said it."
Liang Jin nodded, having forgotten about that, and praised his eldest sister. "Big Sister is the most thoughtful."
Old Lady Liang was also very satisfied with her eldest daughter; this was the result of her upbringing—excellent!
After dinner, Liang Jin went to consult with his brother-in-law, Chen, about his studies.
Brother-in-law Chen would be taking the *juren* exam in two years and was very diligent in his studies.
Liang Jin also wanted to pass the *xiucai* exam as soon as possible, so he asked for advice earnestly.
Over there.
Old Lady Liang was sleeping in the same room as her eldest and youngest daughters.
As the three lay on the bed at night, Old Lady Liang asked the eldest daughter.
"How has your mother-in-law been treating you lately?"
In truth, the Chen family was generally not bad, but the parents-in-law were rigid, especially the mother-in-law, who was overbearing.
Old Lady Liang wanted to know if that old hag in the Chen family had been bullying her daughter, so she asked with concern.
The eldest sister sighed and said, "Mother-in-law is becoming increasingly overbearing; she wants everything to be done her way. Whenever I do something that doesn't please her, she deliberately criticizes me in front of my husband, making me lose face."
In reality, the eldest sister was very capable and managed everything in the house well.
But in the eyes of the Chen mother-in-law, that was just what she was supposed to do.
Especially after Brother-in-law Chen passed the *xiucai* exam, the old woman of the Chen family had become arrogant, feeling that the eldest sister had married above her station.
She wanted to suppress the eldest sister in everything and would occasionally humiliate her to make her lose face.
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Liang became very angry.
"Who does she think she is! If it weren't for the fact that the elders of both families had arranged the marriage, her Chen family wouldn't have been able to marry a daughter-in-law as good as you. Bah, 'marrying above her station,' she can go to hell!"
Old Lady Liang was a woman of strong emotions, and her three children were the most important things in her life.
After all, since her husband had passed away, her children were her everything.
Now that she saw her eldest daughter's mother-in-law being so snobbish, she was naturally furious.
The eldest sister had come to terms with it and instead comforted her mother. "I've figured it out now. I raise the children myself and try to keep them close to me, so that one day, if my husband and children's hearts are all with the old lady, I won't be so angry that I die."
Old Lady Liang thought her daughter's approach was correct and agreed. "Right, you're doing the right thing. You must keep a close eye on your two sons, and try to win over your husband's heart as well. Strive to have more sons, take good care of the children, and keep them close to you. Only then will you have status in the Chen family."
The eldest sister thought the same.
Previously, her mother-in-law had been fighting her for the children, just to make them distant from her.
She wasn't stupid; she would raise the children herself no matter what.
Now, both sons were very close to her and understood her hardships; they would surely be filial to her in the future.
So, she would definitely teach both sons herself; she wouldn't let the mother-in-law get close to them for anything.
The more Old Lady Liang thought about it, the angrier she became. "That old hag, when my son-in-law hadn't passed the *xiucai* exam, she acted like a decent person. Now that he's passed, she bullies people like this. If he passes the *juren* exam in the future, won't she be flying to the heavens?"
The eldest sister feared this as well.
"Now she likes to whisper bad things about me in my husband's ear more and more. I don't even know how to talk to him about it."
Hearing this, Old Lady Liang was so angry she sat up in bed.
"No, this cannot go on like this!!"