Chapter 18: Ruining One's Reputation

Old Mrs. Liu never expected her usually most submissive second daughter-in-law to give them attitude today. Enraged, she cursed loudly, "I'd like to see what you can do! Look at you, acting so capable—you little brat, you don't know the meaning of your place!"

Mother Liu headed toward the several households Chuxue had visited yesterday. Before long, the Liu family learned that Mother Liu was going around asking everyone for money.

Old Mrs. Liu slapped her thigh in anger and cursed, "Has she gone mad?"

The eldest daughter-in-law, Ge Xiulan, grew anxious: "Mother, we haven't split the household yet. Won't those families come looking for us when the time comes?"

Hearing this, Old Mrs. Liu's fury intensified: "Rebellion! This is pure rebellion!"

At this moment, the usually low-profile third daughter-in-law, Su Hongjuan, added fuel to the fire: "With so much money borrowed, if Second Brother's leg still can't be cured, wouldn't it all be for nothing? If he ends up like Old Uncle Wu's youngest son at the edge of the village, won't he have to rely on the family to support him forever?"

As soon as the third daughter-in-law spoke, Old Mrs. Liu became even more agitated. Old Uncle Wu's youngest son's leg would ache whenever the weather turned cloudy or rainy, and it would easily fester in hot weather or when he had internal heat. He spent so much on medicine every day that he had dragged his family into extreme poverty.

Seeing her mother-in-law frowning in silence, the third daughter-in-law leaned in closer and lowered her voice, "Mother, why don't we just split the second branch off? That way, the family won't be dragged down by them."

Ge Xiulan actually agreed with her sister-in-law's words, but she suddenly remembered her own important business and slapped her thigh. "With such a commotion, why haven't I seen that girl Chuxue?"

If the household were split, the family would no longer have the final say in Liu Chuxue's marriage. If she wanted to facilitate her nephew's marriage prospects, she had to do it before the split.

Old Mrs. Liu remembered it too: "That dead girl! I told her to go pass on a message, but who knows where she's died off to?"

Ge Xiulan feigned urgency and stood up to walk toward the wing where Liu Chuxue stayed. "Mother, that girl didn't come back at all last night."

Old Mrs. Liu was already angry with the second branch, and this made her even more irate. Just as she was about to burst into a tirade, she heard her eldest daughter-in-law say, "Mother, if Chuxue didn't come back all night, could something have happened to her?"

Old Mrs. Liu missed the implication: "Girls are just useless. They can't help with a single thing and only bring trouble to the family. It would be better if a wolf carried her off."

Since she was already in a rage, her voice wasn't small, and the villagers chatting nearby heard her clearly.

Seeing that enough had been said, Ge Xiulan said, "Mother, we should mobilize the villagers to help look for her. We can't let something truly happen; otherwise, Second Brother might blame us."

The second daughter-in-law of the neighboring Li family, who didn't get along with Ge Xiulan, poked her head out to demand justice: "Ge Xiulan, if something really happens to Chuxue, you can't blame anyone else. It was you who insisted she take leave yesterday morning to cross the mountains to deliver a letter to her elder sister. I heard it with my own ears!"

Hearing this, Ge Xiulan replied fearlessly, "Li Guizhi, my family's business has nothing to do with an outsider like you!"

Li Guizhi looked at her with disdain through the wall. "I'm just speaking the truth. Why are you getting so worked up with me?"

Not wanting to cause further trouble, Ge Xiulan went along with her: "Fine, you're right. I did tell Chuxue to take leave. But with such a big incident in the second branch, shouldn't she have notified her sister?"

She shot a glare at the neighbor, Li Guizhi, and deliberately raised her voice. "Mother, I'll go find the Village Chief to organize people to search the mountains. We can't let something happen; if my good intentions turn into a disaster, I'm afraid the villagers' spit will drown me."

Without waiting for her mother-in-law's response, she rushed out of the courtyard.

(End of Chapter)