Chapter 4: Breaking the Rules to Beat Someone Up

"Mother, there's no need for my sister-in-law to help. I can do it myself."

Chen Sufen didn't dare let Liu Yue'e help.

Otherwise, this woman would surely find ways to badmouth her in front of her mother-in-law later, and it would be herself and Man'er who would suffer the consequences.

Chen Sufen first placed the first bowl of rice in front of Tong Huaqiong, then proceeded to place the remaining bowls one by one in front of the "rotten bamboos"—Gu Taohua, Gu Jingzhe, Gu Yaozu, and Liu Yue'e.

The last bowl was placed in front of Man'er, and finally, she picked up her own bowl and sat in a corner far away from the dining table.

In this household, Chen Sufen, who worked like an old ox, had no right to sit at the table.

"Come sit here," Tong Huaqiong called out to Chen Sufen.

Chen Sufen didn't dare approach the table.

"Go get a stool for your eldest sister-in-law." Tong Huaqiong grabbed her chopsticks and directed Gu Taohua, who was busy picking up eggs, to go fetch a stool for her sister-in-law. Gu Taohua was unwilling to move; the moment she left the table, Yaozu would finish off the stir-fried eggs with leeks in a heartbeat.

"Sister-in-law doesn't need to sit at the table," Gu Taohua muttered, picking up an egg to stuff into her mouth.

With a loud *smack*, Tong Huaqiong slapped Gu Taohua's hand, sending the egg scattering across the table.

"If you won't fetch it, then you swap seats with your sister-in-law."

Tong Huaqiong then delivered another slap to Gu Taohua's back.

The flesh on this fat daughter was so thick that the impact made Tong Huaqiong's hand ache.

"Yaozu, go get a stool for your eldest aunt," Gu Taohua glared at Yaozu.

Yaozu didn't dare disobey his aunt; he stood up and brought a stool.

Chen Sufen didn't dare disobey her mother-in-law either. Under Tong Huaqiong's knife-like gaze, she tremblingly made her way to the table.

"Everyone, don't start eating yet."

Tong Huaqiong glanced at each person's bowl.

The bowl in front of her contained thick rice. Gu Taohua and Yaozu's bowls were just as thick as hers, Gu Dashu's was slightly thinner, and Liu Yue'e's was even thinner than Gu Dashu's.

When it came to the bowls for Chen Sufen and Man'er, Tong Huaqiong couldn't help but curse herself for being an old fool.

Those two bowls of rice were as thin as water; one glance was enough to count every single grain of rice.

The rule of different statuses and different bowls at the Gu family table was a custom established by the original owner of this body, Tong Dajiao.

Today, Tong Huaqiong was going to break that wretched rule.

"Mother, what's wrong with you? Are you even going to let us eat?" Gu Dashu complained, his eyes gleaming with hunger.

The dishes on the table were too plain.

He greatly missed the feast the Zheng family's steward had treated him to at Zuiqingfeng in the county town a few days ago.

The abundance of meat, fish, and fine wine left him constantly reminiscing.

He hoped Man'er would marry into the Zheng family soon so he could become the manager of their shop; then, he could go to Zuiqingfeng to eat meat and drink wine every day.

"Sufen, pour everyone's rice back into the pot, stir it, and serve it again," Tong Huaqiong commanded.

Chen Sufen thought she had misheard and didn't dare move.

She had been married into the Gu family for so many years, and the dining table had always followed this rule.

"Sufen, do you no longer dare to obey my words?" Tong Huaqiong knew that being gentle with Chen Sufen would only frighten her, so she continued to act like a shrew, using a commanding tone.

"No... Mother, I... I wouldn't dare..."

Terrified and incoherent, Chen Sufen quickly poured everyone's rice into the pot, stirred it according to Tong Huaqiong's instructions, and served it back out.

Now, everyone's rice was the same.

"How can we eat rice this thin?" Gu Taohua pouted in dissatisfaction.

Even if the rice was a gift from the Zheng family, it was a gift to the Gu family. Was Chen Sufen and Man'er supposed to eat the leftovers?

"You're being too pampered with just a bowl of thin porridge. Does your sister-in-law eat this every day? Look at how fat you are, like a stone pillar; you could crush a fat pig. And yet you keep saying 'eat, eat, eat'!" Tong Huaqiong scolded Gu Taohua mercilessly.

Gu Taohua gave Chen Sufen two hateful glares and stuffed a large mouthful of egg into her mouth.

"Eat your vegetables." Seeing that Chen Sufen only lowered her head to drink the thin rice and didn't dare reach for the dishes, Tong Huaqiong ordered her to eat.

Chen Sufen didn't dare reach out.

Gu Dashu and Liu Yue'e exchanged looks. What was wrong with the old woman today?

She was acting quite unusual.

"Where are the boiled eggs for me and my aunt?" Yaozu shouted.

Chen Sufen had almost forgotten the boiled eggs soaking in the washbasin. She quickly left the table to get them, handing one to Yaozu and one to Gu Taohua.

This was a rule set by the mother-in-law: since the youngest daughter was the family's precious guest and Yaozu was the Gu family's future lineage, they were each to have an extra boiled egg per meal to nourish their bodies.

"Where is Man'er's?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Chen Sufen stammered, "Man'er likes pickles."

With a loud *thud*, Tong Huaqiong set her chopsticks down and said to Gu Taohua and Yaozu, "Give your eggs to Man'er."

Gu Taohua was naturally unwilling.

All the good food in the house was always prioritized for her; otherwise, how could she have grown as fat as a stone pillar?

One egg per meal wasn't even enough for her; giving them to Man'er was out of the question.

"Mother, you said it yourself—a daughter must be pampered. If the family doesn't prioritize good food for me now, who will care for me when I marry into another family?" Gu Taohua said while peeling her egg.

"As the eldest grandson of the Gu family, Yaozu should be the one eating this egg."

Liu Yue'e was unwilling to share her son's egg with Man'er and shot a vicious glare at Man'er.

*That money-losing girl, trying to steal my son's food! She's not worthy!*

"Man'er won't eat it. Man'er will eat pickles," Man'er said, terrified, adding a mouthful of pickles to her bowl.

"The title of 'eldest grandson' doesn't work here. Even if he were an ancestor, he shouldn't be the one eating this egg."

Tong Huaqiong shot two eye-rolls at Liu Yue'e.

"So, you're ignoring my words now, are you?"

Tong Huaqiong slammed her bowl down, reached out, snatched the eggs from Gu Taohua and Gu Yaozu's hands, and stuffed them toward Man'er and Chen Sufen. Then, she knocked away Gu Dashu's chopsticks as he reached for the stir-fried eggs and moved the entire plate of eggs in front of herself, Chen Sufen, and Man'er.

"You all eat cabbage and pickles. This plate of eggs is for me, Sufen, and Man'er."

Yaozu had never suffered such an insult.

As the eldest grandson, he had always been pampered; aside from Gu Taohua, all the food and clothing in the house were prioritized for him. Normally, he and his aunt would split the egg.

Tonight, his grandmother was actually snatching his egg for a "money-losing girl." Could he endure this?

His eyes darted around, his mouth twisted, and Yaozu began to wail loudly.

"I want my egg! I want my egg!"

Liu Yue'e, heartbroken for her son, tried to snatch the egg back from Man'er, but she pulled her hand back under Tong Huaqiong's knife-like gaze.

To avoid conflict, Chen Sufen tried to hand her egg to Yaozu, but Gu Taohua intercepted it, making Tong Huaqiong's liver ache with anger.

After wailing for a while, Yaozu realized his usually doting grandmother was unmoved, so he began to attack Man'er.

"Give me back my egg!"

"Why are you giving my egg to that money-losing girl?"

"You money-losing girl, hurry up and go be a little widow at the Zheng house..."

The words "money-losing girl" and "widow" set Tong Huaqiong off. She grabbed Yaozu and delivered two sharp slaps to his face.

"You uneducated little brat, you deserve to be cut in half!"

Tong Huaqiong searched her memory for Yaozu's fate in her previous life, feeling a surge of satisfaction.

"Who is the money-losing girl? Who are you calling a widow?"

Tong Huaqiong picked up a feather duster and swung it wildly at Yaozu.

Yaozu's loud wails turned into wet sobs.

Liu Yue'e tried desperately to protect him.

Gu Dashu pushed Liu Yue'e aside and held Yaozu down so Tong Huaqiong could strike him. Although Gu Dashu wasn't a saint, he was quite filial to his mother. His son's repeated insults about being a widow were a direct strike at his mother's heart.

It hadn't been easy for a widow like his mother to raise the three of them.

If someone dared to poke at a widow's heart, they deserved a beating, even if it was her own son.

"Just because you grew a little thing between your legs, you think you're something? You think you can bring honor to the family? If your ancestors knew they had a descendant like you, they'd be so angry they'd run straight into the arms of the King of Hell!"

"You black-hearted, rotten-seeded money-loser! I told you not to be bad, and I told you not to bully Man'er!"

Tong Huaqiong pulled down Yaozu's trousers and began lashing his buttocks with the feather duster.

Gu Taohua watched her nephew get beaten while eating her egg, prompting Tong Huaqiong to let out a roar, shift her target, and swing the duster toward Gu Taohua's forehead.

"I'll give you something to eat! You stone pillar! You do nothing all day but eat. You're not even as useful as a fat pig; at least a pig can be slaughtered for meat during the New Year. What's the point of raising you? You're so lazy, why don't you just eat yourself to death?"

The force of the blow sent half of Gu Taohua's egg rolling onto the floor.

She had never been touched a finger since she was a child; this was the first time she had ever been whipped with a feather duster.

It hurt—it hurt like hell!

"Mother, have you gone mad?!" Gu Taohua screamed.

"I *am* mad! If I weren't mad, I wouldn't be hitting you! A bunch of low-lifes raised by black-hearted seeds, a nest of rotten bamboos that are bad to the core—hitting you is being too easy on you!"

Tong Huaqiong swung the feather duster while cursing.

"And you, Gu Dashu, you heartless, rotten seed! May lightning strike your brain and tear you limb from limb! You do nothing useful all day, yet you dream of relying on your niece to be a manager? You're dreaming of your ancestors!"

"And your wife isn't any better. You two are the worst kind of match in heaven and earth. All you do is stir up trouble and bully the eldest daughter's family, living a shameless, lawless life. I'll beat this lot of dogs to death!"

She didn't just hit Yaozu and Gu Taohua; she even went after Gu Dashu and Liu Yue'e.

The "rotten bamboos" scrambled around the table and throughout the room.

Tong Huaqiong went on a mad rampage, hitting anyone she could catch. When the feather duster wasn't enough, she switched to a fire poker, chasing the "rotten bamboos" out into the courtyard.

Everyone felt the searing pain of lashes on their shoulders, backs, thighs, and buttocks.

The entire Gu household was plunged into a chorus of wailing.

(End of Chapter)