Chapter 170 - 167: Yingzi’s Outrageous Mother-in-law
Seeing the color drain from Zhang Hongying’s face, Zhou Lian’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. She smiled and said, "Yingzi, come sit by me."
Zhang Hongying slowly sat down beside her, looking at Zhou Lian’s smile as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. ’Why should someone as gentle and elegant as Zhou Lian have to suffer such insults because of me?’
"There, there, don’t cry. I’m fine, see? Don’t waste your precious tears. This has nothing to do with you." Zhou Lian said, exasperated, as she looked at the inconsolable Zhang Hongying. She wasn’t truly angry. She just treated the whole scene Mrs. Wang had caused as a free show.
"Mrs. Wang, you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here," Mrs. Zhang said coolly, her face like ice. She had breathed a silent sigh of relief watching Zhou Lian comfort her daughter, but now her attention was fixed on the flushed Mrs. Wang. ’It looks like I’ll have to take a much closer look at my daughter’s engagement. With a mother-in-law who doesn’t have a lick of sense, my daughter is bound to suffer!’
"I was just worried sick about my Song and Yingzi having a fight. I thought maybe Yingzi’s friend here could talk some sense into her, and besides..."
"Just shut your mouth! Do I need to repeat what you just said?" Wang Dongfang spat, showing her no mercy. "Who the hell do you think you are, coming here to my sister-in-law’s home and insulting her? Calling her a country bumpkin? Why don’t you look at your own family three generations back and see what you are! What’s wrong with a woman like my sister-in-law? I’m telling you, this isn’t over. Just wait until my brother gets back. I’d love to see how your family plans to ’teach her a lesson’!"
"Dongfang, that’s enough. Sit down, rest, and have some water," Zhou Lian said gently, pouring him a cup of tea and handing it to him. "You just ran all the way over here. Is everything alright at the shop?"
Wang Dongfang downed the entire cup of tea in one go before speaking softly to Zhou Lian. "Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. Qiangzi just got back a couple of days ago, and he happened to be at the shop. He’s holding down the fort. Sister-in-law, are you okay?"
Zhou Lian smiled and shook her head. "I’m fine, don’t worry. Just drink some water and head back. Nothing’s going to happen to me here!"
Wang Dongfang kept shaking his head as he drank his water. ’Go back? Are you kidding me? If anything happened to Sister-in-law, my brother would skin me alive when he gets back!’
"It’s fine, really. This is women’s business, and it’s not right for a man like you to get involved. Besides, Sister Fang is here with me. Go on, get back to your work," Zhou Lian said gently, a small smile on her face.
Wang Dongfang set down his cup. He looked at Zhou Lian’s determined expression, then glanced at Sister Fang, who had just returned. When Sister Fang gave a slight nod, he relented. "Alright then, Sister-in-law. I’ll head back to the shop for now. We’ll come see you again this afternoon after we’re done."
Understanding their concern, Zhou Lian smiled. "Okay. Go on, get to it."
The atmosphere in the room eased somewhat after Wang Dongfang left. But Mrs. Zhang had understood the underlying threat in his words. She turned to Mrs. Wang and said directly, "Mrs. Wang, whatever you have to say, whatever your issue is, you’re coming back to my house with me today to make it crystal clear. It’s not proper to air your private affairs in someone else’s home, is it?"
"I... who was that brat? So disrespectful! Speaking to his elders like that..."
"What kind of elder are you? Do I know you? Does my brother-in-law know you?" Zhou Lian cut her off sharply. "You want to talk about respect? You barge into my home, point your finger in my face, and curse at me. Where’s *your* respect? Now get out. My home doesn’t welcome strangers who show up out of nowhere making trouble!" ’She could say whatever she wanted about me; I don’t care, it’s like watching a bad play. But how dare she insult Wang Dongfang? He’s someone my Li Xiu holds in high regard. I won’t let anyone just abuse him like that!’
"You little..."
"Get out! If you want to throw a tantrum, go back to your own home. This is not the place for you to run wild," Zhou Lian said, her brow furrowed in irritation. ’She’s so old, doesn’t she have a brain?’
Seeing that Zhou Lian was genuinely furious, Mrs. Zhang grabbed Mrs. Wang and started dragging her out the door. "I am so sorry for what happened today," she said to Zhou Lian. "Once I’ve dealt with this, Uncle Zhang and I will come by to formally apologize!"
Before Zhou Lian could reply, Mrs. Zhang added to Zhang Hongying, "Yingzi, you stay here with Xiao Zhou and look after her. She’s pregnant now, so be careful!"
Watching them leave, Zhou Lian shook her head and chuckled. ’The Zhang family members are all sharp people. But Wang Song’s mother... she’s a special kind of clueless, isn’t she? Is that really how a government official’s wife should act? If that’s her true personality, I really have to feel for the men of the Wang family. With a woman like that holding them back, the Wang men aren’t just unlucky, they’re cursed!’
"I’m so sorry, Zhou Lian. I have no idea why this happened. You were dragged into this for no reason at all," Zhang Hongying said, her gaze firm. She had stopped crying. Zhou Lian had already suffered on her account; she wasn’t going to be so thoughtless as to keep crying and force her wronged friend to comfort her.
Zhou Lian patted her hand. "Let’s not worry about that for now. First, tell me what happened between you and Wang Song. What made his mother so desperate that she’d pull a stunt like this?"
Zhang Hongying paused, then gave a bitter smile. "A while ago, Wang Song came back on leave. We had a long, detailed talk and laid all our hidden problems out in the open. My father also had a talk with him. I guess you could say we parted on bad terms. But I never, ever expected his mother would do something like this."
Zhou Lian smiled with understanding. ’Wang Song probably isn’t the one who told his mother about our conversation. There must be something else going on.’ Suddenly, she remembered something from her past life. ’The woman Wang Song married in my past life... they said his mother forced him into it. But someone as sharp as Wang Song wouldn’t have compromised so easily. So what really happened? Oh, right... in my past life, Wang Song never had any children!’
"This part isn’t your fault. Don’t go confronting Wang Song about it. You can tell him exactly what happened, but don’t interrogate him. I doubt Wang Song told his mother about me. Let him be the one to solve this. You were wronged, too. Just talk to him calmly. You two have real feelings for each other; don’t let outside pressure sour your relationship," Zhou Lian said gently.
She and Li Xiu had talked about it before. Wang Song’s feelings for Zhang Hongying ran deep, and Zhang Hongying’s heart belonged to him. Zhou Lian truly considered Zhang Hongying a friend, so she wouldn’t let her make a decision she would later regret. As for Wang Song’s mother, she wasn’t the real problem. As long as Wang Song recognized what kind of person his mother was, Zhou Lian believed that a man as clever as him would be able to handle her.
"Zhou Lian, I’m having serious doubts about my future with Wang Song now," Zhang Hongying said with a bitter smile, her brow furrowed. "With a mother-in-law like that, can I really be happy if I marry him? After the scene she caused today, I really can’t forgive her!" ’She knew you were my good friend, yet she came here and insulted you so casually. She wasn’t just cursing you, Zhou Lian. That was a slap right across my own face!’