Chapter 366: Chapter 364 Shuangshuang’s Troubles (Part 1)
"How dare you threaten me, you old hag?" Old Mrs. Mu shrieked.
All evening, it was only her voice that Mu Shuangshuang could hear, piercing her ears.
She didn’t want to continue this with Old Mrs. Mu; getting some sleep was the most important thing at this hour.
"Grandma, I’m heading back to sleep! You can have Second Uncle take back this knife since he’s the one who caused all these troubles."
As soon as Mu Shuangshuang finished speaking, she flicked the knife in her hand towards Mu Dazhong’s foot.
Mu Dazhong was startled and quickly stepped back several paces, but even then, the knife stopped just next to his foot.
Looking at the vegetable knife with traces of blood still on it near his foot, cold sweat dripped from Mu Dazhong’s forehead.
"You... you..." Mu Dazhong was so terrified he couldn’t speak, just kept glaring at Mu Shuangshuang.
Mrs. Lin beside him was also stupefied.
"Qingqing’s dad, are you alright? Don’t scare me like this. If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do with the kids?" Mrs. Lin rushed over, shouting in concern.
"You wretched woman, are you wailing for the dead? I haven’t even settled tonight’s score with you, and now you want to cause trouble for me."
Old Mrs. Mu’s attention was on Mu Shuangshuang, but Mrs. Lin’s mention of Qingqing’s dad reminded her of Mu Qingqing still kneeling in the main hall.
Thinking of her Xiangxiang sobbing in the room, Old Mrs. Mu wanted to skin these two troublemakers.
"Mom, that brat tried to kill Dazhong. You saw it, the knife is right beneath Dazhong’s foot." Mrs. Lin couldn’t help but retort.
However, it only made Old Mrs. Mu more impatient.
"It’s just a knife, isn’t it? Your man’s foot is still intact, why are you squawking? Is your daughter showing off because she became a weaver, wanting everyone to know that? Did Qing do it to stick gold on her face?"
Mu Qingqing was selected because she leveraged Mu Dade’s reputation on the platform.
The village was ecstatic over Mu Dade’s Autumn Examination; the celebrations attracted much attention, despite some unhappy occurrences in between. No one could deny that Mu Dade was the only hope to move forward in the village.
Once he became an official, even Fu Wu and the Wang Family in the village might not compare to him.
Mu Qingqing merely broadened people’s expectations for Mu Dade and garnered the village’s support.
Old Mrs. Mu sneered at Mrs. Lin.
Mrs. Lin blushed and backed away, not wanting to provoke Mu Shuangshuang anymore.
She went back to her room and hadn’t even sat down when Yu Si Niang came over.
As soon as she entered, she took Mu Shuangshuang’s hand, looking her over for any injuries.
"Shuangshuang, did your grandma bully you?"
Their first instinct upon hearing the commotion was to rush out, but Shuangshuang stopped them.
She said if they went out, it would only confirm her as the troublemaker at home, and she needed to handle it herself to resolve the issue.
Despite not going out, Yu Si Niang was restless, pacing back and forth, wanting to rush out and check, but afraid it would add trouble for Shuangshuang.
"Mom, don’t worry. I’m clever, Grandma can’t bully me. But as for you, ever since you helped feed the pigs and relaxed a bit, Grandma has been hounding you, always asking you to do this or that."
Mu Shuangshuang regretted deeply letting Yu Si Niang handle anything related to filial piety. Besides, filial piety isn’t just about talking.
The villagers aren’t blind to the situation of the third branch; if they were expected to hope, it wouldn’t come from there.
"Child, using the word ’hound’ with your grandma? What do you take her for? You mustn’t say that next time."
Yu Si Niang chided Shuangshuang with reproachful words, yet her tone was more pampering.
"Alright, I won’t say it!"
Showing proper respect to elders is necessary, and she could curse that old hag in her heart.
Yu Si Niang’s face grew even more radiant with a smile.
"Actually, helping your grandma with chores doesn’t feel tiring. I’ve gotten used to it. Besides, as a daughter-in-law, taking care of the in-laws is normal. How else can we handle family affairs?"
Yu Si Niang may have a bit of wildness, but her education was still the oldest, most traditional kind.
Her thinking skewed towards the ancients.
Mu Shuangshuang had been trying to guide her; it had some effect, but curing it was still challenging.
The emperor wants a minister dead, the minister must die; the father wants a son dead, the son must comply.
This mindset was deeply rooted.
Like the fourth branch, beaten like that, yet dared not resist, could only cry to the side.
In modern times, this would be absolutely intolerable.
But in ancient times, everyone saw it as normal.
There’s nothing to be done; Old Mrs. Mu is the mother-in-law, and Mrs. Liu is the daughter-in-law.
"Mom, you need to step out and see; if Grandma truly treats you and Fourth Aunt well, it’s natural to be filial. But if she doesn’t see you as human, why run to her? Isn’t that asking for abuse?"
Mu Shuangshuang changed her approach, this time directly questioning Yu Si Niang.
"But your grandma is..."
"Yes, my grandma is an elder, but people say ’Father is kind, son is filial.’ If the father isn’t kind, why should the son be filial?
What if it’s you; would you let Xiao Han’s future wife wash clothes in the winter and then be scolded harshly?"
Mu Shuangshuang picked just one of many things that Yu Si Niang did, yet it was enough to make one grit their teeth.
Yu Si Niang shook her head.
She understood everything Shuangshuang said, but after so many years, she was accustomed to it. Changing suddenly, she feared she couldn’t adapt.
"Shuangshuang, maybe I should go to town and find some work."
Working temporary jobs meant earning money while avoiding Old Mrs. Mu.
"Just that if I wasn’t here, there’d be no one to cook for you all."
Currently, Yu Si Niang was doing farm work, still able to prepare meals at home on time. If she left, the household would definitely not fare as well.
"Mom, why work so hard in town for Grandma? Before, Shuangshuang didn’t understand, causing you to suffer so much. Now Shuangshuang is grown and won’t let you go."
Thinking of Yu Si Niang, who had to go to town as a helper regardless of the weather and only earned six coins daily, Mu Shuangshuang was adamant about not letting her mother return to work.
"But..."
Yu Si Niang was about to say something, interrupted by Mu Shuangshuang.
"Mom, it’s late, you should rest early. I’ll keep an eye out for work, but it shouldn’t be far. The town is absolutely off-limits."
There is work that pays money, not extremely busy.
Yu Si Niang sighed before leaving the room.
Only then did Mu Shuangshuang start washing up, completing the routine before lying in bed, thinking about what Yu Si Niang had mentioned.
Currently, Yu Si Niang staying home wasn’t good; Old Mrs. Mu always wanted her doing this or that, sometimes even supervising, not giving her time to rest.