Boss Zhou held up an umbrella and returned to the backyard. He didn’t see his father in the kitchen; instead, he saw his mother. She was draped in clothes, with her hair wrapped up, tending to the fire!

Boss Zhou put away his umbrella and came in. “Mom, Chang Lian and Dong Shi are outside the gate. Chang Lian said that Dong Shi is young and it is all his fault. He hopes that you can let Dong Shi in.”

Zhulan looked at Boss Zhou with amusement, “I’m helping Li Shi and you to vent your anger. Aren’t you happy?”

Boss Zhou was frightened and shook his head violently, “Mom, I am the eldest brother and Li Shi is the eldest sister-in-law. We are a family and it is common for us to have conflicts. Li Shi and I are not smart, but we have no complaints in our hearts.”

Zhulan likes this about Boss Zhou and Li Shi. No matter how aggrieved they were, they did not bear grudges. She did not lock the door casually. She knew that it was bad for Dong Shi’s reputation to be locked outside as a daughter-in-law. But now it was dark and raining, and there was no one on the street. It was okay for her to stand outside for a while.

When Boss Zhou saw that his mother didn’t speak, the firelight from the fire pit shone on his mother’s face. Boss Zhou blinked his eyes and realized that his mother seemed to be much younger, not like a person who was almost forty at all. He looked away and felt uneasy. When his mother had no expression on her face, she was scarier than his father!

Zhulan saw that the hot water in the pot was boiling, so she took a bucket to fill it with hot water and instructed Boss Zhou, “Send it to your father.”

Boss Zhou: “Ok.”

Zhulan waited for Boss Zhou to come back. Looking at the rain outside, it seemed to be getting heavier. “Open the gate in a quarter of an hour, provided they are still outside the gate.”

Boss Zhou was worried, “Mom, what if Chang Lian and Dong Shi are not outside the gate?”

Zhulan clapped her hands, “Then there’s no need to come back.”

Boss Zhou’s heart trembled a little because his mother was telling the truth and was not fooling him.

Zhulan, “Why are you looking at me? Why don’t you leave?”

“I’ll go ahead.”

Zhulan was really angry with Chang Lian and Dong Shi. Zhou Shuren taught Chang Lian step by step. Chang Lian was ambitious and had good intentions, but as his status changed, he no longer took his brother seriously and no longer regarded the Zhou family as the head. When she and Zhou Shuren could no longer control him, a big uproar would break out sooner or later!

She had thought that Chang Lian and Dong Shi would give Boss Zhou and Li Shi a hard time, but she didn’t expect that they were too bold. They thought that the Zhou family depended on them before they even had enough wings. If she didn’t strike back hard, Chang Lian wouldn’t understand his place. Ha, she had been too kind to them. It was time for Chang Lian to realize, no, for the whole family to realize, that in this household, she and Zhou Shuren made the decisions. If anyone wasn’t willing to stay, they could leave without being seen off.

Outside the gate, Chang Lian and Dong Shi were still standing there, waiting for their eldest brother to reply, but they waited and waited but their eldest brother never came back, and they felt increasingly depressed.

Chang Lian thought of the bottom line his father had mentioned. He had crossed his mother’s bottom line, and he was more sober than ever.

Since he became a xiùcái and a young xiùcái at that, he had been under the guidance of his jiěfū. When his jiěfū was not around, his jiěfū’s staff would teach him. In addition, everyone in Pingzhou City knew that he was Lord Jiang’s mèifū. More people were trying to curry favor with him and flattering him. Although he kept his father’s teachings in mind, he was still contented. He believed that his future would not be bad.

Chang Lian lowered his head. After hearing so many things about the Zhou family relying on him in the future, his mentality changed. He also believed that the Zhou family would rely on him in the future. No matter how powerful his father was, he was young. Especially after his jiěfū told him about Chang Zhi’s future path, he was even more certain that the Zhou family relied on him.

Gradually, his attitude towards his two brothers changed, and Dong Shi was also greatly influenced by him, which led to the following events.

Chang Lian looked at the Zhou family’s front gate and finally realized that the Zhou family would be just fine without him. Even if he wasn’t there, the Zhou family would still thrive. It would be years before he could be someone they could rely on, yet for now, it was he who still needed to rely on the family.

He became more deeply aware that his mind was not firm and that he was easily swayed by external influences. Suddenly, he realized that if he continued like this, his future path would not lead far.

Dong Shi was shivering from the cold. She bit her lip and said, “Husband, let’s go to the inn. My parents won’t open the door tonight.”

Dong Shi felt a little resentful. They had gone too far, but Chang Lian would definitely be the one who would have the greatest potential in the future. Did their parents have to teach them a lesson like this?

Chang Lian lowered his eyes. According to his understanding of his parents, if he dared to leave, he would never be able to enter the house again. “Don’t talk nonsense. Wait.”

Dong Shi was stunned for a moment. She felt her husband’s hand shaking. He was afraid, so she closed her mouth and waited silently.

Chang Lian was indeed afraid that his parents didn’t want him anymore. He had never thought of leaving home. In the past two years, his parents occupied a very important place in his heart. He was afraid of going back to the past when his parents didn’t care about him. He was used to his father’s education and his mother’s care. He regretted it. He regretted his arrogance.

Boss Zhou stood inside the gate, calculating the time in his mind and listening carefully. Fortunately, Chang Lian did not leave. When the time came, he opened the gate and said to the soaked Chang Lian, “Come in.”

Chang Lian wiped the rainwater from his face and happily asked, “Did Mother open the door?”

Seeing that only Dong Shi’s skirt was wet and thought to himself that while Chang Lian caring for his wife was one thing, he also seemed to want to gain sympathy. This time, he truly seemed to have wised up and was no longer just looking at things on the surface. “Hmm, just a heads-up—when you were about to leave earlier, Mother said that if you left, you shouldn’t bother coming back.”

Chang Lian’s smile faded, “Thank you, brother.”

Boss Zhou closed the door and said, “Let’s go back to the backyard. I need to rest too.”

Chang Lian: “Yes.”

Dong Shi opened her eyes wide, somewhat unbelieving what she heard, but when she thought of her mother-in-law who had never seen through her husband, and imagined her husband’s reaction, her heart was in her throat. She felt that she was doomed and was afraid.

Zhulan saw Chang Lian and Dong Shi walking towards the main room from the kitchen door and said, “Tell me what you want to say. Your father is taking a bath.”

Chang Lian just noticed that his mother was in the kitchen. He quickly walked to the kitchen door and knelt down, “Mom, I was wrong.”

Zhulan didn’t like it when ancient children made mistakes. No matter how big or small the mistake was, they would kneel down at any time. “Okay, there’s hot water in the pot. You can wash up and rest!”

After saying that, Zhulan took her umbrella and went back to the main room without looking at Chang Lian and Dong Shi again.

Dong Shi waited for her mother-in-law to leave, her heart pounding. She had seen her mother-in-law smiling and kind many times, but this was the first time she saw her mother-in-law with a cold face. Her aura just now made her feel uneasy. “My husband, has mother forgiven us?”

Chang Lian didn’t know either. He didn’t know much about his mother. The most he remembered was that she taught and amused his eldest sister-in-law. Otherwise, his mother was cheerful. He stood up and said, “Wash up first.”

Dong Shi got up and went into the kitchen. She smelled a strong scent of ginger and was stunned for a moment. “Mom made ginger soup.”

Chang Lian’s eyes turned red. His mother was angry because she was concerned about his health. She even boiled some hot water for him. Chang Lian’s voice was hoarse, “Yeah.”

Zhulan didn’t know that Chang Lian was so moved that he was about to cry. She made the ginger soup simply because she didn’t want Chang Lian and Dong Shi to get sick. In ancient times, a minor illness could become a major illness. If a family was infected, the whole family would suffer, especially the child Mingrui, who was not very old, so it was better to be on guard.

As for the hot water, that’s what she especially boiled.

Zhulan returned to the room and Zhou Shuren was drying his hair after washing it. “Let them in?”

“Well, don’t go out and pour the bath water. Let the eldest pour it tomorrow.”

Zhou Shuren paused as he wiped his hair. “Will you continue tomorrow?”

Zhulan nodded, “Yes.”

The leather was loose, it was better to tighten it!

(End of this chapter)

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