ng’s mother suddenly jumped out with such a ferocious aura, causing Guan Rong to feel afraid; the hand she had extended toward Hua Xiaomai quickly retracted, as she forced a smile and repeatedly said, "Auntie, you misunderstood, I didn’t an to raise my hand, it was..."
"Don’t try to talk your way out of this!" ng’s mother glared at her with a raised palm, threatening to slap her, and roared fiercely, "Does your whole family think I’m clueless about what kind of people you are? If your mangy paw so much as grazes one of ours and sothing goes amiss, even if you expend every cent, you won’t be able to compensate for it! So you want to fight, is that it? I’ll have a go with you right now; let’s see just how capable you really are!"
With that, she truly looked as if she was about to deliver a slap.
Her loud voice had called Guan Rong’s mother out from where she was hiding in the house. Catching sight of the situation, and despite being scared out of her wits, she had no choice but to harden her resolve and step forward, shouting with a facade of boldness, "What is the aning of this, Auntie? My daughter isn’t as tough as you; she can’t withstand your beating! I know you’ve been holding back your anger for over half a year now, but if you must hit soone, hit instead!"
The situation seed to be escalating quickly, but Hua Xiaomai, supported by Zhou Yun, stood firmly and hurriedly reached out to pull at ng’s mother, forcing her raised hand back down.
"Mother, she hasn’t hurt ; calm down, let’s go inside, I..."
"What, you want to stop the fight?" ng’s mother, filled with rage and with a buzzing in her ears, could hardly make out what she was saying. Knowing only that she was being firmly held back, her fury surged even higher. She yelled back, "Are you silly, do you even know how to stop a fight? We’re on the sa side; why are you holding back? Help grab that wretched girl so I can give her a few kicks first!"
Hua Xiaomai was both amused and exasperated, patiently patting her back and, in front of the mother and daughter, said with a smile, "Mother, you always say she’s like a paper tiger, and if you really did slap her, what if she takes us to task later? It’s not the first ti this has happened. Haven’t we seen the ghoul; aren’t we unafraid of the dark?"
"What exactly do you an by that, Xiaomai girl?" snapped Guan Rong’s mother, unable to contain herself, "Are you bringing up old grievances?"
"The account book is in my hands; if I truly intended to open it and discuss each and every issue, could you, Auntie, even stop ?" Hua Xiaomai said unruffled, giving her a smile, "Let give you a piece of advice: if you’re looking for peace, better keep your daughter in check. Her wedding day is drawing near, and if any blunders occur at this juncture, I’m afraid you won’t even have a place to cry."
The ssage was quite clear.
Your family has found a city-bred son-in-law who knows very little about what your daughter has done in the past; he might even consider her a treasure. But imagine if one day, that Mr. Huang learns of your daughter’s misdeeds—like, for instance, undressing and hiding in a bath barrel in an attempt to seduce a man—what do you think would happen then?
Guan Rong’s mother choked, unable to utter another word, while Hua Xiaomai turned her head to Guan Rong, speaking placidly, "And as for you, you’ve given many apologies before; I’m not sick of hearing them, but my ears have grown calluses. I’ve trusted you once and been taken for a fool each ti; do you really think I’m that easy to manipulate?"
"I truly realize my wrongs..." Guan Rong said, her eyes welling with tears, barely holding back sobs.
Hua Xiaomai internally cursed the phrase "dying white lotus" three hundred tis and gritted her teeth, "Whether you know your wrongs or not, it doesn’t concern ; let’s pretend we don’t know each other. Better not to show your face before anymore and spare the disgust; consider it a good deed on your part."
At this mont, the sound of horseshoes ca from the dirt road, and everyone unconsciously looked up, just in ti to see ng Yuhuai leading a horse at a leisurely pace towards them.
Guan Rong’s spine involuntarily stiffened, her mouth opened, but no sound ca out.
"What are you doing standing around?" ng Yuhuai walked straight up to Hua Xiaomai and ng’s mother, "It’s still sunny; aren’t you worried you’ll get too much of it? Hurry inside." While speaking, he stretched out his hand to shield Hua Xiaomai’s forehead, then pulled ng’s mother toward the courtyard.
"Mother, why don’t you start preparing dinner? I was busy this morning and didn’t even eat, I’m starving."
From the beginning to the end, he didn’t glance at the two won even once.
Seeing ng Yuhuai return, Zhou Yunyun felt it was inappropriate to stay any longer in the ng family’s courtyard. She hurriedly said goodbye to Hua Xiaomai, then scurried out.
The courtyard gate closed with a heavy "bang."
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