Chapter 28

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

If this was any other daughter-in-law, Old Madam Dong would have shouted at her already.

However, she was the wife of her favorite son, the youngest and the only one who was a scholar. She had to give his wife some face in this family.

Hence, the old lady did not shout or scold her. She only glanced at her twice before retracting her gaze.

Fifth Aunt’s eyelids twitched for a long time, but in the end, she could not do anything. This made her so angry that she gritted her teeth and turned around to coax Dong Nuan. “Lil Nuan, Fifth Aunt isn’t feeling well today. Help Fifth Aunt wash the dishes, and I will give you candy later.”

Dong Nuan was not surprised by the other party’s self-righteous attitude.

It was obvious that she used to be ordered around a lot in the past. The previous host had obediently agreed to everything, but the new Dong Nuan did not intend to spoil her family.

Although it was not a big deal to wash the dishes, it was someone else’s duty today, so they should just do their job. Why did she keep trying to get other people to do work for her?

“When Fifth Aunt was eating just now, didn’t you have a good appetite? I didn’t notice you looking unwell. Perhaps you ate too much, so now, you’re sick. You should let your food digest as you wash the dishes. It will help you sleep tonight.” Dong Nuan did not reject her request directly. If she did, what if the other party used her status as an elder to suppress her?

Although Dong Nuan was not afraid of a scolding, if she could get what she wanted through an easier method, why would she not do that?

Although Fifth Aunt did not want to act evil in front of her old man, she really did not want to wash the dishes. Usually, she would hide if she could. If Madam Dong Wu was fed up, she would order Dong Nuan to do it.

She was just a little girl and did not have much status in the family. How could she reject arrangements from her elders?

In the end, Dong Nuan’s words pierced her heart and angered Fifth Aunt nearly to death.

“You…” For a moment, Fifth Aunt did not know how to refute. She raised her hand, pointed at Dong Nuan, and gritted her teeth, her face contorting.

Because Fifth Uncle was a scholar, Fifth Aunt had some status and face among the wives in the family.

After all, if Fifth Uncle were to become successful one day, they would be able to take advantage of him. Now, even if they pressured his wife, they would not take too much advantage of her. No matter how they looked at it, this was worth it when betting on the future success he could bring the family.

Fifth Aunt was used to being praised. Now that she was humiliated by Dong Nuan, she was so angry that her teeth were sore and her hands were trembling.

She wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by Old Master Dong’s shouts. “You’re still dawdling over a few bowls. What’s wrong? Which old man’s house are you from? Don’t you know how to wash dishes?”

After Old Master Dong finished speaking, Fifth Aunt felt her face turn red and purple. She was so embarrassed that she did not even dare to raise her head. She got up dejectedly and went to wash the dishes.

This made her hate Dong Nuan. After walking for a while, she turned around and glared at Dong Nuan.

In response, DongNuan gave her an innocent smile.

Looking at Dong Nuan, she became even angrier. She felt like her breath was stuck in her throat. It was extremely uncomfortable, but she could not exhale it.

Unfortunately, after Dong Nuan smiled, she retracted her gaze and stopped looking.

Even after the dishes on the dining table were removed, no one left because Old Master Dong, who usually left the table after eating, did not leave, so it was obvious that he had something to say. No one dared to get up and leave first.

“This afternoon, the Liao family next door came over to talk about the marriage between our two families. Lil Nuan has already made a rough agreement with the Han family. When the Liao family heard about this, they specially came over to talk about it.” Old Master Dong got straight to the point.

The entire village knew about Dong Nuan and Han Jianglou. The Liao family must also know.

With Madam Liao’s pure and arrogant personality, how could she accept Dong Nuan becoming her son’s wife?

Therefore, she had specially come over at noon either because she wanted to break things off with Dong Nuan and try to find someone else.

Old Master Dong was bringing this up, so the family thought about it and figured that he probably wanted to find a replacement.

If they just broke things off, they could pretend that the previous matter never existed. The relationship between the two families would turn cold, and the previous matter would be left unsettled.

If there was someone else…

As everyone thought about it, Eldest Aunt had straightened her back and entered a combative state.

She had nurtured Dong Miao with all her heart. In the future, she would marry into the city and be the grandmother of the young master of a prestigious family. She could not let her become the wife of the poor scholar next door!

Although Dong Ya was young, she could not resist the Liao family’s scheming. What if?

Second Aunt straightened her neck and said teasingly, “This has to do with the Han family. Why don’t we see which family gives us more gifts and money? We’ll give Lil Nuan to whoever has more money.”

At this point, Second Aunt sneered and looked at Dong Nuan with a gaze full of malice. “I really didn’t expect our Lil Nuan to be so charming. Young Master Liao likes her, and that poor kid from the Han family wants her too.”

This was an implicit mockery of how indecent Dong Nuan was.

Dong Nuan pretended not to understand and replied with a smile, “Yes, it’s better to be charming than a bore.”

Her words made Second Aunt’s face turn red again. She had been holding back for a long time and was about to turn purple.

“Second Uncle.” Seeing that Second Aunt still wanted to speak dishonestly, Old Dong raised his hand and knocked on the dining table, saying coldly.

The fire in Second Aunt’s head instantly calmed. She glanced at Old Dong like a quail and obediently retracted her head without saying anything.

Seeing that she had stopped, Old Master Dong continued. “The Liao family means to take good care of Dong Xing. You can discuss it in your room. If you think it’s a good match, you can ask your mother to agree later. If you don’t think it’s suitable, you can ask your mother to reject it.”

When she heard that the Liao family had taken a fancy to Dong Xing again, Second Aunt’s first reaction was to scream that she did not agree.

The Liao family was a fire pit. How could she push her own daughter into that?

However, Old Dong’s words left some leeway for her to consider things. This made Second Aunt’s anger subside a little.

She wanted to reject him on the spot, but after thinking about it, she felt that that would not be good. They still wanted to reap the Liao family’s benefits. If she rejected them, would the other branches not be angry and hate her because of it?

Second Aunt’s eyes darted around, then she forced a smile and said, “Lil Xing is still a child and doesn’t know any better. If she really goes to the Liao family, I’m afraid she won’t be able to adapt. Why don’t we let Lil Mei go over? Lil Mei is steady and sensible, and she’s also very agile.”

This was to test Old Master Dong.

How could Old Master Dong not know what she was thinking? He looked at her with a faint smile, then said in a deep voice, “If you think it’s not suitable, just tell your mother to inform the Liao family.”

Old Master Dong did not continue. Second Aunt’s face turned red. She stammered for a long time but did not say anything.

Dong Nuan looked at Second Aunt, who was speechless, and said with a big smile, “Second Aunt, when our family marries a daughter over, Scholar Liao will teach our boys how to read. This is a matter the two families have agreed upon. If Sister Mei really goes over, Fourth Uncle’s family will probably miss her.”

Fourth Uncle did not have a son in his room right now. He could not even reap any benefits, so why did he need his daughter?