He took a deep breath. His eyes flashed with a hint of anger, but he still managed to suppress his temper. His voice carried a begrudging compromise.
“The wealth that Zhou Yuhe absconded with, since it involves You’an, I can't just recklessly go and settle the score.
Ugh, let it be.
I'll consider it a price paid to sever his affections for the Zhou family!
After all, Zhou Chengguang, in front of all of us, signed a severance letter today. So, my wife, remember this, the wife of the second master is now of Chu’s lineage, our sisters are of Chu's lineage!
Anyone with the surname Zhou that dares to cause trouble, I’ll hit them with a lawsuit and send them to the local government’s main hall."
Since her husband had made it crystal clear, Lady Liu could finally feel a bit at ease.
"As long as you settle everything well, I won't worry about the rest. As for the younger sister, it's actually fine, today I observed carefully, she's just a bit slow, but with proper tutoring, she’ll be okay.
After all, she was injured in the head, she wasn’t born as an imbecile. Now that you mentioned it, could you invite Uncle Thirteen to come and examine our sister?"
"Right, wife, you need to remember this and remind me later."
Lin Yuanshan nodded.
"But not tomorrow, the break of dawn will be busy. There are many game animals that need to be processed quickly or else they'll spoil in this heat. We also need to invite the clan members over for a meal, there's just too much going on."
Muttering, he stripped and climbed into bed. Lady Liu took off his clothes and hung them on the side of the bed.
“Speaking of the game, it reminds me of something troubling. How can our sister be so strong?
I felt it when she carried me today, but I didn't expect that she would be this strong. With such a small physique, dragging the blind bear in frightened all of us. My daughter-in-law and Fen were scared out of their wits."
"Hahaha, not just you womenfolk, even the old men of the Old Lin Family were stunned."
Lin Yuanshan laughed nonchalantly while his wife gave him a playful slap.
"I am discussing a serious issue. Our sister is unnaturally strong and she has no idea how to conceal it. How are we going to explain this to the clan in the future?"
"Look at you, always worrying over trivial things! This isn’t something that needs your attention. Do you think I, the head of the household, wouldn't know how to handle it? I’ve already smoothed it out!"
The hints of self-satisfaction laced within his words made it clear he wanted praise. Curiosity piqued, Lady Liu asked.
"How did you handle it? Tell me."
“Actually, it's good to keep you informed. Credit is due to my father having previously served in Yingzhou Prefecture, which is some distance away from our hometown. They couldn’t have heard about us there, hence giving me room to manoeuvre."
“Stop beating around the bush, tell me already!"
"Well, the thing is..."
Considering the entire context and the intricate relationships, Lady Liu’s lips couldn’t help but tremble several times, involuntarily bending the story spun by her husband.
"How impressive you both are, deceiving so naturally and convincingly. Could this skill in chicanery be a family tradition of the Old Lin Family?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
A liar would never admit that he is one.
"How can you call it chicanery? I'm just trying to rationalize some unreasonable things in a more plausible way, so they can convince themselves to accept the irrational. It's called being worldly-wise. How can matters of human relationships be called deceit?”
“Keep being obstinate, you never speak the truth. Thankfully, neither of our sons are like you. If they were, I'd be worried sick!”
“That's why neither of them are clever. Look at You'an, he's truly a seed of the Old Lin Family, so astute!”
“Heh heh.”
Lady Liu gave a hollow laugh. The quick-witted Lin Yuanshan quickly changed his tone.
“But that youngster is no good either, deceiving people left and right. One of these days, he’s bound to fall into a ditch. It’s our elder sons who are reliable and comforting. Isn't that right, my dear wife?”
His spineless bandwagon behavior made her lose interest.
“It's getting late, and we must get up early for work tomorrow, let's put out the light and sleep!”
“Alright, dear wife! You lie down inside, leave me some space, I'll put out the light and then fan you.”
Lady Liu moved a bit towards the side and watched as the towering figure stood up to extinguish the oil lamp and then fumbled back onto the bed.
Moments later, a gentle breeze from the swinging fan reached her. She closed her eyes in peace.
The following morning, Chu Chi was awakened by the noise outside the door.
With her hair disheveled and her sleepy eyes half-open, she yawned and opened the door, to find that the Lin family were already up and about.
“Auntie, you’re up?”
Zhang Xuanniang, who had been hanging around her own room's door, quickly greeted her when she felt Chu Chi’s gaze.
"Yes, I'm up."
The Expressionless Newcomer who considers herself worldly-wise nodded. Xuanniang was scared stiff, managed a nervous laugh, and quickly slipped back into her own room.
Lin You'an saw his mum awake. He ran over quickly to straighten her neater clothes, rambling while doing so.
“Mum, what did I tell you yesterday? You forget so quickly. You must put on your clothes properly before stepping out, hair must be combed as well, you cannot appear like this!”
“I've worn correctly.”
Chu Chi adjusted her sleeves and collar. Sister-in-law had taught her last night, and she was wearing her clothes correctly.
“But you need to be orderly before you step out. You’re a girl, you can't be casual like me. Go wash up quickly, it's almost time for breakfast."
Breakfast?
Initially wanting to retort, Chu Chi was immediately at a loss for words. Compliant, she turned around to clean up, clumsily tying her hair together with a wooden stick.
Then, cheerfully running into the courtyard, she had a staring contest with the tiny children on the ground. She had plenty of ways to amuse the little ones, but she guessed that Lin You'an wouldn't appreciate any of them.
Alas, being intelligent could be a troublesome thing. One would always guess the other's mood and end up feeling a bit conflicted.
However, Lin You'an didn't care about his mother's difficulties. He kept an eye on his sister while scrubbing yesterday's dirty clothes in a basin.
Originally, he wanted to take them to the river to wash, but his aunt disagreed, saying he was too young and might fall into the river. It would be best to leave the clothes here, his elder sister would help him wash them later.
But Lin You'an didn't think that was right. Since he had already decided to take responsibility and manage the household, he couldn't rely on his uncle's family for everything.
