A Good Country Wife-Chapter 613 - 607_1

Nurse Xu couldn’t help but laugh at the outrage, "This Mrs. Qian, does she really want to oppose me, or is her mind just not up to par? Can’t she see what time it is? She makes mistakes yet doesn’t listen when others try to stop her, and now she’s even ordering around the servants of other families."

"Does she expect me to take the blame for her? Mrs. Qian must think quite highly of herself, but why should I bear it? Before, my lady was only holding back because of the Zhao Anyu problem, thinking that Mrs. Qian wouldn’t stay long, so she let Mrs. Qian make trouble in the house without a word. Mrs. Qian, oblivious to reality, actually thought my lady was giving her face, and got all high and mighty."

"Really? I beg to differ! Who do you think the refugees are, to be courteous and righteous with you? I’m afraid the moment you open the door, there will be countless refugees rushing in!" Nurse Xu sneered. There wasn’t a hint of scaremongering in her voice; if they really opened the door, everyone knew what would happen without guessing. Thank heavens the courtyard walls were solidly built, or the house would have already been looted without waiting for anything to happen. No number of servants could contend with the onslaught of refugees pouring in.

Mrs. Qian still didn’t believe it. With a sarcastic smile on her face, she gestured sharply with her hand toward Nurse Xu. "Who are you trying to frighten? Why not open the door now and see if refugees really do burst in? Let’s see what you’ll have to say then. You’re old and yet you love stirring up trouble so much—I’ve never seen a more annoying hag!"

"Try it? As if it’s something to be tried lightly. Who do you think you are? Can you take responsibility for it? I really want to know who hasn’t recognized their own status properly, hence they dare to hop around in someone else’s house so boldly..." Nurse Xu hadn’t yet finished her words when the refugees leaning against the door outside, perhaps overhearing Mrs. Qian’s mention of opening the back door, got too excited and made a noise. At this moment, everyone, whether Nurse Xu or Mrs. Qian, Zhao Cheng or the two servants guarding the gate, all fell silent, exchanging glances as they listened to the noise from outside.

Mrs. Qian shrank back, realizing that this time, if she really had the servants open the back door, it would cause a terrible disaster. She never thought there would be refugees lurking outside the door; she thought Nurse Xu was just exaggerating and scaring her on purpose, but now she knew it was real.

Mrs. Qian had been too at ease these days. Ever since the Zhao Anyu’s family assets were taken over, she had suffered some minor hardships, but then Zhao Anyu sought refuge with Zhao Erhu, and the time spent at the Zhao Family was even better than before. Later, after Zhao Anyu became a school teacher, Mrs. Qian moved with him. Although life was not as affluent as when living at Zhao Erhu’s, because Zhao Anyu was now a village teacher, the villagers respected her greatly. As a result, her self-esteem and vanity swelled.

Even when the refugees entered the village due to a flood, Mrs. Qian was only frightened for a few days. After a large number of refugees came to their village, Lin Yue took in Mrs. Qian’s family. With meals delivered three times a day and no need to lift a finger, life became easy and comfortable. The initial fear soon dissipated, and she started to idle around the residence, walking here and there, casually ordering around servants without a thought for the refugee situation outside. She had always felt safe behind the numerous servants and sturdy courtyard walls of the Zhao Family, especially given Mrs. Qian’s not especially sharp mind. Even as the situation outside become increasingly chaotic and tense, and the household servants began to worry, she hardly felt it, until in this moment she was abruptly jolted to a realization, feeling a delayed sense of fear.

Several people pressed their ears against the door, and it seemed the refugees outside also realized that their noise had alerted the occupants. Pretending any further was useless, so they just started moving freely. From inside, they heard the commotion suddenly intensify—clearly there were a lot of people.

Zhao Cheng had not expected that these refugees were so cunning, waiting outside silently, just waiting for someone like him to fall into their ploy. He thought about what the situation would have been like if he had persuaded the servant to open the door and go out just now. Zhao Cheng felt a wave of fear and broke out in a cold sweat, grateful that he had been stopped by Madam Xu. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have mattered if he was the only one affected; involving everyone else would not only make him feel guilty and insecure, his daughter-in-law would never forgive him either.

While reflecting on this, Zhao Cheng saw the composed Madam Xu and deeply bowed to her, "Madam Xu, I owe you a great favor today. I was too young and ignorant of what’s important. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have caused a disaster. Had I brought trouble to everyone in the household, I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life. Please accept my apology and from now on, should you have any orders, I will not decline."

Madam Xu was initially upset but seeing how Zhao Cheng responded, she realized that his intentions were not bad, merely misguided by foolish filial piety and lacking in experience and knowledge. It was a relief that they managed to avert a disaster in time.

Madam Xu sighed. In the end, Mrs. Qian was right – she was just a servant, and it was not her place to be angry with her mistress’s relatives. Even if Zhao Cheng and Mrs. Qian were at fault, it was up to the mistress to decide their fate. She couldn’t overstep her bounds! Her mistress valued her as a member of the family, and naturally, would not mind, but Madam Xu couldn’t let herself spoil the rules and betray her mistress’s kindness and favor.

"No need to speak of it. As I have said, I was only following the mistress’s commands. I didn’t mean to make things hard for anyone and there was no ulterior motive. It’s all part of my duties. Son-in-law, you only need to remember the lesson from this time and not repeat the same mistake in the future. Sometimes good intentions can lead to bad outcomes, and even filial piety needs to be exercised at the right time," Madam Xu said.

Zhao Cheng took Madam Xu’s words to heart, "You are right, Madam Xu. I’ve been scared enough this time to not dare do it again. It won’t happen again in the future," he understood.

At that moment, Zhao Cheng felt some regret, but it was overshadowed by a sense of relief, and as for the Wei Family, his birth mother, he had done his best. Although he still felt worried, the feelings of guilt had dissipated.

Zhao Cheng was still unaware at that time that the refugees guarding the back door had been led there by the Wei Family. Otherwise, considering the location’s seclusion and the refugees being outsiders, they might not have found the place. Because some refugees had attempted to rob the Wei Family’s hidden food, she wanted to protect her last remaining food and, harboring deep resentment towards Zhao Erhu’s family, she revealed everything she knew about the Zhao Family to the refugees, even proactively giving them a few suggestions. At that time, she didn’t consider whether her son would be affected if the refugees stormed into Zhao Erhu’s home, showing that even though the Wei Family might feel guilty towards Zhao Cheng, her habitual selfishness meant she would not give much thought to his well-being.

By then, Zhao Anyu and Li Xiaomei had heard the news and hurried over, even Lin Yue came upon hearing the news.