Mrs. Mei's Survival Diary - Chapter 7

Hearts Across the Belly

As soon as she crossed the threshold, Zhao Qian sighed lazily. The two maids waiting next to her obediently went to her sides and supported her. Zhao Qian walked over coquettishly while fussing with the lovely clothes covering her body. She said, “My sister-in-law, you can’t be that harsh even though the older brother is no longer here.” Zhao Qian immediately grinned coquettishly and replied, as if recalling something. “Oh, you’re right. When my eldest brother’s bones were not cold, you couldn’t stand the loneliness and seduced the second master. I almost forgot that my sister-in-law had no affection for my eldest brother.”

 “What nonsense are you talking about?” Rong Yinshuang yelled angrily.

Rong Yinshuang’s anger didn’t frighten Zhao Qian, who gave her a disdainful look and remarked. “In other words, “Sister-in-law, you are lucky. This face seems very foxy, and you will not be able to suffer with such a face.”

Rong Yinshuang was so furious that she was unable to even speak properly as she stared at Zhao Qian and hated that she couldn’t dig out her entire heart and liver to see if it was black. Rong Yinshuang desperately suppressed her tears because she didn’t want to appear weak in front of this evil person.

Zhao Qian continued to speak caustically. “I can’t even stand here for a half-second. Look at this place.”

Rong Yinshuang glanced away, took a deep breath, her nails almost digging into her flesh with hatred, and pointed to the door angrily. “Get out of here for me!” Roll-“

Zhao Qian saw that Rong Yinshuang was angry and finally showed a successful look, proudly hooked the corner of her mouth, and snorted coldly. “Yo, your temper has risen!” Then she raised her hand and slapped Rong Yinshuang and screamed, “Do you think you are still the madam of the Mei family? How dare you talk like that? The eldest brother used to treat you like a jewel, and now that the eldest brother is dead, you are still here to put on a madam’s air, and you are not afraid of laughing out loud!”

Rong Yinshuang’s beaten face was turned to the side, and her eyes flashed with hatred. She didn’t want to surrender to Zhao Qian, so she threw herself into Zhao Qian, grabbed her hair bun, and tore it vigorously. Zhao Qian was surprised by the unexpected attack, but she was the daughter of a martial arts master, and she had a little strength in her hands, so she quickly entered the situation and started to fight with Rong Yinshuang. Rong Yinshuang was quickly suppressed by Zhao Qian and her maids.

Zhao Qian got up from the ground and did not care about tidying up her messy hair, but came up and slapped Rong Yinshuang twice and said angrily, “You used to always look at us in a high-minded posture. I want to see: without Mei Yuan, what could you do? Dare to fight with me… in your dreams!”

Rong Yinshuang did not show weakness. “I never wanted to fight with you! Where did I treat you badly before? Is there a good thing that I wouldn’t have without you? When Xianggong was alive, he raised your second and third rooms. Did he ever say no? You are ungrateful; you bullied our orphans and widows, and now you came to make trouble for no reason?”

[T/L: “Xianggong” is the nickname of Rong Yinshuang’s husband, Mei Yuan. And the “second room” and “third room” are the families of Mei Yuan’s brothers. He was the eldest child of the Mei family.]

A mocking smirk formed at the corner of Zhao Qian’s mouth as she fixed her attention on the enraged Rong Yinshuang. “You treat me well? Put an end to your loud laughter. Would you have been kind to me if I hadn’t held you and followed you around? You choose which of your alms to send to me as garbage when you give me any of them. Nope!” Zhao Qian was not unsatisfied after saying this, so she again went close to Rong Yinshuang’s ear and spoke in a voice that only two people could hear. “You have the audacity to say you are nice to me!  I ought to wed Mei Yuan! All of your favours ought to have been mine! Do you really think I don’t hate you if you stole everything from me and I still have to flatter you every day?”

Rong Yinshuang found Zhao Qian’s words to be too unbelievable. She didn’t think such things. She didn’t think that Zhao Qian wanted to marry Mei Yuan before.

It made her feel so chilly inside to think of how long she had been with such a bad person. The sister-in-law she treated as a sister was really such a cruel person.

Zhao Qian straightened up after saying this, and the corner of her mouth twisted into a savage grin. “Now it’s all right, your supporter has vanished, and I will frequently come to you in the future to reminisce, and by the way, calculate the old accounts in front,” she said. After saying this, Zhao Qian stood up straight. Her maid then came over to arrange her clothes and the hair bun. Once everything was in order, Zhao Qian turned around and exited the Taoist temple, followed by the group of maids she had brought.

The maids followed Zhao Qian’s carriage. When the carriage was bumpy, the curtain was blown up by the wind, suddenly revealing a miserable white face, motionless and sitting next to Zhao Qian. Rong Yinshuang touched the corner of her mouth and followed her to the door. Rong Yinshuang wanted to observe clearly, but as the curtain was dropped, she was unable to see anything, and the carriage moved further and further away. As a result, she withdrew her eyes, went behind the Taoist temple, and called back Da’er and Mo’er, who were playing.

The two children came back, and Da’er continued to stare at the wound on his mother’s face with a questioning look. She didn’t say what had happened to her children and told them to go inside and play until she prepared food.

Rong Yinshuang carried the vegetable basket to the kitchen before shutting the rickety courtyard door. She had previously thought Zhao Qian’s temper to be a little odd, but she had not anticipated that Zhao Qian would go to such extreme measures to exact revenge. According to what she claimed, Zhao Qian held a bitter resentment against herself, and Rong Yinshuang was frightened that she would not let her go so easily and would come to bother her again. And she was thinking about the miserable-looking figure in the carriage next to Zhao Qian. ‘Who is she? Why was she seated next to Zhao Qian?’

As it was Zhao Qian’s personal matter, Rong Yinshuang had no intention of interfering. After all, whether good or terrible, her karma was always her own, and she must bear it no matter what.

 ………………………………

 After eating, Rong Yinshuang sat at the stone table in the yard, counting the remaining money. Plus, since the old woman left yesterday, there were still five hundred and eight taels plus seventy-six taels. She did not plan to use the five hundred taels because she wanted to save them for Da’er’s studies. Although they were driven out of the Mei Mansion, she couldn’t let her sons’ futures be ruined, so finding a scholar to teach her son next year was a must. 

 ‘But in this way, how could we save money?’ She had to use the money to live, and she had to find a way to make money. Remembering that when she was in Mei Mansion in the past, a maid in the mansion once said that some embroidery products were often sold in the silk village for outsiders. If she could do some embroidery there, she could earn some money. Thinking so, she took Da Er and Mo’er out.

 ……………………………….

After crossing the Bridge, she came across a silk shop. The shop owner there was a woman, and she was quite polite to Rong Yinshuang. She decided to try Rong Yinshuang’s needlework first, and after that, she judged Rong Yinshuang’s skill.

“It’s not exquisite, but it’s still neat, then take ten pieces back and do it first.”

Rong Yinshuang grinned broadly and repeatedly thanked the shop owner, saying, “Yes, thank you, shop owner. I will definitely do it well.”

The shop owner gave her a quick look before turning to look at Da’er and Mo’er, who were outside playing. “I feel pity for those children. Where is your husband?”

 “He passed away recently, “Rong Yinshuang said with tears in her eyes. 

The shop owner looked surprised at Rong Yinshuang, glanced at the two children again, and took the abacus to calculate. “Embroider well, and if you can deliver on time, I will give you more work in the future. For other people’s first pieces, I only pay forty taels a piece, I will give you sixty.”

“Yes, I will definitely embroider well.  Thank you, shop owner.”

Rong Yinshuang’s heart finally softened after receiving the embroidery; as long as there was a place to use her, she was already content. Regardless of how much money she could make, she would always work hard to give her children a stable life.

Following her, the two kids turned to the left and right, the oldest took two branches and gave one to Mo’er, and the two kids waved the branches joyfully. Rong Yinshuang had to yell at them to remember. “Be careful, not hit others.”

However, as soon as the words were spoken, the eldest backed up and ran into another person. The two kids got frightened and ran back to Rong Yinshuang, hiding behind her. Rong Yinshuang quickly apologised to the man. “The kid didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”

Seeing the man’s face, Rong Yinshuang was shocked. It was the man who saved her when she tried to kill herself. However, the girl who was on his shoulder was not present today. He didn’t get angry like that day, and he just went forward with a dull and confused look without looking at them.

End of chapter 7

Have a nice day!