Chapter 82: The Dagger

Chapter 82: The Dagger

Yan Sanhe didn't answer her question but continued in the tone of an elderly woman.

"You're the daughter-in-law I took a fancy to at first sight. You're the one I cherish most in my heart. Be obedient and don't quarrel or make a fuss. I'll treat you even better in the future."

Pei Xiao seemed to grasp something but was still puzzled. "Why would my grandmother do this?"

"Let me speculate."

Yan Sanhe stood up and walked around the flower hall with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he stopped. "There should be two objectives."

Pei Xiao was more anxious than anyone. "Tell me quickly."

"The Zhang family chose you, so naturally, you'd side with them and with the late legitimate mother-in-law, Madam Zhang. You wouldn't hold much regard for your own mother-in-law, who was once a concubine but then elevated."

Yan Sanhe shifted the topic.

"As for the old madam, due to her status and the fact that her son doesn't stand by her, she's always lacked confidence. She's been enduring silently all along."

"But in this world, no mother-in-law can bear to be dominated by her daughter-in-law. She wouldn't accept that. Besides, she herself was once a daughter-in-law who eventually became the matriarch. So, she is even less willing to let that happen."

Pei Xiao asked, "So she framed my third aunt?"

Yan Sanhe replied, "It wasn't a frame-up, but rather an opportunity for her to display both kindness and authority."

Pei Xiao queried, "What do you mean by displaying kindness and authority?"

"In the situation where the elder madam was unconscious, her four sons would naturally be worried. The two younger ones, bound by blood ties, would be concerned out of nature. As for the two older ones, apart from their natural concern, they also fear that if anything happens to the elder madam, they might have to observe the three-year mourning period, which could affect their official careers. Thus, they would be even more anxious."

Yan Sanhe paused before continuing, "When the two elder daughters-in-law witnessed this scene, they understood one thing: the living always have the upper hand over the dead. They must show respect to the elder madam, after all, their husbands came from her womb. That's the authority."

"And what about the kindness?"

Surprisingly, it was Ji Lingchuan who posed this question.

Yan Sanhe sneered, "Didn't your wife receive her kindness? Think back, hasn't she shown great respect to your mother ever since?"

A vivid montage of those days flashed before Ji Lingchuan's eyes.

Indeed.

His first wife, Shao Shi, tearfully pledged to attend to their elderly matriarch's illness; seeing her dedication, his second sister-in-law couldn't stand idly by. Together, the two wives took turns caring for the ailing woman for nearly a month.

Indeed.

After the matriarch recovered, Shao Shi visited her morning and evening, presenting her with delicacies and entertainment. She often engaged the elder in intimate conversation, fostering a harmonious relationship between the Ji family's mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.

Yan Sanhe turned to grasp Ning Shi's hand. "Madam Third, do you agree with my assessment?"

Ning Shi's mouth hung open, unable to utter a single word.

Both at the bloom of youth, why was this Miss Yan so perceptive and wise, while she herself was as foolish as a pig, still believing the matriarch's deceit after that incident?

"Is there anything else you wish to express?"

"I... Too much... So many things!"

Ning's emotions were so overwhelming that her words stumbled. Despite feeling the icy coldness of the hands holding hers, she didn't want them to let go; she wished to be held like this forever.

"Choose the one that haunts you the most to speak about."

"The thing I... I can't get over the most happened when our eldest daughter was born."

Ning sobbed, "The moment she was born, the midwife announced it was a girl, and I heard a long sigh."

"Did the matriarch make that sound?"

"Yes!"

"At that time, the umbilical cord was still intact, and I was still bleeding. That sigh made me feel like the worst sinner, like I had wronged the Ji family's ancestors, her, and everyone else..."

Thinking of how this sigh had haunted her dreams for years, Ning couldn't help but let out a piercing, shrill cry.

"Don't I want to have a son? Of course I do. What can I do... What can I possibly do? I don't have her fortune, after all!"

Yan Sanhe felt a chill run down his spine. "Did this sigh spark your resentment towards her?"

"No, not yet!"

Ning sobbed uncontrollably. "She entrusted the child to the midwife and then came over to hold my hand, telling me to take good care of my health and that there would be other opportunities in the future. She even said, she even said..."

"What did she say?"

"She said she wouldn't allow anyone to be placed in my room, nor would she permit my husband to take concubines. She assured me not to worry because everything would be fine with her around."

In that instant, Ning forgot about the sigh and felt as if the woman before her was not her mother-in-law but her own mother.

Only a loving mother would protect her like this.

"Were you moved by her words?"

"Not only moved, but I also feel so grateful to the heavens for giving me such a wonderful mother-in-law. From now on, I must be even more filial to her."

"And then?"

"Well..."

Ning's glare became blatantly fierce.

"She didn't send anyone to my quarters, but she summoned our son to her room every few days. By the time Eldest Miss celebrated her hundredth day, that wench was already a month pregnant."

"The wench you're referring to is Old Madam's servant girl, right?"

"Who else?"

Ning's teeth gritted audibly.

"Do you know where that wench and Young Master were intimate? In her own chamber. While they were engaged in their activities, she instructed her maid to fetch an armchair and sit outside the courtyard to guard their door."

Even Yan Sanhe, known for his composure, couldn't maintain his calm at this revelation.

"She thought I was oblivious, that I was a fool."

Ning trembled from head to toe, letting out a sharp cry, "But I'm not stupid! I have eyes and ears, and I can think for myself."

In the reception hall, an awkward silence ensued once more.

Yan Sanhe felt the hand he held trembling incessantly in his grasp.

Why was that?

The once innocent and kind fisherman's daughter, after finally ascending to a position where no one could restrain her, had ultimately transformed into another person entirely.

"She promoted the concubine later?" she asked.

Ning replied, "With the child already growing in her womb, what else could she do?"

Yan Sanhe: "Was it a son?"

Ning: "Yes."

Yan Sanhe: "Did the old madam want to register that son under your name?"

Madam Ning gritted her teeth so hard that they clicked.

"I did refuse. I told her that even if I never bore a son and was eventually cast off by the Ji family, I would never raise that concubine's illegitimate child."

Yan Sanhe sighed inwardly.

Her words were a veiled attack on Old Madam Ji, declaring an open war without leaving any room for retreat.

Madam Ning pulled her hand out of Yan Sanhe's grasp, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, then gave a bitter smile.

"Miss Yan, do you know where a knife pierces the deepest?"

"In the back."

"And who inflicts the most painful stab?"

"The one you trust the most."

"I swore to myself: from now on, whoever brings me pain will receive it in return; whoever makes me cry will cry themselves; whoever stabs me once will be met with tenfold retribution."

Madam Ning slowly closed her eyes and spoke deliberately,

"This life, no matter who she is, she shall not dare to bully me, not even in her wildest dreams!"