Chapter 199: Lucky Baby Story Fifteen

Chapter 199: Blessed Child Story Fifteen

At this moment, Old Lady Wen was sitting back smugly, watching the commotion unfold before her while secretly calculating how to extract more benefits from the chaos.

She wasn’t the least bit worried about missing out on meat tonight, because that little minx You Yu had already taken out the eggs she had saved up and specially steamed a fragrant, silky steamed egg pudding for the elderly couple. It seemed that Tang Tang, that sneaky girl, still wasn’t being honest—she must have kept some of the things she found instead of handing them all over.

Before cooking, You Yu had even obsequiously suggested to her, "Mother, since we won’t be doing any heavy labor tonight, why don’t we skip the meat? It’ll help us save a little."

Old Lady Wen thought this was a fine idea and readily agreed, deciding to humor You Yu’s little performance.

However, what she never expected was that behind You Yu’s seemingly meek and obedient behavior lay the ambition to usurp authority in this household!

How could this be allowed? She would never permit a mere daughter-in-law to climb over her head and act high and mighty!

With a furious slam on the table, Old Lady Wen glared at You Yu and roared, "You Yu, you insolent bitch! How dare you try to take over my household? Have the heavens been overturned?"

"Mother, I never meant it that way! This is all a misunderstanding by Eldest Brother's wife! I only did it for your sake, for the good of the family!" You Yu panicked and hurriedly tried to explain.

"Mother, you heard exactly what she said just now. Do you really think I misunderstood her? You mustn’t let her sweet talk deceive you!" Tao Ye chimed in, her face plastered with a seemingly sincere smile, though her eyes glinted with barely concealed malice.

"You Yu, how dare you still try to mouth off and argue with me now!" Old Lady Wen’s fury flared even higher. She stomped her foot, her finger nearly jabbing into You Yu’s nose as she scolded, "You clearly want to be the death of me!"

Tears welled up in You Yu’s eyes as she looked pitifully at Old Lady Wen, her voice trembling. "Mother, I truly never thought that way. If you don’t believe me, I—I’ll swear it in front of you! If I’ve lied even once, may I die a horrible death!"

But Old Lady Wen remained unmoved, bellowing, "Hah! Swear all you want—do you think that proves anything? Stop putting on this act! Let me make this clear, You Yu: this household isn’t yours to rule! From now on, you’d better behave, or don’t blame me for what happens!"

Standing nearby, Tao Ye secretly gloated but put on a show of mediating, fanning the flames further. "Oh, Third Sister-in-law, at this point, there’s no use arguing. Just admit your mistake to Mother and beg for forgiveness!"

You Yu bit her lip and lowered her head, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze. She thought to herself that no matter how much she explained, the stubborn old woman would never believe her.

A wave of frustration and helplessness washed over her. Just as she hesitated whether to yield and apologize, a voice spoke up.

It was Tang Tang. "Grandma, my mother really didn’t mean it that way! Please believe her this once! Besides, I was the one who found those things—isn't it my right to decide who gets to eat them?"

She walked over to Old Lady Wen, tugging gently at her sleeve with a pleading look.

But Tao Ye wasn’t having it. She retorted, "Tang Tang, that’s not how family rules work! Our family hasn’t split yet—by tradition, anything good should be shared among everyone. Just because you found it doesn’t mean you can withhold it from others! If we follow your logic, then since your father always slacks off during farming, should your family even get to eat?"

Tang Tang’s face flushed crimson red with anger. She glared at Tao Ye and snapped, "Then what about Second Uncle's family? He works in the fields too, so why didn’t you ever share meat with Second Aunt before?"

At this point, Tang Tang didn’t particularly dislike Tang Suisui or the second branch. But as she grew older and became the one reaping the benefits, she began to think it was only natural for Tang Suisui and the others to suffer a little.

Her words struck like thunder. Old Lady Wen’s wrinkled face twisted in fury, her cloudy eyes widening.

Tao Ye’s smug expression vanished, and she kept glancing nervously at Li Yanyan. You Yu frowned and shot Tang Tang a glare. Even the usually easygoing Tang Dahai seemed deep in thought, as if only now realizing the truth.

"Mother, Tang Tang is right. Why is it that even though I work just as hard as Eldest Brother, and Li Yanyan and the others do even more than Eldest Sister-in-law, we never get to eat what we want? You always say women and children should eat less meat, but in the end, it’s only our branch that always goes without, while the other two branches get their fill of meat and eggs!"

Tang Dahai grew angrier as he spoke, his chest heaving and veins bulging on his forehead. He had always been honest and kind, but that didn’t mean he was stupid.

He had never dwelled on these matters before, and since Li Yanyan never complained, he hadn’t noticed the unfairness. But now that Tang Tang had laid it bare, all the past injustices came flooding back, making him realize just how much his family had suffered.

"Second Son, what are you implying? Are you saying I’ve been unfair? Hah! After all the hardships I endured raising you, never did I imagine you’d accuse me like this! Ah, the saying is true—a son forsakes his mother once he gets a wife! My heart… it aches so much!"

Old Lady Wen suddenly began pounding her chest with her fists, melodramatically wailing loudly as if the world were ending.