Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 492: Besieged on All Sides (1)
Due to her worries about Di Yelei, Liu Sisi was constantly distracted during the day.

She nearly dropped her bowl while eating, ink dripping from her brush-pen while writing, directly soaking through several layers of paper.

Even when combing YingEr’s hair, she only managed to do half before stopping. She was startled by YingEr’s shout, almost pulling off a clump of YingEr’s hair, making YingEr cry for a while and leaving her feeling extremely remorseful…

Eventually, even her father-in-law came to ask her if something was wrong.

“It’s nothing, Father. Sisi just didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m feeling very sleepy. If I go rest for a while, I’ll be fine.”

She forced a smile before returning to her room.

It is said that concern causes chaos, and the main reason she was so worried about Ye Lei was because she understood that the current situation was critical for Di Yelei!

Yet she couldn’t help him!

She tossed and turned restlessly on the bed, finally managing to doze off, only to be awakened by a series of noises outside, making it difficult for her to fall asleep again.

A moment later, she heard Ms. Gao’s report.

“Madam, the Old Madam is outside the residence asking to see Old Master.”

Liu Sisi struggled to get up, her consciousness still somewhat groggy.

“What’s going on?”

Ms. Gao hurried to help her tidy her clothes and whispered, “Old Master won’t let anyone let the Old Madam in, so… actually, she came yesterday too, but was driven away by Old Master.”

“I see.”

Listening to the commotion outside, Liu Sisi’s eyes flashed with understanding.

Her father-in-law usually seemed very easygoing, but once his bottom line was crossed, he was the type who wouldn’t budge no matter how hard you tried. The more trouble Ms. Zhao caused, the more suffering she would bring upon herself.

By the time Liu Sisi had freshened up and stepped out, she heard a harsh reprimand from an angle.

“Don’t bother with her!”

Liu Sisi instinctively turned her head and saw her father-in-law standing not far behind her, his face gloomy.

“Father…”

Liu Sisi hesitated.

“Don’t go!”

Elderly Mr. Di showed no signs of softening. After speaking, he turned and left.

“But, Father, this looks very bad. After all, Ye Lei’s status is different now. If we continue to ignore her like this, I’m afraid…”

Liu Sisi searched for an excuse.

Elderly Mr. Di paused for a moment, but said nothing more and entered the room.

In truth, Liu Sisi could tell that Elderly Mr. Di must have had a good relationship with his original wife; otherwise, he wouldn’t have cared so much even after all these years. It would be false to say that he had no feelings for Ms. Zhao; after all, they had spent twenty to thirty years together. Even raising a dog for that long would lead to attachment.

Since Elderly Mr. Di didn’t stop her, Liu Sisi got up and went outside.

“…You old, undead thing! You blackhearted man, can you really be so ruthless, trying to drive me, your wife, to death! I’ll die right here in this courtyard, and I’ll see…”

Ms. Zhao was cursing loudly when she heard footsteps by the main entrance. Her face lit up in delight, and she quickly stopped talking.

But when she saw that it was Liu Sisi who had come out, her smile faded once more.

“Why is it you? Where is that old man? Where did he go off to die?”

“Sisi pays her respects to her mother-in-law. It wasn’t heartless of your daughter-in-law to close the door, but my father has been unwilling to relent. As a daughter-in-law, I…I have been caught in a difficult situation.”

Liu Sisi bent slightly with her pregnant belly while greeting Zhao.

Just now, she glanced around and noticed numerous onlookers, so naturally, she would perform the necessary etiquettes.

“Enough! This old woman cannot bear your bow, Mrs.Sub-Captain. Where’s the old man? Go and call him out!” Ms.Zhao’s face was darkened with anger.

Last times encounter left her apprehensive; at that moment, she was indeed hurt by this young woman! But over the past few days, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was off. That detestable Liu Sisi had said so much, but in reality, the issues weren’t solved at all.

It was a waste of time to be intimidated by her words back then.

“Mother-in-law, I really can’t say anything about the conflicts between my father and you as your daughter-in-law.”

Liu Sisi spoke softly and weakly, looked up at Ms. Zhao, and quickly lowered her head again.

Her words made the onlookers who were hiding in the dark nod their heads. Indeed, it’s difficult for a daughter-in-law to speak up in such matters.

“Don’t play these tricks in front of this old woman. Where’s the old man? Call him out quickly!”

Liu Sisi had a grievance on her face: “Mother-in-law, if you have anything to say, please come inside and say it. The ancient saying goes that even a clean official can hardly settle family affairs. We can close the door and discuss the matters between you and Dad in private.”

“You… ”

Ms. Zhao originally wanted to scold further, but seeing Liu Sisi’s eyes full of warning, she softened her tone and murmured as she entered the house.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she could no longer turn her gaze away.

The surrounding furnishings were neat, the courtyard was well-arranged, several children were playing in a corner, and their laughter was endless. Elderly Mr. Di was leaning against the door, watching the playing children attentively, his side facing her direction.

Ms. Zhao’s eyes turned red in an instant.

“Old man…”

Di Yelei rode swiftly to the county town.

Instead of going directly to the armory, he stopped his horse at the gate of the governmental office, leaped off the horse, and immediately tossed the reins and whip to Da Niu and Er Niu who followed closely behind. Then, he looked up.

At the moment, it was still early, and the gate to the governmental office corridor was still closed.

On the contrary, the night runners stationed on both sides of the gate glanced at him, exchanged looks with each other, and didn’t say anything.

“You go to the armory first. I have other matters to attend to, and I’ll be there after I’ve handled them.”

Di Yelei didn’t mind, he simply sat down on the stone bench beside the stone lions in front of the governmental office, and sat there for most of the day.

It was quiet in the governmental office, with no movement at all.

Di Yelei didn’t care, he stubbornly waited in the original spot, with no intention of compromising.

As time passed and it was approaching noontime, there were more people coming and going around, and the front of the county government gate finally became lively.

A sedan chair carried by four people stopped in front of the governmental office gate.

Di Yelei casually looked up and saw the person who came out of the sedan chair; his expression immediately froze!

Why was Zhang Shixin coming to the county governmental office?

“Oh! Look, everyone, isn’t this our Minister Di, Lord Di? How come he’s sitting on the stone steps in front of the county government’s gate like a mourner? If word gets out, I don’t know how people will laugh!”

Zhang Shixin flicked off non-existent dust from his sleeve, his face full of sarcasm.

Di Yelei looked up at him and didn’t say anything, continuing to sit quietly in his original position.

Indeed, an upstart official’s arrogance is really hard to watch!