USWHC -Chapter 30 The Runaway Bride (Part 10)

“Speak! What were you doing in Erhan’s room so early in the morning?” Old Madam Ji stood at the kitchen doorway, coldly questioning Sister-in-law You. She absolutely didn’t believe that sneaking into her younger brother-in-law’s bed at dawn was just to wake her sister-in-law to cook. Who was she trying to fool?

Sister-in-law You stammered and hummed for a long time, unable to give an answer. She just stood there with her head lowered, drawing circles on the ground with her foot.

Seeing this, Old Madam Ji immediately became angry. “Speak! What exactly were you trying to do? Our Ji family does not tolerate shameless, loose women!”

Her fierce shout startled Sister-in-law You so badly that she jumped. “Mother, no! How could I be that kind of person? I just… I just wanted to…”

“Wanted to do what? You’d better explain yourself honestly, or don’t blame me for making Eldest divorce you!” Old Madam Ji threatened coldly.

Hearing this, Sister-in-law You panicked immediately. She hurriedly cried out, “Mother, please don’t! I really didn’t go there to touch Erhan! I… I went to touch Erhan’s wife!”

“What?” Old Madam Ji’s eyes nearly popped out. No way… was this some kind of strange preference?

“No, no! I didn’t go to touch Erhan’s wife either—I went to touch her clothes!” Seeing Old Madam Ji’s expression, Sister-in-law You instantly realized she had misunderstood and hurriedly explained. “It’s like this, Mother—I saw that Erhan’s wife is hiding a treasure! I went to feel for the treasure!”

“A treasure? What treasure?” The moment Old Madam Ji heard that, she became excited, her eyes gleaming.

“A white jade hairpin!” Just mentioning it made Sister-in-law You’s voice tremble. “As thick as a finger!” She raised her rough thumb and gestured repeatedly.

Her hands were already large; if the jade hairpin was as thick as her thumb, it must be worth quite a lot of money. Especially since it was white jade. The moment Old Madam Ji thought of that possibility, her eyes practically turned into the shape of silver ingots, as if she could already see piles and piles of money.

But Old Madam Ji still couldn’t help questioning, “Did you really see it clearly?”

“Yes! Yesterday when she bathed and changed clothes, I saw it with my own eyes. She hid it inside her inner garment!” Sister-in-law You said firmly. “Although I only saw the handle of the hairpin, the color of the jade alone was shining so brightly—it was obviously something valuable!”

Hearing this, Old Madam Ji grew even more excited. Wow! Now this was truly a windfall. Not only had they picked up a wife without spending a single coin, but the wife even brought a treasure with her! Heaven had finally opened its eyes!

Old Madam Ji slapped her thigh and rushed excitedly toward Sister-in-law You. “You wretched woman! Why didn’t you say this earlier? I bet you wanted to keep it all for yourself! Tell me—did you get your hands on it?”

“Mother, how could I!” Sister-in-law You quickly explained. “I was just afraid that if too many people knew, it might cause trouble! And when I went in, Erhan’s wife had already gone out. I really didn’t get anything!”

Only after hearing that did Old Madam Ji release her grip on Sister-in-law You’s collar. With an eager expression, she said, “Come on, let’s go ask her for it. We’re all family now—if there’s money, it should be handed over to the household! And she dares hide something from me? Too outrageous!”

As soon as she heard this, Sister-in-law You quickly grabbed her. “Mother, if you go like that, how could she possibly give it to you? And if you had something that valuable, would you hand it over so easily?”

Of course not! Old Madam Ji snorted inwardly. Forget giving it away—if someone dared to try and snatch it, she would fight them to the death.

Still, she understood that Sister-in-law You was right. They couldn’t just demand it outright. But giving it up was absolutely impossible. Once something entered her little piece of territory, it belonged to her. Even if someone brought in nothing more than a needle and thread, she would strip it off them!

Her eyes rolled as a plan quickly formed in her mind.

“You go ask Mei for a set of clothes and deliver it to her,” she said with a sly grin. “Heh heh, we should show some concern for her too!”

As she spoke, she raised her eyebrows and gave a malicious smile.

Sister-in-law You immediately caught on.

That’s right—it was time to show some proper “concern” for their new sister-in-law.