USWHC -Chapter 47 The Ungrateful Wretch Who Can’t Be Raised (Part 7)

“Erhan, how did it go?” Early in the morning, Old Madam Ji was already waiting outside the room. The moment Ji Yi stepped out, she hurried forward eagerly to ask.

“Didn’t find anything,” Ji Yi replied, putting on a simple, foolish expression and speaking in an unusually straightforward tone.

The moment she heard that, Old Madam Ji shot him a disappointed glare. “Useless thing! Were you thinking about that all night instead? Didn’t you even check?”

At her words, Ji Yi’s face immediately turned red, as if it were the most natural reaction.

Seeing that, Old Madam Ji instantly felt certain she had guessed correctly.

“You’re going to let women bewitch you to death sooner or later!” she spat angrily. She smacked Ji Yi hard on the shoulder, making him shrink his neck. She was so furious she almost wanted to beat this disappointing son of hers to death.

Meanwhile, Sister-in-law You was still fawning over Zhu Jie. “Little sister, did you sleep well?”

Zhu Jie pretended to be shy, lowering her head and mumbling softly, “It was… alright.”

Her expression seemed to further confirm Ji Yi’s “dedication,” which only made Old Madam Ji even angrier.

Just then, Sister-in-law You brought out several extra-large sweet potatoes and eagerly placed them in front of Zhu Jie.

“Little sister, these are sweet potatoes that Mother and I specially prepared for you—the biggest and sweetest ones!” she said, holding the plate right up to Zhu Jie.

“Sister-in-law, aren’t you being a little biased?” Ji Mei immediately said sourly when she saw that Zhu Jie’s sweet potatoes were bigger than hers.

“If younger sister likes them, then she can have mine,” Zhu Jie said, pretending to be virtuous and gentle, lowering her eyes obediently.

Ji Mei snorted resentfully. Without even saying thank you, she reached out to take the plate from Sister-in-law You. But before her hand could reach it, a pair of shriveled, rough hands suddenly appeared halfway and snatched it away.

Ji Mei froze for a moment. When she looked up and saw who it was, she immediately lowered her head obediently.

“Mother?”

“I haven’t even eaten yet! Since when is it your turn, you youngsters?” Old Madam Ji snapped, glaring angrily at Ji Mei as she grabbed the plate of sweet potatoes.

After receiving that glare from her mother, Ji Mei felt a surge of grievance. She shot Zhu Jie an equally angry look.

Zhu Jie, however, secretly found it amusing. She had already noticed Old Madam Ji storming over angrily, so naturally she had no intention of accepting that plate of sweet potatoes.

But even after taking the sweet potatoes, Old Madam Ji remained furious. She plopped down on a chair, eating while sighing.

“What should have been a perfectly good meal—yet there isn’t even a bowl of porridge left. I really don’t know whose fault that is.”

Everyone paused for a moment, then all turned to look at Zhu Jie.

Of course Zhu Jie understood perfectly well that Old Madam Ji was blaming her for finishing all the rice. But what was done was done—she wasn’t foolish enough to take the bait. So she immediately put on a confused expression, returning everyone’s unfriendly gazes with innocent bewilderment.

Seeing Zhu Jie’s clueless face only made Old Madam Ji angrier.

How did this Erhan manage to marry a wife just as foolish as he is?

“Wife of the eldest, if I remember correctly, when you got married you brought a pair of silver bracelets as your dowry, didn’t you?” Old Madam Ji suddenly shifted the topic toward Sister-in-law You.

The moment she heard this, Sister-in-law You immediately understood Old Madam Ji’s intention and quickly responded.

“That’s right—a pair of silver bracelets! They were left behind by my great-grandmother. Don’t you remember, Mother? Back then the family was poor, so I pawned them.”

“I remember. How could I forget your kindness?” Old Madam Ji said, praising her verbally. “Because of that, our family managed to live comfortably for several years.”

Though she spoke kindly of Sister-in-law You, her gaze intentionally drifted toward Zhu Jie.

Zhu Jie sneered inwardly.

So now they’re trying to hint at me with these words again? As if I’d fall for that.

She immediately put on a moved expression and said, “Sister-in-law is such a good person! It’s a pity I came too late. Otherwise I could’ve benefited from her generosity and enjoyed a few good years too.”

Seeing that she still refused to mention the jade hairpin, Old Madam Ji’s eyes practically shot fire. She stared at Zhu Jie as if she wanted to pierce right through her, speaking in a strange, sarcastic tone:

“Hasn’t this family always been like this? Whenever someone has something valuable, they bring it out for the household. I remember Erhan’s gold medal back then fetched quite a bit of money when it was pawned. Since we’re all one family, no one should keep things hidden.”