USWHC -Chapter 49 The Ungrateful Wretch Who Can’t Be Raised (Part 9)

“Mother, calm down. Younger sister and sister-in-law are both just speaking out of anger. I’ll try to persuade them!” Zhu Jie said, still pretending to be the good person.

“Sister, don’t be angry either. Big brother and sister-in-law don’t have it easy supporting the family. They may be poor, but they haven’t let you starve, have they? Having a sweet potato to eat isn’t so bad!” Zhu Jie lectured Ji Mei earnestly.

Then she turned to Sister-in-law You and said, “Sister-in-law, don’t be angry either. Younger sister is still young—it’s normal for her to be a little immature. Besides, daughters can enjoy a few carefree days while they’re still at home. Once she’s truly married, she’ll understand how difficult things are for you, won’t she?”

Sister-in-law You and Ji Mei had already been glaring at each other like fighting cocks, both puffed up with anger. After hearing Zhu Jie’s words, they only became even more furious.

Especially Sister-in-law You—deep down she was probably already cursing Ji Mei, wishing that she would marry into a family even worse than her own situation.

Old Madam Ji looked at everyone with a dark expression, and the atmosphere grew even gloomier.

“Enough. Have you all made enough noise? If you have, then go back to your rooms! It’s almost the New Year, and look at the lot of you. The older ones don’t act like elders, and the younger ones don’t act like youngsters!”

Old Madam Ji still carried the authority she had built up over many years. After being scolded like that, Sister-in-law You and Ji Mei didn’t dare argue anymore. The room fell into silence.

Ji Mei only cast Old Madam Ji a wronged glance, as if silently expressing her sadness, but she obediently walked out. When she closed the door, however, it slammed with a loud bang, clearly showing her protest.

Seeing Ji Mei leave, Zhu Jie quickly followed her out. Before leaving, she even secretly threw Ji Yi a flirtatious glance, which hooked him into following her out as well.

Before long, only Sister-in-law You remained in the kitchen, still cleaning up. But this time, she felt more aggrieved than ever before.

Who did she owe this to?

Back in her parents’ home, her father doted on her and her mother loved her. But after marrying into this family, she had somehow become nothing more than a servant. All the work inside and outside the house fell on her shoulders, yet no one appreciated it. To them, it had all simply become what she should be doing.

The more she thought about it, the more her tears fell—plop, plop. A rough village woman like her crying wasn’t particularly pretty, but the tears falling like beads from a broken string still stirred a bit of sympathy.

“You still feel wronged? Useless thing!”

Unexpectedly, a harsh curse came from behind her—without the slightest hint of sympathy.

Sister-in-law You immediately turned around angrily to glare back. But when she saw that it was Old Madam Ji who had scolded her, she quickly lowered her eyes, swallowing her anger and hiding the resentment in her gaze.

Old Madam Ji walked over irritably, one hand on her hip while the other poked her forehead repeatedly in disgust.

“You useless thing! I was still waiting for you to help me coax the truth out of her. But look at you—going off to criticize Mei instead! Who do you think Mei is? Is she someone you can talk about? Do you still want to follow her and live a good life or not?”

Hearing this, Sister-in-law You bit her lip tightly. Only by doing so could she stop herself from snapping back or blurting out the curses brewing in her heart.

“What? Don’t want the treasure anymore?” Old Madam Ji sneered. “And you’re still angry at me? Tell me yourself—aren’t you useless? A few words from someone else and you forgot the real business! What matters more—whether Mei does housework or that jade hairpin? Can’t you even tell the difference?”

Only then did Sister-in-law You remember the white jade hairpin. She quickly sniffled and asked softly, “Mother, how did it go? Did Erhan manage to get it?”

“Get it my foot! If he’d gotten it, would I still be wasting my breath talking to her?” Old Madam Ji cursed crudely. “I can see it now—she’s just an ungrateful white-eyed wolf! We feed her well and treat her nicely, yet she still hides things from us. Even after all I said, she didn’t take the bait!”

“So he didn’t get it…” Sister-in-law You said dejectedly. “Then… Mother, what should we do next?”

Old Madam Ji snorted coldly. “Now that she’s on my turf, whether she wants to hand it over or not won’t be up to her!”

“Mother has another plan?” Sister-in-law You asked excitedly. At the mere mention of treasure, her mood immediately improved.

“In a while, you go in there and don’t say a word—just pin her down!”

As she spoke, Old Madam Ji even made a grabbing motion in the air and said fiercely, “I don’t believe she could hide it that well. It’s got to be on her somewhere!” As she said that, she made a motion as if stripping off someone’s clothes.

“What? Just snatch it by force?” Sister-in-law You widened her eyes in shock. That seemed even worse than her plan to steal it!

But then again, Old Madam Ji had always been this bold and domineering. Sister-in-law You knew that well—sneaking around and stealing really wasn’t Old Madam Ji’s style.