USWHC -Chapter 93 My Woman (Part 3)

“Mother, we can’t just let this go!” Ji Mei exclaimed. She and Old Madam Ji had turned Ji Yi’s room upside down, yet they hadn’t found a single coin. Ji Mei was furious! Her face twisted with rage, as if she wanted to swallow Zhu Jie alive.

“If we don’t let it go, then what else can we do?” Old Madam Ji was equally frustrated. But since she hadn’t found the money, there was nothing she could do.

“No, Mother! Look at how shameless she is. Does she even respect you as her mother-in-law? Can you really just tolerate this?” Ji Mei huffed angrily.

Seeing her daughter’s claws-ready expression, Old Madam Ji’s eyes filled with hate too, yet she sighed helplessly. “But without Ji Yi’s help, how could we even win against her?”

“Mother, why would you really fight her? She’s the wife—does she really dare go up against her mother-in-law?” Ji Mei sneered, baring her teeth, “You have to put her in her place!”

“Put her in her place?”

“Yes! Mother, as the mother-in-law, you have to dominate her in spirit. You can’t just let her climb over us like this!” Ji Mei urged. “If we keep letting this slide, we’ll never control her!”

Old Madam Ji’s eyes flared with hate. Her gaze was sharp, like knives, flames practically burning in her chest. She longed to strike Zhu Jie herself, to reassert her authority over the household.

Inside the room, Zhu Jie was tidying up the mess Old Madam Ji and Ji Mei had made. Suddenly, the door was kicked open again with a thunderous bang, making her shiver.

What’s going on now? Are they still not satisfied? Planning to torment me again?

Old Madam Ji appeared at the door, her face dark and eyes rolling upward in disgust. She sneered, “You’ve been in this house for a while now. You can’t just eat without working. This house doesn’t have money to feed idlers!”

Hearing this, Zhu Jie realized they were scheming to make her suffer again. She smiled coldly and asked, “And what do you command, Mother?”

Though she despised them as well, she refused to lower herself to their level—shouting and cursing like shrews. If she stooped to their level, she would only drag down her own dignity.

“If you want to eat, you have to work!” Ji Mei puffed out her chest, acting arrogantly.

Zhu Jie could clearly see the malice in their eyes, but she didn’t call it out. She merely smiled and asked, “Then, according to Sister Ji Mei, what should I do?”

Seeing her obey so easily, Ji Mei became even more pleased. She struck a little “sister-in-law” pose and smirked wickedly: “From now on, all household chores are yours. Cooking, washing, working the fields—if you’re in this house, you can’t be idle for a single day!”

Zhu Jie was taken aback. Her tone made her feel like she was worth less than cattle or horses—they planned to work her to death!

“All of this… I have to do?” Zhu Jie asked cautiously.

“What, you’re unwilling?” Ji Mei said boldly. “If you don’t want to, then don’t eat here. Just go to the market and buy your meat buns! You’re not short of money, are you?”

Hearing this, Zhu Jie realized this was a form of spite and revenge. She couldn’t help but smile lightly and asked softly, “Then how should I do it?”

Though Ji Mei was slightly nervous inside, hearing that Zhu Jie didn’t resist made her feel smug. She puffed up her chest and said arrogantly, “Do you really need me to teach you? Don’t you know how to be a good wife?”

Zhu Jie squinted slightly, smiling. Fine—she wanted to see what the essential requirements for being a wife were!

Seeing Zhu Jie so compliant, Old Madam Ji’s arrogance surged. She felt like her authority was being challenged and began picking on Zhu Jie: “Look at the state of this house!”

She grabbed the corner of a quilt and snorted coldly, “You don’t even know how to fold a blanket!”

Zhu Jie looked at the quarrelsome old woman but didn’t argue. She took the blanket directly, not to fold it for the sake of folding, but to make a point.

After a moment’s thought, she folded it neatly into a perfect, square block—like a small cube of tofu.

Yes, back in her military training, she had learned this. Folding a blanket? Easy.

Old Madam Ji was about to ridicule her further, but Zhu Jie quickly folded the quilt into a perfectly straight, compact square. They had never seen a blanket folded so neatly, and their jaws dropped in astonishment.

“Mother, is this satisfactory?” Zhu Jie asked deliberately, with a hint of provocation.