Chapter 479: Problem
Chapter 479: Chapter 479: Problem
"Widow Ma, are you unwilling?" Hu Waner smiled as she looked at her. A few days ago, right in this very place, this woman had been just as overbearing. Now that the tables had turned, Hu Waner had no intention of showing any mercy.
"Mr. Lin," Ma Mingli called out. She knew exactly what this deed meant, and it was far from what she had envisioned. She absolutely refused to spend the rest of her life groveling under Hu Waner, especially after offending her so deeply.
"I think my wife is right. This way, you can stay by my side with a proper title," Lin Dali said. Having just acquired a beautiful concubine, and swayed by Hu Waner’s previous words, he was starting to feel a bit put off by Ma Mingli’s status as a widow. "If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. When the time comes, I’ll give you some silver so you can find another good husband."
"That absolutely will not do, Mr. Lin!" At that moment, the Ma family barged in from outside.
They were villagers from the surrounding area who usually made a living by renting paddy fields from the Lin family. Having finally managed to latch onto this wealthy household, they couldn’t allow such a golden opportunity to slip away.
"That’s right, Mr. Lin! My sister has already been with you. If you don’t take her in now, how is she supposed to survive?" Ma Mingli’s eldest brother said anxiously. They hadn’t even received any of the benefits his sister had promised them when she visited home. They couldn’t let this golden goose slip through their fingers.
"Why are you dressed like this?" Mother Ma was nearly startled out of her wits by her own daughter. If this weren’t her own flesh and blood, she would have kicked her to the curb. Dressing up like a ghost in broad daylight—didn’t she know she could scare someone to death?
The rest of the Ma family also noticed Ma Mingli’s current appearance and were equally frightened. They had no idea what kind of stunt she was pulling. Could it be that Mr. Lin was into this sort of thing? This was simply treating people like dirt.
Seeing her family, Ma Mingli felt aggrieved but also relieved to have some backup. "Mother, I don’t want to sell myself as a concubine."
"What do you mean ’sell yourself’? Didn’t we say you would just stay at the Lin family’s home for now, and later, when..." Mother Ma suddenly shut her mouth. There were some things they could discuss in private at home, but they couldn’t broadcast them. After all, they still needed to maintain their reputation.
"Your daughter has been with my husband without a proper title or status," Hu Waner said, looking at them with a mocking smirk. "For someone like her, if her late husband’s family still had anyone around, she would have been drowned in a pond by now. Don’t tell me the Ma family wants her to ruin the marriage prospects of your entire clan?
"I’ve finally decided to be generous and give her a chance to officially enter the Lin family. If you’re unwilling, you can take her away right now."
Only then did Mother Ma and the others notice that the main hall was completely packed with people. They had never seen such an intimidating scene before and couldn’t help but shrink back in fear.
"If you refuse to sign this deed today, then get out. You are never allowed to step foot into the Lin family’s home again."
Hu Waner delivered a heavy blow. She honestly had no intention of letting Widow Ma go. Since this woman had tried every trick in the book to lay claim to the Lin family, Hu Waner would make sure she experienced exactly what it felt like to have the prize dangle right in front of her face, yet remain forever out of reach.
"Daughter, what’s going on?" Mother Ma grew anxious. Ignoring Ma Mingli’s frightening getup, she quickly grabbed her hand and asked.
"I can’t explain it all right now, but things have gone completely wrong. Didn’t I tell you to get my cousin and the others to intercept Mrs. Lin? How did she manage to come back?"
"Don’t even mention it! Your cousin and the others came back and cursed us out. They said you provoked someone you shouldn’t have and nearly dragged them down with you. If they hadn’t run fast enough today, they would have lost their lives out there.
"Just what exactly did you do? Don’t you know your cousin works for Mr. Xu next door? If anything happened to his carriage, his whole family would be doomed!"
Mother Ma was also furious; this idiot daughter had nearly brought ruin to her own maiden family. If she hadn’t pleaded with them and slipped them a few taels of loose silver, the matter wouldn’t have been settled. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have been able to return to her maiden home in the future.
"Let’s not talk about that now. Regardless, I’m not signing this contract. If I do, that woman will have complete control over my life and death, let alone getting any benefits for our family," Ma Mingli said bluntly, knowing exactly what her family cared about most.
"That won’t do! I’m still counting on you to arrange things for your brothers. At the very least, you have to get them a few dozen acres of land each, right?"
"Stop talking about that now! Let’s get through this ordeal first. If worse comes to worst, pretend to faint, and we’ll make a run for it. I’ll figure out a way to manipulate Lin Dali later."
The rest of the Ma family vaguely overheard this from behind. They all glared at Ma Mingli in utter disappointment. To think she couldn’t even keep an old man wrapped around her finger! It was a total waste of all the flattery they showered her with every time she visited home.
Mother Ma actually clutched her head, preparing to feign a fainting spell. Mrs. Lin glanced at the older servant woman beside her. The servant gave a slight nod and slowly approached the Ma family.
"Hey, you peasant woman, why are you holding your head? Feeling dizzy, are we?" The servant brandished a gleaming, thick iron needle used for stitching shoe soles. "Go ahead and faint. One prick from this, and I guarantee you’ll wake right up."
Gu Xingyang laughed hysterically. "Hahaha! Mother, did you see that? That’s hilarious! It’s exactly like the TV shows I used to watch. Do you think Mrs. Lin is a time traveler?"
Prompted by her words, Bai Suihe also began to feel suspicious. This totally felt like a reborn, overpowered female lead trope. Could it be? This was getting incredibly absurd.
"Baby, can you tell if she’s reborn?" Bai Suihe asked.
Gu Xingyang giggled. "Mother, I was just saying. We’re a special case; how could anyone else have such luck?
"Don’t worry, she’s the original. She just finally thought things through, and her IQ came back online.
"You know, very few women are actually simple-minded. Otherwise, men wouldn’t try so hard to shackle them with all sorts of chains.
"Things like ’preserve heavenly principles and extinguish human desires,’ or ’the three obediences and four virtues’... all this damn feudal trash is really just a manifestation of men’s selfishness."
Bai Suihe quickly stroked Gu Xingyang’s head. "Alright, you little brat, don’t be so extreme. There are some things we can’t fight head-on, but we can use our abilities to change them. From now on, we’ll slowly grow stronger together."
Gu Xingyang nodded her little head. "Yes, Mother, we have to become stronger! I don’t want to be persecuted by this feudal trash anymore. Who says women are inferior to men? In the future, a lot of men can’t even support their families and end up relying on women. Yet they still have the nerve to put on airs as the head of the household!"
Only then did Bai Suihe realize the severity of the problem. "Baby, how do you know so much?"
She remembered Gu Xingyang once saying that she had always been by her side. But she herself rarely browsed such news, so where did she learn all this?
"I saw it myself, of course!" Gu Xingyang replied. "There are tons of people like that. In the apartment building where you used to live, Mother, so many families were always arguing over issues exactly like this..."