A Good Country Wife
Chapter 568 - 562_1

Chapter 568: Chapter 562_1

Xixi’s words were clearly meant to be overheard by Madam Zhou. She had never seen anyone quite like Madam Zhou—who had her own daughter return to her maternal home so she might ask her to save her son, yet wouldn’t even provide a room for them to stay in. Not only were her words unpleasant, but she genuinely acted as if they had nowhere else to go but here.

"Miss Xixi, what are you talking about? It’s rare for my sister-in-law to visit, and though the house is full, of course, I’ll make proper arrangements. There’s no need to mention room charges, nor to talk of troubling or not troubling us. As her brother-in-law, it’s my duty to do this. If I didn’t provide you with a place to stay, that would be the real rudeness," he said.

Madam Zhou didn’t care what Lin Genfa had to say. At the mention of room charges by Xixi, her eyes lit up, though she was somewhat displeased. Even a little maid by her daughter’s side spoke so boldly. But since room rent had been brought up, why should she let others benefit? She faced the embarrassment and opened the conversation for negotiation.

"Why should you stay at someone else’s home when we have extra rooms right here? I’ll clean one up for you right away. It’s much more comfortable to stay at home than outside. As for the room charge, I won’t ask for much from you—just whatever you’d pay someone else will do." Madam Zhou said this without feeling anything wrong with it. After all, it made sense; staying somewhere was just that, and giving the money to one’s own mother was better than to strangers.

It was astounding that she considered herself Lin Yue’s mother, charging room rent when her own daughter returned home. This was unheard of. Lin Genfa looked at Xixi, unsure what to say, and could only wait to see how Lin Yue would decide. After all, Madam Zhou was Lin Yue’s mother, and if Lin Genfa wanted to make living arrangements, he had to go through Madam Zhou first.

Xixi couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but remembering that her mistress had been upset earlier, she didn’t take her leave and instead spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "Madam, staying outside would indeed be more comfortable than here. At least if I spend money, the landlord will make proper arrangements. If Madam can assure me of that, I’ll ask my mistress for her opinion. Otherwise, let’s forget it, lest we spend money and still have to labor ourselves, which is double the trouble—who’s a fool here!"

Madam Zhou wasn’t even angry to hear Xixi speak like this. As long as the rent money made it into her hands, so what if she granted the maid some latitude? The household was indeed so poor that it echoed with emptiness, lacking even a single copper coin and still in debt.

"Of course, you bring me the rent, and I guarantee I’ll make the arrangements perfectly, ensuring it’s no worse than anywhere else," Madam Zhou said, reaching out her hand to Xixi for the money.

Xixi certainly wasn’t foolish enough to give the money to Madam Zhou right away, and it wasn’t her decision to make either. She had to see what her mistress wished for. Personally, she had no desire to stay here. "Just wait, I need to ask my mistress first to see if she agrees. This isn’t something I can decide on my own."

If they were to stay elsewhere, Xixi didn’t mind paying out of her own pocket even if it was only for one night—the expense was something she could afford. But if they were to stay at the Lin Family’s and still had to pay, she didn’t know what her mistress would think, so she had to ask first to ensure she wasn’t misinterpreting her mistress’s intentions and risk upsetting her again.

Lin Yue was in the room taking care of Lin Qing. With Lin Qing coughing continuously, Lin Yue kept him from talking too much, instead talking about her recent situation, her experiences in the Capital City, and what Zhao Erhu saw and learned of customs and cultures overseas—there was indeed much to talk about.

Miss Xixi came in and told Lin Yue about the incident and Madam Zhou’s intentions without keeping it from Lin Qing, who also heard it. Knowing what Madam Zhou was up to, Lin Qing’s face flushed bright red with a mixture of anger and urgency, "How could she, she... Xiaoyue is her own flesh and blood, cough, cough cough cough cough..."

At that moment, Lin Qing simply couldn’t afford such excitement; getting agitated only set off a relentless fit of coughing that took a long time to subside. Lin Yue shot Miss Xixi a glare; she could easily see through the maid’s little scheme—it was clear Miss Xixi deliberately shared this to let Lin Qing know, even though it was meant for her benefit, the girl was far too presumptuous.

"Brother, you’re not unaware of what kind of person our mother is—why bother getting angry? She can sell her own daughter, what she does beyond that is unsurprising. Just rest properly, Doctor Zheng told you to take good care of yourself, and not to get worked up anymore."

Lin Qing managed a bitter smile. His little sister wouldn’t even call her ’mother’ anymore; it was always ’your mother’ instead. It seems she was truly heartbroken by their parents.

"No matter what, she shouldn’t have... Ah! Charging rent for her own daughter’s one-night stay—it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of such a thing. It’s just too inappropriate of her," Lin Qing said, feeling an increasingly bitter sensation in his heart. He had discussed Xiaoyue’s situation with their parents more than once, asking them to be kinder to her. They had apparently agreed but then reverted to such behavior, becoming more and more outrageous—charging rent for their own daughter staying in her maiden home. If such news were to spread, it would surely become a laughable tale. He felt too ashamed to even face anyone.

Lin Yue, who had never taken their stingy parents seriously, was naturally not upset. Instead, seeing Lin Qing’s look of guilt and sorrow, she felt obliged to comfort him. Otherwise, with her brother’s straightforward nature, he might struggle with these feelings for a long time.

"Brother, don’t overthink it. I’m already married off, and besides, our parents even signed that contract. From now on, I have nothing to do with them, so unless I want to, they can’t do anything to me. The only reason I can still tolerate them is because they are, after all, very good to you, brother. Nothing else matters."

"Xiaoyue, looking at how our parents are treating you just breaks my heart. Ah, from now on, you should come back less often. If I manage to achieve scholarly honor in the future, I’ll be there to support you." Lin Qing was even more resolved to reach his goal. To support his sister and prevent her from being mistreated, he would have to work harder. As things stood, he was still dependent on their parents for support, which hardly gave him any authority to decide for his sister.

"I understand, brother. I’ll wait for the day when you top the examination." Lin Yue didn’t really care; she was capable of supporting herself and didn’t need to rely on anyone. Her reassurance was only meant to ease Lin Qing’s mind.

Lin Yue took out a five-tael silver ingot from her purse and handed it to Miss Xixi, "Give this to her as room rent for our stay, but make sure she cleans the room properly and has everything arranged. Otherwise, I won’t accept it. We’ll prepare our own dinner. Take someone with you to the village and see if we can buy some food. My brother needs some nourishing food to recover, but it’s so late, I wonder if we’ll find anything?"

Indeed, even if Madam Zhou hadn’t been so calculating, Lin Yue would still have offered the silver coin. Given the Lin Family’s current situation, and Lin Qing recovering from his illness, needing good food and care, she couldn’t just ignore it. Now, finding another way to provide the money was also fine—it would at least stop Madam Zhou’s endless nagging, which Lin Yue didn’t really take to heart; she just found it annoyingly loud.