The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 108: The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Battle

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Battle

As the saying goes, the meek fear the strong, the strong fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who are desperate.

Shen Mingzhu put on a desperate front, effectively shocking Ma Sufen into silence.

Her aged face flushed red, then turned pale, and finally went ashen. She wanted to retort, but facing Shen Mingzhu’s fierce gaze, she stuttered and couldn’t let out a single word.

"Pei Yang, sister-in-law, it’s getting late, you should go back and rest,"

Zhou Shuhuan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up, but he didn’t seek justice for his own mother from Shen Mingzhu, nor did he utter a word of blame.

However, when Ma Sufen saw her son, she clung to him like a lifeline, "Shuhuan, look at her, she’s bullying an old woman like me, you must..."

"Isn’t this what you brought upon yourself?"

That single sentence was like cotton stuffing Ma Sufen’s throat, silencing her completely.

Zhou Shuhuan looked at his own mother with an expressionless face, his eyes even showing irritation, "Uncle Shan has been friends with Dad for many years, and I’m good brothers with Pei Yang. When you were spreading rumors about Pei Yang everywhere, did you ever consider how difficult you were making it for me, your son? He regards me as a brother, but my own mother turns his affairs into gossip and spreads it everywhere. Pei Yang hasn’t held it against you out of respect for you as an elder, but you behave without the dignity of your age, showing no restraint whatsoever."

"Baolan’s loss of the child can’t be blamed on anyone, it’s Divine retribution against you, and our Zhou family!"

Ma Sufen stared at her son in disbelief, as if she’d seen a ghost.

"Auntie, you should rest well, we’re heading back first,"

Pei Yang said indifferently, taking Shen Mingzhu and leaving the ward.

Not long after they left the ward, Zhou Shuhuan caught up with them, "Pei Yang."

Seeing that the brothers had something to discuss, Shen Mingzhu withdrew her hand from the man’s grasp and walked ahead.

Zhou Shuhuan first apologized to Pei Yang for his mother and wife’s behavior, then mentioned the "problem" Pei Yang had, "I inquired a bit, and Second Medical University Hospital is quite proficient in treating this. You should have a look when you’re free."

Pei Yang was sure that there was nothing wrong with his body.

It was his wife who had the problem, to be precise, a problem of the heart.

But he didn’t want to reveal the true facts to Zhou Shuhuan, even though the man was his good brother.

He didn’t want outsiders to speculate or blame his wife for no reason. If there had to be someone to take responsibility for this matter, it must certainly be him, the husband.

"Alright, thanks."

——

Ever since leaving the hospital, Pei Yang had been continually glancing at her with a smile, making Shen Mingzhu unable to bear it, staring back irritably.

"What are you smiling about?"

Pei Yang reached out to hold her hand, his large and rough fingers threading through her soft palm, locking their fingers together.

Shen Mingzhu struggled a couple of times but couldn’t break free, so she let it be.

Seeing this, Pei Yang’s hand gripped hers even more tightly, his handsome face brimming with joy.

"I’m laughing because I’m happy, happy because you stood up for me just now."

"You have no idea how beautiful you look when you get angry; I was mesmerized."

Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes at him and kept quiet, but she felt somewhat apologetic at heart.

After all, Pei Yang was quite wronged in this situation.

The night had deepened, and the streets were nearly deserted, the dim streetlights casting a hazy ambiance over the empty road.

Hand in hand, they walked at a leisurely pace in the direction of their home.

"Everyone in the family courtyard is spreading gossip about you, aren’t you angry?"

Pei Yang glanced at her and said, "Of course, I’m angry. If it were up to my sister’s temper, she would certainly go and argue with each of them. But I have to consider you and Ziheng. If we were to offend everyone in the family courtyard, what would happen if they band together to bully you and our son when I’m not at home? Even though my sister is there, she has her own family and children, and can’t possibly take care of you in every aspect."

Shen Mingzhu remained silent, not saying a word.

Though she was confident she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage, the man’s concerns weren’t entirely unreasonable.

```

Living another day in this world inevitably brings its fair share of human engagements.

"This auntie, I guess she’s gotten so spiteful and vicious with age that it’s really annoying. I see her as an elder, so I don’t argue with her, but you don’t have to put up with that. If she and her daughter-in-law bully you again, you fight back."

Shen Mingzhu teased, "I really thought you were a Ninja Turtle, taking all her insults without saying anything back."

Pei Yang laughed and looked at her, "What can I say back? Argue with her? Or explain that it’s not that I can’t, but that my wife isn’t willing? Might as well let them misunderstand, because..."

He glanced at her before continuing, "sooner or later my innocence will be clear, right?"

"That’s not necessarily true."

Pei Yang stopped and stared at her, "What do you mean? Are you planning to make me stay a chaste widower forever?"

Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes, thinking who the heck is staying chaste for whom here; I’m the unlucky one, stuck with a short-lived ghost like you.

Pei Yang had no idea what she was thinking, and grew impatient when she said nothing.

"What’s the matter, you want to divorce me now?"

Shen Mingzhu deliberately teased, "If we divorce, I have just one condition."

"I want our son."

Pei Yang: "..."

"Shen Mingzhu, make it clear, that’s my son! You want to divorce me and still take my son away, you’re dreaming!"

Shen Mingzhu looked at her.

The two stared at each other in silence for a while.

"If you won’t give me our son, then let’s not divorce," Shen Mingzhu said, holding back a laugh.

Pei Yang felt both pleased and annoyed upon hearing that.

Pleased that he kept his wife, but annoyed that she only wanted their son, not him.

---

In the following days, Pei Yang would occasionally go to the hospital to help Zhou Shuhuan take care of things.

As several days passed, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both improved and were successively discharged from the hospital to continue recuperating at home, as staying in the hospital was too costly.

After the miscarriage, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law became irreconcilable enemies, again.

Ma Sufen had casts on her arm and lower leg, severely limiting her mobility, while Shen Baolan was young and healthy; she quickly bounced back with vigor.

Every day, after the men of the Zhou family left for work, Shen Baolan would find all sorts of ways to bully Ma Sufen.

Ma Sufen, though tough and rowdy, was rendered powerless due to her injury, unable to do anything but curse, cry, and complain to the Zhou family men.

But the men of the Zhou family were also helpless.

When Zhou’s father sternly reprimanded Shen Baolan, she would sit on the ground, crying, causing a scene, or threatening to hang herself, wailing about how Ma Sufen killed her son, disrupting the household.

Zhou Shuhuan simply ignored the squabbling in-laws, living his days as if he were an outsider.

The strife between the Zhou family’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law once again became gossip and a source of amusement for the neighbors, with hardly anyone speaking of Pei Yang and Shen Mingzhu anymore.

---

After sending Pei Ziheng to kindergarten, Pei Yang went to pick up some photos from the studio on the way back home.

Shen Mingzhu selected a few good ones and framed them with frames she bought in advance, placing them around the house. The twelve-inch family portrait was hung in the most conspicuous place in the living room.

With the addition of the photos, the house felt inexplicably warmer.

After hanging the pictures, Shen Mingzhu was about to go to the bathroom to wash her hands. As she passed by Pei Ziheng’s room, she saw her husband sneakily stuffing something into his wallet.

"What are you doing?"

```

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