Chapter Ten: Heaven has turned against me! Heaven has turned against me!

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The moment those words were spoken, everyone wore an envious expression.

The leaders had openly promised to stand behind Zhang Chunxue... Wouldn’t that mean her whole family could walk through the village with their heads held high from now on?

The three Zhong brothers had kept quiet at the side, too intimidated to say a word. But now that they had heard the leaders say such things, their eyes lit up one after another.

“Leader...” Zhong Chengfa rubbed his hands together. “I’d like to find a job...”

Before he could finish, Zhang Chunxue roared, “Get back inside!”

Zhong Chengfa jumped, then immediately pulled a disgruntled face. “Mom! I haven’t even finished speaking!”

Zhang Chunxue gave him a cold look. “Don’t think I don’t know what you were about to say! I’m warning you...”

She glanced at her other two sons. “And you two as well. Don’t even think about profiting from your sister in any way!”

Zhong Chengren flushed with indignation. “Mom! We’re your sons!”

“So what if you are? Does being my son give you the right to suck the blood from my daughter?” Zhang Chunxue’s tone grew even colder. “Where do you get the nerve?”

Zhong Chengyi was somewhat more astute. He quickly forced a smile. “Mom, listen to yourself... Of course we wouldn’t do that! Xiaoxiao is the sister we love most!”

Zhang Chunxue gave a derisive laugh. “Is that so? Let’s hope you mean it.”

As soon as the leaders from the town had left, the courtyard fell silent.

Zhang Chunxue held Zhong Xiaoxiao’s hand with one hand and carried the heavy woven sack with the other. She was just about to go inside when Zhong Chengyi immediately sidled up to her with an ingratiating smile that looked worse than crying.

“Mom, let me carry that for you!”

He reached for the prizes and relief supplies, deliberately winking at Zhang Chunxue. “These are all for our family. We can’t let outsiders get their hands on them.”

Zhang Chunxue snorted and hugged the things to her chest. “Who are the outsiders? Your grandmother and the others are the outsiders!”

Liu Cui’e refused to be outdone. Dragging Huang Xiaolan and Gao Xiuli behind her, she followed them inside while cursing under her breath.

“Well, look at all these good things!” Huang Xiaolan’s eyes gleamed as she reached for the sack. “Let’s see what’s inside...”

Gao Xiuli joined in. “Chunxue, your family is truly blessed! You won’t have to worry about food or drink anymore, will you?”

Liu Cui’e was even more direct. She struck her cane against the threshold and sat down heavily. “I’m saying, these relief supplies should naturally include a share for us elders. Guosheng died young. We’ve suffered too!”

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Zhang Chunxue’s expression turned icy in an instant. Without a word, she snatched back the large sack, shoved it into the cabinet with a bang, and locked it.

“These are the scholarship money, books, and clothes the leaders gave specifically to Xiaoxiao. What are you reaching your claws in for?” she demanded, raising her voice. “Usually, whenever you pass by my house, you can hardly wait to spit on the ground. And now you know how to come inside?”

Huang Xiaolan awkwardly withdrew her hand and said nothing, only muttering sarcastically, “Well, look at you, making something of yourself! From now on, when you see us, won’t you be looking down your nose at everyone?”

Gao Xiuli’s tongue was even sharper. She muttered under her breath, “A woman without a man to back her up, and look how bold she is. Let’s see how long she can keep strutting around.”

Liu Cui’e was the most indignant of all. She slapped the table and sprang to her feet. “Zhang Chunxue, no matter what, you’re still my Zhong family’s daughter-in-law! I’m your mother-in-law. How dare you treat me like this?!”

Zhang Chunxue cast her a sidelong glance, her voice cold as frost. “Enough, old woman. Stop trying to use ‘mother-in-law’ to bully me. How many years has Zhong Guosheng been dead? And to put it bluntly, we’ve lived separately for more than a decade. My daughter hasn’t eaten so much as a single meal at your house. What gives you the right to interfere in our affairs?”

Liu Cui’e’s face turned livid from being silenced, but her tongue remained sharp. “Don’t think that just because someone is fawning over you now, you’re suddenly worth something. What, are you planning to remarry? Let me tell you, who would want an old, widowed hag like you, dragging a child behind her? You must be dreaming!”

Zhang Chunxue was not angry in the slightest. She merely raised an eyebrow. “Whether anyone wants me is none of your business. I’m free to marry whoever I please—or remain single if I choose. Either way, it’s a hundred times better than being leeched off by vile relatives every day.”

Nearby, the three Zhong brothers exchanged glances and shrank into the corner, pretending to be quails. None dared say a word.

Suddenly, Zhang Chunxue narrowed her eyes at Liu Cui’e. “Oh, there’s one more thing. This morning I heard Matchmaker Li shouting that the Wang family’s betrothal gifts had already been delivered. Old woman, what’s the meaning of that?”

The air froze.

Liu Cui’e had been righteous and indignant only moments before, but now she suddenly lowered her head. Her cloudy eyes darted about, refusing to meet Zhang Chunxue’s gaze.

Huang Xiaolan and Gao Xiuli exchanged a glance and quietly took half a step backward, not daring to speak.

Just as she thought!

Zhang Chunxue laughed coldly to herself, then suddenly raised her voice. “Since this wasn’t my idea, whoever accepted the betrothal gifts can marry into the Wang family herself! Don’t scheme against our Xiaoxiao again, and don’t think you can use that money to fleece us!”

After a brief silence, Zhang Chunxue lifted her chin and said to her three sons, “Now, escort your grandmother, your eldest aunt, and your third aunt out. From today onward, this house belongs to the two of us—an orphan and her widowed mother. We won’t welcome anyone who comes here to meddle, and we certainly won’t welcome anyone looking to take advantage of us.”

The three brothers hesitated for a second without moving. Each secretly watched the others from the corner of his eye, waiting to see who would speak first and take responsibility.

Seeing this, Zhang Chunxue mercilessly twisted the knife. “You’re not going to listen to me? Then don’t even think about setting foot through this door again! The food, the prize money, everything belongs to the two of us! Go wherever you like and find your own way to live!”

Those harsh words finally worked.

The three grown men shoved one another a few times, then, helplessly, charged together toward the cluster of elderly women.

“Grandma, you should go home and get some rest!”

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“Third Aunt, it’s time to go home!”

“Eldest Aunt, everyone’s already left. Why are you still hanging around in the house?”

Dragged and hauled along by her three grandsons, Liu Cui’e refused to cooperate. She immediately began making a scene.

“This is outrageous! How dare you!”

She kicked furiously at the ground with both legs and clung to the doorframe with her withered, bark-like hands, refusing to budge.

“Zhang Chunxue! You heartless, rotten slut! I raised you as my daughter-in-law for nothing!”

“Bah!” Zhang Chunxue spat onto the ground. Her voice was colder than icicles in the dead of winter. “You raised me? I married into the Zhong family and worked like an ox and a horse for you. Did you ever give me so much as one day of kindness?”

“Forget about me! What about your own grandsons and granddaughters? Did you ever once look at them properly? Did you take care of them for even a single day?”

At her words, the three brothers—Zhong Chengyi, Zhong Chengren, and Zhong Chengfa—exchanged glances. Fragments of their childhood rose involuntarily in their minds.

It was true. Their grandmother, Liu Cui’e, had always been indifferent toward her grandchildren, if not outright cold. Zhong Chengyi vaguely remembered that one year, Zhang Chunxue had secretly slipped him a piece of candy. Before he could put it in his mouth, Liu Cui’e snatched it away and handed it to a cousin from the eldest uncle’s family.

He had been very young then, remembering only his cousin’s smug smile, the emptiness in his own palm, and the deep sense of injustice he had felt.

Remembering those long-ago events, whatever reverence the three brothers still held for their elder finally vanished like smoke. They put their backs into it once more and dragged Liu Cui’e out, practically carrying her bodily.

“Grandma, stop making a scene and go home to rest!”

“That’s right, Grandma. We’re only doing what Mom told us!”

Seeing this, Huang Xiaolan and Gao Xiuli realized they would gain nothing today. They could only slink away with the others, muttering spiteful remarks under their breath.

Liu Cui’e’s shrill curses rang out from the gate and gradually faded into the distance until they could no longer be heard.

“Zhang Chunxue, you vicious murderess! I curse you to die a horrible death! And you little wretches—you’re all worthless! You’ve turned against your own family!”