"Sister-in-law, with all this imported fruit at home, why haven't you sent Mom any?"
Xu Yanni looked up and saw them. Far from feeling embarrassed, she began lecturing them with an air of superiority.
"Who says I haven't? I sent several boxes over just yesterday.
Didn't you have any when you visited Mom?
Don't tell me she had someone send it all to my brother-in-law's place again."
Shen Shuyi handed her bag to Sister Lian, then walked over and replied calmly.
Xu Yanni immediately grew unhappy, but she couldn't show it in front of Shen Shuyi, so she could only change targets.
After looking Xu Banxia up and down, she said snidely,
"So this is that long-lost biological daughter of yours?"
"She's your long-lost biological niece, too!
Banxia, say hello to your second aunt," Shen Shuyi replied calmly.
"Hello, Second Aunt," Shen Banxia greeted her softly.
[And to think Mom prepared such a generous dowry for Second Aunt back then so she could marry in style.]
[Instead of being grateful to Mom, she thought it was all thanks to her own brother and took it for granted.]
[Behind Mom's back, she badmouthed her and played dirty tricks, teaming up with the mistress to deceive and screw her over.]
[Later, when the Shen Family was destroyed, she did plenty of scheming behind the scenes for her eldest brother.]
Hearing this, Shen Shuyi was already seething inside, but her expression remained composed.
Shen Shuyi's words left Xu Yanni momentarily speechless. Then she waved a hand and began lecturing,
"It's understandable that you don't know anything when you've only just returned to the Shen Family, but you should at least know to respect your elders and care for the young!"
"Yanni, where is this coming from?" Rather than getting angry, Shen Shuyi asked with a puzzled smile.
"Didn't you take your daughter over yesterday and make Mom furious?
Sister-in-law, you're playing dumb when you know perfectly well!
It's not that I'm refusing to take your side, but Mom is our elder, after all.
How could you let a child upset her like that?"
"I don't know what Mom told you.
All I know is that Banxia and I went to Mom's house first thing in the morning, carrying bags upon bags of gifts, happily hoping to please her.
But the moment Mom saw Banxia, she gave her a sour look and a red envelope with twenty yuan in it.
So was it Mom who failed to care for the young, or Banxia who failed to respect her elder when she didn't even know what she'd done to upset her?
I remember Mom gave Xiaoxin a red envelope with ten thousand yuan this Lunar New Year.
Xiaojie and Xiaokai each got twenty thousand.
I haven't remembered that wrong, have I?" Shen Shuyi replied with a faint smile.
"Mom gave Xiaojie and Xiaokai twenty thousand each?" Xu Yanni's eyes widened as she asked in astonishment.
"You didn't know? Every year, Mom gives Xiaojie and Xiaokai twice as much as Xiaoxin. I thought you knew."
"How could I know? Mom always tells me she treats her grandsons and granddaughters the same." Xu Yanni was displeased.
"How could they possibly get the same?
Except for Mingyue, my children each got a hundred yuan when they were little, and nothing once they turned sixteen.
Mom clearly dotes more on your child and Zhongshan's children. They still get red envelopes, with ten or twenty thousand each time.
But that's just how Mom is. You're her daughter. Surely you know that?
As the younger generation, we should be more understanding and not keep score.
What matters most is that she's happy," Shen Shuyi advised with a smile.
She threw every word Xu Yanni had just said right back at her!
Every sentence sounded forgiving, yet each one highlighted her mother-in-law's unfairness.
Shen Banxia listened from the sidelines, thoroughly entertained.
Then Shen Shuyi twisted the knife again.
"Yanni, isn't Mom always saying that a married daughter is like water thrown out? Don't hold it against her.
After all, even if Xiaoxin's red envelope can't compare with Xiaojie's and Xiaokai's, it's still far more than my children get."
Xu Yanni's expression darkened further.
Her mother kept insisting she loved her daughter most and always gave her the best of everything, even red envelopes far larger than those for Shen Shuyi's children.
Yet she had never mentioned that they were much smaller than those for her third brother's two children. And he had two children while she only had one. She was losing out badly.
"Yanni, where did you get those earrings?" Shen Shuyi suddenly exclaimed, looking alarmed.
"Lin... a friend gave them to me. Why?" Shen Shuyi's sudden outburst startled Xu Yanni.
"I saw that pair at an auction overseas. They were excavated from an ancient tomb.
We shouldn't wear things like that. They deplete your yang energy.
Who is this friend of yours? Didn't she tell you where the earrings came from?" Shen Shuyi asked, looking shocked.
"No, she didn't!" Xu Yanni turned deathly pale and hurriedly took them off.
"Then she probably didn't know their origins.
I heard those Antique Earrings are rather sinister!
They say that if a daughter wears them, they bring prosperity to her birth family. But if a daughter-in-law wears them, they drain her husband's family of its blessings.
Still, it's only something I heard. It might not be true, so don't spread it around.
Otherwise, your friend's well-meant gift could end up making her look bad."
After saying this, Shen Shuyi picked up the coffee Sister Lian had brought and sipped it quietly.
Beside her, Shen Banxia munched on snacks while enjoying the drama.
She watched Xu Yanni's haughty expression give way to utter shock and disbelief.
"That filthy bitch-" Xu Yanni suddenly spat, her face contorting with rage.
"Who are you talking about?" Shen Shuyi looked up at Xu Yanni and asked.
"Sister-in-law, don't misunderstand. I don't mean you. I mean the person who gave me these earrings," Xu Yanni hastily explained.
"Yanni, we've been sisters-in-law for over twenty years. Be honest: how have I treated you? Have I ever harmed you?"
"You couldn't have treated me better, Sister-in-law. Of course you'd never harm me!" Xu Yanni replied with a forced laugh.
"Then don't just take someone else's word for everything.
Banxia has only just returned to this family. She's shy and timid, and she hasn't fully adjusted to her new identity yet.
Now Mom already dislikes her, and I don't even know why.
Luckily, Banxia is a little slow to pick up on things and doesn't know to take offense.
A more sensitive child wouldn't be able to bear it."
Shen Shuyi glanced at her daughter, who was quietly eating fruit, and spoke pointedly.
"Exactly, exactly. That's just how Mom is. Deep down, she favors boys over girls. That's why she treats Banxia this way.
Banxia only just came back and hasn't done anything to offend her. Mom is simply prejudiced against her from the start.
You're generous and forgiving, Sister-in-law. Don't take it to heart," Xu Yanni hastily replied.
In truth, she knew perfectly well that her mother favored the mistress's two children and disliked all of Shen Shuyi's children. That was why she had been prejudiced against this newly returned child from the very beginning.
"I've lived with this for twenty or thirty years. If I really wanted to keep score, where would it end?
Besides, Mom is our elder, and she's getting on in years. We can only indulge her. How could we hold it against her?"
"You really are magnanimous, Sister-in-law. Well... I'll head home now." Xu Yanni could no longer sit still.
She was going to settle the score with that bitch Lin Xiyue!
Before you continue