The mistress of the Hou family worked herself to death, and she did not serve after her rebirth

"Not dead, come back..."

Gu Lanzhi was dissatisfied, but Chu Mingyue did not give her a chance to speak. She sneered, "Why, I didn't realize that my sister-in-law was so compassionate before. If my sister-in-law is so compassionate, why not serve my paralyzed mother-in-law? I think my sister-in-law won't mind blackmailing my mother-in-law to clean her feces and urine every day. Or, my sister-in-law can go to the temple to get ordained. Anyway, my sister-in-law has a heart of a bodhisattva..."

"Chu Mingyue, what nonsense are you talking about?!"

Gu Lanzhi's face was full of surprise. She couldn't believe that her usually well-behaved and obedient sister-in-law Chu Mingyue could actually say such words.

It must have been Pei Jiuniang who instigated it.

Gu Lanzhi immediately glared at Pei Jiuniang fiercely, but Pei Jiuniang just shrugged her shoulders and leaned leisurely on the carved chair.

"Mingyue, what's wrong with you?"

Old Madam Chu also looked puzzled, as if she didn't recognize Chu Mingyue anymore.

Her daughter Chu Mingyue has been sensible and obedient since childhood. How could she say such outrageous words to her elder sister-in-law?

"Mother feels like she doesn't recognize me anymore? Then has mother ever thought about why I became like this?"

Chu Mingyue stood up quietly, walked to Old Madam Chu and Gu Lanzhi, met Old Madam Chu's astonished and puzzled gaze, rolled up her sleeves, revealing her hands that were red, swollen and covered with scars from the heavy housework.

"Because I have to get up before dawn to fetch water to wash clothes, and wash for at least eight hours a day. My hands are soaked in water all day long. In the summer, it's okay, at most my hands will just be soaked and peeled, but in the winter, there is no firewood, no money, and I can only soak in ice water. Sometimes I feel that my hands are not my hands, but I instinctively scrub those thick and dirty clothes. A summer coat costs one penny, and I have to wash at least 30 pieces every day. Winter coats are more expensive, three pennies a piece, but I can only wash seven or eight pieces at most. Sometimes I can't wash them clean, and the employer will deduct the money. But even such work is not common, and I can't afford my mother-in-law's medical expenses.

If it were just like this, it would be fine. The most unbearable thing was that my mother-in-law had to pee several times a day. Every time, the feces and urine made me vomit the sweet potato leaves I was eating, but I couldn't bear to do it. Later, I became numb. I didn't have time to eat. I stuffed a sweet potato ball in my mouth and numbly cleaned for my mother-in-law..."

"I, I don't know, Mingyue, then why don't you go home?"

Old Madam Chu couldn't bear to listen any longer and interrupted her daughter in tears. She couldn't believe that her daughter had been living like this for more than a year.

"Go home? Haven't I ever been home, mother?"

Chu Mingyue looked quietly at Old Madam Chu who seemed to be very distressed for her. If it were in the past, she would definitely be moved, but when she saw with her own eyes that her mother turned a blind eye to Rulan's experience, she would never believe it again.

She thought of many things. Her mother always said that she was her only daughter and loved her more. But if her brothers fought for it, her mother would let her give it to her brothers. If she refused, her mother would say that she was disrespectful to her brothers. Afterwards, she would say that she would give it to her next time. But there would be no next time. It was just a repetition over and over again.

"You didn't say it. If you had said it..."

"What will mother do now that I tell her? Will she make the decision for me and help me escape from the Yan family? Or will she say that I am already a wife of the Yan family and it is my duty to serve my mother-in-law and ask me to consider the reputation of my father and brother?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in Chu Mingyue's eyes, which made Old Madam Chu's heart stagnate. She stammered but couldn't speak.

"Mother can't say it anymore. So, mother, even if you knew, you would persuade me to endure it, tell me that this is the fate of us women, and then let me go back. At most, you would hug me and cry a few times, shed a few tears, and then say that we women have a hard life."

Chu Mingyue closed her eyes and said out loud whatever reactions and words she could think of from Old Madam Chu.

Madam Chu's face began to change little by little, as if something could no longer be sustained and was breaking apart bit by bit.

Gu Lanzhi couldn't wait and started to yell, "Chu Mingyue, do you know what you are saying? You blame your own mother. Do you still have a conscience? Do you know that your mother misses you every day, and her eyes are..."

"Really? You miss me every day. Why don't you come to see me, mother?"

Chu Mingyue asked back in a cold voice without waiting for Gu Lanzhi to finish, with some fatigue already between her brows, she didn't want to keep saying these useless words.

Finally, he took a deep breath and told them his decision directly, "I have decided to go to the Imperial College to be a female tutor. I have also made arrangements with my mother-in-law..."

"what?"

Before Chu Mingyue could finish her words, Old Madam Chu felt as if she had been struck by a bolt from the blue.

"Isn't mother happy for me? Didn't mother praise me for being as knowledgeable as my brother before? Now I have the opportunity to enter the Imperial College, shouldn't mother be happy for me?"

Chu Mingyue sneered.

"Chu Mingyue, do you know what you are doing?"

Gu Lanzhi started to yell loudly.

Madam Chu also tried her best to calm herself down. She took a step forward and said earnestly, "Mingyue, don't be confused. Do you know that your father and brother are the most opposed to women..."

"So what? You want me to go back to laundry and be tortured?"

Chu Mingyue sneered.

"That can't be..."

Old Madam Chu was a little embarrassed, but she kept repeating it in her mouth and finally glanced at Gu Lanzhi.

Gu Lanzhi immediately scolded angrily, "You did it on purpose, didn't you? Do you think we are to blame for your current situation? Chu Mingyue, it was your own choice to marry Yan Ziyu. It was your fate that he died young and left behind a paralyzed old mother. Your parents gave birth to you and raised you, and they don't owe you anything. How dare you act like a spoiled child here and say such disobedient and unfilial words?"

Hearing this, Chu Mingyue glanced at Gu Lanzhi coldly, "So, sister-in-law knows everything. If that's the case, why did sister-in-law go back to her parents' home and rob her of her things? Could it be that sister-in-law thinks that you can get married and still rely on your parents' home, but I can't? Sister-in-law? Aren't you too unfair?"

These words left Gu Lanzhi speechless and her face turned red with anger.

"You, you, you dare to speak to me like this, I am your eldest sister-in-law, how dare you disobey me..."

"The eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, but that was when my mother was gone. Now that my mother is still here, isn't Zhang San putting himself too high up? Or is it that the eldest sister-in-law can't wait to make the decision for my mother?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Chu's face froze and she glared at Gu Lanzhi fiercely. Gu Lanzhi was furious, but did not dare to say anything else. She just carefully put on a smile and tried to please Madam Chu.

Old Madam Chu's eyes were shining as she pondered quickly. She knew her daughter had been obedient and sensible since she was a child. There must be a reason why she suddenly became like this.

Soon his eyes fell on Pei Jiuniang, who had been sitting silently at the side, and he swung his sleeves fiercely, "It seems that the Marquis's wife deliberately instigated my daughter. The Marquis's wife is too cruel. Why do you want to harm my Chu family because of your feud with Lanzhi?"

"No."

When Chu Mingyue saw that Old Madam Chu started to target Pei Jiuniang, she couldn't help but want to defend Pei Jiuniang.

But Pei Jiuniang raised her hand to signal that it was okay, and she blew lightly from the teacup before raising her eyes calmly.

"I don't understand what Madam Chu said. If the Imperial College wants to accept female students, it must have female teachers. This is the wise decision of His Majesty. Miss Mingyue was selected because she has always been famous for her talent. I was just entrusted by the Imperial College to go and tell Miss Mingyue. How come the old lady said that I was taking revenge for personal gain? Or did the old lady think that His Majesty's decision was wrong and she didn't dare to tell His Majesty, so she targeted me?" "You, what nonsense are you talking about? When did I say His Majesty... You, you, you, don't hurt me..."

"If it's not the case, Madam Chu is just dissatisfied with my mansion. Then dare to ask me what I did wrong? Madam, please tell me. Although my mansion is full of military commanders, we have lived in the capital for many years and have been influenced by it. With relatives like you, we can still understand one thing. If it is really our fault, I will give you an explanation. Why not let my master apologize to Lord Chu in the court? Or let my mother-in-law go and apologize to the old lady?"

"You, I didn't either..." Old Madam Chu was a little horrified. She didn't have the courage to ask the Marquis and the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion to apologize.

"That means you have something against me..."

"I'm not so..."

"It turns out that it's not that. He just wanted to see his daughter being abused!"