Reborn As Lucky Star

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Death of the Unruly Girl @@novelbin@@

Yue Jiandong’s heart sank, and he immediately pushed the door open.

The voices finally poured clearly into the ears of the listeners.

“We are all from the same village, and our families are connected by marriage. Now that the Yue Family is prospering, it’s time to give a helping hand.”

“Our Yingzi is a good child. So many matchmakers came knocking at our door, and I chose Jiandong because he seemed reliable. Mother-in-law, for the sake of this relationship, you should also pay up, shouldn’t you?”

Lin Chunju coldly said, “When you received the bride price, you said that Yingzi was as good as sold to the Yue Family. Are you trying to go back on your word now?”

The woman speaking was rendered speechless, but quickly tried to find footing, “Mother-in-law, even though Yingzi has married into your family, the bond with her own brothers is still there, like bone connected to tendons. How can it be truly cut off?”

“Save me those empty words. I haven’t seen you care about Yingzi all these years.”

Lin Chunju was sitting on a chair in the outer room, with Zhang Ying standing by her side, her expression one of suppressed endurance and anger.

Yue Jiannan’s ears were assaulted by the noise coming from the woman sitting across from them, legs arrogantly crossed.

She was around forty, dressed in a popular red outfit of the day.

The dark-skinned man sitting beside her looked significantly older, and had not uttered a word since the beginning.

Seeing this scene, Yue Jiannan felt his teeth ache and muttered to his second brother.

“Why has Niu Lihua come? Didn’t she always look down on our sister-in-law, swearing she’d never step foot in the Yue family’s home?”

Niu Lihua was indeed Zhang Ying’s stepmother.

When she married into the Zhang Family, she was only a decade older than Zhang Ying. Seeing the Zhang Family was quite wealthy, she agreed to become her stepmother.

Zhang Ying’s father, Zhang Tieniu, was originally quite kind to his daughter, seeking a stepmother in hopes of providing her with care.

But no sooner had Niu Lihua moved in than she got pregnant, and Zhang Ying became an inconvenient presence.

Poor Zhang Ying had done all manner of dirty and tiring chores from a young age, almost treated like an animal, trembling at the sight of Niu Lihua.

Niu Lihua, finding her useful, deliberately kept Zhang Ying unmarried until she was able to ask the Yue family for a hefty bride price, and married her off to what was considered the poorest household in the village.

Yue Jianxi also couldn’t stand Niu Lihua. Wang Xiaoni’s family might not have been well-off, but they were sincere in their dealings with people.

Compared to them, Niu Lihua was simply selling her stepdaughter, never bothering to ask after her all these years.

“Let’s go in and see,” said one of them.

As the Yue brothers entered, Niu Lihua, upon spotting Yue Jiandong, immediately plastered on a smile and rose to greet him.

“Jiandong, it’s been a long time. You’ve become more and more spirited.”

Yue Jiandong frowned and did not answer, instead walking over to Lin Chunju and said,

“Mother, we are back.”

Unfazed by the awkwardness, Niu Lihua continued to smile jovially at Yue Qingqing.

“This child certainly has grown to be beautiful. I heard you brought her back from the city?”

While speaking, she reached out to touch Yue Qingqing’s cheek.

Zhang Ying quickly stepped forward, hoping to move her daughter away.

But before Niu Lihua could touch Yue Qingqing, just as her fingers grazed the collar, a sharp pain shot through her, as if she had been shocked by electricity, causing her hand to involuntarily drop.

Right at that moment, Zhang Ying arrived and picked her daughter up from the stroller.

Static electricity was common in spring. Niu Lihua shook her hand and thought nothing more of it, cursing inwardly.

But on the surface, her smile remained unchanged, “Oh dear, I just wanted to play with the child because she’s so cute, why are you so nervous?”

Yue Qingqing could feel Zhang Ying’s slight trembling. The fear she had for this woman seemed to run deep to the bone.

Niu Lihua’s shrewd gaze circled Yue Qingqing.

“However, speaking of which, this child is after all adopted. Who knows which family’s bastard she is. She may never truly warm to you, not as much as your own children would.”

For her child’s sake, Zhang Ying for the first time ever plucked up the courage to talk back to Niu Lihua.

“You—you’re talking nonsense, Qingqing is my child, always has been and always will be!”

Niu Lihua disdainfully curled her lip, looking toward the man beside her and deliberately sighed.

“Old Zhang, look at this girl. She has only been married off for a few years, and now she talks to me with this tone, worse than an enemy.”

Zhang Tieniu, who had been silent since entering the Yue household, finally raised his head, his murky eyes set on Zhang Ying.

“You disrespectful girl, defying your elders over a bastard child. Kneel down and kowtow to your mother as an apology!”