After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 135 Inside Story
Ma came up with an idea, which seemed to be quite reliable.Zhou Ma couldn't help but hesitate.

Emotionally, she felt that her own way was the best. Even if there were some shortcomings, she could find another way to make up for it.But from a rational point of view, my sister's method seems to be more able to avoid the suspicion of her stepmother-in-law and her husband, and it is easier for her to stay out of the matter.

The murder happened last night, long before she came to the village to see her sister.Such a big thing happened, and the murderer was just a slap in the face of the Zhou family. It was natural that it would attract the attention of all the Zhou family members.This was not something she, a housewife, could control.Even if his stepson Zhou Jinpu's glass workshop plan was postponed because of this, it was because of his bad luck. It was the murderer's fault and had nothing to do with anyone else!
Zhou Ma struggled for a while before asking a few questions.

Zhou Ma: If the stepmother-in-law and her husband ask the sister and brother-in-law to take the injured person back to their home to recuperate and attract everyone's attention, what reason should the sister use to refuse?

Ma: What’s the reason for this?The injured person had injuries on his legs and was not allowed to move. He didn’t want to let the poor child suffer from future problems and refused to take him away. Why should he care about what others think?The Hai family are only relatives of the third family of the Zhou family, not their slaves. What can they do if they don't listen?At worst, it will cause trouble to the prefect's Yamen and the Zhenguo Duke's office!

Zhou Ma: What if the step-mother-in-law and her husband send the injured child to another place to recuperate and refuse to keep him in another village for a long time?

Ma: What was the third wife of the Zhou family trying to cover up by forcing the only witness in this serious case to leave?Doesn't the third brother of the Zhou family want the government to find out the truth and bring to justice the murderer who humiliated the Zhou family? !
Zhou Ma: What should we do if our step-mother-in-law and her husband are willing to postpone the construction of the glass workshop until next spring, but require her to transfer the ownership of the property to her stepson in advance?
Ma: Salad!Since the Zhou family is shameless, then the Ma family will make a big deal out of it. Who will be responsible? !Ask your eldest brother and sister-in-law to come forward and cause trouble in the Zhou clan!The eldest sister Zhou Ma was afraid of offending her husband's family, so she asked her siblings to come forward.She didn't believe her sister-in-law could bear it.

When Zhou Ma heard this, he couldn't help but wrinkled his old face: "It's better not to worry about my eldest brother... My eldest brother is old and in poor health. He is about to retire, but he is afraid that his nephew is young and has a low official position. I can't afford to support the family, and I'm currently thinking about making arrangements to help my nephew get a better job. If he offends the master, it will be difficult for the eldest brother to retreat in a dignified way, let alone his nephew's future..."

Ma laughed angrily.My eldest brother's nephew's future is important, but whether my brother-in-law will offend the powerful is not important?The eldest sister is a bit too partial.

Zhou Mashi avoided the angry gaze of his younger sister with twinkling eyes.She also knew that she was unfair to her sister and her husband, but what could she do?No matter how many grudges he had with her, his eldest brother was still her biological sibling from the same mother. Although her younger sister had always been kind to her, she was her stepmother after all.She knew that her father had left special words before his death, asking them to support each other as brothers and sisters. However, if she had to choose between the two, she would still choose her brother over her estranged sister.

Sisters for many years, Ma could roughly guess what was in Zhou Ma's mind just by looking at her expression. She couldn't help but feel discouraged: "Okay. I've already given you some advice, shouldn't it be your own?" It's up to you!"

Zhou Ma hurriedly took Ma's hand: "Don't be like this, Yumei, you are the only one who can help eldest sister now!"

"Then just be obedient!" Mr. Ma threw her hand away, "Why do you just obey your step-mother-in-law and the men? How come you keep persuading your sister for a long time, but you can't even listen to a word?! Since I'm here, In your heart, the Zhou family is so important, and the eldest brother and nephew are so important, why do you come here to do it?! You are the eldest sister! As the younger sister, don’t I owe you something from birth?!" Zhou Ma's eyes turned red again, Stirring the handkerchief, he choked up and said: "If you want to scold me, it's better than everyone gathering around you to scold me... You didn't do anything and you all got scolded. It's really wrong in the slightest, let alone The law is alive..."

Speaking of this matter, Mrs. Ma was puzzled: "The Zhou family I know all behave in a well-behaved manner, and they don't seem to be such unreasonable people. Your stepmother-in-law knew how to put on a show when she was young, and your father-in-law protects her. That's it. Now that your step-mother-in-law has revealed her true colors, and your brother-in-law knows that she is not a good person, and the clan should see her clearly, how can you still stand by her and criticize you? I have never heard of any female family members. If you refuse to spend a lot of money on your sister-in-law or the eldest son of your first wife, you will be scolded as unloving. If the Zhou family is really like this, you might as well just sit back and tell the truth, you are really unvirtuous to the end! You are unkind anyway. I’ve carried my reputation for decades, and I’ll probably carry it for a few more years!”

Zhou Ma choked up and said, "My relatives and family members who come and go all the time are all on the side of that person. I have grievances and I have nowhere to complain..."

Ma remembered that the third bedroom of the Zhou family didn't seem to have a close relationship with the Zhenguo government.The men, that's all, behaved politely when they met on weekdays, chatting and laughing, but the women didn't have much contact with each other. They only gathered together every year to worship ancestors or during major festivals.

Mrs. Ma really likes to make friends with the down-and-out members of the clan, and she also takes great care of the down-and-out clan members from her natal Ma family. She will send some money and food there from time to time, and will also help the younger ones find jobs.Because of this, she has always had a good reputation among her relatives and friends.More than ten years ago in Chang'an, the female relatives at the Zhenguo Duke's residence also thought that she was a kind-hearted person. It was just because she was too senior and her rank was not as good as Zhenguo's wife. They were afraid that the two parties would get along awkwardly, so they rarely met her. It's just a matter of dealing with the Zhenguo government.

But today, Mrs. Zhou Ma had another theory when talking about the relationship between her stepmother-in-law and the female family members of Zhenguo Palace.

Zhou Ma's father-in-law used to be the leader of the family, but after remarrying, he went to war less and concentrated on recuperation. Instead, the nephew of the eldest family came up from behind and made great military exploits. Not only was he granted the title of Duke of the town, but his sister also became the queen. The scenery overshadowed the three rooms.

The old man himself was open-minded and was very happy that someone in the family could support the family, but Mrs. Ma didn't think so in her heart.She always felt that the eldest brother had robbed the third room of the honor that she should have had, and the princess of the town had also robbed her of the honor that she deserved. However, due to her usual virtuous and virtuous image, she could not show it in front of others, so she He became alienated from the Changfang clan and only became close to those clan members who lived a more miserable life.She has a respected status in front of these tribesmen. As long as she acts more generously, everyone will surround her and flatter her. Isn't it better than her being inferior to others in front of the Duke of Zhenguo's wife?
Mrs. Zhou Ma and Mrs. Ma have been mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for decades, and they have been tortured into the habit of observing faces every day.There were many things that Mrs. Ma thought others didn't know, but in fact her daughter-in-law had already seen through them.But the Zhou Ma family followed her mother-in-law and could not contact the clansmen whom her mother-in-law did not like. She could only interact with those relatives who were close to Mrs. Ma. How could she dare to say a word?It wasn't until today that she revealed the inside story to her sister.

She looked down on her step-mother-in-law: "That mother-in-law prevented the old man from going out to do meritorious service, and she still had the nerve to despise the old man for not earning the title of Duke and Marquis. Why didn't he go to heaven?! She always complained that our masters were worthless and couldn't do anything. Coming to a high-ranking official, when someone in the capital wanted to re-employ me, didn't she cry and make a fuss and force him to refuse? Just because she was used to living in Chang'an and didn't want to move to the capital, she had to force them to stay. Even when Zhou Jinpu was a child, She is playful, but it was her who prevented me from being disciplined by the master, so she raised this playboy! She has the nerve to blame others for her own misfortune!"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but feel aggrieved: "I know in my heart that she is not a good person, but she is so kind to me that she has raised me up. Even the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo asked me to be filial to her. I am afraid that I will get the reputation of being unfilial, so I always Be patient...Actually, he is just trying to be patient..." As she spoke, she started crying again.

(End of this chapter)