Old Man Lin nodded upon hearing Madam Zhou’s words. He believed what the third son’s wife said; if she truly intended to remarry, it wouldn't remain a secret. Since she denied it, what she said must be true, so he said, “You’re right then, just live your life well from now on.”

With that, he glanced at Madam Zhao, signaling her to hand the small chest over to Madam Zhou. Madam Zhao hesitated for a moment before handing the chest to Madam Zhou. Old Man Lin then spoke, “Third son’s wife, don’t blame your mother-in-law too much. She was a bit much today, but she was only thinking of Xiaoshan and the others, fearing that if you left, no one would care for them. Please be understanding of your mother.”

Madam Zhou kept her head down and complied. What choice did she have against her mother-in-law? When she returned home, Madam Zhou held the money chest and wept bitterly, lamenting her difficult fate, mourning why the third son had left so young, leaving her a widow with orphans to be bullied by others.

After Madam Zhou left, Old Man Lin unleashed a torrent of scolding upon Madam Zhao, “You old hag, are you senile or what? To sneak into someone’s house and take money when they aren’t home? Do you know what that behavior is? It’s robbery! And you even searched the rooms! Without clarifying things first, how could you be so muddle-headed? If this got out, what would people think of our Old Lin family—bullying a widow, and furthermore, our own daughter-in-law! If there’s a next time, I won’t go easy on you.”

Madam Zhao hung her head under Old Man Lin’s dressing down; she knew she had been a bit over the top today, but she also blamed Madam Zhou for not making things clear in the first place, otherwise, it wouldn't have escalated like this.

Er Niu, watching his mother remain silent, also stepped in to intercede, “Father, let it go. Mother was just worried about Xiaoshan and the others; this was a misunderstanding. Just make sure something like this doesn't happen again.”

He then turned to Madam Zhao, “Mother, next time, please, don't go turning someone’s house upside down without knowing the full story. If today you’d run into a shrew, and the matter had blown up, it wouldn’t look good, and the whole village would be laughing at us.”

Madam Zhao nodded. Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Er Niu returned to his own place. Everyone thought the matter was settled, but unexpectedly, this incident was nothing compared to what was yet to come.

When Madam Huang heard from Er Niu about the confrontation between his mother and Madam Zhou, she also felt her mother-in-law had gone too far. Zhou Shi would likely be upset for a while. After eating lunch, Madam Huang brought Lin He along to Madam Zhou’s house to sit for a while and offer some comfort.

Lin He had only learned from her father how outrageous her grandmother had been, doing such a thing, and it made her furious. As for her Third Aunt, Lin He thought that when her elder brother and sister-in-law came asking, if she didn't want to remarry, she should have just refused outright; why create all this complication?

However, listening to Madam Zhou talk with her mother, Lin He finally understood Madam Zhou’s real worries. Madam Zhou explained that her elder brother and sister-in-law were utterly shameless, determined to achieve their goals no matter what they did. If she hadn't placated them by saying she would consider it, her brother and sister-in-law wouldn't have left, and might have done something drastic, possibly causing a scene known throughout Lin Family Village. Madam Zhou had only been stalling them because she didn't want her in-laws to find out her own family was pushing her to remarry, which is why she offered vague assurances.

Knowing the character of her elder brother and sister-in-law, Madam Zhou had gone back early the next morning to ask her own mother to talk to them. Although her sister-in-law was sharp-tongued, she still had to show some respect to her own mother. Madam Zhou was sure that once her mother spoke to them, her sister-in-law would give up the idea, but she never expected her mother-in-law to find out, leading to all these troubles.

Hearing Madam Zhou’s account, Lin He became curious to see this sister-in-law for herself—what kind of person could be so persistent? She suspected this woman might even be a bit more formidable than her own eldest aunt, Madam He.

As it turned out, not two days after this incident, the elder brother and sister-in-law indeed stirred up trouble. That day, shortly after the Lin He family finished breakfast, they were all sitting in the courtyard. The weeding of the wheat fields had nearly wrapped up these past few days. Da Sheng and Hong Yun came over from their home; Hong Yun often dropped by Lin He’s place when she had nothing to do.

That day, Hong Yun was chatting with her two children when they heard Xiaoshan crying outside, shouting repeatedly, “Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Sister He, come quickly! My maternal uncle wants to take my mother away!”

This shocked the entire Er Niu family. What was happening now? Hadn't the last incident been explained away as a misunderstanding? Why was there trouble again, and it seemed connected to Madam Zhou’s elder brother and sister-in-law.

Er Niu told Lin He to stay home and look after the younger children, then headed towards Madam Zhou’s courtyard with Hong Yun. When they arrived, they saw a man and a woman physically pulling Madam Zhou, trying to drag her out. Madam Zhou’s hand was braced against the doorframe, crying out that she wouldn't go.

Standing to the side was a woman dressed rather conspicuously—chubby, clad in bright reds and greens, staring blankly. On the ground lay several bolts of fabric, and a few boxes of pastries had been knocked over, rolling everywhere. Xiaozhu stood next to Madam Zhou, crying hysterically from fright.

Er Niu stepped in, frowning. He first settled Xiaoyun into another room and asked Hong Yun to comfort her. Then he instructed Madam Huang to pull that loud woman away, while he positioned himself in front of the man and demanded, “Who are you people? What exactly is going on? Why are you storming into our Lin home to snatch someone?”

Madam Zhou’s elder brother laughed, “Your Lin family people? You’ve got it wrong. Her surname is Zhou. She is my sister; she belongs to the Zhou family. What business is it of your Lin family?”

Er Niu knew these were Madam Zhou’s elder brother and sister-in-law; he knew they weren't easy to deal with, but in Lin Family Village, he wouldn't allow them to be so presumptuous. “Once your sister married into our Lin family, she became part of our Old Lin family. We won't stand for you acting so unruly. State your business clearly and stop pulling and dragging. Let go of the third son’s wife first.”

The elder brother and sister-in-law released their hold. Given the situation, if they truly tried to forcibly take her now that the Lin family members were present, it wouldn't be easy. So, they decided to state their case clearly. “Fine, we’ll talk business. My sister married into your Old Lin family several years ago. After your third son passed away, my sister’s life has been very hard. Since your third son is gone, it’s a perfectly normal thing for us to arrange for her to remarry.”

“But does your sister herself wish to remarry? Did you come here today to discuss it with her, or to do something else?” Er Niu asked, glancing toward the matchmaker standing nearby.

“I am her brother; the eldest brother acts as the father. I can make decisions on her behalf. I have decided she will remarry, and she agreed to it a few days ago, which is why I brought the matchmaker here to propose formally,” the elder brother said in a rough voice.

Er Niu glanced at the matchmaker dressed in loud reds and greens standing off to the side, then continued, “If she agreed herself, then what are you doing now? She certainly doesn't look willing. You look like bandits, barging in to drag her away. If she wanted to leave willingly, she would have gone with you long ago, wouldn’t she?”