Chapter 2: The Distant Mother-in-law

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

It was 6:30 pm already, and you could smell a good meal in the air of the Mo villa. He Xiyan headed for the kitchen the second she got home.

“Mother…” She softly addressed the mother-in-law who was setting up the utensils in the dining room, a blush of thrill still seen on her face.

The woman paused. She then put down the utensils but didn’t turn around, nor even turn her head.

“Finally. Haven’t we agreed that you quit your job?” She scolded in a cold voice. Li Qin turned around to show a face of discontent and scorn.

“Mother…”, said He Xiyan again. Of course, she noticed her mother-in-law’s discontent. She bit on her lower lip to restrain the years of bitterness in her heart from pouring out.

“Merry Christmas, mother. I bought this for you. Could you please try it on and see if it fits?”

Xiyan took the clothes out of the bag and forced a smile on her lips before walking toward her mother-in-law. she unfolded the coat and tried to put it on her.

The coat was left hanging in the air when Li Qin backed up a few steps. The daughter-in-law’s pleasing gesture did not light her up even a bit. She arched her eyebrows, threw a look at that burgundy fur and let the scorn in her eyes do the talking. A coat like that, yes, looked alright, but you could tell it was short of deluxe and wouldn’t cost more than ten thousand RMB. She’s got plenty of clothes in her closet that came with a much higher price tag.

“If you don’t like it, mother, I’ll return it tomorrow.” He Xiyan quietly sighed. Her heart still ached a little for the cold reaction her mother-in-law provided. It’s probably because the coat was not fancy enough. To be fair, however, she only earned twenty thousand RMB a month and just spent the whole month’s salary on the two coats – she didn’t even buy one for herself.

“Go! Drink your medicine in the dining room!” Li Qin walked directly pass her daughter-in-law, her face even sulkier. Every time she saw this woman she thought of her as a barren land for three years, and it agitated her.

Li Qin, as Mo Yixuan’s mother, had thought nothing but scorn of this woman who came from a peasant family and whom her son insisted on marrying three years earlier for whatever tricks she had pulled off. And she was infertile. It had been three years and nothing. Just thinking of these made her antsy enough to lose her appetite.

“Mother… I…”

Her mother-in-law had already gone up the stairs before she could say anything more.

She walked to the dining table and held the yellow medicine soup, knowing that it was not a medicine so much as a mix of mud and water. Ever since her mother-in-law found out about her infertility, she’d been taking all kinds of so-called medicine she’d found for her, such as hierogram dipped water, soup made of animal viscera, and even soil mixed water. She wanted to say that she had been cured, but thought she might as well hold up for a while longer until she actually had something in her uterus.

God bless, please give her a child soon.

The bitterness of the medicine further turned to sickness in her stomach that she wanted to throw up, though she still managed to swallow it by nipping her nose. She understood that her mother-in-law just wanted to have a grandchild, and that her attitude would change as long as she could bear a baby for the Mo family.

The maids on the side were already used to the tension between the two. They chattered in low voice and threw a sympathetic look at the slim figure. Even they knew that the little madam of this family could be replaced soon enough if the incumbent one failed to conceive again.