Chapter 212 - 209: The Sisters Get Together

Chapter 212: Chapter 209: The Sisters Get Together

In the inner room, the five sisters sat in a row on the bed, all staring at Zhou Lian. The sisters hadn’t seen each other in years, and now, all of them were wives and mothers. They had all changed quite a bit; the countless trivialities of daily life had left their mark on each of them—except for Zhou Lian. She still looked like a young woman in her prime, dressed in a water-blue satin long dress with a cinched waist, frog buttons, and three-quarter sleeves. She wore white, low-heeled leather sandals, and on her wrist was a translucent Mutton Fat Jade bracelet. Her thick, dark hair was swept up at the back of her head, secured with a simple white jade hairpin. A pair of Mutton Fat Jade stud earrings adorned her ears, setting off her snow-white skin and making her delicate face as pretty as a picture. Her crystal clear Hanshao peach blossom eyes, untainted by the world, seemed exceptionally pure.

Gently taking her hands, Zhou Lan paused for a moment. They were so delicate and soft to the touch. ’These are clearly the hands of someone who has been well-cared for.’ She smiled and said warmly, "Second Sister, seeing you like this is wonderful, truly wonderful."

Zhou Lian looked at her eldest sister, confused by her words. Seeing Zhou Lian’s genuine confusion, Zhou Lan breathed a silent sigh of relief. ’Back then, I only thought Li Xiu cared for her a great deal, so I didn’t object to the marriage. But now it seems it’s much more than simple caring. That man Li Xiu must dote on her to the very bone. This is wonderful. Of my four younger sisters, she was the one I worried about most, but it turns out she’s the most blessed of them all!’

"How are the children? You must bring them with you next time you visit so the whole family can meet them." Ignoring the confusion in Zhou Lian’s eyes, Zhou Lan gently changed the subject.

Seeing that her eldest sister wasn’t going to explain her earlier comment, Zhou Lian went along with the change in topic and replied softly, "Okay. I’ll definitely bring them with me next time."

"Second Sister, so when will you be back again?" Zhou Ying asked softly, looking at her older sister who seemed even younger than she was.

"I’m not sure. I have to go back to teach when the semester starts again. The earliest would probably be when the students are on winter break. We’ll have to see," Zhou Lian said after a moment’s thought. "Nuonuo and Yanyan have a very demanding workload right now. My teacher and her husband are very strict with their studies." ’I don’t know what Li Xiu and my teacher discussed, but now both of them are drilling the kids on their schoolwork.’

"Nuonuo is seven, but Yanyan is only five. Do they have to go to school already?" Zhou Xiang asked curiously. "Around here, children usually start school at eight. ’Do kids in the Capital City really start that early?’"

"Not quite," Zhou Lian explained to her sisters with a smile. "Nuonuo started school at six, and Yanyan isn’t old enough yet. But they both started their tutoring with Jin Chen when they were three. Later, my teacher grew very fond of them and took over their education. So now, in addition to regular school, Nuonuo studies other subjects with Yanyan under my teacher and her husband."

Zhou Cui stared at Zhou Lian for a long time before finally asking, "Second Sister, has your husband always been this good to you?"

Zhou Lian’s head snapped up to look at Zhou Cui, a question forming in her mind. ’What’s going on with Fourth Sister?’ She asked with concern, "Fourth Sister, what’s wrong? Did you get into a fight with your husband? Is he treating you badly?"

’That can’t be right. Fourth Sister just gave him a healthy baby boy a few months ago! And Mother told me her husband treats her well. So what’s happened?’

"Second Sister, I don’t know what’s wrong either... I just feel so, so tired!" Hearing her sister’s words of concern, Zhou Cui couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into tears. Everyone said she had married a good, honest man who treated her well, but this life she was living was exhausting her to death!

The sight of Zhou Cui crying made Zhou Lian’s expression change drastically. ’Among the five of us, apart from Xiao Wu, the youngest, who we all dote on and who’s a bit of a crybaby, the rest of us are the type to bite the bullet and suffer in silence. They wouldn’t cry this easily unless they were at their absolute breaking point!’

She gently pulled Zhou Cui closer and said softly, "It’s okay, just tell me everything, slowly. I’m here. I’ll stand up for you. Come on, it’s alright."

Zhou Lan gently wiped the tears from Zhou Cui’s face and patted her shoulder without a word. ’Just now, when Second Sister spoke,’ she thought, ’the aura she gave off was genuinely intimidating.’ What she didn’t know was that no matter how pure and harmless Zhou Lian seemed, she was a person who had lived two lives. Moreover, spending every day with a man like Li Xiu meant that while Zhou Lian was fine when calm, her anger was not something her sheltered sisters could withstand.

"Second Sister, everyone says I married a good, honest man who treats me well. And he is honest, but he has this stubborn temper... once he digs his heels in, he ignores everything, and I’m the one who has to placate him. My baby is still so little, still nursing, and yet I have to coddle *him*," Zhou Cui said plaintively. "Second Sister, what am I supposed to do?"

"Tell me more. In what ways is he stubborn?" Zhou Lian asked gently. ’Fourth Sister has been married for two years, how have I not heard about this? No, that’s not right... In my past life, I remember hearing that this brother-in-law of mine was incredibly stubborn. They even said he was a match for Li Xiu in that regard!’

"It’s always over the littlest things. Whenever we argue, he just gives me the silent treatment, and I’m always the one who has to make up with him. It was more manageable before we had the baby, but now... not only does he not help with our child, he complains that I’m giving all my attention to the baby!"

As soon as Zhou Lian heard that, she understood. ’My teacher’s husband teaches science and engineering, but when he studied abroad, he also specialized in psychology and even gave me private lessons on the subject. While I might not have absorbed everything he taught, I learned at least ninety percent of it. Her fourth brother-in-law is clearly just a child who hasn’t grown up. It seems Fourth Sister has suffered a great deal because of him.’

Gently wiping Zhou Cui’s tears, Zhou Lian said nonchalantly, "And you’re crying over such a small thing? He’s just a spoiled brat. A good thrashing would set him straight. Don’t worry, I’ll have Jin Chen and our brothers go have a ’chat’ with him about life. I guarantee he’ll behave after that! You can rest assured!"

With that, she rose and went to the window. Her father, brothers, and brothers-in-law were all in the courtyard, watching the children play. She fixed her gaze on Li Xiu for a moment, and sure enough, he turned his head to look toward the window. Seeing Zhou Lian standing there, he quietly got up and walked over.

"Bao’er, what is it? Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice gentle as he reached out to smooth a stray lock of her hair.

She crooked a finger, and Li Xiu obediently leaned in. Zhou Lian whispered in his ear, briefly explaining the situation, and finished by asking, "You can handle that, right?"

Li Xiu straightened up, smiling dotingly at her. "Anything for my Bao’er, of course it’s no problem. But really, how old is this fourth brother-in-law of yours? Hasn’t he been weaned yet?"

Ignoring Li Xiu’s sharp tongue, Zhou Lian thought for a moment and added, "Fourth Sister still has to live with him, so Jin Chen, make sure you rein our brothers in a little!"

"Don’t worry, Bao’er. I know what I’m doing. Mission accomplished, guaranteed!" Not wanting to see her so worried about someone else’s problems, Li Xiu quickly added, "Go on, have a nice chat with your sisters. I’ve got this."