A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

As dawn broke, Liu hurriedly returned to her parents' home. The pain on her face, the fear in her heart, and the uncertainty about her future in her husband's family intertwined, keeping her almost sleepless all night.

When they arrived at the Liu family home, Liu's mother was feeding the chickens in the yard, while Liu's father squatted under the eaves, smoking his pipe. Shuanzi was still asleep. Seeing Liu's mother return so early, with such a face, she was taken aback for a moment. Then, her shrewd eyes darted around quickly, and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards almost imperceptibly.

"Oh dear! My poor daughter, what happened to you?" Liu's mother put down the chicken feeder and rushed over, her voice rising high as she reached out to touch the injury on Liu's face. "Did those heartless bastards from the Chen family bully you? Huh? Tell me, was it that damned Chen Second Brother who did it?"

Originally filled with sorrow and fear, upon hearing her mother's concerned inquiry, Liu's nose tingled, and tears welled up instantly. It was as if the grievances in her heart had found an outlet.

"Mother, I don't know what happened. Last night, that brat Wanxing insisted that our family stole ten taels of silver from her, and Yanxin's father... he..." She choked up, subconsciously touching her swollen and painful cheek.

Upon hearing that silver had been stolen, Liu's mother's eyes sharpened instantly. She immediately denied it categorically, raising her voice even higher: "What utter nonsense! How old is Shuanzi? What does he know? Stealing silver? I think that brat is just lazy and wants to blame our family for the lost money. What a vicious heart she has! Does she think the Liu family has no one to rely on?"

As she cursed, she pulled Liu into the house, her tone indignant: "My good daughter married into their family, bore children, and took care of the household chores. Even if she didn't do anything right, she must have worked hard."

Is this how the Chen family treats their daughter-in-law? They dare to hit someone just because of a baseless accusation from an outsider? Is there no law anymore? This matter can't be left like this. The Chen family must give an explanation. If they don't bring three catties of meat as an apology, you're not going back. You'll stay at your parents' house. Let's see how anxious Chen Lao Er is then.”

Liu was touched by her mother's righteous words of defense, and her suspicions that her family might have stolen money were largely dispelled. All that remained was resentment towards her husband's family and gratitude towards her mother. She didn't even notice that her mother had directly assumed that Shuanzi was involved without her mentioning him.

At this moment, she only thinks that her mother still loves her and will stand up for her when she is wronged.

She sobbed, leaning against her mother as if she had found a pillar of support, and poured out all the pent-up frustration and grievances of the previous night:

"Mother, you don't know, what that girl said was terrifying. She insisted that she was from our family, and she even said that there was some kind of perfume powder from the Western Regions in her trunk, and that once you get it on your skin, you can't wash it off..."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt her mother tighten her grip on her hand. Looking up, she saw that the indignation on her mother's face had instantly frozen, turning into a look of surprise and uncertainty. Her voice was also lowered as she stared intently at her and asked, "What perfume? What did she say? Tell me everything."

Liu's heart skipped a beat. Something was wrong with her mother's reaction. She nervously repeated Chen Wanxing's words.

As she spoke, Liu's mother's face gradually darkened, and panic flashed in her eyes. She could no longer sit still. She suddenly stood up, walked quickly to the inner room, grabbed the hand of the still drowsy Shuanzi, brought it to her nose and sniffed it hard, and then pulled his sleeve to sniff it carefully.

Liu held her breath, watching nervously. Shuanzi's hands seemed to still have a little bit of mud and sweat from yesterday's play, but Liu's mother's nostrils flared violently, and her face grew paler and paler.

Whether it was psychological or not, amidst the mixed scents, she seemed to actually catch a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance. The scent was so faint, almost like an illusion, yet at this moment, it struck her like a thunderclap.

"Does it...does it really taste good?" Liu asked, her voice trembling.

As if burned, Liu's mother released Shuanzi's hand, straightened up abruptly, and looked at Liu Shi with a look of surprise and uncertainty. Then she looked at Shuanzi, who was still in a daze and had a bad temper when he woke up. Finally, she met the eyes of Liu's father and Liu Yaozu, who came in with frowns after hearing the noise.

The fierce momentum of "going to the Chen family to demand an explanation" that had just been displayed deflated instantly, like a punctured balloon.

After a moment, Liu's mother's chest heaved several times, and the panic in her eyes was gradually replaced by a habitual, roguish toughness.

She sat heavily back on the edge of the bed, pursing her lips: "Pah, what's with all this 'fragrant powder' stuff? I've lived this long and never heard of such weird stuff. Who knows if that girl did something to trick us?"

She glanced sideways at her frightened daughter, her tone impatient and with a hint of barely perceptible contempt: "Girl, you're such a coward. You got scared by just a few words from her."

Even if it smelled good, so what? Did you grab his hand on the spot? Or did you find silver on him? No, right? That's just baseless slander!

Mr. Liu chimed in from the side, "That's right. What kind of lousy powder is she? As long as we don't catch her red-handed, how can she cause any trouble? Besides, we're in-laws. Even if that brat is ruthless, we should still give her some face. Does she really think she can force our grandchildren to their deaths because she considers us her second aunt?"

For a little money, she'd ruin relationships and make her child look bad—would she dare? Would her parents and grandmother let her have her way?

Liu Yaozu rubbed his still sleepy eyes and said nonchalantly, "Sister, you're just too honest. What are you afraid of? She's just a girl. At home, she still has to rely on her brothers."

Even if her parents and older brother are angry with you, they can't really divorce you, can they? You gave birth to a son for the Chen family and continued their family line. At worst, I'll go to the Chen family and back you up. Let's see what they can do to us then.

Liu's mother immediately chimed in, her voice regaining its previous harshness and calculation: "Yaozu is right. Don't even think about getting that money back. It's her own fault for not keeping a close eye on things. We won't contribute a single penny."

She looked at her daughter's pale face, her eyes flickered, and she softened her tone: "Daughter, don't do anything foolish."

When you get back, tell your mother-in-law and your husband that the Liu family is upright and honest; we didn't take anything, and that's that. If the Chen family dares to lay a finger on you again, come back and have your brother confront them.

As Liu listened to her family members talking amongst themselves, her heart sank deeper and deeper into despair, growing colder and colder.

Every word they uttered was pushing her to confront the Chen family head-on, without considering the anger and embarrassment she would face upon returning, or how she would conduct herself within the Chen family in the future.