After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Chapter 238 My sister-in-law has gone mad

As soon as they stepped into the inn, before they had even washed up, the guard from the Fang family led a couple to request an audience.

It was none other than the couple they had bumped into twice on the street; they also had a son named Mao'er. The couple was sweating profusely with anxiety, and as soon as they entered, they asked, "Can your master really help us find Cui'er!"

Cui'er, the child of his younger brother's family, seems to have been treated badly by her mother.

Lu Zhiyuan turned around: "Is that little girl in front of the Black Goddess Temple Cui'er?"

"Reporting to Madam, it is indeed Manager Liu's niece, Liu Cui'er," the guard replied. "I just arrived at Chunfeng Bridge when I met Manager Liu, who was searching for someone with his servant. After asking a few questions, I learned that his niece was missing. Upon further inquiry, I discovered that she was the little girl I had seen in front of the Niangniang Temple before the riot. I took Manager Liu to the Niangniang Temple, but it was empty. So I brought the couple to the inn."

Shopkeeper Liu was unaware of the Crown Prince and Lu Zhiyuan's identities, but he sensed that these two were not ordinary people. Even the beggar who brought them there, though dressed in beggar's clothes, didn't have the grime and unpleasant odor of a real beggar.

He was a small business owner. Chunfeng Town was relatively close to the capital, and he had seen all sorts of people, including many in disguise. None of these people were ordinary; they were either wanted criminals or on secret missions. He knew this and didn't dare to inquire rashly. Right now, he only hoped they could help him find Cui'er.

He kowtowed heavily: "Please, sir and madam, help us find Cui'er. Cui'er is so pitiful. She is not even five years old. Even if she is sacrificed, the Empress will not let us go. She will only die in vain."

"Did Cui'er get lost on her own?"

"No, no, it was my sister-in-law who brought her here." Madam Liu looked furious yet helpless. "My husband has a brother; we are the elder, and they are the younger. My husband left his hometown at the age of seven to learn carpentry. He endured a lot of hardship and suffering to build this small shop. My family also runs a business and helped my husband and me a lot after we got married. My sister-in-law doesn't see any of this. She thinks that my husband and I have a good life because my parents-in-law are biased and helped us. My parents-in-law have explained, and my husband and I have explained, but she only believes what she imagines."

Lu Zhiyuan pondered: "You mean, your sister-in-law mistreats her own daughter because she's jealous of your good life?"

Madam Liu said, "It's partly our fault, but mostly it's her own."

Manager Liu had a brother, and he was the elder. In his sister-in-law's eyes, their parents-in-law always treated them unfairly, giving them the best of everything. In reality, the house and land were always chosen primarily for the younger brother's family. However, they lacked flexibility and were unwilling to work hard, constantly seeking shortcuts. Even with their parents-in-law's help, their situation only worsened. As a daughter-in-law herself, Mrs. Liu complained, but Manager Liu advised her that they had the shop to rely on and could survive even without their parents' inheritance, so there was no need to put their parents in a difficult position.

Ignoring the look in Manager Liu's eyes, Madam Liu sighed and wiped her eyes.

“My sister-in-law is a troublemaker; she can cause chaos at home at the slightest provocation. To appease them, my mother-in-law had my husband help them open a shop. We looked after the shop, we rented it, we prepaid the rent, and we even provided the goods. If they had put in a little effort, they wouldn't have been doing too badly. But they took shortcuts, sold inferior goods, and ruined the business, then blamed us, saying we deliberately harmed them.”

Lu Zhiyuan nodded and said, "It is indeed excessive, but what does this have to do with Cui'er's disappearance?"

Madam Liu said, “Of course it’s related! Because she always feels inferior to us, she compares herself to us, and after failing, she harbors resentment, creating a vicious cycle that disrupts the peace of the household. She even brings this resentment onto her children. After my husband and I got married, we had a son named Mao’er. My father-in-law was very happy and carried him everywhere he went. My younger brother and sister-in-law had a daughter named Cui’er. My father-in-law also loved her very much. When Cui’er was a month old, he even had a silver bracelet made for her. Just because he didn’t carry her as much, my sister-in-law said that my parents-in-law favored boys over girls and resented that Cui’er wasn’t a boy.”

Liu Ying asked curiously, "If you're not biased, why do you only hug Mao'er and not Cui'er? And why do you hug Cui'er less than Mao'er? Could it be that you've taken advantage of everyone and are now accusing and complaining about your sister-in-law? That's how people are. Those who take advantage don't realize they've taken advantage; instead, they think they're generous and that others are being petty."

"No, my father never favored boys over girls." Manager Liu waved his hand. "Mao'er was born in winter. There wasn't much farm work to do at home, and my father was in good health, so he would hold her whenever he had free time. Before Cui'er was born, my father broke his leg while doing farm work. After Cui'er was born, my father developed a cough and asthma that wouldn't heal. Half of his illness was due to overwork, and the other half was caused by my younger brother and sister-in-law. It's not that my father didn't want to hold Cui'er, it's that he couldn't. If he forced himself to hold her, my younger brother and sister-in-law would complain."

"Don't your sister-in-law know that your father is injured and sick?"

“I know, she’s not blind, but she thinks my dad hurt himself on purpose and was faking it. She’s not like normal people. You can’t reason with her, and she won’t listen.”

Manager Liu sighed, "Out of necessity, my parents separated from us and went their separate ways. She transferred her resentment towards us onto Cui'er, constantly beating and scolding her, and often not letting her eat. We felt sorry for Cui'er, but she didn't; she thought we were just being hypocritical and nosy. Fearing that Cui'er would be beaten to death, my mother, after my father died, shamelessly moved into their house to help with the housework and take care of the two children."

Fearing misunderstanding, Manager Liu added, "Although we live in their house, we buy everything for them—food, supplies, clothes, and accessories. We don't want anything else; we just feel sorry for Cui'er. You didn't see it, Madam, but even in this freezing weather, her mother only allows her to wear a single layer of clothing, and it's patched up. She throws all the new clothes that my mother or we bought for her into the fire. She's a madwoman, a complete and utter madwoman."

Lu Zhiyuan walked up to him, squatted down, and asked, "Is your younger brother dead?"

Manager Liu blinked and stammered, "No, he's not dead."

Lu Zhiyuan stood up: "I thought he was dead! As a son, he perfectly disappeared when his parents fell ill from anger. As a younger brother, he didn't stand up when his elder brother and sister-in-law were wronged. As a father, he turned a blind eye when his daughter was mistreated by his wife. Tell me, is he a dead person?"

Shopkeeper Liu said his younger brother was weak-willed and easily influenced. In addition, he was not very ambitious and dared not speak in front of his sister-in-law, for fear that if he said the wrong thing, he would lose his wife and his family.

Manager Liu's family knew he was timid and cowardly, and while they were disappointed in him, they didn't scold him. Right now, all they wanted was to find Cui'er, hoping that this incident would make their good-for-nothing brother a little tougher and able to divorce his crazy, self-centered, and childless sister-in-law.