Chapter 186

Knowing Xia felt both happy and helpless.

After a long silence, thousands of words condensed into one sentence, "Fourth Brother, you're so good."

She wanted to monopolize all his love, but she knew it wasn't right.

Eventually, Fourth Brother would marry and have children. She didn't know how long his affection for her would last once he had his own family.

Nevertheless, Xia knew she loved him the most.

His place in her heart was always different from anyone else's.

Since he had said so, she could only accept the money for now and give it to him when he found a partner. That way, she wouldn't spend it recklessly as he had suggested, risking losing it somewhere.

Xia had no doubt about this statement because her grandmother had said the same thing before.

On the way back, Xia smiled sweetly, clearly in a good mood.

Not in a hurry to go home, she went to Pei Meng's place since she hadn't seen him for two days. Pei Jing had been visiting all along.

Zhao Xin wasn't home, the front door was open, and no one was in the living room. The sound of a child crying came from the room, so Xia went straight to her bedroom.

Pei Meng was changing the baby's diaper. Her eyes were red, tears on the verge of falling, looking very wronged.

The baby had just soiled the diaper, and the diaper with feces was thrown into a bucket on the floor, which was already filled. The smell in the room wasn't pleasant.

"What's wrong? Where's your mother-in-law?" Xia quickly took over her actions and wrapped the baby in a blanket. "She has a headache. She's resting in the room," Pei Meng replied with an unpleasant tone, showing some resentment.

Xia took the sleeping baby and placed him on the bed, then carried the bucket with the soiled diapers out of the room.

The window faced the bed, but she didn't dare open it for fear of letting in the wind. She could only open the door to let some air in.

Seeing her like this, Xia didn't rush to ask her what happened. Instead, she asked, "Did you have lunch?"

"I made two bowls of sweet soup and filled my stomach." Because she was concerned about Zhao Xin's mother's headache, she thoughtfully made two bowls for her as well.

Little did she expect that because she didn't clean the bowls and pots after eating, she would be so upset.

She still remembered her mother-in-law's suggestive words, "Meng Meng, you've given birth for several days now. Your sisters-in-law all went to work soon after giving birth, and nothing happened to them. Of course, you don't have to work here since you're following the military, but Zhao Xin goes to the barracks every day, which is already hard enough. These household chores can't all be left for him to do when he comes back. Things like laundry, cooking, taking care of the child, and washing diapers, I've been helping out these past few days. When I leave, how will you manage..."

At that time, Pei Meng smiled and replied, "Mom, you don't have to worry about that. Look, when you weren't here, the two of us were doing just fine, right? It's only because I just gave birth that Zhao Xin has been a bit busier. Once I'm out of confinement, I can take care of everything at home."

Zhao Mu retorted, "That's why I need to talk to you more. I didn't know how you two were living before, but I've seen it these past few days. You spend all day lying in bed without moving, and it's only Zhao Xin who takes care of things both inside and outside the house. Laziness becomes a habit. It's because I, as an elder, care about you both that I want to take this opportunity to teach you how to live your life. Don't be angry. Learning how to live is essential..."

Pei Meng felt annoyed. Wasn't she lying in bed all day because she had just given birth to a child?

The weather outside was cold, and her sister-in-law had specifically instructed her not to go out. Her mother had also written a letter reminding her to take care of her health and to properly observe the postpartum recovery period.

Her sister-in-law had taken care of her during the most difficult two days without complaining about her laziness. She even prepared various delicious meals to help her regain her strength.

Of course, her sister-in-law was skilled in cooking, so it wasn't fair to make a comparison. These past few days, she had eaten whatever was served and didn't dare to be picky.

But Zhao Xin had clearly caught several fish and kept them in a large tank, yet she hadn't eaten a single one and was now being accused of laziness.

She regretted asking her mother-in-law to come and help.

Even though she had waited a whole day before Zhao Xin returned home to wash the baby's diapers, Zhao Mu still claimed that the child was difficult to handle and that there was too much urine and feces to take care of.

Pei Meng felt aggrieved and had no one to talk to. If she mentioned it to Zhao Xin, it would seem like she was making a big deal out of being a daughter-in-law.

When Zhao Xin was at home, Zhao Mu was diligent, cleaning the house and taking care of the baby. But as soon as Zhao Xin left, she became miserable. Zhi Xia didn't know about these things yet, but she could guess that Pei Meng was being treated unfairly.

"Are you still hungry? I remember Zhao Xin caught some fish specifically to help you with breastfeeding. Otherwise, I can stew some soup for you?" Zhi Xia asked.

Pei Meng nodded gratefully, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I won't be polite."

During the two days Zhi Xia took care of her, she had small meals throughout the day. It was cold outside, so keeping the food warm on the stove was convenient.

But Zhao Mu wouldn't do the same for her. Talking to her was useless, and she was getting hungry. Two eggs were simply not enough.

Moreover, perhaps due to the dry food she had been eating these past few days, she was experiencing some severe constipation.

Zhi Xia told her to rest for a while and went to the kitchen to kill the fish and stew the soup. The water was boiling on the stove, and by the time she finished killing the fish, the water was also ready. She added some oil and fried the palm-sized crucian carp until both sides turned golden without adding salt. Then she poured the boiling water directly into the pot, turning the fish soup milky white in an instant. Even before it was finished, a fresh aroma filled the air.

When the soup was ready, Zhi Xia scooped the boiled cabbage heart from the hot water into the fish soup, sprinkled some salt, and it was ready to serve.

A whole fish stewed in the soup filled a bowl perfectly, and nothing went to waste.

Zhi Xia carried the fish soup into the room, and the smell dispersed. She closed the door before asking Pei Meng what had happened.

After learning about the events of the past few days, it wasn't surprising at all.

That day, she felt that Zhao Xin's mother didn't like children. Pei Jing came over every day to check on her, but he never said anything. She thought she was just being overly sensitive.

However, she overlooked the fact that Pei Jing, being a grown man, couldn't really ask about the relationship between Pei Meng and her mother-in-law. He could only feel relieved as long as he saw that things were going fine for her.

Little did she know that many things felt suffocating in her heart, yet she had nowhere to express them.

A woman who had just given birth was naturally more sensitive and suspicious due to the hormonal changes in her body. Pei Meng endured the frustration throughout her postpartum period, but it was no wonder if it left some hidden illnesses.

"Meng Meng, you're not a child anymore. You need to understand one thing: good people are taken advantage of, and good horses are ridden by others. You may feel uncomfortable telling Zhao Xin about these things, but some people take advantage of this very fact." Zhi Xia looked at her and said, "Don't think that once you get through the postpartum period, everything will be fine. The first impression matters to anyone, and in your case, you will have plenty of opportunities to interact with her in the future. If she sees you as an easy target, she will bully you for a lifetime. On the other hand, if she sees you as someone strong, she won't dare to challenge you again..."

Zhi Xia could see through Zhao Xin's mother's intentions.

But how to solve this problem still depended on Pei Meng's own thoughts. Even as her maternal family, Zhi Xia didn't have the habit of rushing to help.

First and foremost, Pei Meng needed to establish herself and understand Zhao Xin's attitude. Pei Jing and Zhi Xia would never stand by and watch her being bullied.

If she couldn't stand up for herself, no amount of help would be useful because no one could stay by her side forever.