Lian Shouyi now is almost like a barefoot man who’s not afraid of those wearing shoes; he doesn’t care about anything, and is as thick-skinned as can be. No matter how much Lady Zhou hits or scolds him, he doesn’t take it to heart at all. The conflict between mother and son often leaves Lady Zhou extremely furious, yet Lian Shouyi remains indifferent.

Though Lady Zhou is domineering and formidable, she can’t handle Lian Shouyi’s constant fuss. She sometimes compromises for the sake of peace. It’s during the August festival, Lady Zhou has plenty of cash on hand, and might likely sweeten the pot for Lian Shouyi to enjoy the holiday.

As for what Lian Shouyi will do with the benefits, whether he’ll go astray or not, Lady Zhou doesn’t really care. Or she thinks it’s not her responsibility.

All along, Lady Zhou has been like this. She is strict with managing her sons and grandsons, yet her control only focuses on making them respect and obey her; she doesn’t bother with anything else. Just like when she manages the household, it’s only about controlling the distribution of food and clothing; she doesn’t care about anything else.

Lian Manman once thought about this issue, and she felt that Lady Zhou’s behavior is certainly related to her own personality. On the other hand, it’s also related to the moral expectations and the role requirements of women in the family in this era.

Lady Zhou is biased, valuing her daughters Lian Lanlan and Lian Xiuxiu heavily, but neither of their marriages was decided by her. Lian Lanlan married unwillingly at first, arranged by Old Master Lian without consulting Lady Zhou or Lian Lanlan. The mother and daughter dared not protest. As for Lian Xiuxiu’s situation, it was even worse; Lady Zhou didn’t truly cause a fuss, just vented against Lady Gu.

To put it bluntly, Lady Zhou never considers her family or her sons’ futures, only being concerned about herself. Giving birth to and raising sons is her grace to the heavens, making her the great contributor.

This time, the capital Lian Shouyi used for gambling certainly partly came from Lady Zhou.

"Even this old lady... has her moments of backing down," Zhang Caiyun said, shaking her head.

"My mother used to say it’s impossible to conflict with her, given her nature; if you don’t provoke her, she’ll always find something to cause trouble about every day, just unable to live quietly. Now it’s turned around," Lian Manman added.

This doesn’t mean that Lady Zhou has aged and changed her character. It means such a character as Lady Zhou couldn’t handle Lian Shouyi.

"This is what they call one thing overcoming another," Zhang Caiyun said, then asked Lian Yeye, "I noticed my third uncle doesn’t visit the old residence much anymore."

"He still goes," Lian Yeye replied, "just not as frequently as before. When my father visits, the old lady always nags him about people and always talks badly about my mother and me. My father doesn’t enjoy hearing it,... no one would."

Though needing to deal with Lian Shouyi, Lady Zhou hasn’t given up drawing in Lian Shouli and suppressing Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye. Sometimes Lian Manman thinks it’s unbelievable that Lady Zhou, at her age, has such vigor.

"Despite my third uncle’s situation, I notice the old lady treats him much better lately," Lian Manman laughed.

Lian Shouli no longer submits completely, without self, wife, or daughter to Lady Zhou; instead, she treats him more kindly than before. However, this kindness never lasts long; at any slight displeasure, Lady Zhou still starts scolding.

Actually, Lady Zhou’s attitude toward each son is somewhat different from before.

"I went to the old residence this morning," Lian Yeye said, "the old lady, along with the sisters-in-law, was preparing to cook, looked quite cheerful, with quite a lot of preparations, stir-frying and stewing. This time, the old lady is willing to eat well."

"With all those things sent over, what does she have to begrudge eating," Zhang Caiyun laughed.

"Yaya was there helping too; the old lady even made her a new skirt," Lian Yeye added.

"Now Yaya is her confidante," Lian Zhizhi said.

"Yaya listens to her. She does whatever work she’s told," Lian Manman nodded.

Among the children around Lian Shouyi and Lady He, Lian Yaya is completely raised by Lady Zhou, while Liulang is nurtured by their own side. So long as the couple is full, the whole family won’t go hungry. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

They talked and laughed until the moon rose high; the banquet by the Lotus Pond ended after midnight. Everyone had drunk a bit, but fortunately, they lived nearby, with readily available family carriages. Lian Manman instructed the steward to pick experienced coachmen to take everyone home safely.