Chapter 117: Gaining No Advantage

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Li Zhirong and Mrs. Fang had actually considered not delaying Old Third any longer. If they could find someone a little more diligent to take care of Gu Nan, things would be much easier. So Mrs. Fang deliberately kept her distance from Old Third, always putting on the attitude of “I’m not close to him, don’t come to me about anything related to Old Third.”

Previously, Old Third had refused to look for someone himself; he only wanted to focus on raising Gu Nan well. Perhaps seeing that the Li family’s life had improved after the eldest son got a wife, Old Third recently began to soften his stance.

Then, unexpectedly, the second brother’s family suddenly approached Mrs. Fang, wanting to arrange a match for Old Third. Mrs. Fang was certain that the second brother’s family had some ulterior motive. She had mostly ignored them, so she was quite displeased when they actually came to the house. But with a daughter-in-law backing her up, Mrs. Fang felt confident.

This time, she no longer wore a smiling expression but furrowed her brows as she looked at Li Erniang. Tang Xin suddenly perked up—so Old Third met his stepmother around this time, which led to their relationship? She hoped it wasn’t introduced by her grandmother-in-law; after all, Gu Nan’s stepmother was truly not a good person.

Since she happened to be there, she would definitely find a way to sabotage anyone trying to matchmake for Old Third! The saying goes, “A weasel wishing a chicken a happy new year”—there’s never any good intention behind it. And Li Erniang herself was no saint; suddenly acting eager to do this could only mean she had other plans.

At this point, Tang Xin didn’t know much yet, so she silently observed. Upon hearing Mrs. Fang’s words, Li Erniang rolled her eyes and said without hesitation, “I’m trying to be helpful. How can you be like this? At least Old Third is close with the eldest brother; can’t you help with such a small matter?”

With her daughter-in-law’s support, Mrs. Fang was much bolder now, no longer silently enduring gossip from Li Erniang or other women. Instead, she learned to retort: “Old Third will be off work soon. Why don’t you just ask him yourself?”

Coincidentally, at that moment, Old Third was coming back from the fields, heading toward the Li family’s courtyard. He had borrowed tools from Li Father that morning and was returning them now. From a distance, he saw Li Erniang there and frowned deeply.

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Back when his wife first passed away, it was inconvenient for him, a grown man, to raise a child alone. Mrs. Fang had helped him a lot. Although Li’s sisters-in-law always went with the eldest brother, someone kept spreading rumors about him and the eldest brother, as if ignoring the presence of the eldest brother altogether.

Among them, Li Erniang was the worst, so Old Third had disliked her since then. Being a good man who didn’t want to fight with women, he would avoid her whenever he saw her from afar.

With his niece-in-law around, he wasn’t worried that Mrs. Fang would be bullied by her sister-in-law. Old Third simply left his tools and vegetables from the field in the courtyard and walked away without even greeting the women.

Mrs. Fang was satisfied and quickly told Li Erniang, “See? I said I’m not close to him. He’s only friendly with my father-in-law’s eldest son and often works with him.”

Li Erniang’s mood seemed to improve instantly; she even spoke kindly to Mrs. Fang: “Sister-in-law, then please talk to the eldest brother for me. I really mean well this time.”

She added, “It’s that young widow from Shangtou Bay—she’s decent-looking, hardworking, and has no children. If she marries in, she’ll surely devote herself to Gu Nan, and Old Third will be at ease.”

Then Li Erniang went on and on, praising the woman and how well she matched Old Third. Throughout the process, Mrs. Fang merely smiled and watched.

She wasn’t stupid; after over twenty years as sisters-in-law, she knew Li Erniang very well. It was clear Li Erniang had been bribed by that young widow; otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone so far to recommend her.

What Mrs. Fang couldn’t understand was, if the young widow was really so good, why was she so eager to push her onto Old Third? What connection did she have with him? Had she taken a liking to him unilaterally?

Tang Xin was even more convinced that the young widow Li Erniang kept praising was none other than Gu Nan’s infamously wicked stepmother in the original story.

That stepmother was truly despicable. Now she spoke well of herself, promising to care for Gu Nan wholeheartedly. In truth, after bearing her own son, she treated Gu Nan very differently.

Tang Xin had grown fond of the mischievous but fundamentally good little boy during their recent interactions and could not tolerate anyone treating him so badly.

Though in this world, these events had not yet occurred, and Tang Xin couldn’t go out of her way to confront the young widow or seek revenge for Gu Nan.

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However, she absolutely would not let things happen without intervention. With a group of mischievous helpers at her disposal, she was determined to sabotage Old Third’s matchmaking attempt!

Meanwhile, Li Erniang continued to drone on about the young widow’s virtues. Mrs. Fang smiled but said nothing. Tang Xin, however, finally couldn’t hold back.

Suddenly, she asked, “Second Aunt, if that young widow is so good, why don’t you just tell Third Uncle directly? Why involve my grandmother-in-law as a matchmaker?”

As she spoke, Tang Xin looked at Li Erniang with a half-smile, half-smirk.

Li Erniang was startled—a young girl, newly married, yet somehow intimidating. Seeing the two women, grandmother-in-law and granddaughter-in-law, join forces, she realized she wouldn’t gain any advantage.

So Li Erniang had no choice but to leave, but not before saying, “I’ll come again another day. Sister-in-law, don’t forget to talk to Old Third.”

Though these events hadn’t yet unfolded in this world, and Tang Xin had no intention of seeking revenge on the young widow, she certainly wouldn’t let things slide. With her troop of little helpers, she was confident she could ruin Old Third’s matchmaking plans!