The Chief Minister's Ferocious Wife

140 It Won’t Kill You, But You’ll Wish That You Were Dead

The deep-fried tofu was so fragrant that it attracted Old Madam Ma and the others.

Xie Heng fried the tofu in the kitchen while Zhao Chuchu and Zhao Guitang fanned the flames of the stove in front of the stove cavity.

Madam He and Zhao Meilan carried the fried tofu out to put it in the dining room. Old Madam Ma just happened to walk in and see them.

“Seriously? How dare you hide from me and eat behind my back? You unfilial, ungrateful brat. Did you toss all your morals into the trash? It’s your duty to be filial toward me. Put it down!” Old Madam Ma stepped forward. The fragrance of the tofu from the basket was starting to make her feel hungry.

Madam He’s expression turned cold. Finally, she said, “We’ve already moved out of the Zhao clan. Whatever we make has nothing to do with you, isn’t it?”

Madam He’s face was filled with disbelief. How much oil did they use for frying this thing? Did Zhao Guitang hide money from them?

“Sis-in-law, what are you talking about? It’s the natural order for us to fulfill our filial duties toward our mother! Although you’ve moved out of the house, you can’t forget about filial piety!” Madam Zhu wanted to snatch the tofu from her right then.

But she didn’t do that. Instead, she tried to rile up Old Madam Ma even more. “Mother, I think my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have been hiding money from us! They kept crying that they had no money to treat his leg back then, but look at them now! They had so much money to make all this food!

“This is so unfair! Whatever money my husband made was handed up to the family, and we didn’t keep a single cent for ourselves! I think my brother-in-law has been scheming this whole time. He hid money from us and planned to move away from the family long ago to live their own happy life! They don’t care about you and Father at all!”

Old Madam Ma was infuriated when she heard that and said, “You ungrateful, unappreciative imbeciles. How dare you treat your mother like this? You filthy slut! Did you convince my son to do this? I’ll tell you right now. Regardless of how much money you hid from us, you must hand it out now!”

When Zhao Guitang heard Old Madam Ma yelling from the kitchen, he wanted to stand up and go out there to defend his wife.

But Zhao Chuchu tugged at him and said, “Wait, just wait and see what happens first.”

Zhao Guitang sat down again.

Madam Zhu continued to fan the flames. “Sis-in-law, we were a big family back then. We all handed our money over to Mother to manage. Don’t you think that what you’re doing is wrong? We submitted all the money that we worked so hard for so it could be shared while you guys hid your money and pretended to be living a tough life so that you could move out of the family.”

“Enough with the talking. Take all these and bring them back. Where’s Guitang? Tell him to come out! Give us all the money that he hid!” Old Madam Ma said in a harsh tone.

Old Madam Ma knew very well that Zhao Guitang didn’t actually keep any money for themselves. They probably got the money from Madam He’s family.

Old Madam Ma felt rather resentful. Those selfish, inhumane bastards from Madam He’s family didn’t give her any money back then, yet now they gave her so much after they moved out of the clan!

Never mind, all of the money would become hers soon.

Old Madam Ma had made up her mind to take all of it from them.

Madam He was extremely mad. Finally, she yelled, “Can you stop doing this? First, you chased us out of the clan, and now you’re trying to suck our blood dry.”

“Watch your mouth! How dare you speak to your mother-in-law like that? I have to give you a lesson today. Otherwise, you’ll forget who’s your elder! Take the things out now! Don’t make me use force!”

Old Madam Ma pointed at Madam He’s nose and ordered.

Zhao Meilan was trembling from anger. She said, “All these belong to Sister Chuchu. You can try to snatch them if you dare.”

“Meilan, don’t think that you can use Zhao Chuchu’s name to protect yourselves. Do you think she cares about you? If you didn’t hide money from us, you must have stolen it from the clan. How can you possibly afford all this oil? Mother, you can’t let them off the hook easily this time.”

Old Madam Ma took several big steps forward, then snatched the deep-fried tofu from them.

How could Madam He and Zhao Meilan fight against Old Madam Ma and Madam Zhu?

Madam Zhu shoved them to the ground and snatched away the basket of deep-fried tofu.

“Selfish scoundrels, how much money did you steal from us to buy oil?” Old Madam Ma spat on Madam He and walked toward the kitchen. “The oil is mine as well. I’m taking it all.”

Old Madam Ma felt a chill down her spine when she saw Zhao Chuchu sitting in the kitchen, staring at her with an eerie smile on her face.

“Oh my, that’s quite daring of you. So you’re trying to snatch my things?” Zhao Chuchu stood up with the fireplace poker in her hand.

Old Madam Ma’s face turned pale. She took several steps back in horror. “I, I just wanted to take back what belonged to me.”

“Belonged to you? Does anything here belong to you? Oh, right, Zhao Guitang is your son. Would you like to bring him back?” Zhao Chuchu said as she inched closer toward Old Madam Ma. “I’ve told you before that whoever tries to snatch anything from me will face the consequences.”

Before Old Madam Ma could react, she felt a stinging pain in her stomach, and then her entire body flew backward.

“Ah!”

She let out a painful groan as she fell to the ground.

Madam Zhu immediately started running away with the basket in her hands.

But how could she possibly run away in front of Zhao Chuchu?

Within a few steps, Zhao Chuchu appeared before her and blocked her path.

Zhao Chuchu smiled and said, “You took something from me, right?”

Madam Zhu was terrified, and she subconsciously tossed the basket away.

Zhao Chuchu’s expression turned cold. “Did you try to throw away my things?”

Zhao Chuchu grabbed the basket before it hit the ground, then gave Madam Zhu a kick as well.

Madam Zhu fell to the ground beside Old Madam Ma and shrieked in pain.

Zhao Chuchu signaled to Madam He to take back the basket.

She walked to Old Madam Ma and Madam He, stared down at them, and said, “God must have made a mistake in creating someone as vicious and disgusting as you. Look at the state Zhao Guitang is in. How can you continue exploiting him like this? I’ll tell you right now. All these things belong to me. I’m hiring Zhao Guitang to make it, and it has nothing to do with you!”

“I know; I get it now. I won’t do it again!” Old Madam Ma begged for mercy. She was absolutely terrified. “They didn’t tell me. I thought it belonged to them.”

“You knew. You just pretended not to realize it. Don’t think that I can’t tell what you’re thinking!” Zhao Chuchu stepped on Madam Chu’s chest with one leg and said, “The only thing coming out of your mouth is bullshit. I think you shouldn’t have a mouth!”

Madam Zhu was petrified and begged, “I won’t do it again. Please let me go!”

“You good-for-nothing scoundrels. You have nothing to do all day, so you keep trying to oppress and exploit your brother-in-law. How vicious!” Zhao Chuchu glared at her and said, “Let me think. How should I make you remember this lesson and stop spouting nonsense all day?”

“I’m really sorry. Please let me go.” Madam Zhu started sobbing.

But Zhao Chuchu didn’t want to let this vicious woman off the hook.

She took out a pill and fed it to Madam Zhu. Then, she said, “Enjoy the next 15 days.”

“What did you feed me?”

“A type of poison that won’t kill you.”

...

Madam Zhu was so scared that her voice cracked. “If you kill me, you’ll have to pay with your life!”

Zhao Chuchu laughed and said, “Kill you? You don’t deserve that much effort. For the next two weeks, every day at midnight, you’ll feel like there are thousands of ants crawling and biting you all over your body. It won’t kill you, but you’ll wish that you were dead.”

“You can’t do this to me. I didn’t snatch your things on purpose.”

“Weren’t you involved with encouraging Madam Yang to beat me back then?”