After everyone finished their exaggerated praise for Lucky, Margaret Evans felt even more satisfied with Lily's marriage. She now looked at Lucky as if he were her own son.
A son-in-law is practically half a son anyway, and Lucky was a live-in son-in-law, treating Margaret and Lily with all his heart, protecting them fiercely. Margaret truly liked Lucky from the bottom of her heart.
"Tsk, what's so good about him? He's just a fool." At the doorway, Mrs. Thompson leaned against the door and glanced inside.
Lucky, who had been in high spirits, suddenly felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him.
Sensing Lucky's sudden change in mood, Lily gently squeezed his hand and gave him a sweet smile.
Mrs. Thompson's words rubbed Cynthia Wu the wrong way. She retorted, "What are you doing at my house?"
"If others can come, why can't I? Or does your father only care about the rich now that Lily's made a fortune, and won't treat us poor villagers anymore?" Mrs. Thompson sneered sarcastically.
Dr. Wu shot Mrs. Thompson a sharp look. Why couldn't this woman ever speak properly? She always had to say something to choke people up.
"Here's your medicine. Take it and get out!" Dr. Wu tossed the medicine packet he'd prepared for Mrs. Thompson at her.
Mrs. Thompson caught the medicine and hugged it to her chest, then glanced at Lucky. "Lucky, your wife is getting more and more fierce. See, I told you, you can't spoil a woman. You spoil her, and she'll walk all over you—just like Lily did today, pinning a man to the ground. Is that what a decent woman should do? And you, fool, just stood there and watched! No wonder you'll end up wearing a green hat!"
"Mrs. Thompson, watch your mouth!" Lily glared at her. The way Mrs. Thompson twisted things, it sounded as if Lily had pinned a man to the ground for something indecent, when in fact she'd only threatened her cousin Su Shimao to protect her family.
"What did I say wrong? Everyone saw it—you pinned a man down and even touched his face!" Mrs. Thompson rolled her eyes.
"You! What nonsense! Su Shimao is Lily's proper cousin! What do you mean, touched his face? Lily didn't even lay a finger on him!" Cynthia Wu shot back.
Mrs. Thompson curled her lip. "You're all ganging up on me. I can't win against you, so I won't argue. Some people here are so fierce, if they pinned me down and scratched my face, that'd be terrible. I’m really scared of you all now."
Though Mrs. Thompson claimed to be scared, her expression was anything but. She knew Lily wouldn’t let Lucky lay a hand on her over a few words, or Lily would be in the wrong. If things got messy, Mrs. Thompson could even squeeze some medical compensation out of it. That’s why she was so bold—she had nothing to lose.
"Take your medicine and get going!" Dr. Wu was fed up with Mrs. Thompson’s attitude and hurried to send her off.
Mrs. Thompson grumbled a few words, swaying her hips as she left. As she passed Lucky, she lowered her voice deliberately: "You really believe all that praise? Fool! What can you do besides eat? Have you ever earned a single coin? A man who can't support his family is useless—a kept pretty boy living off his wife and mother-in-law. What's so great about that? Hmph!"
The words "kept pretty boy" hit Lucky right in the heart, draining the pride he'd felt from all the earlier praise. His face turned pale, and Mrs. Thompson's insult echoed endlessly in his mind.
After Cynthia Wu finished applying ointment to Margaret Evans, Dr. Wu and his daughter escorted Lily, Margaret, and Lucky out.
Zhang Mu, who no one knew had arrived, stood at the Wu family's gate holding a wild rabbit. When he saw Cynthia Wu come out, he blushed, put down the rabbit, and said to Dr. Wu, "Uncle Wu, thank you for healing my injury last time. I caught too many wild rabbits and couldn’t sell them all, so I brought one for you."
After speaking, Zhang Mu quickly put down the rabbit and dashed off without looking back.