First Snowfall
Howard Liu and May Parker had finally torn off all pretenses. Howard spat right on May's face, "You wretched woman! You made my family waste so much silver—this isn't over between us!"
With that, Howard Liu stormed off without looking back.
May Parker sat dazed on the ground, her face swollen, hair in disarray, muttering to herself, "I'm the Leo Family's daughter-in-law. You can't treat me like this... I'm a rich young lady. Where are my maids, my servants...?"
"May!" Helen Parker hurried over to help her up. "Why did you have to anger your husband? Tomorrow, I'll go with you to the Leo Family and apologize."
"Apologize..." May Parker's eyes were vacant as she clutched Helen Parker's sleeve. "Mother, I don't have a marriage certificate. He said he won't acknowledge me... Where is it? Where's my marriage certificate!?"
With that, May Parker went wild, rushing into the house and turning everything upside down, shouting about finding her marriage certificate.
Helen Parker and Grandma Evans watched, sighing about the misfortune. After May Parker's outburst, she finally calmed down and stepped outside. By now, night had fallen, and snowflakes began to drift from the sky.
It was the first snowfall of the winter, and it was heavy.
May Parker looked up at the swirling snow, her eyes burning with hatred even fiercer than the storm.
"Lily Evans... If Lily hadn't tattled, I wouldn't have been kept out of the Leo Family, hated by my in-laws! If she hadn't built that ridiculous greenhouse, I wouldn't have tried to steal her vegetable-growing secrets, failed, and lost so much silver—now my husband despises me!" May Parker clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her flesh, blood dripping onto the pristine snow. "Lily Evans, if you won't let me live, then I'll make sure you die! I'll make sure you die!"
"Achoo!" Lily Evans stood by the window, watching the swirling snow, and sneezed.
Lucky hurriedly scooped her into his arms, his tone both anxious and caring. "Don't stand by the window, darling. You'll catch a chill!"
"I'm fine, I'm not cold at all." Lily Evans patted her new clothes. "See? I'm wearing so much, there's no way I'll freeze."
The kang in the house was already burning, filling the room with warmth. Margaret Evans sat in her rocking chair, embroidering, while Belle kept her company. A pot of wine was warming on the stove, filling the air with a faint, comforting fragrance—pure bliss.
Margaret Evans smiled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear as she watched the snowflakes outside. "Life is so good now. I remember how winters used to be for me and Lily—we were so poor we didn't even have proper cotton clothes. I'd use dried grass seeds and discarded cotton to make winter coats. Wearing those, you'd be frozen to the bone just stepping outside. Thinking back, I don't even know how we got through those hard days."
Belle laughed, "Isn't that just how most villagers spend their winters?"
Margaret Evans lowered her head, touching her cotton-padded jacket—brand new, made as soon as the weather turned cold, soft and filled with fresh cotton, light and warm, so comfortable. Compared to those bitter days, it feels like a lifetime ago. She glanced at her daughter and son-in-law, smiling gently. "Yes, most people have lived through winters like that. But I'm truly blessed, with Lily and Lucky being so filial, giving me such a good life."
Outside, snow fell thick and fast; inside, it was cozy and snug. Lily Evans was already calculating how the colder weather would make her off-season vegetables even more valuable. Lucky propped his chin, gazing dreamily at his beloved wife. Margaret Evans bent over her embroidery, daydreaming about when she’d finally get to hold a grandchild. Belle checked the account book, wondering how to boost the mushroom house’s yield...
Everyone in Lily Evans’s household was filled with hope for the future. But none of them knew—a disaster was about to strike...