Chapter 112: Luring the Enemy into the Trap — Jiang Dai: I’m So Smart

“Damn it! Left his elderly parents behind in the village and came to the county with his wife to enjoy the good life!”

Old Madam Bai started howling the moment she opened her mouth.

“Climbed up the social ladder and now won’t even care for his own mother! What a waste, raising him all those years for nothing…”

Second Sister-in-law Bai, seeing her mother-in-law start wailing, chimed in her support and took the opportunity to glance at the fourth sister-in-law beside her.

The woman just stood there blankly, saying nothing. Honestly, she had no idea why her mother-in-law dragged her along in the first place.

Compared to the noisy group led by Old Madam Bai, Jiang Dai’s side remained calm and composed.

Bai Tian couldn’t wrap his head around it. How could someone be this persistent?

Jiang Dai seemed used to it by now. “Terrible relatives are always like this. But they really are annoying.”

“So, according to the usual plotlines in women’s fiction, when do these kinds of people usually get dealt with?” Bai Tian asked in a low voice.

“Very soon. Today, actually. After this, they won’t be showing up again.”

Jiang Dai looked at the group blocking their way, then glanced over at Mo Han standing not far off.

【Didn’t expect them to actually show up today. Guess the trap I set worked pretty well! Woohoo! Time to settle this quietly.】

Bai Tian: ?

So confident? Did he miss something again?

“By the way, who’s that other woman I haven’t seen before?”

Old Madam Bai and Second Sister-in-law Bai were familiar faces, but there was also a quiet-looking woman beside them.

Jiang Dai hadn’t met her before.

Bai Tian replied, “Fourth Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Dai gave an OK sign to show she got it.

Because Old Madam Bai had started wailing at the door, some neighbors were already poking their heads out to watch the commotion.

“Jiang Dai, who are those people?” a woman in her thirties asked.

Jiang Dai gave a bitter smile. “Aunt Zhang, that’s my mother-in-law and a couple of my sisters-in-law.”

Aunt Zhang’s expression turned knowing, and when she looked again at the noisy group, her face showed clear distaste. “So that’s your mother-in-law. Definitely not someone easy to deal with.”

Over the past couple of days, even though they hadn’t officially moved in yet, Jiang Dai and Bai Tian had already built a good rapport with the neighbors.

Just yesterday, when Jiang Dai came to tidy up the new house, she ran into some of the local aunties and shared some of her leftover sweet potatoes with them.

As they chatted, the aunties naturally asked about her family’s background and why they were moving here.

Jiang Dai selectively told them bits of the story. She was great at spinning tales, and the original host’s family history was dramatic enough on its own.

She also mentioned what Old Madam Bai’s family had done—painting a picture of a wicked mother-in-law bullying her youngest son’s family, who were already struggling and out of favor.

And now, today of all days, Old Madam Bai had actually shown up.

With this kind of tantrum and drama, it only confirmed everything Jiang Dai had said yesterday.

“Who said they came here to enjoy the good life?!”

A sharp, commanding voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned to look.

A young woman in a fitted, blue-green round-collared robe stepped out from the house.

She looked about eighteen or nineteen, tall and graceful, exuding a refined aura that set her apart from the average village woman.

Two strong, imposing attendants followed behind her, further highlighting her noble presence and unusual status.

“You’re their family, right?” Mo Han’s cold gaze locked onto Old Madam Bai.

Old Madam Bai froze, not yet responding, when Second Sister-in-law Bai jumped in. “What’s the problem? That’s his mother!”

Mo Han’s lips curled into a faint smile as she ordered the two men behind her, “Take them to the authorities.”

“What?! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Second Sister-in-law Bai hadn’t expected this turn of events at all. Seeing the two men approaching, she started to panic.

“They owe our master twenty taels of silver. Now that we’ve found his family, it’s easy. This way, your son won’t have to sell himself into labor to repay the debt!”

“You’re his mother, right? Then help pay it back!”

Old Madam Bai began dragging her daughter-in-law backward. “I’m not his mother! We already split the family¹! We’re separate!”

Mo Han just sneered.

“I don’t care about all that.”

“Take them!”

At her command, Old Madam Bai turned and bolted, dragging her second daughter-in-law with her.

What else could she do?

Stay and wait for Bai Tian’s family to ruin her?

The thing was, back when Bai Tian gambled and racked up debts, people had come to them for repayment.

But thankfully, the villagers had testified that they had already split the family.

And that was back in the village, their turf. Naturally, they hadn’t suffered much.

But today was different. This wasn’t their territory.

Running was the only smart move.

Seeing Old Madam Bai take off, Mo Han shouted again, “Catch them!”

The two strong men quickened their pace and chased after them until they disappeared from sight.

From the moment Mo Han stepped out to the moment Old Madam Bai fled, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

The onlookers didn’t step in to help either.

Of course not. No one even knew those people, and it was about debts—who’d be crazy enough to get involved?

Aunt Zhang looked at Jiang Dai, a bit hesitant. “You all…”

Jiang Dai shook her head and said, “Of course not. My husband did gamble in the past, but he was tricked. He’s turned over a new leaf and paid off everything long ago.”

“This friend of ours just helped us out by scaring off that biased old woman.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Mo Han walked over, a gentle smile now replacing her earlier stern expression. The contrast was striking.

“Miss Jiang, I apologize for my rudeness earlier.”

Her graceful approach said more than a dozen explanations from Jiang Dai ever could.

Mo Han smiled politely at Aunt Zhang. “I just couldn’t stand that old woman. If they’ve already split the family, and she didn’t help when they were down, she has no right to come leeching now just because they moved to a better place. What kind of mother does that?”

Aunt Zhang sighed. “You’re right about that.”

“Well then, Aunt Zhang, we’ll go finish unpacking. Let’s chat later!”

Jiang Dai handed her a small bag of malt candy. “Moving is a happy occasion. It’s not much, just a little treat for the kids.”

Aunt Zhang tried to decline out of politeness, but eventually accepted the small bundle.

Jiang Dai’s gaze shifted to the ox cart, where four kids were still sitting, watching the drama unfold.

“Let’s go. Don’t just sit there like statues!”

The four kids, stunned by what they’d just seen: …

Bai Yunqi: 【Unbelievable. I’m pretty sure Mom set this whole thing up! Otherwise, how would those people know where we moved to?】

Bai Yunxing: 【Strike first, lure the enemy in, hit them where it hurts—Mom’s ruthless, alright.】

Bai Yun’an: 【She’s smart, no doubt. I just hope they don’t come back again, or I might not be able to hold back from hitting someone.】

Juanjuan: …

Wait a second, her little brain was about to overheat.

The three older kids had already jumped off the cart on their own. Only Juanjuan was still sitting there.

“What are you still thinking about? Let’s go!”

Bai Tian chuckled, clearly in a great mood.

He scooped the little one up and set her down on the ground, giving her soft, chubby cheek a playful poke. “Go on! Take a break inside.”

The way he did it, he looked just like someone shooing a puppy.

Translator’s Notes

• women’s fiction: The term used in the source is ‘nvpin’ (女频), which refers to ‘Female Frequency,’ a specific category of Chinese web novels written for a female audience. These stories often feature tropes like ‘face-slapping’ (humiliating antagonists) and dealing with ‘extreme’ or ‘toxic’ relatives (极品亲戚). Jiang Dai is referencing her knowledge of these genre conventions to predict how the plot will unfold.