A short, sharp laugh escaped me. "You really do see me as a servant, don't you? If I don't cook, you and your mother-in-law are incapable of making a meal?"
"My mother-in-law isn't like you!" Jade hissed. "She's been pampered her whole life—how could she do rough work? Besides, she's a guest who traveled a long way. How can we ask an honored guest to cook?"
My heart turned to ice.
For years, her mother-in-law's persona had been that of a noble, delicate lady, too fragile for labor. Meanwhile, in my daughter's eyes, I was born to be a rough-handed servant. Seven years of giving everything, and it was worth less than a few polite words from a stranger.
I shook off her hand and walked inside without a word.
Jade's eyes lit up. "Mom, since you didn't say no, I'll take that as a yes!"
At the dinner table, the family chatted happily about the past, effectively walling me out. An outsider at my own daughter's table.
Jade attentively ordered a bottle of Moutai to impress her father-in-law. Then, she ordered a serving of imperial bird's nest stewed with snow frog for her mother-in-law.
"Does your mother want one too?" Zoey asked politely.