Chapter 178: Anger

The village chief shouted, “What’s all this commotion about so early in the morning!”

The villagers who were watching the spectacle made way for the village chief.

Dong Ju’s husband, seeing the chief as his savior, cried out, “Village chief! You need to get justice for me!”

Cheng Jingmo released his hold and pushed Dong Ju’s husband two meters away.

Cheng Jingmo quickly moved to Yu Xiangnian’s side, asking nervously, “Why are you here?”

Yu Xiangnian glared at him, displeased, “Listen to me later!”

Annoyed as she was, the immediate priority was to resolve this issue.

Cheng Jingmo, not good with words, would undoubtedly get tangled up with this unreasonable man.

Cheng Jingmo didn’t see this as a big deal; his main worry was upsetting Yu Xiangnian again.

Dong Ju’s husband, looking aggrieved, began to complain to the village chief.

“Village chief, Jianwa and Dong Ju are having an affair! I caught them this morning! They denied it, so I brought them here to the village office to settle this.”

“And then, Jianwa’s wife showed up. He held me down so I couldn’t resist, and she beat me as hard as she could!”

At this point, Dong Ju’s husband touched his still-aching cheek.

The village chief frowned.

Who was holding him, and who was hitting him?

Jianwa’s wife looked delicate, someone who couldn’t even lift a hoe.

She couldn’t possibly hold someone down, let alone hit them!

“Everyone inside to discuss this!” the village chief said.

Unexpectedly, Yu Xiangnian stepped forward, standing tall and proud, “Village chief, Dong Ju’s husband slandered my husband in front of all these people. He must clear my husband’s name in front of everyone! Let’s settle this here, in front of everyone!”

Cheng Jingmo felt warm inside.

Even though Yu Xiangnian was angry, she still fully trusted and stood up for him in front of everyone!

The village chief: “…Fine, let’s settle this here!”

The village chief asked Dong Ju’s husband, “Dong Xingwang, you claim they had an affair. What evidence do you have?”

Dong Xingwang stiffened his neck, “This morning, I went to the kitchen to fetch water for washing and caught them in the kitchen!”

The village chief asked, “Be clear. What were they doing in the kitchen?”

Dong Xingwang paused before saying, “Jianwa and my wife were standing together, and Jianwa said, ‘You go change your clothes, and I’ll help you fetch water.’”

The crowd collectively sighed.

That doesn’t sound like an affair! That’s just Jianwa helping Dong Ju fetch water!

Dong Ju’s pants were visibly wet and muddy, clearly from falling while fetching water.

Jianwa was being kind, and now he’s being slandered!

The village chief, also angry, said, “Dong Xingwang! You’re making trouble out of nothing! With this behavior, who would dare help Dong Ju in the future?”

Dong Xingwang quickly said, “Village chief! Hear me out!”

Facing the crowd, Dong Xingwang said, “Everyone think about it. Dong Ju fetches water every day and never fell. Why did she fall today? And why was Jianwa the one who happened to help? Why not someone else?”

Such sophistry made Yu Xiangnian roll her eyes!

“I’ll tell you all, these two have been sneaking around before!” Dong Xingwang raised his voice deliberately, “If I hadn’t overheard Dong Ju and her mother’s conversation the other day, I wouldn’t have known! Turns out, Dong Ju’s father wanted Jianwa to marry into their family. But Jianwa went off to join the army and never returned, so Dong Ju married me instead!”

Everyone present was stunned.

They had never heard of such a thing!

Yu Xiangnian crossed her arms, looking calm, with a hint of a smile as if watching a clown.

The village chief frowned even deeper, “That’s from years ago! What does it have to do with today’s matter?”

“Village chief, it has everything to do with it!” Dong Xingwang said in a tone full of sorrow. “That day, Dong Ju and her mother were crying. Dong Ju said she regretted marrying me, and her mother said it was her fault for not writing a letter to Jianwa back then to get in touch.”

“You all heard it. Doesn’t this show that Dong Ju has feelings for Jianwa?”

The crowd murmured, “…”

It seemed plausible!

Just as everyone was getting swayed, Yu Xiangnian spoke up, “Why don’t you talk about how they saw each other’s bottoms when they were toddlers wearing split pants?”

“What are we here to discuss today?” Yu Xiangnian addressed everyone, “We’re here to discuss if Cheng Jingmo and Dong Ju had an affair!”

“Dong Xingwang, right?” Yu Xiangnian looked at Dong Ju’s husband, “If you have evidence, present it now! Stop diverting the topic!”

Dong Xingwang insisted, “What I said earlier is all evidence!”

Yu Xiangnian retorted, “That’s evidence? My husband helping your wife fetch water is evidence of an affair?”

Dong Xingwang replied, “I said they had an affair before, and Dong Ju still thinks about your husband. That’s the evidence!”

“They had an affair before?” Yu Xiangnian said, “Then you need to provide evidence for that too!”

Dong Xingwang: “…”

Yu Xiangnian continued, “How long ago was this? Cheng Jingmo enlisted in the army at seventeen. Even if it was before he enlisted, he was only sixteen or seventeen, and Dong Ju was thirteen or fourteen, still a young girl. How could they have had an affair? Explain that to me?”

At that moment, Dong Ju’s mother arrived, limping as she walked.

“Xingwang! How can you be so heartless!” Dong Ju’s mother cried as she approached. “When Dong Ju married you, she was a pure, innocent girl! How can you tarnish her reputation like this!”

“Mom! Why are you here!” Dong Ju cried, rushing to support her mother.

Yu Xiangnian’s words had brought everyone back to their senses.

That’s right. If they had had an affair before, someone like Dong Xingwang would have caused a huge scene long ago!

The village chief also said, “Enough, Dong Xingwang, stop causing trouble! Apologize to Cheng Jingmo!”

Dong Xingwang was stunned, then shouted in grievance, “Village chief, even if nothing happened between them before, it’s true that Dong Ju has feelings for Jianwa! What man can tolerate his wife thinking about another man!”

“Hah!” Yu Xiangnian sneered, walking up to Dong Xingwang and looking him up and down with disdain.

Dong Xingwang, feeling guilty, shouted, “What are you looking at?”

Yu Xiangnian calmly said, “In my life, I’ve never seen someone as shameless as you! To be honest, in my eyes, you don’t even count as a human!”

“Even animals know how to protect their families. And you? Everyone in the village knows about you beating your wife and mother-in-law! Even animals wouldn’t do that!”

These were the harshest, most cutting words Yu Xiangnian had ever spoken in both her lifetimes!

Domestic violence and shamelessness!

Only someone like Dong Ju could tolerate such a man. If it were her, she would hire someone to beat him half to death.

“Dong Ju isn’t thinking about anyone. She just wants a normal life! Living with someone worse than an animal, Dong Ju is human and wants a human life!”

These words completely enraged Dong Xingwang. He clenched his fists and swung them towards Yu Xiangnian, just as he did when he beat Dong Ju!