Chapter 70

Shen Yiyi had not expected that as she was about to reach her house, she would see from a distance that a crowd had gathered outside their house.

It looked quite lively. Even when her family of five approached, no one seemed to notice them.

Li Chen stopped his bicycle, and the family got off. The scene at the entrance of Shen Yiyi’s house became clear before her eyes—

Jiang Ailing was kneeling at the main entrance with Li Tiezhu, crying out: “Mom, Tiezhu and I truly know our mistakes.”

“Please, for the sake of all the years I have been married into the Old Li’s Family, for the two sons and two daughters I have given birth to, even if I have no merit, I have worked hard. Please forgive me.”

With such pitiful words, she tried her best to take all the blame upon herself, minimizing Li Tiezhu’s faults.

Jiang Ailing was indeed clever. Her biggest mistake was sowing discord between Mother Li and Shen Yiyi.

However, she had neither openly defied Mother Li nor physically harmed Shen Yiyi. Instead, she had endured the beatings throughout.

Now, with her disheveled appearance and her cries filled with sorrow, she had successfully stirred up sympathy among many onlookers. Words like “pitiful.” “tormented.” “shouldn’t be treated so harshly.” and “vicious mother-in-law” could be heard repeatedly.

Standing behind Father Li, Mother Li was on the verge of exploding with rage.

Father Li, in front of so many people, was clearly suppressing his anger as he tried to mediate. “Third daughter-in-law, let’s talk about this when we get back. Get up first. Eldest daughter-in-law, help her up quickly.”

But Jiang Ailing refused to stand. She shook off He Zhaodi’s hand and cried out: “Let go of me! If Mother doesn’t forgive me, I will not get up!”

She then continued wailing with even more dramatic, pitiful words.

The crowd blocked the entrance to Shen Yiyi’s house, making it impossible for her to go inside.

She looked around but did not see Li Sanhong. However, the door to Old Li’s Family next door was wide open. From her angle, she could see that in front of Li Sanhong’s house, Li Dabin was standing there, calling for Li Sanhong to come out and help Jiang Ailing up.

“I’m not going.” Li Sanhong’s furious voice rang out. “If they want to kneel, let them kneel! Daring to fight with their Mother-in-law and Grandma—this is outrageous! Let them kneel! If Mother is still not satisfied, then keep beating them. I won’t say a word against it!”

In any case, he was absolutely refusing to come out and put an end to this farce.

Shen Yiyi let out a cold laugh.

So, this was Li Sanhong’s stance.

On the surface, it seemed like he wanted Jiang Ailing and Li Tiezhu to learn their lesson, but in reality, he was using this commotion to pressure Mother Li.

Right now, with Jiang Ailing and Li Tiezhu kneeling outside, Li Sanhong, as their husband and father, was putting on an act of unwavering righteousness, cutting ties for the sake of morality.

If Mother Li continued to ignore their kneeling apology, under the watchful eyes of so many people, she would only appear to be heartless and cruel.

To sum it up in one sentence—when faced with a choice between his mother and his wife and son, Li Sanhong had chosen to side with his wife and son.

Jiang Ailing had indeed married a good husband.

There was no denying it—Li Sanhong and Jiang Ailing’s strategy of using force against force was quite clever. As the murmurs among the crowd grew louder, Mother Li was on the verge of giving in.

Just as she was about to soften her stance, Li Chen, with a cold and serious expression, suddenly turned around and strode into the old house. Without hesitation, he kicked the door to Li Sanhong’s room.

“Li Sanhong, come out!”

The moment Li Chen’s voice rang out, there was a noticeable pause inside.

Li Sanhong’s tone wavered slightly as he responded: “Second Brother, don’t try to persuade me. I am completely disappointed in them. If they don’t suffer a little, they will never learn their lesson.”

His words were carefully crafted, seemingly reasonable and righteous.

But Li Chen was not one to be fooled. Since Li Sanhong refused to open the door, Li Chen turned and walked straight into the kitchen.

Moments later, he came out carrying an axe.

The onlookers outside let out a series of startled gasps. Father Li and Mother Li were terrified, thinking that Li Chen was about to hack Li Sanhong with the axe. They hurriedly grabbed Shen Yiyi’s hand.

“Yiyi, go stop your second brother, quickly!”

Shen Yiyi remained calm. “Dad, Mom, don’t worry. Brother Chen won’t do anything reckless.”

Standing nearby, Li Dabin was far less composed. He quickly stepped forward to stop Li Chen. “Second Brother, don’t act impulsively!”

“Eldest Brother, step aside. I’m just chopping the door down.” Li Chen said flatly. Then, he sidestepped, raised the axe, and swung it down.

A loud bang echoed through the yard.

The doors in these houses were not very sturdy.

With just one strike from Li Chen, the wooden door burst open, hanging loosely on the wall, barely holding together.

Inside the room, Li Sanhong, who had been sitting on the heated brick bed, jumped to his feet in shock.

Li Chen wasted no time. He strode forward, grabbed Li Sanhong by the collar, and half-dragged, half-shoved him outside. Then, he threw him down in front of Jiang Ailing.

“You deal with her, or I deal with you. Your choice.”

After that, Li Chen turned his gaze to the crowd of onlookers, his face expressionless.

“What? Still want to watch the show?”

His tone was anything but friendly. His sharp, chiseled features and narrow, intense eyes carried an air of ruthlessness. Remembering his infamous reputation and witnessing how efficiently he had just smashed the door and dragged Li Sanhong out, the spectators felt an instinctive fear.

Not to mention, he was still holding that axe.

Immediately, the crowd scattered like frightened birds, leaving only a few stubborn ones who tried to sneak peeks from the corners.

Apart from those lingering onlookers, only the Li family remained.

From the moment Li Chen had pulled out the axe, Jiang Ailing and Li Tiezhu had stopped wailing.

Now that Li Sanhong had been thrown beside them, they clutched onto his clothes in terror.

It was as if someone had hit the pause button. The once-chaotic scene fell into complete silence, with all eyes locked on Li Chen.

Shen Yiyi took the opportunity to observe.

The expressions in those eyes were either filled with shock or fear.

Among them, only the Three Baos’ gaze lacked those emotions…

No, Xiao Bao still had some.

His big, grape-like eyes glanced timidly at his father. After a moment of hesitation, he finally gathered his courage and stepped forward, tugging at the corner of his father’s clothes.

Li Chen didn’t even lower his head to look at him, merely reaching out to ruffle his hair.

In an instant, all the anxiety in the boy’s eyes disappeared.

As for Da Bao and Er Bao, they looked at Li Chen with undisguised admiration.

This made Shen Yiyi sigh inwardly. Li Chen was truly successful as a father. No matter how intimidating he might be to others, the Three Baos knew he would never harm them, so they had no fear of him.

The commotion had settled, but the issue remained unresolved.

So, the entire family moved into the main hall of the Old Li’s Family house.

Father Li and Mother Li sat at the head seats, while Li Chen and Shen Yiyi, along with the eldest brother’s family, sat on the left.

On the right stood Li Sanhong, Jiang Ailing, and Li Tiezhu. They didn’t dare to sit down.

The children had all been sent outside.

The atmosphere was solemn, almost like a courtroom trial.

Yet, no one spoke.

Shen Yiyi waited for a while, but patience was not her strong suit.

Her family had just returned from the city, and they hadn’t even stepped inside their own house, let alone cooked a meal. She had no interest in wasting time on this stalemate.

So, she was the first to break the silence.

“Mom, now that we’re all here, just say how you want to handle this matter directly.”

Waiting for Li Sanhong to speak was pointless. He would surely try to protect Jiang Ailing and Li Tiezhu while also avoiding a full-blown fallout with Mother Li.

“I…” Mother Li opened her mouth but hesitated, glancing at Father Li.

Father Li sat with his back hunched, looking as if he had aged ten years overnight. His voice was hoarse as he spoke.

“There are two choices. One, split the family.”

Then, he cast a glance at Jiang Ailing and Li Tiezhu before adding two more words.

“Divorce.”