Chapter 75: Going to the Aunt to Learn a Craft

Du Wanchun heard the commotion and looked up, seeing an elderly woman with graying hair wielding a wooden stick, beating her aunt.

Her aunt clutched her bruised and swollen head, sobbing and begging for mercy. “Mother, I know I was wrong! Please stop hitting me!”

But the old woman refused to let up. She grabbed Du Damei’s hair forcefully and spat in her face. “How dare you come home so late last night! Were you sneaking off to cheat on my son?”

Tears streaked down Du Damei’s face, and her voice had grown hoarse from crying. “Mother, I wasn’t! I just had dinner at my niece’s house!”

Yet the old woman lifted the wooden stick again, ready to strike.

Du Wanchun stepped forward quickly, intending to stop her.

However, Zhou Daniang was even faster. She snatched the stick from the old woman’s hand and scolded sharply, “Auntie Cao! How can you beat your daughter-in-law like this in broad daylight?”

The woman was none other than Du Damei’s mother-in-law, Madam Cao.

The Cao family had a long tradition of taking in live-in sons-in-law, but when Madam Cao finally gave birth to two sons, she cherished them dearly.

Their ancestors once held a county magistrate position, so she always looked down on the other villagers and carried herself with arrogance.

Naturally, she despised her daughter-in-law, who came from a poor farming family.

What made her even more resentful was that after more than ten years of marriage, Du Damei had not given birth to a single child.

However, everyone in the Cao family knew that the real reason for the infertility was Du Damei’s husband.

Yet, Madam Cao still placed all the blame on her daughter-in-law.

Du Damei had hoped that adopting her younger brother’s daughter would earn her mother-in-law’s favor. But instead, she was scolded yet again. The old woman berated her, saying that if she was going to adopt a child, why didn’t she at least adopt a boy? What use was raising a worthless girl?

Her eldest son had been infertile since birth, and her second son was even worse—he had a fondness for men and had been living with a wealthy merchant in the county for years without returning home.

Now that they had adopted a girl, it meant their family line had truly ended.

The villagers whispered that this was karma. The Cao family’s ancestor, the county magistrate, had been overly biased toward sons and neglected daughters, and now the family was cursed with no descendants.

Many people tried to convince Madam Cao that daughters were just as good.

But she refused to listen. The more she looked at Du Damei, the angrier she became. In the past, she had only beaten and scolded her every couple of weeks. Now, it had become an almost daily occurrence.

Yesterday, all Du Damei had done was return home a little late, and she had been dragged out of bed at dawn to be beaten.

Inside the house, the little adopted girl lay on the bed, crying from hunger.

Seeing Zhou Daniang, Madam Cao’s anger flared. “This is my family’s business! It’s none of your concern!”

Zhou Daniang pulled the battered Du Damei up and shielded her behind her back. She said sternly, “If I didn’t stop you, you would’ve beaten her to death today!”

Madam Cao snorted coldly. “She’s a useless hen who can’t lay eggs! If she dies, she dies! My son can just marry another one!”

Zhou Daniang had never seen someone so shameless. She couldn’t help but curse, “Auntie Cao, even if Du Damei is your daughter-in-law, you have no right to beat her like this!”

Madam Cao scoffed, completely unconcerned. “She calls me ‘Mother,’ so of course, I have the right to discipline her! But you, a mere widow, what gives you the right to act all high and mighty in my home?”

As she spoke, she turned and caught sight of Du Wanchun. Her expression turned even uglier. “So this is that silly girl you just married off, huh? Take this foolish thing and get out of my house right now!”

Du Wanchun looked at her beloved aunt, who had always cared for her, now covered in bruises and injuries. Her hands clenched into fists, and her brows furrowed slightly as she took a slow step forward.

Just then, the sky, which had been clear moments ago, suddenly darkened with thick clouds.

A bolt of lightning struck with a deafening crash.

Everyone present jumped in shock.

Madam Cao glanced up at the sky, clearly annoyed. She stomped forward, reaching out to grab Du Wanchun. “Get out of my house right now!”

But just as she stepped forward, another bolt of lightning struck—this time, right at her feet.

With a loud bang, Madam Cao lost her balance and tumbled backward, landing straight into a slop bucket.