Chapter 144: Restriction

Chen Feng returned to the west room. It was in chaos, with tables, stools, and various items strewn about. Wang Cai was rolling on the ground, unable to get up. Surprisingly, Zhui Feng wasn’t biting him anymore, it seemed like he was playing with him. Zhui Feng used his front paws to push away Wang Cai’s arms from his face and licked his face, frightening him into tears with his eyes tightly shut.

Mrs. Wang, on the other hand, stood frozen, covering her mouth and crying in agony. Little Wangcai was excited but dared not approach, standing beside Mrs. Wang and barking frantically.

“Enough, you’ve had your fun.” Chen Feng said.

Upon hearing this, Zhui Feng reluctantly let go of Wang Cai and stood next to Chen Feng.

Wang Cai continued to cry on the ground.

Through gritted teeth, Chen Feng said, “Not had enough bites, have you? Zhui Feng, give me…”

As soon as Wang Cai heard this, he quickly got up. At least, he wasn’t physically injured, but his hair was disheveled, and his padded jacket and trousers were torn in several places, with cotton flying everywhere. His face was smeared with tears and mucus, and he trembled all over, unable to stand steadily.

Chen Feng shouted, “Get lost!”

Wang Cai cried as he went out. He went to the kitchen and helped Mrs. Ding, who was still sitting on the ground, crying.

The two women arrived in the courtyard, feeling as if they had finally seen the light of day. They noticed a crowd gathering outside the fence, attracted by the commotion in the house.

Upon seeing the crowd, Mrs. Ding burst into tears and wailed, “Heaven, look down and see how I, a mother, came to visit my daughter’s home and was beaten by her and her granddaughter…”

Chen Feng stepped out and shouted, “Don’t spew lies. You came to demand a hundred taels of silver from my mother. When she said she didn’t have it, you beat her. If Zhui Feng hadn’t heard the commotion and rushed over to pull you away, who knows how badly my mother would have been beaten…”

Zhui Feng ran out and howled, charging at the two individuals, but Chen Feng stopped him. She seemed to be exaggerating her efforts to restrain the dog, almost as if she couldn’t stop herself from sitting on the ground, holding onto the dog so tightly that her grip never loosened.

Mrs. Wang came out as well, disheveled, with swollen eyes, and three distinct scratch marks on her face. She knelt in front of Mrs. Ding and cried, “Mother, even if you aren’t my birth mother, you shouldn’t treat me like this. You sold me as a child bride at ten, and my brother at six. And when I was sent back by my ex-husband’s family, you sold me again. My blood has been drained by you. Where can I find a hundred taels of silver? The courtyard was built by my daughter, and I didn’t spend a single coin. I truly have no money… If it comes to it, go and call my biological father, I’ll use a rope to hang myself and return my life to him…”

Chen Feng was taken aback. She hadn’t seen this side of Mrs. Wang before. She thought she should appear vulnerable at this moment, but considering her reputation as a fierce woman, it would be incongruous to act weak. She simply held Zhui Feng and watched in a daze.

The villagers knew that Mrs. Wang had been sold twice by her stepmother, and now they heard that even her brother had been sold. When they heard that she still has a nerve to demand a hundred taels of silver, they cursed at Mrs. Ding.

But there were also voices saying that even if Mrs. Ding was despicable, it should be Mrs. Wang’s father who taught her a lesson, and the younger generation shouldn’t act this way.

Mrs. Ding didn’t acknowledge her guilt and cried, “I wasn’t asking for money, they set me up. I just missed my daughter and granddaughter…”

She paused for a moment, before suppressing the revelation that she had discovered Chen Feng was Chen Shiying’s legitimate daughter. She knew that if she dared to say such a thing in public, it would be the end for her. She knew just how formidable Chen Shiying’s mother was.

“Enough of your nonsense!” a loud voice boomed, and grandma Chen pushed through the crowd outside the fence to join them. She pointed at Mrs. Ding and spat, “My daughter-in-law has been in my Chen family for sixteen years, and you’ve never come once. The moment they started building a grand courtyard, you showed up. We don’t believe you didn’t came for money, no one would.”

Seeing the scratch marks on Mrs. Wang’s face, she became even angrier, kicking Mrs. Ding and cursing, “I’ll kick you, you greedy and heartless woman, daring to come to my daughter-in-law’s home to ask for money and beat people. If my daughter-in-law is bullied to death in her husband’s home, I’ll just hit myself with a block of tofu and die.” She then grabbed Mrs. Ding’s hair.

Mrs. Ding wasn’t one to sit idly by and fought back, getting into a scuffle with grandma Chen. Soon, others joined in to separate them, but it was more about pulling Mrs. Ding away, allowing Chen’s mother to continue scratching and pulling her hair.

Seeing her mother suffer, Wang Cai rushed to protect her, but he was pulled away and beaten by Chen Gui, who had rushed over.

Chen Feng gained a new level of respect for grandma Chen. She was clever. With just a few words, she shifted the conflict between Mrs. Ding and Mrs. Wang to a conflict between their respective in-laws. Since both in-laws were considered equal, and the mother’s family dared to come to the son-in-law’s home to demand money and cause trouble, they were in the wrong, and it was justifiable to fight back. Therefore, when grandma Chen and others ganged up on Mrs. Ding and Wang Cai, no one objected to the beating.

Mrs. Ding and Wang Cai cried and begged for mercy as they were being beaten.

Gao Lizheng arrived and ordered people to pull apart the Chen family members. Hu Laowu, who was watching the commotion, intercepted those trying to intervene and chuckled, “We seldom get to enjoy such a spectacle. Why not stick around a bit longer?” He then reminded Chen Gui, “Be careful, as long as no one dies.”

Gao Lizheng, infuriated, shouted, “Hu Laowu, stop causing trouble here.” Pointing at the group, he urged, “Go and separate them. If someone ends up dead, who will take responsibility?”

The scuffle was finally broken up. Mrs. Ding and Wang Cai looked truly pitiful at this point. They were disheveled, bruised, and their clothes torn. Wang Cai’s nose was bleeding, and Mrs. Ding’s face bore several fresh scratches, leaving them unable to stand straight.

Gao Lizheng sternly reprimanded Mrs. Ding and Wang Cai, warning them not to bully people in Xiangluo Village. The mother and son tearfully agreed and were escorted out of the courtyard.

The onlookers gradually dispersed. Mrs. Wang and Chen Feng stood up and thanked grandma Chen and Chen Gui, inviting them to rest in the house.

Grandma Chen shook her head and declined, stating, “No, we need to rush back to attend to things.” She also told the still tearful Mrs. Wang, “My daughter-in-law, don’t dwell on it. Mrs. Ding is thoroughly rotten to the core. It’s not worth getting angry over her.”

After bidding farewell, she left with Hu Laowu, Chen Gui, and Gao Lizheng. Chen Feng noticed that before leaving, Hu Laowu glanced at the row of cured meats hanging under the eaves.

Chen Feng escorted Mrs. Wang back to the west room and reassured her, “Mother, it’s okay. They’ve been chased away, and they won’t dare to bully you again.”

Mrs. Wang hugged Chen Feng and cried again, saying, “A’Feng, they are talking nonsense. You are your father’s legitimate daughter, you are your father’s legitimate daughter…”