Chapter 32: Making a scene at Xu Zhenhua’s wedding (2)

Su Meijuan looked at Xu Zhenhua with utter disappointment, each word she spoke striking harder than the last. But she wasn’t done. Her eyes seemed to blaze with fire as she stared at him:

“Xu Zhenhua, my daughter—so beautiful and delicate—married into your family. In just over a year, she’s been reduced to skin and bones, not an ounce of flesh on her body. If you had truly died, I would have mourned her with sorrow but accepted it. After all, as a daughter-in-law, she tirelessly cared for your sick parents, managed the household, and worked the fields. No matter how hard or exhausting, it was her duty. But you… you are alive, perfectly fine! And yet you never called home to let us know. Do you have any conscience at all? And if I’m not mistaken, the flower on your chest is meant only for the groom. How absurd! My daughter was at home fulfilling her duties, and you—married someone else in the army. Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”

By the end, Su Meijuan was shouting hoarsely, her chest rising and falling violently with rage, as if every breath carried fire. Her words instantly caused an uproar in the canteen.

Xu Zhenhua’s face had already lost all color, and his hand covering Tang Wanning’s mouth dropped weakly. He realized that from this moment, his military career was over, his future gone, his life utterly ruined.

Seeing Xu Zhenhua release her hand, Tang Wanning feigned disbelief and stared at the flower on his chest. Then, tears streamed down her face in torrents, unstoppable. Her voice was thick with pain:

“Why? Why did you treat me like this? How have I wronged you that you would treat me so horribly?”

With that, a sharp slap landed heavily on Xu Zhenhua’s face.

“Do you know what I went through after hearing you were dead? Sleepless nights… if it weren’t for my concern for your parents, I would have gone with you! And you… this is how you treat me?”

Seeing Xu Zhenhua hesitating with his lips quivering, Tang Wanning struck the other side of his face—symmetrically, left and right.

“Answer me! Why won’t you answer me?” she demanded. Another slap echoed through the canteen, making onlookers shiver. The reason was simple: Tang Wanning’s blows were brutal. Xu Zhenhua’s cheeks swelled rapidly, grotesquely, like a pig’s.

“Xu Zhenhua, we grew up together. Don’t you know how much I loved you? Why, then, have you been so cruel? If you never cared for me, why did you marry me? Was it only to bring luck to your father? Ridiculous! Back then, I defied my parents to marry you. Even knowing it was for your father’s sake, I bore no complaint. And you… is this how you repay me?”

Though Tang Wanning’s love had turned into hatred, her grief was real. In her past life, she had sacrificed too much for this man. Seeing guilt and regret on Xu Zhenhua’s face, Tang Wanning felt nothing but disgust. If she hadn’t appeared today, he would never have regretted anything; thinking of her would have only made him smug. How ridiculous.

Her anger only grew. Another slap landed; Xu Zhenhua’s eyes were now mere slits.

“After marrying you, villagers said my parents only wanted your family’s 400-yuan bride price, selling me to you. But they didn’t know I not only brought the bride price to your family, my parents also gave me a dowry of 300 yuan. You grew up in the countryside—you should know what this sum means to us. Yet my parents gave it without hesitation. And what did I get in return? Your betrayal?”

Tang Wanning fixed him with a glare, waiting for his answer. Just as he tried to speak, another slap landed.

“Why won’t you answer me? Answer me! Why did you do this to me?”

Xu Zhenhua thought… “I want to answer, but every time I try, she slaps me before I can speak. I don’t even know what to say, but that’s no excuse not to let me explain.”

Tang Wanning didn’t care. Seeing him silent, her anger flared even higher. Slap after slap, Xu Zhenhua became dizzy, and blood soon seeped from the corners of his mouth.

As Tang Wanning’s strikes grew more precise, Bai Xiuying suddenly lunged forward. She screamed at the top of her lungs, “You wretch! Stop hitting my son! Who allowed you to hit him? I’ll kill you!”

Tang Wanning’s eyes were red with fury. Bai Xiuying’s arrival only added fuel to the fire; old and new grudges merged. She no longer focused solely on Xu Zhenhua, pulling Bai Xiuying by her hair and striking her until she saw stars.

Xu Zhenhua thought: You’ve already hit my mother, but that doesn’t give you license to keep hitting me.

Too bad… Tang Wanning didn’t forget him while attacking Bai Xiuying. Her frenzy was terrifying, causing bystanders to step back in fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

Seeing that she was about to strike them both to death, Wu Lifang shouted sharply, “Someone get her away! At this rate, someone’s going to die!”

No one in the canteen moved—everyone felt Xu Zhenhua deserved it. But no one wanted Tang Wanning to kill them outright; the girl would be ruined for life.

Two minutes later, a middle-aged soldier, appearing to be an officer, spoke:

“Xiao Zhang, Xiao Liu, go and pull this girl away.”

“Yes, sir!”

Tang Wanning, not foolish, knew her best moments were still ahead. She didn’t want to waste the rest of her life on a few scumbags, so she restrained herself when hitting. Otherwise, with her current strength, the mother-and-son duo would already be spitting blood. Even so, their situation was still miserable.

When she saw the soldiers coming to pull her away, Tang Wanning didn’t resist, letting herself be led off the battlefield.