Chapter 117: Bullied

Chen Ming nodded, sighed, and said, “Your mother slept late last night, and she hasn’t gotten up yet.” Then he pulled Chen Feng to the other side of the side door and whispered, “There are some unpleasant rumors in the village now, A’Feng, don’t take them to heart. Just remember, your mother is a good woman, a good wife, and a good mother. Respect her as you did before, and continue to respect her in the future. If you show any neglect towards your mother, it will not only hurt her but also displease me.”

His tone was as gentle as ever, but his expression was extremely serious.

This man is truly kind! Chen Feng was moved.

She reached out, hugged Chen Ming’s arm, and said, “Dad, regardless of what others say, I believe what I see and what I feel. I know that my mother is the best, and my dad is the best. I will respect and honor you both for the rest of my life.”

Chen Ming nodded in relief and patted the hand that was holding onto his arm, saying, “Good girl. The suffering your mother endured wasn’t in vain.”

As they were talking, Chen Lu hobbled out, his little face tense. He came over to Chen Ming and asked, “Dad, why was Mom crying so loudly last night? Who bullied her?”

Chen Ming sighed and repeated what he had just said.

Chen Lu nodded vigorously and said, “My mom is so good, how could I not respect her? Those gossipers are despicable. Why do they have to say things about my mom?”

Chen Feng responded, “We can’t control what others say. Try to keep Mom from going out as much as possible these days, and also be cautious of Auntie coming over and spreading rumors.”

Around dawn, Mrs. Wang finally got up. Her eyes were still red and a bit swollen. When she came out and saw her husband and children conversing in the courtyard, she felt a bit embarrassed. She said, “I woke up late.”

Chen Feng smiled and said, “The meal is ready. Let’s eat at my place.”

After Mrs. Wang had freshened up, Chen Feng went over and linked her arm with hers, and they all went to the west room of the new courtyard together. Today, Dabao was especially diligent and had already dished out the meal and placed it on the table. To prevent anyone from burning themselves, the congee was only half-filled in each bowl.

The group ate in silence. Chen Ming occasionally helped Mrs. Wang to some radish and peeled an egg for her, making her blush.

Mrs. Wang scolded him with a glance, and he chuckled in response. The others pretended not to notice, focusing on their food. Particularly Lu, to show he was concentrating on his meal, made much louder sounds while drinking the congee than usual.

After the meal, Chen Feng got up and took Zhui Feng to water the vegetable garden and fetch water, while Mrs. Wang attended to the household chores.

As they walked, Chen Feng noticed some people standing in the distance, gesturing and whispering about her. When she approached, they quickly moved away, clearly discussing Mrs. Wang. While most villagers were kind and responsible, gossip could be as cutting as a knife when they were irresponsible.

Unable to hear what was being said, she simply pretended not to notice those peculiar glances. After watering the vegetable garden and refilling the water tank, she carried a large basin and led Zhui Feng to the stream outside the village to do the laundry. It was already late autumn, and the stream water was quite cold, but most families preferred to wash clothes by the stream rather than use precious fuel at home. In a few days, when the weather got colder, they would have to resort to heating water at home.

As they reached the village entrance, they encountered Mrs. Gao, who was carrying a large basin.

Mrs. Gao beamed and said, “Thank you, A’Feng. When you went to the capital, you brought back so many things for us to wear and eat. Especially the little satin dress for Daya, oh my, only young ladies from wealthy families wear those.”

Chen Feng chuckled and responded, “Sister, you’re too kind. My cousin has helped my family so much, yet I haven’t specifically given you a piece of cloth…”

Mrs. Gao, seeing Chen Feng’s hesitation, understood her concerns and said, “It’s enough already. How could we ever be unsatisfied?” She then whispered, “Last night, Sister-in-law Jue came home and cried non-stop. Father scolded her when he returned and even gave her a few slaps. Sister-in-law Lan wasn’t pleased either, saying that her sister is really spoiled, even wanting things given to her for her marriage. Father said he would have Jue learn to cook with us in the future. That would be best, otherwise, I would be even busier after sister-in-law Lan gets married.”

The two continued to walk and chat along the stream.

By the stream, there was a huge rock with a few smooth stones beneath it, where women preferred to do their laundry.

As Chen Feng and Mrs. Gao approached the rock with their basins, they overheard several women on the other side loudly discussing.

“…She had no idea that Mr. Chen would become a magistrate. If she had known, even if Old Lady Chen wanted to take a concubine for Mr. Chen, she would have willingly accepted it. How could she willingly return to her family and be so eager to remarry?”

“Yes, she seemed so polite and refined. Why would she be in such a rush to remarry after returning to her family?”

“Of course, she couldn’t live without a man. Only after she got married did she realize she had married a useless man.”

“You can’t say that Chen Ming is useless. When Mrs. Wang married into the Chen family, didn’t she bear a child right away?”

Laughter erupted.

“Don’t speak like that. Mrs. Wang has had it quite tough. When she married into the Chen family, she worked tirelessly, day and night, to earn money for Chen Ming’s medical treatment, raised two children, one of whom is mentally disabled, and the other is disabled. Oh my, if it were any weaker woman, she would have hanged herself.”

“Who can blame her? If she hadn’t been so eager to remarry, Mr. Chen would have surely brought her back to the Chen family to live a comfortable life. I heard that when Mr. Chen returned to his hometown, he went to her family to ask for her hand, but she had already remarried. Mr. Chen seemed so upset. She simply wasn’t destined to be a noblewoman…”

“Just look at her, destined to be a noblewoman, born with such a poor and shabby appearance…”

Chen Feng was not familiar with the villagers and didn’t know who these individuals were. Their derogatory remarks about Mrs. Wang left her seething with anger.

Mrs. Wang was the victim and deserved sympathy. Yet these two individuals were extolling Chen Shiying, speaking so ill of Mrs. Wang. She hadn’t heard them directly, but she couldn’t ignore it. It was the perfect opportunity to tackle their words and shut them up.

For some people and situations, diplomacy wouldn’t work, force was the only solution.

She whispered to Mrs. Gao, “Could you please go and find Gao Lizheng, then make a trip to Tangyuan and inform them that I’ve been bullied.”

Chen Feng wasn’t afraid of those women, but she was concerned about their families banding together – she and her family wouldn’t stand a chance.

Tangyuan was far away, and by the time their people arrived, she might have already suffered a loss. That’s why she wanted to approach Gao Lizheng first, he had promised to look out for her family.

She then set the basin on the ground, adjusted her clothes, tightened the belt around her waist, and, tying it into a knot, retrieved a wooden stick from the basin before moving to the other side of the rock.