Chapter 6: Catching Infidelity, Proposing Divorce

From a distance, a grand brick and tile house came into view.

Yu Meijuan looked at the courtyard, and a hint of unwillingness finally appeared on her otherwise expressionless face.

“Hmph, I always thought this courtyard was built with the money left by Li Cuihua’s dead husband.

Little did I know it was actually a love nest built by that man for himself. He really knows how to enjoy life,” Yu Meijuan scoffed.

“Mom, are you sure that scumbag is here?” Shen Zihan asked.

“I wasn’t sure before, but now, it’s no surprise he must be here. I’m certain they’ve started living together; perhaps only we mother and daughter have been kept in the dark,” Yu Meijuan said as she strolled around the courtyard.

“Have you thought of a way to make their scandal known throughout the village?” Yu Meijuan inquired.

Without hesitation, Shen Zihan whispered a few words in her mother’s ear.

Yu Meijuan was overjoyed; her daughter was even more ruthless than she was. No wonder she had done big business before.

Shen Zihan took a torch from her space, lit it, and then used it to ignite a pile of firewood.

“Mom, let’s take a stroll, and when we come back, we’ll be able to watch the show,” Shen Zihan said, putting the torch back into her space after seeing the fire catch.

The two turned and walked toward the darkness.

At that moment, a gentle breeze blew, causing the flames on the firewood pile to burn even more vigorously.

“Ah, it’s on fire!” Neighbors on either side saw the blazing fire and rushed out in their clothes, carrying buckets of water. Those a bit further away, hearing the commotion, also came over to help extinguish the fire.

Yet, at this moment, the people from Li Cuihua’s house did not come out.

“Li Cuihua, your house is on fire! How can you still sleep so soundly?”

At that moment, Li Cuihua, who had had a bit to drink and was sleeping sweetly, and Shen Jianguo, hearing that there was a fire, threw on some clothes and rushed out.

Shen Jianguo’s appearance left the people trying to put out the fire in the courtyard dumbfounded.

“How is Shen Jianguo living in Li Widow’s house?”

“He’s still the village secretary; what a shameless act. If you’re going to have an affair, at least do it discreetly, but here he is, living openly in someone else’s home. He has no shame at all.”

“Exactly, just this morning, that old lady Shen accused Yu Meijuan of being unfaithful. You wouldn’t believe how badly she insulted her.”

Tsk tsk tsk, that old face is really being slapped red now, having one’s own son openly cheating right here.

At this moment, the Shen family also came over. Seeing Shen Jianguo standing in the courtyard with his disheveled clothes, they felt a burning shame.

“Quick, put out the fire! If we don’t act soon, the house will catch fire!” Old Lady Shen suddenly came up with an idea and started shouting loudly.

Although everyone wanted to continue watching the drama unfold, they understood the urgency of the situation and hurriedly began to extinguish the fire.

It was only then that Shen Jianguo realized this wasn’t his own home. It wasn’t entirely his fault—he had already come to regard this place as his own home. It was natural for him to react this way out of habit, even in a moment of panic. He rushed back inside to get dressed.

In the distance, Yu Meijuan and her daughter quietly watched everything unfold and felt it was their turn to step in, so they slowly walked over.

By this time, the fire had been extinguished, and when people saw Yu Meijuan and her daughter, they couldn’t help but feel sorry for this simple woman who was oblivious to the fact that she was being cheated on.

Yu Meijuan pretended to be unaware and asked, “What happened at Li Widow’s house? It’s been a long time since anyone’s house caught fire in our village. Could it be that Li Widow did something evil and is now facing retribution?”

“You little slut, who are you talking about? Just wait until I beat you to death!” Li Cuihua shouted angrily as she rushed out, unable to be stopped by Shen Jianguo.

“Oh dear, my daughter didn’t even name names; why are you so anxious? Could it be that you really are cheating? Or are you cheating with a married man?” Yu Meijuan stood in front of Li Cuihua and said.

Li Cuihua had no face left to argue; she threw caution to the wind and said, “So what if I’m cheating? So what if it’s with a married man? What can you do about it?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, what can I do? You’ve treated your face like a butt; what do you expect me to do?” Yu Meijuan looked at Li Cuihua, remembering her daughter’s words. In her past life, it was this woman who had plotted against her, causing her to lose her innocence and die. Not only that, but they had also sold her daughter into the mountains.

She hated this woman more than anything; it was all because of her that she had met such a tragic end and that her daughter had suffered. Now was the time for revenge.

A surge of rage filled her heart: “If you have the guts to admit you’re cheating, then you should have the guts to reveal your lover for everyone to see. Let all the men and women in our village open their eyes and see what shameless person is boldly carrying on with you, this loose widow, behind their family’s back.”

Upon hearing this, Li Cuihua shot a deadly glare at Yu Meijuan. It was because of this vixen that she had to separate from her lover. Even though she knew it was all unavoidable, all for the treasures in this woman’s hands, the years of secretive living had left her feeling very frustrated.

Now that everyone was watching, she decided to reveal the truth.

Just as she was about to speak, Shen Jianguo pushed the door open and walked out. Li Cuihua felt a surge of joy; her Jianguo brother finally stepped up to acknowledge them.

“Listen to what you just said. We’re all from the same village; why stab someone in the back? It’s noisy here. Hurry and go home,” Shen Jianguo said softly, almost the gentlest he had ever spoken since they got married.

Yu Meijuan looked at him with a dead-eyed stare. This scumbag was too wicked; did he really think that a few light words from him would make them let go? He was dreaming.

“Oh dear, my man isn’t home sleeping at this late hour. How come he came out of a widow’s house? Is the shameless person in Li Widow’s mouth actually you? I thought ever since we got married, you never slept at home; turns out you were sleeping here. Those two kids at Li Widow’s house aren’t also your offspring, are they?”

As Yu Meijuan spoke, she rushed into Li Cuihua’s house.

“Everyone, come and see! Your village secretary actually has a family outside! Look, he has prepared all sorts of clothes for the four seasons. He has more than I do as the legitimate wife.”

Upon hearing Yu Meijuan’s words, everyone squeezed into the house, and sure enough, this was no widow’s home; there were so many men’s clothes and belongings inside.

“Look, these are the secretary’s clothes. Look, he even has big shorts! Who would believe this if he wasn’t living here? Tsk tsk tsk, Shen Secretary is too unprincipled. How could he do such a thing?

It turns out the wife at home was just a decoration, and Li Cuihua is the one really living life.”

The speaker was Shen Erhu, who had a grudge against Shen Jianguo’s family. He had the strength and capability to compete for the village secretary position but was too poor to bribe the higher-ups.

Now, he had finally caught Shen Jianguo by the short hairs, and exposing Shen Jianguo’s disgraceful actions was part of Yu Meijuan’s plan. Upon hearing her words, people internally applauded her. Wasn’t this just retribution? She was sleeping with a married man in her own home, which was indeed wrong.

“Exactly! She must have done something unforgivable; otherwise, why would her house be the only one to catch fire? I bet she must have cheated, and it was with a married man!”

Shen Zihan spoke slowly, ensuring everyone in the village could hear her. She said it intentionally. This scumbag had bullied others right to their faces and still wanted to hide; it wasn’t going to be that easy.

Shen Zihan aimed to provoke this so-called father of hers, to make him show up, to expose his disgraceful actions, and to allow the two of them to leave this filthy place with their heads held high. It would be boring if shameless people just hid away.