Chapter 48: Reinforcements Arrive

How could Zhang Jinlan possibly stand by and watch her family be insulted?

She let out a shrill wail,

plopped down hard on the ground,

and began both crying and chanting.

She slapped her thighs in rhythm as she wailed:

“Oh, my poor daughter, bullied like this, and yet they deny it—my daughter, what will you do now? Your mother can’t go on living!”

Little Chen-shi copied Zhang Jinlan, collapsing to the ground as well.

The two women cried and sang back and forth, almost like performing an opera.

Sensing the situation going badly, Jiang Fubao wriggled her tiny bottom and climbed out of her mother’s arms.

“Fubao, don’t run off—Fubao—!”

Zhang Yanzi thought her daughter was just restless from sitting too long, so she let her down, intending to coax her.

But before she could warn her not to run, she watched in shock as Fubao’s little legs carried her straight across to the other side.

No amount of calling could stop her.

The crowd was so packed that Zhang Yanzi couldn’t chase after her quickly enough.

“Big Sister, give me your hand,” Jiang Fubao piped up in her sweet childish voice when she reached Zhou Yuanyuan.

Zhou Yuanyuan froze for a moment. Without thinking, almost by instinct, she extended her hand.

Fubao quickly rose on tiptoes, grasping her wrist.

After only a few seconds, she let go with a little satisfied smile.

“Big Sister, why is there a little brother in your belly?” Fubao shouted loudly.

The crowd gasped in shock.

“You child, what nonsense are you spouting!” Little Chen-shi lunged to shove her away.

But Zhang Yanzi had already rushed over and scooped her daughter up, thwarting the attempt.

“Mother, this Big Sister really has a little brother in her belly. She said he’ll come out on the first snowfall. Fubao wants to come play with him then.”

Fubao feigned wide-eyed innocence, raising her voice so everyone could hear.

Indeed—Zhou Yuanyuan was pregnant.

From her pulse, she was already over two months along. No wonder the family was pushing the marriage quickly. Any later, her belly would start to show.

Once married, she could simply pretend to deliver early—seven months instead of nine.

As long as she ate sparingly during pregnancy, the baby would be undernourished and small, easily passed off as a premature child.

“Damn brat, say another word and I’ll beat you to death!”

Zhou Yuanyuan’s younger brother, Zhou Jingui, glared fiercely at Fubao, trying to scare her.

But Fubao was no ordinary three-year-old toddler. She wasn’t frightened at all.

“Grandma, this Big Sister really does have a little brother in her belly,” she insisted, turning her head and appealing to her grandmother.

“You Jiang family—rotten from top to bottom! The older ones ruin my granddaughter, and now the younger ones come slandering her! What, is our Zhou family so easy to bully? You’ve stolen her innocence, and now you spread lies saying she’s with child? I see your family came here deliberately to stir trouble! Don’t tell me a three-year-old could make this up—you must have drilled it into her beforehand!”

Panic flickered in Zhou Chen-shi’s eyes. Despite her stern words, her voice shook faintly with nerves.

“Oh no, Yuanyuan’s fainted! That damned child must have angered her into it. Village Chief, please, have pity on our family, help us seek justice! Otherwise my Yuanyuan won’t survive this humiliation. How can a living girl be driven to death like this?”

Little Chen-shi clutched her limp daughter, sobbing miserably.

But inside, she felt no fear.

Everyone in the village was here watching. Even if the Jiangs took it to the authorities, it would be useless.

As long as the Zhou family kept insisting that Jiang Tongjin had defiled their daughter—

and the villagers testified to it—

the Jiang family would have no escape.

They wouldn’t dare refuse the marriage.

All they needed was a legitimate excuse so the child could be born openly.

When they first arranged the betrothal with the Jiangs, there were two reasons:

One, to prevent gossip about their daughter conceiving before marriage, which would shame the family.

Two, to give the unborn child a proper name and avoid being called a bastard.

After all, the child’s real father was Ma the Student Candidate!

Though he was fickle, seducing their daughter without marriage and leaving her pregnant, then abandoning her to wed a landlord’s daughter—

he was still a prodigy, passing the first-level exam at sixteen. His future was bright. If he ever rose higher, the family could present the child to him, and recognition would be assured.

Through this grandson, the Zhou family might leave behind their farmer’s lot and climb to higher status.

As for the Jiang family’s ruin—who cared?

Little Chen-shi lowered her head, a sly smile tugging at her lips.

If the Jiangs agreed to marry, so much the better—let Jiang Tongjin raise another man’s son, future scholar’s heir, as his own.

If not, her daughter could still claim she had conceived only after the engagement. People would pity them for misfortune, not blame them.

“Outrageous! Someone drive the Jiang family out! The engagement stands—you can’t back out after ruining a girl’s life! If you don’t show up for the wedding, I’ll march to Chang’an Town myself and lodge a complaint with the magistrate. Your Jiang family will be flayed alive!”

Village Chief Zhou, after watching the drama unfold, finally spoke his verdict.

Yuanyuan’s case was pitiful indeed. A maiden ruined—if the engagement were broken, who would marry her? That would be driving her to her grave.

Naturally, he sided with his own villagers.

At his words, Zhou villagers once again picked up sticks and tools, pressing forward.

Jiang Shoujia hurried to shield his family, just opening his mouth to protest when—

A voice called from behind:

“Wait! Village Chief Zhou!”

It sounded like the in-laws.

Turning, he saw it was indeed them.

The whole family had arrived, daughter included.

Beside them stood an old man he didn’t recognize.

No wonder his son-in-law hadn’t appeared earlier—he hadn’t run away, he’d gone to fetch help.

“Village Chief Zhou, please give me some face. The Jiang family are my in-laws—I know their character well. I fear this is a misunderstanding. As it happens, I’ve brought a physician. Let him check on Yuanyuan first. When she wakes, the two families can sit down and talk this out properly.”

Zhou Xiufen tugged the doctor’s sleeve, stepping forward with a sly smirk.

She hadn’t come to help the Jiangs out of kindness—she just wanted front-row seats to the spectacle, while earning easy favor.

“Very well. Doctor Xu, please examine the girl and see if she’s alright.”

Among the nearby villages, only Sunjia Village had a doctor.

Though half-trained, he was better than nothing.

The Village Chief knew him well; his family had sought treatment from him many times.

“No—you can’t touch my daughter! You’re all in league together. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting—you must want to harm her!”

Little Chen-shi slapped away the doctor’s hand, her eyes wild with panic.

If he really took her daughter’s pulse—everything would be exposed.

“Ugh, Mother, what… what happened to me?”

Just then, Zhou Yuanyuan stirred and deliberately feigned waking.

“My granddaughter’s fine now—no need to check! Quickly drive the Jiangs away. I don’t want to see that little wretch again. Eldest daughter-in-law, Yuanyuan, let’s go home!”

Zhou Chen-shi, who had been acting calm and confident moments earlier, was now visibly unsettled.

Any further delay, and the truth might slip out.