Font Size:
Su Zhi, seeing so many fellow villagers arrive, felt a sense of relief.
With the arrival of Shen Zi’an and Li Shi, she was more certain that they could take Liu Siniang away. Now, upon hearing someone shout that Li Zheng had arrived, all she could think was how in the countryside, there were truly no secrets at a time like this.
If something happened in any household, everyone would rush over to watch the commotion. She had experienced this several times before, but then it had been directly related to her, and she had felt helpless. Now, she was genuinely grateful to those who called for Li Zheng, saving her from having to send someone to fetch him.
“I say, Old Zhao’s wife, why did you beat your daughter-in-law again? And to involve Zi’an’s wife in it as well, it’s really outrageous!”
Li Zheng walked in with a stern face. His house was just on the west side of the river, and the sound carried quite well across the river. As he happened to be walking along the path in front of the door, he heard someone calling for him, saying that there was another fight at Zhao Daliang’s house. This time, not only did the mother-in-law beat her daughter-in-law, but she also hit Zi’an’s wife. Upon hearing this, he immediately rushed over. As soon as he entered, he first scolded Aunt Li without any courtesy.
Aunt Li felt displeased and said, “Li Zheng, it’s only natural for me to discipline my daughter-in-law. As for Zi’an’s wife, I haven’t even touched a single hair on her. You can’t wrong people! It’s her family’s little wolf cub that bit my daughter. You must stand up for us, as we are widowed and orphaned!”
Zhao Xiaohua’s cries of pain grew louder. Li Zheng looked and saw a tear in Zhao Xiaohua’s clothes, with blood seeping through. But he didn’t feel the least bit sorry for her. Instead, his frown deepened.
“Old Zhao’s wife! That’s a Sacred Beast, how can you call it a little wolf cub? You should know, even if the Sacred Beast bites or even kills someone, it can only be said that you’re unlucky! Besides, Little Black and Little White are usually so well-behaved. They have never bitten anyone before. How come they bit Xiaohua today? Are you trying to harm them?”
Only then did Aunt Li remember that these two little wolf cubs were indeed offspring of the Sacred Beast, different from ordinary dogs or wolves.
Now, since Little White bit Zhao Xiaohua, it was just a small bite, and no one would do anything to Little White. Moreover, the people from the Zhao family were not well-regarded by the villagers. Little White was loved by most people in the Riverside Village, almost unanimously. Everyone thought just as Li Zheng did – surely Zhao Xiaohua must have provoked Little White, leading to the bite.
When someone asked Aunt Li if they were trying to harm Little White and said that hurting the Sacred Beast was wrong, she couldn’t help but wonder why Little White was considered a Sacred Beast’s offspring. It seemed that Shen Zi’an and his wife would not be blamed for not providing medical expenses.
“Li Zheng, how could we dare to harm Little White? We didn’t even touch it.”
Aunt Li quickly stated that she did not want to be labeled as someone who hurt the Sacred Beast. Although the Sacred Beast was not considered a deity in the hearts of the people of Liang Dynasty, if the matter was reported to the authorities, they would certainly take action.
Xinger interjected, “You kicked Little Black, causing it to roll on the ground several times. Little White only bit in response.”
Zhao Xiaohua sobbed, “It only bit my skirt. I was scared, it’s not my fault.”
Zhao Daliang hurriedly stepped forward, “Li Zheng, this is just a small misunderstanding. Xiaohua accidentally brushed Little Black, and now she’s been bitten too. Let’s not dwell on this matter. Let Xiaohua go back to clean her wound. If it leaves a scar, it won’t be good.”
Aunt Li saw Dazhu’s wife standing in the crowd and asked her to come and assist Zhao Xiaohua back to the room. Dazhu’s wife was reluctant; she wanted to stay and watch the spectacle. Nevertheless, she had no choice but to help Zhao Xiaohua and take her back to the room. She thought she would come back later to watch, as she was quite interested in the woman named Zhang Qingniang standing nearby.
As Zhao Xiaohua’s cries faded away, the room finally quieted down. All eyes turned to Liu Siniang, noticing the injury on her head. Seeing her hurt again, everyone felt sorry for her. When the onlookers then gazed at the Zhao family, their looks turned scornful and accusatory. These people all knew how hardworking and gentle Liu Siniang was.
With a stern expression, Li Zheng asked, “Daliang, when did you return? How did your wife get injured again?”
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Zhao Daliang bowed and said, “I arrived home yesterday, and it was already late. It’s truly regretful that today, so early in the morning, it has caused a stir among you and the villagers. The injury on Siniang was accidental, not caused by our family, as you’ve heard.”
Li Zheng turned to Su Zhi and asked, “Zi’an’s wife, were you assaulted here?”
Su Zhi glanced at the Zhao family and replied, “No, but just now when I tried to take Siniang to my house, they stopped us and there was some pulling. They even pushed Yueyue, which made her cry.”
“They pushed my mother, pulled Aunt Liu, and pushed Yueyue. Yueyue is in pain!”
Yueyue blinked her misty eyes and, with a sense of injustice, said, as tears formed into beads and rolled down her cheeks, her soft and pitiful voice making everyone want to hold and comfort her.
“How could they push a little child? Look how frightened she is!”
“That’s right! Her eyes are all red from crying, and look at the dirt on her clothes. She might have fallen hard, given how forcefully she was pushed.”
“Why would Zi’an’s wife want to take Siniang to her house? Why are they stopping her? Something’s fishy here!”
“Look at Siniang’s head. No wonder she wanted to leave with Zi’an’s wife. The Zhao family won’t let her go. What kind of people are they!”
“They’re probably afraid of being embarrassed if she leaves, but now this is even more shameful…”
In just a short while, not only was the room filled with people, but there were also quite a few outside the door. Although they weren’t entirely clear on what had happened, due to the Zhao family’s past actions, which were truly underhanded, they were all siding with Liu Siniang, painting the Zhao family as cruel and malicious toward their daughter-in-law.
With these remarks, people naturally began to notice Zhang Qingniang. A woman who was elaborately made up and dressed so brightly, seen supporting Aunt Li, inevitably led people to speculate about her identity, especially in light of Liu Siniang’s injury. Even in such a simple village, the locals could guess her identity. Immediately, their eyes lit up. In a place with so little entertainment, this kind of gossip was most welcome.
When others mentioned her, Zhang Qingniang’s expression seemed to suggest she was being regarded as some kind of enchantress. She felt somewhat embarrassed but maintained the anger in her heart, looking at the locals with a dignified smile.
Aunt Li said to Li Zheng, “Li Zheng, we didn’t mean to push Yueyue. She’s so adorable. How could we push her? It was just some pulling between the adults, and she got caught in the middle.”
Zhao Daliang added, “That’s right. Zi’an’s Wife wanted to take my wife, but we felt it wasn’t quite appropriate for Siniang to go to their house. We just expressed our concerns, and it ended up involving the child. It wasn’t a fight as you’ve heard.”
Li Zheng asked, “Then how did Siniang get hurt? Why did Zi’an’s wife want to take her to their house? There must be a reason behind all this, right?”
Zhao Daliang found it difficult to speak. In his mind, by turning Liu Siniang from a wife into a concubine, he anticipated that even if she was unwilling, she would obediently comply. Then, he could marry Zhang Qingniang, and the village would know about it. Even if people gossiped, Liu Siniang wouldn’t object, and others wouldn’t say much. After all, Liu Siniang had been married to him for three years without bearing any children, which alone could explain why she became a concubine. If he didn’t divorce her, the villagers would consider the Zhao family as virtuous.
However, he hadn’t expected Liu Siniang to resist, resulting in her injury and the involvement of Zi’an’s wife. She even demanded a divorce, causing a commotion. If he were to tell the villagers that he intended to demote his concubine and marry another woman as his primary wife, he couldn’t fathom how they would react. He found himself at a loss for words.
Seeing her son’s silence, Aunt Li stepped forward, saying, “This little wench, Liu Siniang, has been in our Zhao family for three years and hasn’t borne a child. For the sake of continuing the family line, if my son wants to take another wife, this wretch refuses. Now, she has caused this injury to gain sympathy. Zi’an’s wife believed her sob story and wanted to take her away. She is our Zhao family’s daughter-in-law. If she doesn’t stay here and goes to live in someone else’s house, won’t it bring disgrace to our Zhao family? Naturally, we cannot allow her to leave.”
Upon hearing Aunt Li’s remarks, Su Zhi, though coarse, seemed to be siding with her. Her words indeed seemed advantageous for the Zhao family.
“Aunt Li, why don’t you tell the villagers that you wanted to turn Siniang from a wife into a concubine? Why don’t you mention that Siniang didn’t want to be a concubine, and would rather leave altogether? But you wouldn’t let her go, insisting she remain in your home as a concubine, and you call that virtuous. Siniang doesn’t want your brand of virtue, but you won’t agree. Why don’t you mention any of this?”
As Su Zhi spoke, the murmurs grew louder, and everyone began to criticize the Zhao family. Most of these people had only one wife in their lifetime. They wouldn’t even consider taking a concubine, and marrying a second wife was only done out of absolute necessity. However, no matter how it was looked at, the legal/primary wife held more weight. Now, the Zhao family intended to demote their legal wife to a concubine, something unheard of in Riverside Village.
Li Shi looked at Liu Siniang, and she looked back. Then they averted their gazes. Liu Siniang turned her face away, wiping tears, while Li Shi’s hands clenched into fists.