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Everyone was thrown into a panic by the sudden turn of events. However, upon noticing that Sun Shi still had the strength to sit on the ground and cry, the crowd’s worries were somewhat alleviated. They then turned their gaze towards Shen Zi’an.
Upon hearing his son’s call, Shen Ziping knew right away that his wife, as usual, had sneaked into the kitchen to take something. This wasn’t the first or second time. He always turned a blind eye, thinking that the food would eventually end up in the mouths of his children and himself. Taking advantage of such opportunities was only natural. Even if caught, he wouldn’t mind. After all, it was all within the family. What harm could it do? At most, there might be a couple of words exchanged. But now, seeing his wife causing such a commotion and that she started bleeding, he became anxious.
“Fourth Brother! What are you doing? Trying to drive your sister-in-law to her death? If anything happens to her, I’ll fight you to the end!”
Shen Ziping shouted at Shen Zi’an, but it was only a few yells. He wouldn’t dare to lay a hand on him. Shen Zi’an was half a head taller than him and stronger. He was no match for him. The most crucial thing now was to cover for his wife to leave. Just a moment ago, he noticed something amiss on her clothes. That was where she often hid things. If she left without him, and they searched her, it would be a disaster.
“Hmph! I’ll spare you this time for the sake of our brotherhood. I’ll take your sister-in-law back to rest and bandage her up. We’ll settle our score later!”
Shen Ziping pulled Sun Shi and headed outside, planning to quickly deal with the stolen goods in the chaos before it caused trouble. Among those who came were his parents and elder sister-in-law. His parents were manageable, but the elder sister-in-law had always been at odds with them. If she found an opportunity, wouldn’t she eagerly try to undermine them?!
Watching this commotion, Shen Zi’an would typically have tried to calm things down and not cause trouble. After all, he had already suffered a lot in this family. But this time, it was about the cornbread issue he left for his wife. He couldn’t let his wife go hungry, especially since this wasn’t the first time. He couldn’t let her fall sick and starve.
“Stop! Before you leave, leave the Cornbread.”
The third daughter-in-law halted, and Shen Ziping turned around, scolding, “Fourth Brother, how can you be so ruthless?! Your sister-in-law was so wronged that she was driven to desperation, and yet you still push her. Do you want her dead before you’re satisfied? Will you compensate me with a new wife then? You still have four nephews and nieces to raise! You married a sickly woman and now, just because you’re unhappy, you want your buddy’s wife to die too. I never imagined you could be this heartless!”
Sun Shi glared at Shen Ziping, thinking how he kept cursing her and even mentioned compensating with a new wife. Did he want to find another woman? If not for the current situation, she would have definitely scolded him right then and there. Now, all she could do was give him a fierce look and redirect all her anger towards Shen Zi’an.
“I don’t want to live anymore! I’ve never been so wrongly accused. Just because I stayed in the kitchen, they accuse me of stealing. I was only cleaning here. I work so hard and still get falsely accused. Heavens, you’re truly blind. I might as well die!”
Sun Shi pretended to faint, hoping to confuse everyone and slip away amid the chaos. She tugged at Shen Ziping and then collapsed into his arms. However, just then, a loud thunderclap startled her, causing her to shiver and lose her balance, falling to the ground. It was right at the doorstep, so she couldn’t fall on it. She tried to brace herself with her hand, letting out a painful scream.
“Ridiculous!” Old Man Shen, Shen Youfu, watched the commotion unfold, his anger rising. “Third Son, take your wife back. Stop embarrassing us here. Fourth Son, let it go. It’s just two cornbread, right? Maybe one of the kids at home ate them. Can’t you let your nephews and nieces have a piece of your cornbread?!”
Shen Zi’an stood tall and said, “Dad, am I someone who falsely accuses others without reason? If I say Third Sister-in-law took them, then she did.”
Shen Zhang shi quickly interjected, “Zi’an, your father is right. It’s just a Cornbread, right? If you truly care for your wife, we have some flour at home. Make her some noodle soup.”
Old Man Shen felt his son was being unreasonable, despite usually being obedient. Now, he was arguing back. It seemed like he was defying the heavens.
“Fine, so you’ve married a wife and forgotten your parents. You won’t even listen to me! Even if it was indeed taken by your sister-in-law, so what? Can’t you, as a younger brother, give a piece of Cornbread to your sister-in-law?”
Shen Zi’an furrowed his brow and said, “Dad, if I go hungry for a day, it’s fine, but my wife isn’t well. She hasn’t eaten anything this morning. Are we going to let her starve?”
“So what if she goes hungry?! She lazes around all day, eats and drinks for free, and we have to spend on doctors and medicines for her. She’s draining this family dry! What’s wrong with skipping a meal? Plenty of farmers go a day without food. Will a little less food kill her? The kids can eat and grow, they can even help with chores. What can she do?!”
Sun Shi tried to fake fainting but failed. Now, she had to think of another way to confuse the situation and hopefully let the matter pass.
Shen Zi’an, with a stern face, replied coldly, “I left my Conbread for her. Even if she doesn’t work, can’t I share my meal with her?”
“Why didn’t you take your food away from the pot then? If you did, there wouldn’t be an issue. When the kids are hungry, does it matter whose food it is?”
Shen Ziping spoke illogically, showing that this couple was truly a match made in heaven.
Pointing at Sun Shi, Shen Zi’an said, “The cornbread wasn’t eaten by the kids. Third Sister-in-law hid it on herself.”
Immediately, all eyes turned to Sun Shi. She instinctively shielded herself with her hand, prompting Shen Ziping to step in front of her upon noticing Old Man Shen’s displeased expression. He shouted loudly at Shen Zi’an, “Alright, Shen Zi’an, you lecher! Why are you staring at your third sister-in-law like that? Are you even human? If you’re unhappy with your ugly wife, divorce her and marry someone else. Don’t ogle your own sister-in-law! I see through you. It’s not about those two buns for you; you’re trying to take advantage of your sister-in-law. If my son hadn’t yelled alarming us, would you have searched her yourself, trying to gain something? You shameless person!”
Sun Shi quickly burst into tears and cried out, “Father-in-law, I’m innocent! Ziping was right there the whole time. No one laid a finger on me. I’m completely innocent. Shen Zi’an! You despicable person, if you tarnish my reputation, I’ll hang myself at your doorstep! I might as well die!”
With that, Sun Shi got up and ran outside. If not now, then when would she run? Before leaving, she made sure to hide the two buns she had in her arms.
Shen Zi’an’s face darkened as he listened to the shameless words of this couple. How could they distort the fact just to claim innocence for this woman like this? Was it right for an elder brother to unjustly accuse his brother of coveting his sister-in-law? This third brother was truly out of line. Third Sister-in-law, usually sharp-tongued, was now only thinking about fleeing, clearly putting on an act. He clenched his fists tightly, almost wanting to throw a punch at them.
Sun Shi was about to run outside but was stopped by the elder sister-in-law, Wang Shi, who had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines.
Wang Shi pretended to care, gripping Sun Shi’s arm while saying, “Third Sister-in-law, you’re injured. Let me support you.” While speaking these words of concern, her hand swiftly slipped into Sun Shi’s clothes, pulling out something and tossing it to the ground. Sun Shi was about to refuse, trying to break free from the elder sister-in-law’s grasp. Their relationship had never been good, and she didn’t believe Wang Shi genuinely cared for her. She watched helplessly as a cornbread left her embrace, feeling the urge to bite Wang Shi in return.
Meanwhile, The Fourth Grandson, who had been observing, saw a golden corn bun fall from above and land at his feet. Joyfully, he cheered and didn’t mind the dirt as he picked it up and took a bite, forming a crescent shape with his teeth…