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Wan Chunmei spoke with a deep and earnest tone, “Xiaomei, keep this silver for yourself. No matter what others do, in our family, we will never accept the bride’s dowry.”
Tan Xiaomei was momentarily stunned. Seeing Wan Chunmei’s serious expression, a wave of emotion surged in her heart.
Wan Chunmei, noticing that Xiaomei seemed lost in thought, continued, “Xiaomei, you keep the silver. Don’t give it to anyone, keep it close, and consider it your safety net.”
“Sister-in-law…” Tan Xiaomei’s eyes reddened.
Wan Chunmei quickly smiled, “Don’t cry, don’t cry. The betrothal is a joyous occasion, a joyous occasion!”
Tan Xiaomei wiped her eyes and said, “Yes, you’re right, it’s a big happy occasion!”
The family gathered together, and at last, Tan Xiaomei’s future was decided.
Old Tan and Wan Chunmei both sighed with relief, feeling as though a heavy weight had finally been lifted from their hearts.
At the same time, the Wan family was once again in turmoil.
After being scolded by Wan Family’s second brother, Wan Family’s third daughter, feeling dissatisfied, returned home and began to vent his anger on his sister-in-law, Miao Shi.
“You filthy woman! I’m talking about you! Who do you think you are, telling me what to do!”
When Wan Family’s third daughter came back that evening, after dinner, he threw his bowl, stormed off into the back room, and lay down.
Miao Shi couldn’t stand it anymore and went up to speak, but this only angered his sister.
In a fit of rage, she grabbed a pot of cold water from the table and poured it all over the bed where Wan Family’s third daughter was lying.
Wan Family’s third daughter, startled by the cold, scrambled to sit up, shivering. “Have you lost your mind?”
Miao Shi, pointing at him, scolded, “That’s right, I’ve lost my mind. What else would you expect when you speak so vilely?”
Wan Family’s third daughter, pulling at his wet clothes, retorted, “Miao Jiangyue, you should take a good look at who you really are. Who do you think you are, acting so arrogantly? In this family, you’re just an outsider.”
As soon as his words left his mouth, a heavy slap struck his face.
It wasn’t Miao Shi who slapped him, but Wan Family’s second brother.
Fuming with anger, Wan Family’s second brother scolded, “Outsider? This is your sister-in-law!”
When Miao Shi heard this, she was momentarily stunned. Her husband had finally come to his senses and spoken some sense for once.
Wan Family’s third daughter, holding his stinging face, looked at Wan Family’s second brother in disbelief and then started to wail, “Second brother, you hit me for another woman!”
Wan Family’s second brother scoffed, “You deserve that slap. Why don’t you use your brain for once? This is your sister-in-law.”
“Second brother, you’ve changed! You’re bullying me now, teaming up with an outsider to do this to me!” Wan Family’s third daughter wiped her tears and stormed out of the room.
The sky outside had already turned dark, and with the cold wind picking up, the night became pitch black—no stars visible at all.
Wan Family’s third daughter ran off into the darkness.
Miao Shi quickly stood up, saying, “Your sister ran off like that, should we go after her and try to talk some sense into her?”
Wan Family’s second brother glared at the door and muttered, “No, no. That girl is getting more and more unruly. She needs to be taught a lesson.”
Miao Shi sighed. After all, she was only the sister-in-law, and there was only so much she could do to help.
Wan Family’s third daughter ran wildly, charging into the woods. She ran while crying, eventually leaning against a large tree to stop, still cursing, “It’s all because of Wan Chunmei, all because of that slut Wan Chunmei! If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have lost my child. I wouldn’t have been divorced because of the child. If I hadn’t been divorced, I wouldn’t have ended up like this, a complete mess. It’s all her fault, all her fault!”
She spoke with venom, her eyes filled with hatred as she hissed, “Wan Chunmei, I swear I won’t let you get away with this, I swear!”
At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness in the woods.
Wan Family’s third daughter jumped, startled, and called out loudly, “Who’s there?”
The figure said nothing and slowly moved forward, gradually revealing a face.
It was a grotesque face, covered in sores and pustules, hideously ugly.
Wan Family’s third daughter, struggling to keep calm, asked, “Who are you?!”
The person, reeking of alcohol, staggered toward her and slurred, “Who am I? I’m your uncle!”
He then let out a loud, rancid burp.
Wan Family’s third daughter stared, her mind racing. Wasn’t that the village’s infamous “Er Liuzi” (a nickname for a lazy man)? How had he suddenly appeared here?
This “Er Liuzi” was well-known in the village as a good-for-nothing who had no skills and liked to bully the village women, doing unspeakable things.
Over ten years ago, Wan Family’s third daughter clearly remembered that, to vent her anger, she had thrown the unmarried Wan Chunmei at this man, sending her to him.
What she hadn’t expected was that Wan Chunmei had been lucky enough to be saved by Old Tan.
Old Tan had driven this “Er Liuzi” out, and after that, she hadn’t seen him for over ten years. How had he returned?
“Lumphead, it was that Wan Chunmei who caused all of this. Go after her, not me. Don’t bother me, it’s not my fault.”
The “Er Liuzi” let out another burp, slurring, and grinned as he slowly came closer with narrowed eyes. “Not bad, not bad. Big… really big… good, good.”
Wan Family’s third daughter quickly covered her chest and took a few steps back, panic in her voice, “Lumphead, I’m already married! You should go find someone else!”
The “Er Liuzi” gave a sly grin and quickly advanced, grabbing her hand, saying, “Married? I like that even more. You’re sensible, very sensible.”
The foul smell of alcohol and something worse came rushing at her.
Wan Family’s third daughter’s panic intensified as she struggled, “Let go of me, let go! You disgusting beggar, let go! If you don’t, I’ll scream for help!”
“Little lady, don’t be in such a hurry. I’m fast, I’m fast.”
The “Er Liuzi” continued to drunkenly stroke his clothes, a satisfied expression on his face.
Wan Family’s third daughter felt like her world was spinning.
Back then, Wan Chunmei had gone through exactly what she was now experiencing. Fortunately, at the crucial moment, Old Tan had come with a big axe.
Old Tan, looking a bit slow and foolish, had gone wild that night, scaring the “Er Liuzi” into running away in terror.
Now, it seemed like Wan Family’s third daughter wouldn’t be lucky enough to have someone come to her rescue.