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Everyone quickly turned their gaze to the house.
They saw Tan Xiaomei holding Little Qiyue in one arm and a piece of paper in the other, slowly walking out.
“You’ve come at just the right time,” she said. “Sign this divorce paper!”
Old Lady Jiang snorted coldly. “Absurd! Who in this world divorces a husband? I won’t sign it—no, not even if you beat me to death!”
Tan Xiaomei remained silent, walking steadily towards her.
A flash of lightning suddenly struck, hitting the ground near Old Lady Jiang’s feet.
With a loud boom!
Old Lady Jiang was knocked to the ground, her soul nearly frightened out of her, and she trembled, lying on the ground with shaking legs.
The onlookers quickly crouched down, covering their ears, too frightened to look up, whispering among themselves:
“What—what just happened?!”
“That was a lightning strike!”
“It must be that the Jiang family did something evil, and Heaven couldn’t stand it anymore!”
“Yes, exactly!”
The eldest son of the Jiang family, hearing this, suddenly looked up at the sky, defiant. “Nonsense! Our Jiang family stands tall and proud—why would we be struck by lightning!”
“Stands tall and proud? Nonsense!” Tan Xiaomei shouted angrily. With a courage she had never shown before, she began recounting all the crimes of the Jiang family.
The villagers listened, filled with righteous anger.
“I never thought the scholar’s family would raise such a son. He’s not human at all! He deserves to be struck by lightning!”
As soon as their words fell, another bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking the ground near the eldest son of the Jiang family. Though it didn’t hit him directly, it left his ears ringing and deafened him.
Tan Xiaomei threw the divorce paper at him. “Jiang, sign this divorce agreement now! From now on, you go your way, and I’ll go mine. We’ll never have anything to do with each other again!”
The eldest son of the Jiang family, his deafened ears unable to hear, stared dazedly at the crowd.
Wan Chunmei charged forward, grabbing his hand and dragging it across a stone, using the blood to stamp the divorce paper.
The eldest son of the Jiang family winced in pain, groaning.
Old Lady Jiang began to recover somewhat, pointing at them and shouting, “You’re bullying us! We’ll report this to the authorities! We’ll report it!”
“Report it? Good! I happen to have a petition here. We can report everything together,” a voice said.
Liu Zhoucheng slowly walked out of the house.
Old Lady Jiang had been to the county office before and knew this man, Liu Shiye, personally. Upon seeing him, she fell silent.
She realized instantly that even if they reported it now, it would be useless.
Wan Chunmei raised the divorce paper with the sealed fingerprints, waving it and calling out loudly, “Villagers, look here! Our Tan family’s daughter has divorced the eldest son of the Jiang family. From now on, their ties are severed. They will go their separate ways, each with their own lives!”
With her words, Wan Chunmei glanced at the two mother and son figures. “Get out of here! While we’re still willing to speak, get out!”
“You! You!” Old Lady Jiang, supporting her deafened son, trembled as she pointed at Wan Chunmei, shouting, “Shrew!”
Before she could finish, a large hand suddenly yanked her hair and pulled her backward, causing her to gasp in pain.
A fierce woman’s voice rang out from behind them, “So, you two went off to hide here? How’s your illness? If you’re better, go home and cook!”
It was the vicious widow, Zhou, one of the two concubines recently taken by the eldest son of the Jiang family.
Zhou pulled on Old Lady Jiang’s hair and dragged her over to a cart, tossing her onto it with a forceful throw. Old Lady Jiang screamed in pain.
Zhou kicked her sharply and, seeing that Old Lady Jiang was no longer resisting, slowly walked over to greet Wan Chunmei and Old Tan, bowing respectfully. “Elder brother, elder sister, my mother-in-law and husband have been foolish. They offended you just now. Please do not hold it against them. I’ll apologize on their behalf and take them home to give them a proper lesson.”
Though Zhou was merely a concubine and a widow, she exuded a bold, commanding presence, and spoke with striking frankness.
Old Tan had originally wanted to scold the mother and son.
Wan Chunmei gave him a look and whispered, “This is their family matter now. We don’t need to get involved.”
Old Tan immediately understood and nodded, saying, “Alright, take them back, and don’t let them harm anyone else!”
“Yes, elder brother!” Zhou grabbed the eldest son of the Jiang family, who was still deafened, and roughly dragged him onto the cart, hauling the two of them away.
Finally, the commotion came to an end.
The villagers dispersed and returned to their homes.
Tan Xiaomei squatted down and picked up the divorce paper, letting out a laugh. As she laughed, tears began to flow down her face.
But this time, it was tears of happiness.
Liu Zhoucheng approached and said, “Looks like we won’t need to go to the magistrate’s office after all.”
Tan Xiaomei quickly turned to him. “Liu Shiye, thank you so much just now.”
“Thank me? I didn’t do anything,” Liu Zhoucheng smiled lightly.
Tan Xiaomei’s face was full of gratitude. “If it weren’t for you, my wicked mother-in-law wouldn’t have been so obedient so quickly.”
Liu Zhoucheng clasped his hands behind his back and glanced at the two spots on the ground struck by lightning. He smiled slowly, saying, “Perhaps this is karma at work.”