Chapter 11: Stirring Up Trouble Again

A small village, with the sound of quarreling and fighting echoing from one end to the other.

On the only path from the thatched huts to the village center, one had to pass in front of Old Fourth Xiang’s house. Right now, a large crowd had gathered there, with some villagers even rushing over from the fields to watch the commotion.

Mrs. Li stood outside the door holding a bucket of slop. Scooping up some with a ladle, she flung it at the mother and daughter standing in the middle of the road. “You wretched thing! You gave birth to that money-draining brat and still dared lay a hand on me?! Drop dead!”

Mrs. Su shielded Xiang Yun with her body, taking the brunt of the slop herself. The onlookers hurriedly stepped several paces back, afraid they’d get splashed and end up smelling foul.

Mrs. Li grew more worked up as she shouted. With another scoop of the slop in hand, she hurled it with all her might. “The kid’s got no manners because you, the mother, don’t know how to raise her! Daring to disrespect her grandmother—looks like you both are sick of living! Damn you!”

Her insults got more vicious. Behind her, Mrs. Yu looked smug and didn’t miss the chance to fan the flames. “Exactly! Master Xu taking a fancy to He girl was her good fortune! And she turned it down without even asking for silver? What kind of brain is that?”

Mentioning that only made Mrs. Li angrier. She had been this close to getting twenty taels of silver, but that wretched girl ruined it all! She hadn’t even had time to warm it in her hands before it slipped away.

Burning with rage, her eyes full of hatred, she tossed the ladle aside, grabbed the slop bucket, and dumped it over Mrs. Su’s head.

Then she began punching and kicking her, screaming louder and more shrill with each strike. “You damned whore and your cursed brat! Give me back my silver! That was twenty whole taels! That could’ve supported your third branch for several lifetimes! You wretch! I should never have let you marry into this family! Shameless woman who doesn’t know her place!”

Mrs. Su held Xiang Yun tightly, refusing to let her get hit, silently enduring the flurry of punches with her lips pressed shut.

The watching Mrs. Yu continued egging her on. “That’s right, beat her! Just look at how she raised He girl! What’s that saying again? No respect for elders—right! She dared raise her hand at her grandma! Like mother, like daughter, tsk tsk!”

Meanwhile, hiding behind the door, Xiang Lianhua touched her neck and sneered. “Serves them right! She dared conspire with that matchmaker to slander me? If I can’t deal with her, I’ll deal with her family instead!”

Last night, her grandfather had scolded her for quite a while, and the things he said were nothing short of harsh. If it hadn’t been for the bride price convincing him in the end, she probably would’ve gotten a beating.

Hearing her muttering, Mrs. Yu snapped back at her in a low voice, “Keep your voice down!”

“Mother, hurry up and stir things more! If He girl shows up, we won’t get to enjoy the show!”

“Don’t need you to tell me that.” Mrs. Yu tugged the door plank to hide Xiang Lianhua more securely, then stood with her hands on her hips and resumed yelling at Mrs. Su. “Third branch! You cost your mother-in-law twenty taels! But there’s still a way to fix this!”

Mrs. Li paused in her hitting and smashing, “You, eldest from the Old Family, speak!”

A flash of resentment appeared in Mrs. Yu’s eyes. “Mother, I see Yun girl is already eight years old. If we send her to Master Xu’s house to work as a maid, maybe she can earn a few copper coins for us.”

“No!” Mrs. Su, still holding Xiang Yun tightly, shouted fiercely, “You’re not allowed to take my Yun girl away!”

She clutched Xiang Yun closely, glaring hatefully at them with eyes like knives, as if she wanted to gouge out Mrs. Li’s eyes.

That fierce, predatory gaze completely enraged Mrs. Li. Her teeth clenched with anger as she reached out and grabbed Xiang Yun from Su’s arms. “You’re all raised by me! How many years have you eaten my rice? None of you know how to show filial respect, and now you want to go against me?! Let go!”

Xiang Yun was pulled by the arm with such force that she cried out, struggling to hold onto Mrs. Su’s neck without letting go. “Mother! It hurts! Mother, I don’t want to go to Master Xu’s house!”

“Mother will never let you go to Master Xu’s house! Never!”

Mrs. Su held Xiang Yun’s waist firmly with both hands, letting Mrs. Li hit her hands and head, but refusing to loosen her grip, holding on tight.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Su’s strength was so great that Mrs. Li’s grip weakened slightly. Panting, she looked at Mrs. Yu. “Why aren’t you helping? If we can’t tie this girl up today, let Lianhua go!”

Having said that, Mrs. Yu didn’t dare refuse. She took a few steps forward, then looked around carefully to make sure Xiang He wasn’t in the crowd before quickly rushing over to help. She grabbed the back collar of Xiang Yun’s clothes and pulled hard.

The villagers shook their heads watching but didn’t dare intervene, fearing getting caught in the mess.

Only one person hurried over carrying a carrying pole. “You stubborn old hag! You just won’t quit your wicked ways!”

Fourth Aunt struck Mrs. Yu’s hand with the pole, causing her to scream and pull her hand back, rubbing the sore spot. “Fourth Sister, why are you joining in the trouble?”

“I’m not your sister! Get lost!” she snapped, then swung the pole at Mrs. Li’s hand again. But Mrs. Li was surprisingly quick, dodging and grabbing Xiang Yun’s other arm.

Xiang Yun’s painful cries tore at Mrs. Su’s heart. She recalled how yesterday, when locked in the room, He girl had calmly comforted them outside the door, telling them not to worry. It turned out she had already made up her mind to die once, just wishing the family could live peacefully.

If Yun girl was taken away again, how could she face herself…

Her expression darkened gradually. She tightened her hold on Yun girl, hate boiling in her heart. Her eyes shifted and locked onto Mrs. Li’s hand, then she opened her mouth and bit down hard on the web between her thumb and index finger.

“Ahh! Let go! Let go quickly!”

Mrs. Li shouted, pounding Mrs. Su’s head with her left fist, each punch thrown with full force.

Fourth Aunt saw how fierce she was and struck Mrs. Li’s hand again with her carrying pole, causing enough pain to stop her from hitting further. Mrs. Su loosened her grip, turned around protecting Xiang Yun with her back facing Mrs. Li.

Failing to seize the girl and now being bitten back, Mrs. Li could not let it go, and her anger flared up even more.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the bucket of slop on the ground. Fueled by rage, her eyes reddened as she lifted the bucket with both hands and smashed it down onto Mrs. Su’s head.

Everyone else’s eyes widened in shock, they gasped for breath, silenced by fear.

Bang!

The slop bucket broke on impact, the cracked edge cutting into the skin on Mrs. Li’s hand. Blood dripped drop by drop to the ground, blooming like a red flower.

“He… He girl!”

Hearing Fourth Aunt’s cry, Mrs. Su turned back in shock. Her He girl had broken the bucket bare-handed, her hand bleeding profusely. Her messy hair was scattered with countless loose strands fluttering in the wind, partially covering her face.

“He girl…”

Trembling and panicked, Mrs. Su stood to check her daughter’s injury. Fourth Aunt hurriedly hugged Xiang Yun to prevent that cruel Zhao Fourth family from snatching her away.

A long slash ran across the entire back of her hand—a shocking wound that caused immense pain deep inside Mrs. Su’s heart, rising up to choke her throat, suffocating her.

Her trembling hands dared not touch it, afraid of causing more pain to her daughter.

“He… He girl…” The words stuck in her throat, her face flushed red, choking back tears, and fierce anger nearly burst out of her eyes, now red and filled with determination. “I’ll fight you, you old wicked woman!”

Before Xiang He could stop her, Mrs. Su snatched Fourth Aunt’s carrying pole and, fueled by rage, charged at Mrs. Li—