Chapter 11: Acting

She took out various medicinal liquids from her space and selected a few vividly red ones to spray around the scar on her forehead.

But after all, it was just spray—soon it evaporated, leaving only a faint mark that looked rather fake.

Thinking it over, she had no choice but to take out an egg from her space, separating the egg white and yolk.

She dropped the medicine into the egg white and stirred it together—it now looked like thick clotted blood.

Then she slowly applied it bit by bit onto her forehead.
The egg white had a fishy smell, not much different from the smell of real blood—this should keep her from being exposed.

At a glance, it really looked like a bleeding wound, with the blood just about to clot.

She had originally thought about being ruthless and clawing herself for real,
But then thought better of it—no need to go that far!

She messed up her hair even more, scooped up a handful of water, and dropped a few drops into her eyes.

Instantly, her eyes burned red and tears welled up.
She touched the spot on her scalp where Zhang Xiufang had yanked her hair—it stung a lot and was probably red and swollen.

“What happened, Old Man Yu?”

“Oh dear, what’s going on?”

People started arriving one after another in the courtyard.
Some were there just to watch the drama unfold and had no intention of helping.

At that moment, a few men hurriedly pushed their way through the crowd.

“Xiufen!!”

“Mom, where are you hurt?”

Yu Laoda and his three sons helped the collapsed Zhang Xiufang over to the side.
The three sons shot hostile glares at Yu Nuan, deliberately ignoring the grotesque bloodstain on her forehead.

Regardless of whether their wife was right or wrong, the fact that Yu Nuan dared to lay hands on her meant she was going against their entire household.

Seeing their expressions, Yu Nuan grew a little uneasy.
Crap… are they going to secretly take revenge on me later?

“Oh dear~ What happened to Yu Nuan?”
Some were genuinely concerned, others were just fanning the flames.
“Heavens, she’s bleeding!”
A woman shouted toward Yu Nuan.

Zhang Xiufang, blocked by her sons, was still confused.
She looked up and saw Yu Nuan with disheveled hair, red-rimmed eyes, and blood streaming from her forehead to her eyelids.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Something’s off! This… is she trying to frame me?
Unbelievable!
That damned girl really is something else!!!

“Waaah~ I don’t want to live anymore! I kindly tried to arrange a marriage for her,
And now I’ve ended up being hated instead—what kind of sister-in-law am I…”
Zhang Xiufang seized the moment and struck first, turning away from Yu Nuan and wailing to the crowd while leaning on her son.

Hearing that Zhang Xiufang had been matchmaking for Yu Nuan, a few women behind her immediately spoke up on her behalf.
They accused Yu Nuan of being disrespectful to her elder sister-in-law and ungrateful.
They even said it was right for an older sister-in-law to discipline her younger sister-in-law.

Listening to Zhang Xiufang and the other women’s endless chatter,
The village chief, who had just arrived, frowned deeply. Even he was puzzled when he looked at Yu Nuan.

“Yu Nuan, speak up!”
As soon as the village chief spoke, the crowd quieted down.

Village Chief Li, supported by his daughter-in-law, stepped forward and asked,
“Uncle Li, I don’t know what to say,” Yu Nuan said tearfully. “Sister-in-law came over and started scolding my parents,
Then said she wanted to marry me off to Wang Jinlong from the neighboring village—even gave them my birth date and time.
Father disagreed, and of course I listened to my father.
But Sister-in-law rushed at me and started hitting me—she even tore my hair out…”

Yu Nuan’s expression was sorrowful, and as she spoke,
She actually started crying for real.
Her cursed empathy was way too effective…

Two kind-hearted women stepped up to help tidy her hair.
She winced in pain, and when they lifted her hair, they saw a patch of red, swollen scalp.

“Zhang Xiufang, this is too much!
You cursed your in-laws and hit your husband’s younger sister—look what you did to Yu Nuan!
A young girl’s face and appearance are important. How can your heart be so vicious?”

The one who spoke was the village’s most upright woman—Mrs. Li from the Li family, the village chief’s wife.

She was about the same age as Zhang Xiufang. People usually called her Aunt Zhao.
But since her father-in-law was of the same generation as Yu Nuan’s father,
Yu Nuan probably had to call her Big Sister Zhao…

Sister Zhao had a naturally kind face and usually couldn’t stand Zhang Xiufang’s behavior.
Now, seeing all this, even her usual warmth was replaced with righteous fury as she sternly rebuked her.

Zhang Xiufang dabbed at nonexistent tears in the corners of her eyes.
She really was being wronged—this damned girl had faked it all herself! But the hair… that was definitely pulled out by her own hands.
She let out a wail, gritted her teeth, and argued,
“Zhao Chuncao, don’t you slander me! And you, you money-losing wretch—
You’re the one twisting the truth. That injury? You did it to yourself!”

Then she collapsed dramatically into her son’s arms, sobbing and putting on a show…

But now, the tide began to turn.
The women and old ladies present started to feel sorry for Yu Nuan.
Some of them had already seen the scabbed-over bump on her head yesterday.
Now it had been made to bleed again.

They were all from the same village—who didn’t know whose family was like what?
That youngest daughter of the Yu family might be quiet,
But she was incredibly well-behaved—she farmed, weeded, fertilized, chopped firewood…
Whether inside or outside the house, her small shoulders had borne it all.
Yet she never once uttered a word of complaint.

A decent young girl like that, now bullied so cruelly by her sister-in-law, and even falsely accused?
Come on, who could bring themselves to smash their own forehead open like that? Zhang Xiufang would have to be insane to believe that.

And everyone knew—Wang Jinlong from the next village was a widowed slob.
He had gambled away all his land, wandered around the village doing nothing all day,
People and dogs alike avoided him.

He was the kind of street thug who drooled whenever he saw a young woman.
Zhang Xiufang was truly heartless, trying to throw her own sister-in-law into the tiger’s mouth.

As the murmuring around her grew, Zhang Xiufang realized the situation was not going her way.
This wasn’t unfolding as she had expected at all.

She suddenly felt like she had shot herself in the foot.
If it had been the old Yu Nuan, who had a personality just like that half-dead old father of hers,
So quiet and dull you couldn’t get a word out of her with three beatings—then maybe things would’ve gone her way.
But today? Why had she suddenly changed?!

Not only had the girl fought back, she was eloquent and sharp-tongued.
Looking at her pitifully fake little act, Zhang Xiufang felt a burst of rage—she wanted to rip her face off.

She reached out and pinched Yu Laoda hard, hinting with her eyes for him to speak up.

Yu Laoda winced in pain.

He looked at his gray-haired old father,

Then at his blind mother silently holding a baby and crying in the back.
And finally at his younger sister, looking utterly pitiful.
A trace of guilt pricked his heart.

Out of all the siblings, their parents had never treated anyone unfairly.
But now, the burdens of the household had all fallen onto this youngest sister.

He had actually already heard his wife mumbling about this matchmaking plan a few days ago.
It clearly wasn’t for Yu Nuan’s benefit.
Even the tael of silver his wife had secretly stashed—he had seen it with his own eyes.

Now, what could he even say?
He looked over his wife and saw she didn’t even have a scratch on her.
Then glanced at his little sister’s sorry state.
His last bit of conscience told him he couldn’t let Xiufen stir up more trouble.

The village chief was already fuming at Zhang Xiufang and was about to speak,
But Yu Laoda beat him to it.

“Yu Nuan, if you don’t want to get married, then don’t.
Later, Big Brother will bring you five eggs and half a piece of brown sugar to help you and our parents recover. How about that?”

“Yu Laoda, are you crazy?! Huh?!!”
Five eggs—that’s enough to feed their precious grandsons for days!
And sugar—sugar was a luxury!
Brown sugar might not be as expensive as white sugar, but it still cost forty copper coins per jin!
Half a piece could buy several jins of white rice!
Their household only had one and a half pieces total, saved up for when their eldest had a great-grandchild!

She hadn’t even wanted to touch it, and now this damned girl was getting some? Was she worthy?!

“Dad!!!”
The three sons and their wives were equally shocked and shouted at Yu Laoda.

“We all saw it—it was Yu Nuan who nearly strangled Mom to death!”

The second daughter-in-law quickly added, her hair a mess,
With two clear scratch marks on her cheeks.
The other two didn’t look much better either.