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墨書 Inktalez
"Get lost!"
As soon as she uttered this brief command, Python Brother obediently stretched his neck and let out a roar. Zhou Guilian trembled all over, nearly screaming as she fell onto the ground. At the same time, realizing she could move again, she quickly scrambled out of the courtyard.
Xia Muxin and the others had no interest in the Zhou family's affairs. With hands and feet to work, they spent their days idling around after parting ways—some fighting with the old, others with the young, it was endless.
For the past few days, Shen Muqing had been eating in his room due to a burn on his hand, and Yan Zhouwan was forced to take care of him. Every meal was prepared together in a large bowl. The family had learned well, genuinely hoping for the two to get along. However, despite their hopes, there was no sign of improvement, and over time, the elders grew anxious.
With Zhou Guilian causing such a ruckus, everyone lost their appetite for dinner. Xia Jihua began to clear away the dishes.
Suddenly, a figure rushed into the courtyard like the wind, carrying a wooden bucket and shouting:
"Uncle! Aunt! I caught a big one! I caught a big one!"
The man in coarse cloth with dark skin was none other than Er Dan Ge.
With the kiln firing coming up in a few days and having nothing much to do at the supermarket, he had been resting at home with his brothers. Perhaps due to heavy rains elsewhere, the river had risen, so he took it upon himself to fish whenever he could. After several days of effort, he finally caught something substantial and rushed over to Xia Family without a second thought.
As the saying goes, "Rely on the mountains for food if you live by them; rely on rivers if you live near them." Daimiao Village had both mountains and rivers; as long as the villagers were diligent and capable, they would never go hungry. In this era, eating fish wasn't uncommon, but having fish on the table every day was rare. Everyone knew that while fish were delicious, their bones could be deadly—there were precedents for that.
The Muxin family loved fish; this preference was known throughout the village. Thus, Er Dan's actions made sense.
"What’s this? Just a few fish? As if I’ve never seen them before! Er Dan, you’re such a disappointment; your parents must regret having you. Who would want someone who’s been divorced and is already past their prime? Aren't you afraid your ancestors will rise from their graves to find you?"
"Every good thing has its flaws; this Xia Family is ungrateful. Are your eyes blind? It’s just some stinky money; I don’t even care."
However, as Er Dan rushed in excitedly, he collided head-on with Zhou Guilian, who was timidly returning home. Seeing her daughter looking disheveled and lost made You Shi realize that things hadn’t gone well for her in Xia Family. She immediately turned her ire on Er Dan, hurling insults at him and even dragging his ancestors into it.
Due to the conflict between mothers-in-law at Wu Family, which left her injured with a bandage wrapped around her head, she heard You Shi's words and couldn’t help but click her tongue. Peeking out from behind half her head, she began shouting back.
When she learned that Er Dan had taken an interest in Xia Jihua, her wrinkled face nearly turned crimson with rage. Everyone in the village knew what kind of person Xia Jihua was—someone discarded by another village due to losing her purity. If it weren’t for Xia Muxin having some skills, one might think such a disgraceful person could survive in this village; it would be fortunate if she didn’t drag others down with her. Now someone actually wanted her? How could that sit well with her?
Immediately, she unleashed a torrent of curses without restraint.
As soon as she spoke, You's neck shrank in fear. Her husband was about to return, and several uncles were coming back too. If they found out she had hit her mother-in-law, it would surely cause chaos in the household.
She had thought that after giving birth to several daughters, with two marrying well—one being the legitimate wife of a landlord and the other the first wife of a county magistrate—they would live a comfortable life. However, the landlord's family suddenly fell from grace, and now it was a stroke of luck just to make ends meet. Moreover, with the Wang family lacking a strong leader, their financial situation faced significant obstacles. Little did she know that this was not just an ordinary setback; it was a complete disaster.
As for Zhou Cailian, she was already the wife of the County Magistrate but didn't even have a decent outfit to wear. In the Feng family, she couldn't even get a word in. Feng San Niang was relentless, constantly pushing Cailian to do this and that. By the time Cailian returned home after working hard all day, the stove was cold, and there wasn't even a meal left for her. Feng Liulang was equally heartless; he remained silent while watching her suffer. Now, karma had struck—he had been taken away to serve time in prison. Yet Feng San Niang had managed to gather quite a bit of silver for herself. She was thinking of having Cailian distribute some of it so that at least some silver could come into her hands. With money in hand, her daughters would naturally show filial piety towards their parents.
Azure Lotus was getting older and had finally managed to escape from Feng Liulang's emotional manipulation. However, her dowry money was still held tightly by her grandmother, making it difficult for her to break free.
For this reason, she was extremely anxious and was preparing to discuss this matter with her husband when she couldn't hold back any longer and acted impulsively.
Now reflecting on it made her feel regretful.
"Gui Lian, what's wrong with you?"
However, as Zhou Guilian drew closer, You felt increasingly alarmed that something had happened to the child. Guilian's face was pale as paper, unlike the rosy complexion she had when she left home. Her eyes were unfocused and trembling uncontrollably. You became frightened and hurried over to support Zhou Guilian, who looked like she might collapse at any moment.
With two daughters left, she needed to keep a close eye on them; she couldn't let them marry just anyone. Little Lotus was becoming more rebellious as she grew up, slamming doors all day long and disappearing as soon as she set down a bowl. It made You think that perhaps this child had been switched at birth.
Now that Gui Lian was precious, nothing must happen to her; she feared that if any rumors spread about them, it would reflect poorly on their family name and cause the suitor's family to have second thoughts.
Zhou Guilian had been harboring resentment towards her family due to Zhou Cailian's issues with Feng Liulang and had always been indifferent towards You. At this moment, seeing You's worried eyes made her feel wronged, and she burst into tears in You's embrace.
Recalling all the hardships in the Zhou family made You unable to hold back her own tears. The two women cried together so loudly that they attracted the attention of neighbors nearby.
However, knowing how the Zhou family operated and understanding You's temperament well enough, everyone merely clicked their tongues without offering any words of comfort.
Zhou Yousheng approached with an oily face and wearing a half-new coat; he had gained quite a bit of weight over just a few months. As he hummed a tune on his way home, he noticed a crowd gathering from afar and felt his heart tighten with apprehension as he walked toward his house cautiously. Finally realizing it was You holding Zhou Guilian while crying together, he saw his own mother striking something loudly with a stick while cursing about worthless things.
"What are you crying about? I'm still here!"
Unable to maintain his composure, he pushed through the villagers toward the emotional mother-daughter duo. He pulled them apart roughly and slapped You across the face before scolding them harshly.
You was stunned by the slap; her face turned away as blood trickled from her mouth corner. After a long moment of silence filled with rage in her eyes, she looked at Zhou Yousheng’s neatly dressed appearance and caught whiffs of perfume on him. She immediately grabbed his hair and started throwing punches indiscriminately:
"You heartless bastard! After marrying into your family for over ten years, have I ever enjoyed a single day of happiness or rest? Meanwhile, you spend your days indulging in pleasures! Have you ever given me even one coin? Today I've made up my mind—I won't live with you anymore! If I have to go down fighting, I'll take you down with me!"
Zhou Yousheng was nothing more than a street thug. Recently, through someone's introduction, he had started working for a Noble Family, earning fifteen coins a day. However, after two or three months, he had returned home only a handful of times, and the money he handed over was even fewer. The Wu Family was formidable; they constantly berated him, accusing him of embezzling their son's money and demanding it back. Life had become unbearable for him. Yet Zhou Yousheng seemed to be doing well—eating well, sleeping well, and dressing well. When he returned home, he would immediately start fighting, unleashing all the grievances he had bottled up over the days.
Zhou Yousheng's cries echoed as he was beaten.
Zhou Guilian watched coldly from the side, thinking that a woman should be like Yousheng's wife—standing firm; otherwise, she would be bullied by her in-laws without even realizing it.
Moreover, her father was becoming increasingly reckless, wandering around Town all day. Rumors had spread throughout the village that since Yousheng's wife hadn’t given him a son, he had taken his money to Town to find someone who could bear him a child. When this reached Yousheng's wife's ears, she was so furious that she nearly overturned the house and had stood at the door cursing several times.
The villagers could only shake their heads and sigh.
Seeing Yousheng's wife handle her son in such a manner, the Wu Family couldn't care less about their headaches. They rushed out with wooden sticks and began to beat her indiscriminately. Instantly, chaos erupted—the air filled with screams and cries that echoed through the sky.
Such scenes in the Zhou household occurred every few days; whenever Zhou Yousheng returned home, there would inevitably be arguments and fights. When Zhou Yousheng was absent, it was just the usual quarrels between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The villagers were used to it by now; they merely chuckled and treated it as entertainment.
Despite the commotion next door, not a single member of the Xia Family stepped out—not even to peek—because everyone had finished washing up and returned to their rooms.
Shen Muhan had directly pinned Xia Muxin down on the bed, ruthlessly taking advantage of her until she gasped for mercy and still didn’t let up.
Xia Muxin lamented as her torturous married life began anew...
- End of Chapter -
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