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墨書 Inktalez
"You wretched thing! I'll kill you! You've brought shame to our entire Li Family! I'll kill you, I'll kill you! You beast! Why didn't I throw you into the dung bucket to drown when you were born!"
In the courtyard of the village chief's house, the village chief was fiercely beating Li Long with a stick, cursing as he struck.
Li Gao was nearly driven mad with anger. His reputation was all he had; as the village chief, everyone in the village praised him whenever they saw him, and no one could point out any faults in his character. Yet, after raising such a morally corrupt son, whom he had always valued and intended to groom as his successor, Li Long's recent scandal with a widow not only tarnished his reputation but also indicated that he had failed as a father and lacked discernment. Li Gao felt darkness closing in around him and seriously considered ending it all.
Li Long was originally kneeling on the ground, hoping that after enduring a few blows, his father would eventually stop. He planned to plead for mercy later, thinking this would blow over. However, he never expected his father to strike so hard that he cried out in pain after the first hit. After enduring a few more strikes, he could no longer bear it and realized begging for mercy was futile; his father's blows only came faster and harder.
Li Long wasn't foolish; he wouldn't just sit there waiting to be beaten to death. Unable to hold back any longer, he jumped up and started running.
Seeing Li Long dare to run made the village chief even angrier, and he chased after him.
Since this incident had been witnessed by the villagers, they followed along behind them. When they reached home, the village chief couldn't even close the door properly. If he did, who knew what the villagers would say? Although this scandal was caused by his son, it reflected poorly on him as the village chief. He needed to discipline Li Long properly for the sake of morality; thus, it was essential for everyone to see how he handled it. So now, many people crowded into the courtyard of the village chief's house, filling it like during an important meeting. There were even many children climbing on the walls to watch.
As they saw the village chief chasing after Li Long, all the kids perched on the wall laughed loudly. Hearing their laughter made Li Gao's face flush with embarrassment; he quickened his pace and struck harder. Li Long could hear the sound of the stick slicing through the air behind him, which only frightened him into running faster.
"Mom! Help me! Please talk to Dad; he's going to kill me! If he kills me, you'll lose a son, Shui Tao will be without a man, and Dog Egg will have no father!" Li Long ran behind the Village Chief's Daughter-in-Law pleadingly, knowing she was the only one who could persuade his father.
The village chief had no choice but to stop when he saw Li Long hiding behind his wife; he couldn't hit her. Breathing heavily, he shouted angrily, "You come here! Hiding behind your mother like a child—what do you think you are? You useless brat! If I don't teach you a lesson today, then I'm not your father! Do you think I'm your dad?"
The Village Chief's Daughter-in-Law was also angry; her youngest son had embarrassed them by getting into such trouble. But being his mother made her heart ache seeing him beaten so mercilessly. Hearing her husband's words made her realize she really needed to intervene; otherwise, even if he didn't die from this beating, getting injured or maimed would still be problematic. So she spoke up to persuade the village chief.
"Dog Egg's grandfather, please consider my feelings as well as those of our daughter-in-law and Dog Egg."
"I won't consider your feelings! Did he think about my feelings when he was sneaking around with another woman? Since this has happened today, you can deal with him however you want! If you beat him to death, I'll just take my son back to my family! Anyway, it's clear that he doesn't want a son anymore; we might as well leave cleanly!" Zhang Shuitao said angrily while pulling Dog Egg aside. Her eyes were red like a rabbit's from either crying or anger as she glared at Li Long as if she wanted to kill him.
The Village Chief's Daughter-in-Law became anxious and shouted loudly: "Young daughter-in-law! What nonsense are you talking? Dog Egg is from our Li Family; there's no way you're taking him away!"
Li Long also became agitated. Cheating was one thing; caring for his son was another matter entirely. Since his elder brother Li Xing had no sons of his own, life at home had been smoother for him these past years. He understood better than anyone how important sons were. Zhang Shuitao disregarding his life while wanting to take away his son infuriated him beyond measure; all feelings of guilt vanished instantly.
Li Long immediately pointed at Zhang Shuitao's nose and shouted loudly: "Zhang Shuitao, don't get carried away! You want to take my son away? No way! What's wrong with me finding another woman? Song Sanniang isn't married; we both have feelings for each other! Being together is just a bit embarrassing since we haven't made it official yet—it's nothing serious! But you—how shameless can you be? Sharing a bed with me while calling out for another man? I haven't divorced you yet; that's already showing enough consideration for you! Wanting to take my son away? You can just get lost!"
With a loud exclamation, the onlookers began to discuss among themselves, all provoked by Li Long's words. Their gazes towards Zhang Shuitao changed, as they realized she might have feelings for another man, which was truly surprising.
Zhang Shuitao had been living quite well, married to Li Long, the Village Chief's Son. Li Long was the youngest in his family and had always been favored. As his Daughter-in-law, she enjoyed the benefits as well, getting along well with her sister-in-law and having given birth to the only grandson of the Li Family. She seemed to be living a smooth life that many women in the village envied. It was hard to believe that she was thinking about another man.
However, which man would willingly accept being cuckolded? No one doubted that Li Long was speaking the truth.
The Village Chief was struggling to catch his breath again, thinking about what kind of sin he had committed. His son was having an affair with a widow, and now his Daughter-in-law had feelings for another man—this was something he never expected to hear from his own son. He felt utterly humiliated.
The Village Chief's Daughter-in-law was also furious. Her son's infidelity and Zhang Shuitao's thoughts of another man were not on the same level at all. She looked at Zhang Shuitao, whose face was so dark it seemed like water could drip from it.
Zhang Shuitao was also stunned. She never expected Li Long would say such a thing. Did she really blurt out her innermost thoughts in a dream? Unconsciously, her eyes turned to Xie Youshun, who stood at the front of the crowd holding a piece of wood, accompanied by Xiao Lihua and Shitou. They looked like a close-knit family, and his gaze towards her was icy cold, devoid of any warmth. This ignited a fire within her.
Xiao Lihua noticed Zhang Shuitao's gaze and frowned. She wrapped her arm around Xie Youshun's as if to assert dominance over Zhang Shuitao, wondering if the man she mentioned could really be the father of her child.
Xiao Lihua had noticed several times before that Zhang Shuitao looked at Xie Youshun strangely. But she wouldn't back down; in her previous life, her family had been destroyed by a Mistress. Back then, that man wasn't worth fighting for, but this time it was different—Xie Youshun was the father of her child. Their relationship had evolved from strangers to intimacy, and she wouldn't allow anyone to come between them!
Li Long grew angrier as he saw Zhang Shuitao looking at Xie Youshun. He had indeed heard Zhang Shuitao mumbling in her sleep about another man before but hadn’t caught the name clearly—only that it wasn’t his own name. Now seeing her look at Xie Youshun made him recall that vague name more clearly; it sounded increasingly like Xie Youshun’s name! This infuriated him! The anger stemming from not knowing who his wife truly desired compared to knowing exactly who it was felt entirely different. He wished he could strangle Zhang Shuitao!
Li Long believed he wasn’t bad-looking and could speak well; being the Village Chief's Son meant Zhang Shuitao should feel lucky to marry him. How dare she think of another man while married to him? This humiliation set Li Long ablaze with rage as he lunged at Zhang Shuitao to hit her.
Zhang Shuitao didn’t expect Li Long to suddenly come at her; he grabbed her hair and slapped her several times, leaving her dizzy and screaming in pain.
At that moment, Li Xing and Yang Cao hurriedly returned and rushed in to break up the fight. After much effort, they managed to pull them apart, but Zhang Shuitao’s face was already swollen like a pig’s head.
The Village Chief trembled with anger, striking Li Long with a stick while shouting at him to kneel.
Li Long knelt down defiantly and said, “Dad! I know it’s wrong to be involved with Song Sanniang; I’ve embarrassed you. But I’m also troubled! If you had a Daughter-in-law who dreams about other men’s names, wouldn’t you feel bad? Besides, Zhang Shuitao is so difficult and sharp-tongued; life with her is unbearable! Song Sanniang has a good temper and knows how to care for others; being with her makes me feel comfortable!”
“You little brat, what nonsense are you talking?” The Village Chief's Daughter-in-law listened as her son spoke more absurdly and even dared to drag her into it. She thought her son seemed clever before; how could he be so foolish now? “You begged for Shui Tao’s hand back then; you were willing a thousand times over! Now what? Is she worse than a widow?”
Li Long replied, “Sanniang is a widow; she used to have a man, but now I’m the only one for her.”
Zhang Shuitao gritted her teeth in anger, feeling that she was even worse off than a widow!
Li Xing and Yang Cao went to Xie Qingfeng's house and only returned after hearing that something had happened. Both of them felt overwhelmed, and seeing the situation getting worse, they exchanged glances. One hurried to persuade their father while the other went to talk to their mother, hoping to resolve the matter quickly and prevent anyone from enjoying the spectacle.
The village chief, upon hearing his eldest son's words, realized that they needed to address the issue openly first. Whatever else needed to be discussed could be handled privately later; they couldn't afford to lose face any further.
Since Song Sanniang was a widow and not a married woman, and with no elders in her family—just her alone—there wasn't much that could be done about her situation. At most, she would face public scorn. However, because Li Long was the Village Chief's Son and had committed such an act, the village chief decided to punish him with thirty strokes as a way to uphold village morals.
Song Sanniang had been kneeling nearby crying, and at this moment, she cried out in defense of Li Long.
Zhang Shuitao rushed over and struck Song Sanniang, hurling extremely harsh words at her. The villagers were taken aback, realizing that Zhang Shuitao could also speak such foul language. Previously, she had criticized others for being coarse; it turned out she was no different. However, they did not stop her; in their hearts, they believed Song Sanniang deserved it. Yet, since Song Sanniang was well-liked, no one came forward to support Zhang Shuitao or cheered her on.
Hearing Song Sanniang's cries, Li Long could no longer hold back and ran over to push Zhang Shuitao away. He thought that Song Sanniang was indeed pleading for him and that she was usually very gentle and considerate.
"Goodness, Li Long! You bastard! You actually hit me for this worthless piece of trash! I'll fight you!" Zhang Shuitao shouted as she got up from the ground and lunged at Li Long.
"You shameless woman! Get lost! If San Niang is trash, then so are you! I want this trash of hers; I don't want your trash!"
Li Long felt pain as Zhang Shuitao grabbed him twice and yelled out loud in frustration. As soon as he said those words, not only did Zhang Shuitao freeze in shock, but the village chief's family also stood there dumbfounded, along with everyone else present.
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