The door was bolted from the inside. Liu Quangui shook it and tried to push it open. "Hehe, this is the middle of nowhere. I bet your older brother and sister-in-law are already asleep. Who could hear us? I'm not doing anything, so why are you afraid of me?"
The villagers always go to bed early, so he made sure to check before he came.
Liu Quangui felt he was quite clever.
Jiang Xuerui trembled violently, tears welling up in her eyes. "If you dare to come in, I'll tell the village head!"
This threat is utterly powerless.
The door banged loudly. In his panic, Jiang Xuerui grabbed a wooden stick from the side of the door and braced it against it, but he was too flustered... The stick pushed open the wooden wedge that was used to bolt the door.
With a loud bang, the door was kicked open!
"What are you pretending to be so virtuous for? You still obediently opened the door for your brother," Liu Quangui said, leering at Jiang Xuerui. "Shen Zhuo isn't here, so I'm afraid you've been feeling lonely for a while now, haven't you?"
Jiang Xuerui was terrified and screamed as she whipped Liu Quangui with a wooden stick...
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan came up from the ditch and saw that the Shen family's lanterns were still brightly lit in the distance.
"Luckily we arrived early, otherwise Rui-ge'er would have been asleep." Gu Fengyan wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
Huo Duan was carrying a lantern and was about to say something when he suddenly heard a scream and a cry.
"What was that sound?" He put his finger to his lips to signal Gu Fengyan to be quiet, and after listening carefully for a while, he found that the sound had disappeared.
Gu Fengyan held his breath, "What sound is there..."
"ah--"
The screams came from inside the Shen family's house, and the two of them definitely heard them.
"Rui-ge'er!" They exchanged a glance and ran quickly towards the Shen family's house.
Jiang Xuerui glared angrily, crying and whipping the man who was running away with his head in his hands with a wooden stick.
Huo Duan rushed forward and subdued the man. Gu Fengyan looked up and saw an old acquaintance, Liu Laosan.
Jiang Xuerui was still in shock, continuing to wield the wooden stick. Liu Laosan, his head and face covered in blood, was clutching his head and groaning incessantly.
Upon seeing Liu Laosan, that bastard, Gu Fengyan immediately understood everything.
"Rui-ge'er, it's alright, it's alright." He stepped forward and pulled Jiang Xuerui to wipe away his tears.
Jiang Xuerui trembled all over, almost unable to stand, and rushed to Gu Fengyan's side, "He...he wants to..."
He sobbed uncontrollably, and Gu Fengyan helped him up, comforting him, "It's alright, it's alright, we will give you justice."
Jiang Xuerui kept sobbing. Upon hearing this, Huo Duan saw Liu Laosan's lewd face again and thought of what he had done to Gu Fengyan on the oxcart.
"You damn Liu Laosan, you never learn, do you! I think you haven't been hurt enough!" Huo Duan grabbed his already injured arm and snapped it.
"Ah—" Liu Laosan wailed, trying to curl up, but Huo Duan pulled him straight.
His arm was throbbing with pain, and the sight of Gu Fengyan, that living ghost, dealt him a double blow. He could only beg for mercy repeatedly, "Grandpas, please spare me... I won't do it again, I'll never do it again..."
"Spare you?" Gu Fengyan didn't expect Liu Laosan to be so lecherous and despicable. He sneered, "Save those words for the villagers and the village head!"
Upon hearing the words "village head," Liu Laosan was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.
That would have to be handed over to the authorities!
He immediately threw himself in front of Jiang Xuerui, slapping himself repeatedly, and pleaded, "Brother Rui, please have mercy on me, let me go! I... I'll never do it again, I'll be your slave..."
Jiang Xuerui dodged to the side as if she had been electrocuted.
"Get out of here! It's too late to realize your mistake now!" Gu Fengyan kicked him away and said to Huo Duan, "Go and fetch the village head. I'll keep an eye on this beast!"
Huo Duan thought for a moment, but still felt uneasy about leaving the two frail boys with Liu Laosan, so he tied them up with hemp rope, carried the lantern, and headed towards the village head's house at the village entrance.
...
Huo Duan returned quickly, followed by Liu Zhengshan, who had a pipe hanging from his waist, his wife Feng, and several influential villagers.
Their faces were all uniformly black.
Upon entering and seeing Liu Laosan bound like a rice dumpling on the ground, and Jiang Xuerui sobbing, Liu Zhengshan's expression darkened even further.
"Erdan, Yange'er, what's going on?" He habitually picked up the pipe at his waist.
Gu Fengyan glanced at Huo Duan.
Huo Duan said, "Uncle Village Head, Yan Ge'er and I came to pay Rui Ge'er's wages, but as soon as we arrived, we saw Liu Laosan in Rui Ge'er's room. Rui Ge'er was crying his eyes out. Luckily, we subdued Liu Laosan... otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"
Huo Duan sighed. Although he spoke cryptically, everyone in the village knew what kind of person Liu Laosan was, and they all understood immediately.
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhengshan's wife, Feng, wiped away her tears and pulled Jiang Xuerui over to look at her with pity. "Good child, it's alright now. Your village head will definitely get you justice!"
According to the laws of the state, those who molest or molest young men and women shall be imprisoned, exiled to the Northwest, or sent to the army!
Liu Zhengshan was furious. His face darkened as he grabbed Liu Laosan's ear and yelled, "You bastard! How could our Liu family produce such a wicked thing like you!"
Liu Laosan was covered in wounds, whimpering and writhing on the ground like a maggot.
"Uncle Village Head, not only that, but I also..." Gu Fengyan sobbed as he tried to make the fire burn brighter.
Veins bulged on Huo Duan's forehead. "He made advances on Yan Ge'er on the oxcart last time. If I hadn't been there, he probably would have gone even further!"
The people present all sighed, and their gazes toward Liu Laosan became increasingly disdainful.
Liu Zhengshan, the village head, was always fair and strict. He took a puff of his pipe and said, "Erdan, you and Xue the eldest tie him to the willow tree at the village entrance. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the county and send him to the government office. I'll speak to the Liu family clansmen on their behalf... Does anyone here have any objections?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Laosan's legs immediately went weak. Sent to the authorities? That meant exile to the Northwest! If he went, he'd surely die there!
"Village head, Rui-ge'er, I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again, please don't send me to the government, please..." Liu Laosan pleaded at Liu Zhengshan's feet, but no one paid any attention to him.
Huo Duan grabbed Liu Laosan from the ground and, together with Xue Dayi, carried him out on either side.
Liu Laosan continued to plead, his voice hoarse, likely waking up the entire village.
After the people were taken away, Liu Zhengshan tapped his pipe on the stool and said sternly, "Everyone remember what happened today. When you get home, tell your husbands everything without missing a word... From now on, if anyone has any designs on the village's daughters-in-law, Liu Laosan will be their best fate!"
Everyone present fell silent, secretly vowing never to make lewd jokes about their brother's wife again.
"Everyone, disperse. We'll deal with the rest tomorrow," Liu Zhengshan said again.
Most of the people had left, leaving only Gu Fengyan, Jiang Xuerui, and Madam Feng.
"Rui-ge'er, tomorrow I will send someone to deliver a message to Shen Zhuo. This matter must be informed to him. Don't worry, they will never dare to have any wicked thoughts again!" Liu Zhengshan was about to go and tell the Liu family clan about this matter, so he comforted Jiang Xuerui for a few words and then left.
Feng stayed until Jiang Xuerui's emotions stabilized before leaving.
Gu Fengyan was worried that Jiang Xuerui would be scared by being alone, so he told Huo Duan to go home first, while he stayed to keep Jiang Xuerui company for the night.
...
The next day, news of Liu Laosan's story spread throughout the entire village.
Upon hearing the news early in the morning, Shen Zhuo returned home and gave Liu Laosan a severe beating, which nearly cost several men the strength to stop him.
Liu Zhengshan recounted the whole story at the village entrance, and then apologized to Shen Zhuo and his wife on behalf of the Liu family clan. Only then did he have Xue Da drive the oxcart to take Liu Laosan to the county government office.
That was the end of the matter.
But Shen Zhuo's sister-in-law, Madam Yu, disagreed.
“Sister-in-law, you’re right! This Rui-ge’er really shouldn’t have gotten involved with that vixen from the Huo family… Look at what happened today, if he hadn’t learned all those ways to seduce men from that vixen, would Liu Laosan have even set his sights on him?” As the villagers dispersed, Yu whispered to Zhao beside her.
Zhao said smugly, "I told you so! I told you to talk to Shen Zhuo about it, but you wouldn't believe me. Now look what's happened! I think this was mostly taught to do by that Yan Ge'er..."
After thinking for a moment, Madam Yu was furious. "I'm going to find Xiao Zhu right now!"
As the saying goes, an elder sister-in-law is like a mother, but since the elderly couple of the Shen family passed away early, she, as the elder sister-in-law, should be more courteous. Even though Shen Zhuo and the others have never respected her as their elder sister-in-law, she should still take care of things for them.
As Yu walked along the path toward Shen Zhuo's house, she thought to herself... How open-minded and magnanimous she was!
Chapter Sixteen
When Yu arrived at the second branch of the Shen family, the courtyard gate was not closed, and the carpentry box that Shen Zhuo had brought was scattered haphazardly in the courtyard and had not been put away.
Inside the house, Shen Zhuo had just finished comforting her husband when she heard someone shouting in the yard.
"Xiao Zhuo, are you home? Why aren't you putting these things away? What if someone takes them?" Madam Yu picked up the woodworking box and went into the house.
The couple had just come out of the house, and Jiang Xuerui's eyes were still red, as if she had been crying.
When Shen Zhuo saw that it was Madam Yu, he didn't know what to say. Although Madam Yu was mean, his elder brother had been very good to him. For his elder brother's sake, he should at least give Madam Yu a little more kindness.
"Sister-in-law, come in and sit down." Shen Zhuo took the carpentry box and ushered her into the house.
Jiang Xuerui silently brought her a stool to sit on, but didn't greet her. He still remembered the unpleasantness with Madam Yu very clearly last time. If it weren't for Shen Zhuo and his elder brother, he wouldn't have bothered to even bring her the stool.
"Is Rui still angry with his sister-in-law?" Madam Yu sat down, glanced at Jiang Xue Rui sideways, and snorted a little.
Jiang Xuerui remained silent, her eyes red.
"Brother Rui was frightened, please forgive him, sister-in-law. I'll get you some water." Seeing that the two were like oil and water, neither paying attention to the other, Shen Zhuo got a headache and softened his stance on Jiang Xue Rui's behalf.
His sister-in-law is incredibly persistent and argumentative; if this continues, it's likely that her husband will suffer the most.
“You don’t need to go,” Madam Yu said, her expression finally softening as she noticed Shen Zhuo’s attentiveness towards her. “Send Rui-ge’er over; I have a few words to say to you…”
Jiang Xuerui was unwilling, but she couldn't resist Shen Zhuo's persistent gaze and silently went to the kitchen.
“Xiao Zhuo, I’m not trying to be mean,” Madam Yu continued, “but you should also discipline Rui Ge’er properly!”
Shen Zhuo was completely confused... He married his husband to pamper him, so why was he bringing up the matter of disciplining him? Besides, his husband's attitude towards his sister-in-law was a little bad—that was only because he felt sorry for the suffering he had endured.
There is nothing else wrong with it.
Although he knew this, Shen Zhuo dared not refute it... lest she get even more worked up.
“But if Rui-ge’er did something wrong, I’ll apologize to your sister-in-law on his behalf,” Shen Zhuo said.
Madam Yu sighed, "That's secondary for me... the main thing is about Liu Laosan!"
"What do you mean by that, sister-in-law?" Shen Zhuo's expression immediately turned serious.
Madam Yu said earnestly, "Hey, you don't know yet, Rui-ge'er has recently become quite close to Lang Yan-ge'er, the husband of the Huo family's idiot across the river!"
Shen Zhuo frowned. "I know what you mean, sister-in-law."
But what could the evil deeds committed by Liu Laosan have to do with Yan Ge'er?
Madam Yu could tell at a glance that he hadn't understood her meaning, and said urgently, "What do you know! That Huo family's son, as soon as he arrived, almost got two men fighting over him. Isn't he a vixen?! And you even let Rui get involved with him! I think Rui learned most of what happened to Liu Laosan from that vixen..."