"It's me!" Fu Wenwen looked at Aunt Ma, a slight smile playing on her lips. "I had no idea a few aunts were so fond of gossiping behind people's backs, nor did I know you all disliked me so much just because I'm pretty! What? Did I eat your rice? Or dig up your ancestors' graves? Why do you hate me so much?"
"Li... Little Fu, why are you here?" Aunt Ma’s face stiffened, caught red-handed by the person in question.
The women inside followed Aunt Ma out. Seeing it was Fu Wenwen, they tried to slip back inside, but Fu Wenwen called them to a halt.
"Oh, what a coincidence! Aunt Qu, Aunt Hu, where are you off to? Don't tell me you're hiding from me because I'm here?" Fu Wenwen sneered, looking at Aunt Qu and Aunt Hu.
"Li... Little Fu, we were just chatting..." Aunt Zou tried to smooth things over, but Zou Xiaomei immediately pulled her aside. "Mom, don't get involved."
"Aunt Qu, I recall our home being robbed because of your son, Qu Qing, right? Why don't you mention that? You call me a jinx? But it was your son who brought this misfortune upon me! Should I settle this score with you?" Fu Wenwen said coldly, looking at Aunt Qu.
"I... I didn't say that, Old Hu did!" Aunt Qu, startled, quickly shook her head and waved her hands.
"What do you mean, Old Qu, how did it become my words? You said it yourself!" Aunt Hu immediately retorted. She couldn't let Aunt Qu throw blame her way.
"Little Fu, I did say a few things about you, but I didn't say anything else. It was Old Ma and Old Qu who said you were difficult to get along with, ostentatious, and that you were promiscuous and would eventually cheat on your man!" Aunt Hu immediately threw Aunt Qu and Aunt Ma under the bus to prove her innocence.
"Old Hu, that's a bit much, isn't it? Who said it? If Little Fu were innocent, people wouldn't come knocking. Those words were all spoken by you! We only echoed what you said. Are you clean by just blaming us?" Aunt Ma said angrily, pointing at Aunt Hu.
"Old Hu, I don't accept these words! You were the one who said at the time that Little Fu didn't look like a decent woman. How can you absolve yourself now?" Aunt Qu was also furious. She stepped forward to Fu Wenwen. "Little Fu, Old Hu was the first to say you were impure. Don't believe anything she says!"
Seeing the three of them start to bicker and shift blame, Fu Wenwen looked at them with cold eyes. "We're neighbors, and I didn't want any conflict with you. But I never expected you to come to someone else's house to badmouth me. This matter is not something you can escape from by just making excuses!"
"Little Fu! We apologize to you. We promise we won't speak ill of you again, okay?" Aunt Ma said quickly, vowing never to speak ill of Fu Wenwen again.
Fu Wenwen shook her head indifferently. "Words are cheap. The damage you've done to me cannot be smoothed over with a few words. Can you make those who heard you spread rumors believe that I'm not that kind of person?"
"No!" Fu Wenwen stated sternly. "Because in their eyes, my image has already been ruined by you. They won't believe I'm innocent."
"How will you compensate for this harm? You can't!" Fu Wenwen said, her face cold.
"Then what do you want?" Aunt Ma looked at Fu Wenwen and asked in a low voice.
"I'm going to the Public Security Bureau to report you for defamation!" Fu Wenwen said calmly. "Since you dared to speak and slander me, I can naturally report you."
The three women initially just wanted to apologize and be done with it. But upon hearing Fu Wenwen's threat to report them, they immediately panicked. "Little Fu, it's not that serious, is it? Why report to the police over such a small matter..."
"Isn't our apology enough?"
"We're all neighbors, there's no need to make things so ugly, right?"
The three were flustered.
Fu Wenwen smiled.
"It is necessary. You have already had a very significant impact on me! You spread those rumors without any evidence, which is defamation! You can go to jail!" Fu Wenwen said seriously, looking at the three.
"Should I enlighten you? The crime of defamation has existed since the time of our ancestors, with a history of hundreds of years!" Fu Wenwen said, looking at the three. "You were all so happy when you were speaking, speculatively slandering me, distorting the facts. Do you really think a flimsy 'sorry' will make me forgive you?"
"Little Fu... it's really not that serious..." Aunt Zou quickly stepped forward to mediate and persuade her.
"Aunt Zou, do you realize that by constantly appeasing these people, you're not doing Xiaomei any favors? I understand you want to find her a good husband, but if they find out that her mother, knowing the truth, still followed others in spreading nonsense, do you think they'll think well of Xiaomei?" Fu Wenwen was even more annoyed seeing Aunt Zou.
She could understand Aunt Zou wanting to please these people for Xiaomei's sake.
But she wouldn't support such actions, and these actions wouldn't earn her any respect.
Instead, it would make people think that if Xiaomei has such a mother, Xiaomei couldn't be much better.
"...I..." Aunt Zou was stunned. She looked at the gloomy Zou Xiaomei beside her, opened her mouth, and then closed it.
"Little Fu, please let us go! We truly know we were wrong," Aunt Hu pleaded. "My son works at a unit. I can't go to the Public Security Bureau! If I'm locked up, my son will be ruined..."
"Little Fu, we know we were wrong, please!" Aunt Qu also knew Qu Qing had offended Fu Wenwen once. Now that she was caught by Fu Wenwen again, it was clear Fu Wenwen wouldn't let her off easily.
"We're neighbors... We know we were wrong, please... just give us one more chance..." Aunt Ma said, tears welling up, in a hurry.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that," Fu Wenwen said coldly. "People who do wrong must face appropriate punishment. Otherwise, how will you learn your lesson?"
"Excuse me for disturbing you. I've wanted to visit you for a long time but never had the time. Now that I'm free, I've come to see you. It's a small gift; I hope you'll accept it." Fu Wenwen no longer paid attention to the three women. She handed the bag of sunflower seeds she was holding to Aunt Zou with a smile.
It was as if she had just come to visit Aunt Zou, completely devoid of her earlier assertiveness, just a regular neighbor dropping by to say hello.
"You... you're too kind." Aunt Zou hesitantly accepted it.
Fu Wenwen flashed a smile and waved at Zou Xiaomei. "It might be inconvenient for you today, so I'll be going now! I still have to go to the Public Security Bureau. I'll come again next time I have free time."
After speaking, Fu Wenwen didn't care about the pale faces of Aunt Ma and the others and walked straight out of Aunt Zou's house.