Zhao considered Chen's sister-in-law's words, which were reasonable. It was not worth dying for such a person. She put down the firewood and panted.
Zhao: She never thought that hitting someone was such a strenuous task.
When Jin saw that Zhao Yanmei had finally stopped, she sat by the front door and wailed.
"Oh, it hurts so much. This Zhao Yanmei is a menace to society. She's the daughter of a county magistrate, bah! She's not as polite or human as the daughters of ordinary people."
"Heh, you forgot one thing. I was also a county magistrate's wife."
Jin: ...
"Should I let the uncles, aunts, and elders of the village know how I, a county magistrate's wife, was exiled to Liaodong?"
Jin: She certainly did not want everyone to know.
Old Madam Tian: "Eldest daughter-in-law, family shame should not be spread."
How could Zhao comply? She chuckled and said, "It is indeed family shame, but it is not the shame of our eldest branch. Whether we divide the family today or not, let's all talk about it. That way, everyone will not be kept in the dark, and our eldest branch will not have to take the blame for you."
"Eldest daughter-in-law, you are not allowed to babble." Old Madam Tian truly did not want her eldest son's wife to talk about those messy affairs.
"Old Madam, calling me is useless. Whether I am babbling or not, you can all go to Commander Qi to check the crime of Da Niu's father, and you will know."
Zhao glanced at everyone, as if to shed all her burdens, and said, "Although Da Niu's father is mediocre and not very bright, it cannot be denied that he is filial."
Zhao no longer even called him her husband and bit down hard on the word filial, as if she wanted to bite someone to death.
Old Madam Tian, Tian Xingsheng, and Jin all had the illusion of facing imminent death.
Tian Xingwang also felt that without his two children, he wouldn't know who they were.
However, Zhao paid no attention to them and spoke to herself, "Actually, Da Niu's father was a very honest person, so honest that it made people hate him."
Zhao became angry when she thought of this and glared fiercely at Tian Xingwang.
Scared, Tian Xingwang seized the opportunity to open his mother's cabinet and move out several bags of grain.
Er Xi also quickly went to help, and did not forget to secretly ask his father, "Dad, why are you so brisk today?"
Tian Xingwang did not speak, understanding in his heart that if he did not take their grain back today, his relationship with his wife would be completely over.
Old Madam Tian did not know that the grain had been moved, but Tian Xingsheng and his two sons saw it but dared not speak.
The look in Tian Xingwang's father and son's eyes was too terrifying, like knives. Tian Xingsheng and his two sons huddled together, trembling.
Especially Tian Xingsheng, who was worse off than his two sons. He looked at his elder brother with eyes that wished he could stab him at any moment.
He didn't wet himself because he remembered that they were born of the same mother, that his life was cheap, and he was rubble. How could his brother touch him?
San Xi and Si Xi were so scared they were about to cry, but they dared not cry when they looked at Er Xi's eyes.
Tian Xingwang and his son successfully moved the grain back to the side room where their family of four lived. Er Xi then sat on the threshold with great interest, listening to his mother talk about the disgusting things his grandmother and aunt had done.
"Da Niu's father was only a scholar who had passed the imperial examination and became a county magistrate of a small town through my father's recommendation. He had the intention to benefit the people, but this old lady became overjoyed as soon as her eldest son became a local official."
"Eldest daughter-in-law, you shut up."
"Why should I shut up? If you dare to do it, are you afraid of people talking about it?"
"Eldest son, eldest son, quickly tell your wife to shut up."
Since the grain had been retrieved, Tian Xingwang simply lay on the kang and did not want to move. He really did not want to face his mother anymore.
Old Madam Tian called out several times, but her eldest son did not respond. She began to use her old trick of lying on the ground again. "Oh, my daughter-in-law is bullying me like this. I, an old woman, am not going to live."
"I'm bullying you? You foreclosed on a loan and caused a death, is that me talking nonsense? And your youngest son had an affair with a married woman, is that also me talking nonsense?"
"Ah, Zhao Yanmei, I'll kill you!" Jin, seeing that Zhao had hit her sore spot, disregarded her pain and lunged forward like a wild beast, trying to scratch Zhao's face.
Zhao did not move. She merely raised the firewood in her hand, and Jin was so scared that she did not dare to advance.
"What's wrong? Come on, I'll loosen your bones some more, lest your bones are too light and you keep being a slut."
"Eldest daughter-in-law, people say that family shame should not be spread. You are very wrong today."
"Wrong? If this slut had succeeded just now, Da Niu's father would be ruined, and our whole family would be destroyed. Have you ever thought about how my two children will live if Da Niu's father gets that reputation?"
Old Madam Tian: "What did Jin do just now?"
"Mother, I didn't do anything." Jin quickly spoke, trying to cover it up.
Unfortunately, Er Xi would not let her succeed. "Second Aunt only did one thing. She wanted to bump into my father, and my mother stopped her."
In the room, Tian Xingwang, who had been lying on the kang like a corpse, was stunned. Was there such a thing just now? He didn't know?
Mother, this is too frightening. He absolutely cannot stay in this house anymore. He is scared to death.
If he were really... by that Jin, he would commit suicide to prove his innocence.
No, no matter what happened today, he would not change his mind.
Tian Xingwang made up his mind, got out of bed quickly, put on his shoes, and ran outside without even forgetting to wear a thick coat.
"Dad, where are you going?"
"I'm going to find Commander Qi."
"Dad, Commander Qi might be at Master Meng Er's house."
"I know."
"Er Xi, it's so cold. Dad isn't wearing a coat. Go and bring it to him quickly."
"Okay." With his sister's reminder, Er Xi finally remembered to go into the house to get his father a coat and chased after him.
When Old Madam Tian heard her eldest son say he was going to find Commander Qi, she immediately lay down on the ground, her eyes fixed on her eldest son's back, shouting loudly, "I'm not going to live, I'm not going to live..."
However, she shouted several times, but Tian Xingwang did not look back.
The ground was ice cold, and she could no longer pretend. She wiped her face, which did not have a single tear, and quietly got up.
Everyone: She got up so quickly, they hadn't seen enough.
Old Madam Tian: She wasn't foolish or senile. Why would she lie on the ground, which was colder than stone, and not get up?
Everyone looked at Zhao again. She had revealed two scandals of the Tian family today. Could she say anything more?
Otherwise, in such cold weather, they couldn't bear it and had to go home.
Zhao: She just wanted to divide the family and stay far away from this old lady and Tian Xingsheng's family. She was afraid of getting into trouble.
She glanced at the backs of the father and son again. Her wish had been fulfilled.