W Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Having a Guilty Conscience

Chapter 64: Having a Guilty Conscience

The “ge’er” (a third gender in the ancient society) who ran to find the village chief was called Qian Fang. His father-in-law, Liu Hu, was helping the Shen family build a house when he was suddenly stunned to see his son’s husband.

There were only men on that side, so Qian Fang didn’t feel comfortable going over to talk to Liu Hu. He just nodded from afar and continued running behind Village Chief Zhu.

Ling Xing was concerned about Xie Qingya and ran very fast. Shen Lai also followed with Wu Xue. At this moment, Wu Xue was running at the very front.

“Oh my! Murder! A husband who can’t have children is trying to kill someone!”

From a distance, Ling Xing heard the screams. There were few obstructions ahead, and he could see a group of people gathered together.

Wu Xue had already squeezed into the crowd, causing a commotion.

It recognized Xie Qingya, was familiar with his scent, and went up to help Xie Qingya drag away Aunt Yu.

Wu Xue’s parents were probably quite large. It had been eating well and exercising enough at the Shen family’s, so it looked very fierce at first glance.

The sudden appearance of a large dog frightened Aunt Yu, who was determined to tear Xie Qingya and Chen Cuihua apart.

“Ahhhhhh!”

After an ear-piercing scream, Aunt Yu directed her combat power towards Wu Xue.

How could a person beat a nimble animal? Aunt Yu swung her arms until she was exhausted, but she couldn’t make Wu Xue retreat even a bit.

On the contrary, Wu Xue’s low growls scared Aunt Yu out of her wits, and she kept backing away.

Not only Aunt Yu, but the surrounding crowd also scattered, afraid that the dog would suddenly turn around and bite them.

With Wu Xue’s help, Xie Qingya, who had been at a slight disadvantage, immediately gained the upper hand.

However, he was also afraid that Wu Xue would really hurt someone, so he had been intentionally restraining Wu Xue’s actions.

Wu Xue was very intelligent and understood human nature. Knowing Xie Qingya’s intentions, it focused on scaring and restraining Aunt Yu.

As for the matter of hitting people, there was Xie Qingya and Chen Cuihua, who continued to hit people with courage.

When Wu Xue first came in, Chen Cuihua was also startled.

After seeing that Xie Qingya was familiar with the dog, and that the dog did not attack her, but instead helped them, she felt relieved.

Only Aunt Yu was screaming, frightened by the dog.

“Wu Xue!”

Shen Lai, who was approaching, called out. Wu Xue heard the sound and stopped scaring Aunt Yu, wagged its tail, and ran to Shen Lai’s side in a puff of smoke.

Ling Xing also rushed over and carefully looked at Xie Qingya. There were obvious scratches on his face and neck. His expression darkened.

“Why are you fighting all of a sudden?”

Seeing Ling Xing’s concern, Xie Qingya stopped what he was doing and ignored Aunt Yu, who was shouting that someone was being murdered.

“Don’t worry, Xing-ge’er, it looks scary, but it doesn’t hurt much.”

It was Wang Juan who suffered, taking several kicks for him.

This Aunt Yu’s fighting power was really too strong. She was worthy of being a top hand in the fields. The three of them almost couldn’t hold her down.

However, his husband was a scholar with a weak body, coughing with every step, so he didn’t count as a fighter.

Chen Cuihua also didn’t have much strength, so it was normal that he couldn’t hold her down.

While Xie Qingya was quickly reviewing everything in his head, Aunt Yu saw that the dog was gone and that Ling Xing and the Shen family had arrived, and she was full of combat power again, shouting at the top of her lungs.

“I don’t want to live anymore! I don’t want to live anymore! The Shen family’s widower is relying on his stinky money to let a dog bite people! Is there any justice in this world? Is there any law!”

“A bunch of black-hearted people are bullying an old woman like me! May your ancestors suffer!”

Xie Qingya’s head hurt with anger, and he forgot that this Aunt Yu was not only strong, but also had a sharper tongue.

With a touch of her upper and lower lips, she could say anything.

Ling Xing could feel Aunt Yu’s dislike for him as she sat on the ground in a frenzy. His attitude was naturally not very gentle. He asked her without much emotion, “You said I let a dog bite you, but do you have any dog bite marks on your body?”

Aunt Yu didn’t listen to what Ling Xing was saying at all. After thinking for a moment, the dog looked fierce, but it didn’t bite her at all.

She shouted angrily, gnashing her teeth, “I said that little beast bit me, and it bit me! You, a widower who brings bad luck to his husband, don’t stay at home. Instead, you’re bringing a dog to show off in front of me. Do you want to bring bad luck to me!”

Before Ling Xing could connect the words “brings bad luck to her husband”, “widower”, and “bringing a dog will bring bad luck to Aunt Yu”, which had nothing to do with each other, a tall figure jumped out from behind him. Aunt Yu wanted to shout again, but only managed to make a strange sound.

Gak—

Shen Hui squatted on the ground, his hand pinching Aunt Yu’s neck, but he didn’t use much force.

His face was stern and seemed to be covered with frost.

“Disaster comes from the mouth. Be careful with your words.”

Aunt Yu didn’t care and spat, “What are you! A widower still…”

Shen Hui’s hand began to tighten. Aunt Yu immediately had difficulty breathing, her face flushed red. She raised her hand and frantically patted Shen Hui’s hand, making strange gasping sounds in her throat.

Shen Hui didn’t move at all. He looked at her coldly, waiting for her to nod and promise not to talk about Ling Xing anymore.

“Second brother, let her go.”

Ling Xing stepped forward and pulled Shen Hui’s arm, intending to pull him up.

This Aunt Yu was not an easy person to deal with. It was better to let Village Chief Zhu handle it than for the Shen family to get involved, saving them worry and effort.

Shen Hui slightly avoided Ling Xing when his hand touched his arm and released Aunt Yu.

He stood up and looked at Aunt Yu, who was coughing violently. Thinking about what she had just said, there was still a fire burning in his heart.

Aunt Yu coughed for a while and finally recovered. When she saw the village chief and the Shen family rushing over, she immediately stood up and walked towards Village Chief Zhu.

She looked disgusted and shouted sharply, “Village chief, please do justice for this old woman! The Shen family’s second son and the Shen family’s widower are having an affair. He wants to kill me!”

The surroundings fell silent, with only Aunt Yu’s shrill cries.

“They were openly flirting with each other in front of everyone!”

Shen Hui’s eyes sharpened. Xu Youfang was the first to react and scolded, “Shen Hui!”

This sound was like a thunderbolt. Shen Hui was frozen in place, not daring to move forward anymore.

Xie Qingya was the second to react. He rushed out and punched Aunt Yu directly.

“What nonsense are you talking about! Xing-ge’er is not like that! My two eyes didn’t see anything you said!”

Shen Hui looked at Xie Qingya’s actions, his dark eyes deep.

He had a guilty conscience and couldn’t rush out to stop him so frankly, afraid that he would lose control and be discovered.

Wang Juan glanced at Shen Hui silently, not saying anything.

Aunt Yu was hit in the back, turned around, and slapped Xie Qingya with her iron palm. With one slap, Xie Qingya covered his arm and grimaced in pain.

Village Chief Zhu was so frightened that his soul almost flew out, not because of the fight, but because of the words Aunt Yu shouted.

He didn’t dare to look at the Shen family to confirm, but instead said sternly, “Stop it, all of you!”

Aunt Yu was afraid of the village chief. This was because the village chief had been intimidating for a long time.

She reluctantly lowered her hand that was halfway raised. Xie Qingya gritted his teeth and glared at Aunt Yu. As long as she said anything nonsense again, he would rush up and tear her mouth apart.

The women and husbands who had been surrounding Xie Qingya’s house were all silent, not daring to breathe loudly.

Their gazes, however, kept moving back and forth between Shen Hui and Ling Xing, not saying a word, but the gazes they exchanged already contained thousands of words.

A random sentence was enough to conjure up many emotions that violated ethics and morality.

If this was true, they would be drowned in a pig cage.

After all, this Ling-ge’er had not left the Shen family and had been living in the Shen family as the husband of Shen family’s eldest son.

Xie Qingya glanced at those women and husbands, and seeing their “flirty” looks, he could guess what they were thinking.

Thinking that these people had run a little far because Wu Xue had come over, they couldn’t really see clearly.

They were led astray by that old hag’s shout and misunderstood.

He turned his head and said loudly to Zhu Rushan, “Village chief, this old woman is talking nonsense. Xing-ge’er kindly pulled Shen Er to ask him to let go, and he didn’t even touch Shen Er! How could it be that they were flirting in her mouth!”

Chen Cuihua, who was on the side, also reacted and immediately testified, “I didn’t see it either! Aunt Yu just likes to talk nonsense. She’s going to harm people with just one mouth. She also said that Shen Silang came to my house to collect vegetables and that he had something going on with me!”

“That day, I fainted from hunger and went out late. Shen Silang shouted several times in the yard. The neighbors all heard it. The noise of moving the cabbage was also not small, and Shen Silang’s sister’s husband and brothers were all there. How could it be the way Aunt Yu said it was?”

She explained in detail, first to prove that Aunt Yu liked to talk nonsense and wrong people.

Second, she was also frightened by Aunt Yu before and was afraid that she would continue to spread rumors and slander her later, so she simply told the village chief and the villagers everything clearly.

The more people who knew the details, the more likely it would be to prevent such words from spreading and being believed.

The Shen family never expected that there would be this backstory. Shen Gui’s expression was not very good, and Cao Manyue also frowned and looked at Aunt Yu, who was drooping her eyelids.

This old woman was really shameless, daring to make up anything.

It was also reckless to fabricate such deadly things.

Shen Chengshan, as the head of the Shen family, knew the importance of both matters.

He looked serious and said in a deep voice, “Village chief, according to Yu Guihua’s logic, anyone who gets close to anyone is having an affair. My family’s Silang brings his sister’s husband and brothers to collect vegetables from someone’s house, and that means he’s having an affair with someone.”

“In that case, to avoid suspicion, my family will hire people from another village to build the house. I’m afraid she’ll go around saying that my eldest son’s husband is having something going on with someone else. After all, my eldest son’s husband is diligent and comes back to help with cooking after work every day. If we hire people from another village, people in that village won’t make up these things.”

Zhu Rushan hurriedly said, “That’s not true…”

Shen Chengshan didn’t seem to hear him and continued, “We’ll also stop buying vegetables from Xiao Liucun, so that Yu Guihua won’t see my family’s Silang again and fill her mind with thoughts of him having an affair with someone.”

Now, not only Zhu Rushan was anxious, but the villagers present were also anxious.

They had just tasted the sweetness, how could they say they wouldn’t buy anymore!

They also knew that Yu Guihua was talking nonsense, and they had been led astray. They quickly pulled their thoughts back, and nothing was more important than their own family making money.

“Yu-Dàniáng, are you conscienceless? Why are you talking nonsense!”

“I’m going to die. Ling-ge’er kindly asked Shen Er to let you go, but you don’t appreciate his kindness and instead bite the hand that feeds you.”

“Who would dare to be in front of Yu Guihua? She thinks everything she sees is dirty.”

“That’s right, Chen Cuihua’s family’s three children were all there, and several people went to collect the vegetables. The yard door was wide open. How could it be so unclear and unclean in Yu Guihua’s mouth?”

“Your family is noble and has money and doesn’t care about money, but my family still wants to sell vegetables to earn some copper coins. I’m telling you, Yu Guihua, if the Shen family really doesn’t buy my vegetables anymore, I’ll lie down and sleep at your house!”

“Me too!”

Yu Guihua turned a deaf ear to the villagers’ accusations and was not afraid of their threats.

It wasn’t certain who would be tougher when things really got tough.

Anyway, she disgusted Shen Er and that widower, and she also disgusted Xie Qingya and Chen Cuihua. She was happy as long as she felt comfortable.

She wanted that Shen Er to dare to pinch her! She wanted that widower to earn so much money! She wanted that Xie Qingya not to sell her tofu, and Chen Cuihua to steal her tofu!

Although she thought so, Yu Guihua was still a little afraid of Shen Hui.

This person looked calm and steady, but in reality, he was a bit evil.

She didn’t know if it was because he had been hunting for many years, but he had a lot of bloodthirst on him. If she really angered him, she was afraid that she would suffer.

Thinking of this, Yu Guihua couldn’t help but move a few steps towards Zhu Rushan again.

Zhu Rushan was so anxious that his forehead was covered in sweat, and he didn’t notice Yu Guihua’s actions.

He was just afraid that the Shen family would really hire someone else to build the house because of this and that they wouldn’t buy vegetables from the village next spring.

He didn’t expect that he had suppressed the troublesome Er-Lai-Zi and wouldn’t let them cause trouble, but he had capsized the boat here with Yu Guihua.

“Shen Lao-Di, I guarantee to you that there will be no more similar idle talk in the village.”

Shen Chengshan didn’t really want to completely sever ties with Xiao Liucun, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to stand firm in the village.

But it was also impossible to let Yu Guihua slander people like this.

What she said was all ruining people’s reputations, and these things, when placed on women and husbands, weren’t they forcing them to die?

Shen Chengshan only said, “Village chief, spreading such things recklessly can cost people their lives.”

As the village chief, Zhu Rushan knew how.

He guaranteed again, “I will definitely solve it properly.”

Shen Chengshan nodded, “Then we’ll wait for the village chief to solve it properly before we continue to talk about buying vegetables.”

The Shen family let go, Zhu Rushan also breathed a sigh of relief, and the other villagers also put their hearts back down.

Thank goodness, they almost lost a hard-earned source of income.

The Shen family didn’t ask how Zhu Rushan handled it for the time being.

Once he had a result, he would naturally go to the Shen family to tell them.

Although today’s matter was Yu Guihua’s fabrication, the Shen family had to take precautions.

Therefore, the family didn’t stay much longer and all went home to sit in the kitchen.

With the doors closed, the villagers outside were enthusiastically building the house, while inside, the Shen family was in a solemn and silent atmosphere.

It wasn’t until they sat down that Ling Xing completely regained his senses.

He never expected that just by pulling someone casually, he could be said to be having an affair with them.

What was wrong with a man pulling another man?

A thought of resentment flashed through his mind, but in the end, he could only lower his head.

At this moment, Ling Xing had a deeper understanding of the identities of “ge’er” and “husband”.

Terrible.

It was really terrible.

“Let Xiao Wu go with you when you set up the stall later.”

This was Xu Youfang’s first sentence.

Ling Xing thought of what Yu Guihua had said earlier and also felt that with Shen Lai there, at least people wouldn’t think wildly.

He was living well and didn’t want to be persecuted to death for such a reason.

“Okay, okay, I’ll listen to mother.”

Ling Xing nodded like a chicken pecking rice, obviously really frightened.

The solemn expression on Xu Youfang’s face finally showed some relieved smile, and then she looked at Shen Hui, whose face showed no emotion, but whose eyes were staring at Ling Xing with a frightening depth.

Seeing Ling Xing’s reaction, Shen Hui withdrew his gaze and suddenly met his mother’s gaze.

He was silent for a moment.

“Okay.”

Xu Youfang also instructed Shen Gui to only stand outside the door to collect vegetables, regardless of whether there were men at home or not.

Shen Gui, who was equally frightened, had the same reaction as Ling Xing.

After finishing the instructions, Xu Youfang left Shen Hui alone.

The kitchen was quiet, and Xu Youfang looked at her second son for a long time.

“Second brother, go to your elder brother’s grave. Come home to sleep when you’ve figured things out.”

Shen Hui’s throat was dry, and he said in a deep voice, “I understand, mother.”