When evening came and Zhao still hadn't returned, Chunzhu stared at Jinwang on the bench, clutching her stomach and yelling, "Dad, I want to eat! I'm hungry!"

Jin Wang took a puff of his pipe and tapped it lightly: "Stop yelling. Your mother will probably be back soon. Dad's going to fetch water. You stay home."

"I don't want to, Dad!"

Jin Wang didn't say anything, and carried the water buckets out with a creaking sound.

The villagers of Daling Village drink water from a small hollow at the foot of Daling Mountain. The hollow is covered with a wooden plank, as they are worried that something dirty might fall into the spring. In addition to the villagers drinking water, people passing by also collect water with lotus leaves to quench their thirst. The locals call it a sacred spring.

Now, everyone except Liang Shuyan's family drinks water here.

As soon as Jinwang came out, he encountered several women gossiping. The woman in the lead, wearing a gray patched shirt, was Huang Laosan's wife from the next village.

"Look, we were just talking when someone came over. It seems that Jinwang, that scoundrel, still doesn't know what kind of people his in-laws are."

"Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. Madam has spoken today. If we say it out loud and she finds out, we'll all be in big trouble."

Huang Laosan's wife glared at her: "Hmph, I don't believe her. I don't believe the Emperor would bother with our trivial matters. Besides, these things aren't made up; they're all true."

The women didn't take Jin Wang seriously and started gossiping. Huang Laosan's wife deliberately raised her voice: "Oh dear, some people still brag about having a son and a daughter in front of others, and laugh at us who don't have children. Humph, now look what's happened, their wives have given birth to other people's children, and some suckers are raising other people's children as their own. Bah, wearing a green hat is justified."

"That's right. I heard that even the youngest son isn't their own flesh and blood. Oh dear, what a sucker! They seem so proper and reliable, but they're so poor they could beg on the streets. How can they raise someone else's child and be so self-righteous about it?"

"Hey Jinwang, stop looking! We're talking about you, aren't we? Your wife gave birth to two kids who don't even have the surname Jin! How dare you show your face in public?"

······

Jin Wang had never paid attention to these women's words, but now, hearing them, he couldn't help but become suspicious: "Are they clearly talking about him?"

"Who are you talking about? I didn't provoke you, yet you still cause trouble for no reason. Today, I'll beat you to death!" Jin Wang raised his carrying pole and started hitting the group of women.

Huang San's wife was the most vocal in her taunts. She even grabbed a carrying pole and started fighting back: "What's wrong? Did we say something wrong? It's all your fault for causing trouble. The two bastards your wife gave birth to aren't yours. And now you're still so arrogant, protecting that woman. What are you if not an idiot? What, you can't even be talked about? What's wrong with that?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

"Hmph, I'm talking nonsense. Go back and ask your wife. It's really ridiculous. The whole world knows about this, so why don't you know? Don't you think there's something fishy about this?"

After Huang San's wife finished speaking, she turned and left, chatting and laughing with a group of women. These women were just idle women in the village. Once something happened, no matter how much they tried to stop them, they couldn't stop their mouths. Jin Wang turned and ran away.

He ran home and found that Zhao Shi still hadn't returned. Chunzhu was crying loudly. He smoked a cigarette and suddenly realized that Chunzhu didn't look like him at all. He began to feel that something was wrong and wanted to ask Chunyan what was going on.

Upon arriving at Liang Shuyan's house, Jinwang called out, "Mother, is Chunyan here? I want to ask Chunyan something."

Jin sensed something was wrong and asked Liang Shuyan, "By the way, didn't Zhao go back? Why is Jin Wang coming now? Did he hear something?"

Liang Shuyan waved her hand: "Mother, no way, Zhao left this morning, how could she not have returned by now? I'll go out and see what's going on?"

Just as she was about to leave, Jinwang came running in, panting. Not seeing Chunyan, he said, "Mother, what exactly happened? Do you also know what happened? Now the whole village knows about it. When I went to fetch water just now, Huang San's wife said that the two children my wife gave birth to are not mine. Is that true, Mother?"

Liang Shuyan immediately became unhappy and said with a stern face, "What's wrong with you? If your wife does something, shouldn't you go home and ask her? Why are you asking your mother here? Don't you find that ridiculous?"

Grandma Jin waved her hand: "No need, hasn't your wife gone back yet?"

"No, Mother, what exactly happened? It seems like the whole world knows except me. Mother, how can you bear to keep it from me alone?"

When Grandma Jin saw Jin Wang kneeling on the ground crying like a child, she said, "Alright, get up first. Your wife's affair has been exposed. I questioned her this morning, and she confessed honestly in front of your father's memorial tablet. But no matter what, these two children grew up in our Jin family. Just pretend nothing happened. You're not young anymore, so don't ask your wife anything. Just make do with what you have to do."

Jin Wang walked out in a daze without saying a word. Liang Shuyan was a little worried, so she called San Wang over and asked him to go back with her.

Zhao ran back to her parents' home. Actually, there wasn't much of a family there except for her brother and sister-in-law. Her sister-in-law was also a widow, but she was very loyal to her husband. When she learned that her sister-in-law had done such a thing, she couldn't help but comfort her: "You, I'm not trying to be mean, but how could you do such a thing? You are the daughter-in-law of the Jin family. No matter how Jin Wang treats you, how can you not give the Jin family a son?"

Jin Wang thought and thought but couldn't find Zhao Shi anywhere, so he went to Zhao Shi's family home.

As soon as he entered, he saw Zhao sitting on a stool in a daze. He grabbed Zhao's collar and shouted, "You bitch! How have I ever treated you? How could you do such a thing? Chunyan and Chunzhu are not my children. Whose children are they? Tell me!"

Zhao hesitated, wanting to say something but uttering no words.

Zhao's sister-in-law said, "Alright, don't be angry anymore. Since things have already come to this, we need to find a way to make amends. Shouting and yelling won't solve anything."