Hua Wanjiang wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. His daughter looked very relaxed, as if she had everything under control, which made him even more confused.

But he was really angry about what happened to Hua Lin today, so he wanted to stand up for himself. At worst, he would be beaten along with the child. Anyway, his family was already in such a state, how could it get any worse?

Hearing Hua Kai's harsh words, Zheng Shuzhen's face turned pale with anger: "You brat, you still want an explanation? I'll strangle you!" With that, Zheng Shuzhen jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) and ran towards Hua Kai.

Hua Kai was just waiting for Zheng Shuzhen to chase after her and beat her. She opened the door and ran outside, glancing back at Zheng Shuzhen as she ran, afraid that she wouldn't come after her.

Once inside the courtyard, Hua Kai didn't stop. Instead, she ran straight outside, her goal being to attract more onlookers. Today, she was going to put on a grand show for them, ensuring they wouldn't be able to get away with it and completely ruining Hua Lin's reputation, making them all pay the price.

By this time, Zheng Shuzhen had already chased after them out of the courtyard. She had never suffered a loss in all these years, and she wouldn't be satisfied until she got what she wanted.

Hua Kai saw that she had already attracted several passersby, and the time was about right. She found a dry spot, turned around, and knelt down in front of Zheng Shuzhen: "Grandma, I was wrong." Since Hua Zhongzhi was also in front of her, she might as well kneel down to her grandfather, so it wouldn't be a loss.

Just now, when we were inside and there were no outsiders, I could stand my ground. Anyway, no one would believe anything they said when they came out.

But it's different outside. In rural areas at that time, the law was not widely known, and people believed more in what they heard and saw.

She now needs to win the sympathy of the onlookers and let everyone see Zheng Shuzhen's true colors.

In this way, no matter what happens, others will assume that it is Zheng Shuzhen's fault.

When Hua Kai knelt down, Zheng Shuzhen was stunned again. She had thought that Hua Kai would not admit defeat or back down today, and that she would beat her until she begged for mercy. But she was frightened by what she saw.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. She's been beaten a lot over the years, and it's normal for her to be scared now that the initial shock has passed.

So Zheng Shuzhen was still very proud and satisfied: "It's too late to know I was wrong."

At this moment, Hua Wanjiang and Gu Lanyan were also feeling distressed. What were they thinking? Did they really believe that the child could handle these things? A child is just a child, and now he's going to get beaten again.

Just as Hua Wanjiang was about to help Hua Kai and beg for forgiveness from his father and stepmother, Hua Kai spoke up again.

She shouted at Zheng Shuzhen, "Grandma, I was wrong. I shouldn't have disobeyed you. Today, regarding Sister Linlin and Wang Shengli's drunken affair, I should have taken the blame for Sister Linlin and said that I was the one who brought them together. Just now, you came to me and asked me to come out and help Sister Linlin give false testimony. I shouldn't have disobeyed you either. I was wrong, Grandma. I will listen to you from now on. Who do you want me to go to? The Wang family, right? Then I'll go right now. Please don't take your anger out on my parents because of me."

She knew how much Chen Ting and Xu Lan loved to gossip; even a heavy rain couldn't stop them. Plus, Chen Ting was actually a descendant of her mother, whose gossip skills were top-notch.

And they told the neighbors in the east and west courtyards, and then the neighbors told each other. Everyone was at home on rainy days, and the news spread quickly enough after just one rain shower.

Furthermore, the diary also records that when the rain stopped, the news had already spread to the streets, and some people had even come to their doorstep to watch the excitement. So now Huakai knows that most people have heard about this, and she is saying all this to let everyone know.

Zheng Shuzhen was initially quite pleased, thinking that Hua Kai was going to help Hua Lin get through that matter. But as she listened, something seemed off. This wasn't an apology; wasn't this trying to get Hua Lin killed?

She went over and slapped Hua Kai across the face: "You brat, what did you say? You framed your own cousin! You'll die a horrible death! You heartless bastard, I'll beat you to death!"

Hua Kai was very happy to see more and more people gathering around.

She skillfully dodged Zheng Shuzhen's slap, then stood up from the ground, took off one shoe and handed it to Zheng Shuzhen: "Grandma, don't hit me with your hand. Be careful, like last time you hit me, you broke my wrist and had to put on a plaster. Hit me with your shoe."

The ground was rather cold, so she decided to kneel for a while to show everyone. She took the opportunity to stand up and put her bare feet on the stone.

Among the onlookers, many had heard about Hua Lin and Wang Shengli's drunken escapade. As soon as the rain stopped, they all wanted to go out and talk about it, since it was a rare big news in the village. But when they came out, they saw a fight breaking out at Hua Kai's house.

After hearing what Hua Kai had just said, they were even more certain about Hua Lin and Wang Shengli's affair. They all despised and scorned Hua Lin, especially for being shameless and trying to make Hua Kai take the blame. This was simply outrageous.

Now that they see Zheng Shuzhen constantly scolding and beating Hua Kai, they've started pointing fingers at her.

Zheng Shuzhen was so angry she was about to explode. She took the shoe Hua Kai handed her and wanted to hit Hua Kai.

At this moment, an old man with a white beard stopped her and said, "Zheng Shuzhen, are you shameless? If I weren't your cousin, I wouldn't even want to talk to you. That's enough. I've already heard about what happened with Hua Lin today. It's obvious that Hua Lin was in the wrong. Instead of thinking about how to educate that child, you're thinking of asking Hua Kai to take the blame for Hua Lin. I feel ashamed to be related to you."

Hua Kai was prepared. She was waiting for Zheng Shuzhen to hit her again so she could pretend to faint. She had already chosen the direction: an auntie was nearby, so she could just fall on her. She wouldn't let Zheng Shuzhen hit her.

I never expected that before I could even pretend to faint, a benefactor would suddenly appear and help me out, even saying a lot of the lines I was going to say later.

When Zheng Shuzhen saw the old man, there was a hint of fear in her eyes. This was her cousin, Zhang Fengshun. His son worked at the township police station, and his daughter was an accountant at the township government. He was a very respected man in the village.

Although she was afraid, she couldn't just let it go like this, otherwise what would happen to Hua Lin?

With a sob in her voice, she said to Zhang Fengshun, "Brother, you don't know the truth. This Huakai is not as weak as you see her. Just now in their house, she even dared to hit her second aunt. What you see now is all an act."

Hua Kai avoided everyone's gaze, secretly pinched her thigh hard, and let her tears stream down her face.

Then, looking pitifully at Zheng Shuzhen, she said, "Grandma, I know you don't like our family. We've endured all the bullying you've done for us all these years, but today, Linlin's matter concerns my reputation, so I can't help but hesitate. My second aunt forced me to take the blame for Hualin for her own daughter's sake. When I didn't agree immediately, she hit me. She hit me so hard that I twisted my ankle. Are you going to blame me for that?"