"I'm dying of laughter." Song's mother finally stopped laughing, raised her hand to gently wipe away the tears that had come from the corners of her eyes, and looked at Aunt Li with a look full of sarcasm.

What you said is absolutely hilarious.

"Li Cui." Song's mother took a few steps forward, still standing under the eaves. The scorching sun outside couldn't reach her, and she looked down at Aunt Li from her elevated position.

"Let's not even talk about how old your son is, let's just say he's an idiot. He's in his mid-twenties, he sucks his thumb, drools, and yells and screams when things don't go his way."

"My daughter is good-looking and didn't inherit my madness, so she's barely a good match for your son. This is the funniest joke I've ever heard, it's hilarious."

"Li Cui, how could you say such shameless things against your conscience?"

Song's mother spoke calmly, but her words were like sharp knives, piercing people like sieves.

Song Yueying and Qi Yanjue, who were standing behind her, exchanged a glance and tacitly chose to remain silent.

Aunt Li stared blankly at Song's mother. No, the woman in front of her wasn't Zhao Dongxue. The Zhao Dongxue she knew wasn't this eloquent or articulate.

"You...you, you're not Zhao Dongxue, you definitely aren't. That madwoman Zhao Dongxue wouldn't say something like that." Aunt Li pointed at Song's mother and asked sharply, "Who are you?"

Who exactly are you?

She is not Zhao Dongxue, absolutely not. Zhao Dongxue could not possibly belittle her son to nothing with just a few words.

"Guess! Why don't you guess who I am?" Song's mother smiled, but her words were sharp and insightful. "After I've revealed your secrets, you won't recognize me anymore?"

"Li Cui, you deserve a lot of credit for my madness!"

“It’s not like you’re using the guise of being friends with me to come to my house every day.”

"They said they understood how hard it was for us, a widow and her orphan, and advised me to live well. In reality, they were trying to trick me into saying something, and based on what I told them, they were implying that I was sick or crazy."

After Song's mother finished speaking, all around fell silent.

Song Yueying's eyes narrowed slightly, and a pill suddenly appeared between her fingers. With a slight exertion, the pill split into several pieces, leaving the smallest piece, which she slowly crushed into powder.

He walked over to Song's mother and gently took her arm. "Mom."

"Mom's fine, you go back inside and don't get sunburned," Song's mother said softly.

“Okay.” Song Yueying nodded obediently, and as she turned around, her hand flashed past Aunt Li’s eyes before she returned to stand beside Qi Yanjue.

Qi Yanjue looked at her, and Song Yueying turned her head to look at him as well; their gazes met in the air. She smiled at him, then looked away at her mother in front of her.

And the villagers standing in the courtyard, baking in the sun.

Song Yueying's smile vanished, replaced by amusement and mockery. The midday sun was scorching and intense; standing under it at this time could easily lead to heatstroke.

These villagers, incited by others, came to her house to cause trouble and even smashed her courtyard gate. They brought the heatstroke on themselves.

She wouldn't invite them inside.

"What are you looking at?" Qi Yanjue asked her in a low voice.

“Watching some stupid people do stupid things,” Song Yueying replied pointedly, without deliberately lowering her voice, not caring whether anyone could hear her.

"The double harvest season is very busy, and those who participate in it are also very tired."

They finally made it to lunchtime, a two-hour break. Instead of resting at home, these villagers came to her yard to sunbathe.

How could someone who isn't stupid do something so foolish?

"Foolish people doing foolish things," she said, referring to the villagers. Qi Yanjue's gaze swept over the villagers in the courtyard; they stood in the sun, sweat beading on their foreheads.

That's really stupid.

Qi Yanjue is not a kind person and will not sympathize with them.

Moreover, he already understood that the purpose of these villagers breaking down the gate and barging into the courtyard was to frame him and Yueying for having an illicit affair.

"You just now..." Qi Yanjue stopped speaking, not understanding what he wanted to ask. He felt that her sudden outburst was a bit strange, as if she had done something, yet also as if she hadn't.

Song Yueying, waiting for him to continue, turned her head to look at him, "What did you say?"

"It's nothing." Qi Yanjue shook his head. He just felt that she wouldn't do something for no reason. But he couldn't just ask her what she had just done based on his feeling alone.

Song Yueying was clever enough to know what he wanted to ask her. He asked, and her answer was, of course, she wouldn't tell the truth.

Since he said it was nothing, then it was nothing, and she didn't press the matter.

"Zhao Dongxue." Having her secret exposed, Aunt Li trembled with anger. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she growled, "You're lying! I didn't!"

Damn Zhao Dongxue, she must have taken the wrong medicine today. She wanted nothing more than to rush over and cover Zhao Dongxue's annoying mouth to stop her from revealing any more of her dark history.

In her and Song Rumeng's plan, they brought the villagers to frighten Zhao Dongxue into a mental breakdown. Then they would drag Song Yueying down to hell, ensuring she could never recover.

I didn't come here to hear Zhao Dongxue expose her past.

"You didn't." Song's mother smiled, but her tone was cold. "Did you not come to my house? Or did you try to trick me into revealing anything? Or did you hint that I was ill?"

With each question Song's mother asked, her anger at being deceived grew stronger.

When Li Cui came to her house and said she wanted to be friends, she was initially resistant. It was Li Cui who said things that showed she understood her and encouraged her not to be so sad and to try to be more positive.

She gradually accepted Li Cui and they became close friends who could talk about anything.

Looking back now, I realize how incredibly stupid I was.

"No, no, none of that." Aunt Li was flustered by her question, because she had done all the things Zhao Dongxue mentioned.

Compared to Aunt Li's panic, Song's mother was much calmer. "Li Cui, Heaven is watching what people do. We both know very well whether you have done it or not."

"Let me tell you, I couldn't sleep for nights on end, and what did you say to me?"

“You said I might not have gotten over the shadow of Little Shadow’s father’s death, you said I might have mental problems, you said I might go insane.”

"If you get mad, you'll go crazy and hurt Little Shadow."

"You said you really liked Little Shadow, that you fell in love with her at first sight. You asked me to take Little Shadow home and raise her, and you promised to take good care of her."

"And then what happened?"

"The result? What result?" Aunt Li retorted, and as soon as she asked, she wished she could bite her tongue off. She didn't intend to agree with Zhao Dongxue, but she just couldn't control herself.

Seeing that Li Cui was still trying to deny it even after she had made herself clear, Song's mother decided not to save face for her any longer and said directly, "You don't know what the outcome will be, but I will tell you."

"So you want my little shadow to jump into your family's fire pit and marry your stupid son."

"You say you'll take good care of her, but will you really? You probably just want to take her home and use her as a maid."

Hearing Song's mother repeatedly say that her son was stupid, Aunt Li was so angry that she wanted to kill someone. She roared, "Zhao Dongxue, if you dare to say my son is stupid again, I'll fight you to the death!"

The fact that she gave birth to a son who was mentally challenged was always Aunt Li's deepest pain. But no matter how mentally challenged her son was, he was still her own son, and she wouldn't allow anyone to say that her son was mentally challenged.

Seeing Aunt Li's eyes redden with anger, Song Rumeng felt that it was time for her to step in.

Previously, after she instigated everyone to lecture Song Yueying, she pulled her mother away into the crowd. Now, it was finally her turn to take the stage again, and Song Rumeng strode to the front.

"Second Aunt, how can you make personal attacks?" Song Rumeng looked at her mother with disapproval. "Aunt Li's second brother is just a little bit dim-witted."

"But he's not stupid! He likes his cousin, which is a blessing for her. It means she's popular, and you should be happy for her."

Not very smart is the same as being stupid. And here comes another one implying her son is stupid. When will this end? Aunt Li's brow twitched violently, and she looked at Song Rumeng with a murderous gaze.

Song Rumeng must have said many things behind her back, saying her son was stupid.

Thinking of their plan, Aunt Li suppressed her anger towards Song Rumeng.

"I can't accept such a blessing." Song Yueying walked slowly to her mother's side, looking at Song Rumeng with a half-smile. "Being liked by a fool makes me feel disgusted."

"You think it's a blessing, you really have a unique taste. You can have this blessing, so you and Aunt Li's silly son can be together."

"You're welcome."

She hadn't said a word, waiting for Song Rumeng to come out on her own because she couldn't hide any longer.

“Song Rumeng, if it’s Song Rumeng…” Aunt Li’s mind started to wander, and she didn’t even have time to care about Song Yueying saying that her son was an idiot.

She had always known that Wang Muxiang wanted to marry Song Yueying to her nephew. The two of them always clashed when they met.

They couldn't stand each other.

Song Rumeng came to her seeking cooperation, saying they now had a common enemy. They would defeat the enemy first, and then each would rely on their own abilities to capture Song Yueying; whoever did so would keep her.

As for whether or not one should remain a widow, that's a matter of a few words.

When she arrived here and saw the man standing next to Song Yueying, her heart sank. The man was wearing a military uniform and clearly wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Song Yueying found a man she was not to be trifled with, ruining her plan to have him become her son's wife.

Song Rumeng is still single...

Upon hearing Song Yueying's words, the villagers all turned their gazes to Song Rumeng. Some looked at her subtly and implicitly, while others looked at her boldly and directly.

His subtle, understated gaze seemed to be asking her silently, "Is your taste really that unique?"

A person with a bold and direct gaze speaks directly as well: "Mengmeng, you wouldn't really fall for an idiot, would you?"

"Yes! Yes! Mengmeng, tell us all, have you really fallen for Li Cui's silly son?"

"Mengmeng fell for Li Cui's silly son; she's the silly one!"

"Why are you speaking such blunt truths? Didn't you hear what Doctor Song just said about Mengmeng's unique tastes? Li Cui's son may be a bit simple-minded, but his sister married well!"

"Yes, yes, her sister married into the town, and she's some kind of... something. I can't remember right now, but it's true that her family is rich."

“The last time I saw Li Cui’s daughter go back to her parents’ home, she brought a lot of expensive things with her.”

“I saw it too. They were taking things like malted milk powder, brown sugar, and wheat flour to their parents’ home like they were free.”

"Do you think Mengmeng likes Li Cui's mentally challenged son because she's interested in his older sister who married into the town and is living a good life?"

"No, no, Li Cui's son is that stupid. Mengmeng, what do you like about him? Do you like him drooling, or do you like him sucking his fingers?"

The crowd surrounded Song Rumeng, bombarding her with questions, leaving her bewildered. She didn't know how she had suddenly come to like Aunt Li's simple-minded son.

"Go away, go away, what nonsense are you talking about?" Aunt Li shooed away the people who were surrounding Song Rumeng and asking her all sorts of questions. Her eyes lit up as she leaned close to Song Rumeng. "Mengmeng! Your aunt is really..."

"I don't like your stupid son." Song Rumeng shoved Aunt Li away and then shouted at everyone, "I don't like Aunt Li's stupid son."

"If you keep talking nonsense, you are damaging my reputation."

After yelling, she turned to look at Song Yueying. It was all Song Yueying's fault, that damned Song Yueying. One sentence completely shattered her prepared explanation.

Song Rumeng was so angry she wanted to scream and rush over to strangle Song Yueying. She took a few deep breaths to suppress her temper, "Cousin, we're talking about you right now."

"You're dragging me into this and spreading rumors that I like Aunt Li's mentally challenged son. What are you trying to cover up?"

Seeing that Song Rumeng was clearly furious but still maintained her kind-hearted persona, Song Yueying couldn't help but laugh. She did indeed laugh, and even asked Song Rumeng a question that would infuriate her.

"Then what do you think I'm trying to hide?" Song Yueying threw the question back at Song Rumeng, "You said I spread rumors that you like Aunt Li's silly son."

"These people appearing in my yard, isn't that a rumor you're spreading?"

"Because you and Aunt Li spread rumors, you came to my house to make trouble in the middle of the day under the scorching sun. It must have been hard for you."

When she said her last words, Song Yueying looked at the villagers standing in the courtyard.

A few villagers didn't understand Song Yueying's implied meaning, but most of them did. Recalling what Song Rumeng and Aunt Li had said, they realized they had been used.

After figuring it out, the villagers' gaze towards Song Rumeng and Aunt Li changed.

There was disappointment, confusion, and anger at being deceived.

"What are you all doing gathered here?" A familiar, authoritative voice rang out. Everyone felt it was familiar because they had been listening to it all day.

I knew it was the brigade leader without even looking.

With somewhat unsteady steps, the captain walked directly to the eaves, nodded to Song Yueying and the other two, and then turned to look at everyone.

His gaze was like a knife, scraping across the face of every villager. "Who can tell me why so many of you have come here in this sweltering heat?"

The captain's voice was no different from usual, but it felt like a heavy hammer to everyone.

Some people started to back down, but as soon as they turned around, they saw Chen Yuan, the youngest son of the brigade leader, standing at the gate of the yard.

There was no way to sneak away, so one of them forced a smile and said, "I...I came to see Doctor Song, but when I got here and saw so many people, I...I didn't have time..."

One person spoke up, and the others also tried to defend themselves, all offering the same excuse: they came to see a doctor.