But no matter how angry Xia Ruqian was, she couldn't change anything. Such rumors were like ink dropped into pure water, which quickly dyed it black and could not be reversed.
Instead, Xia Chunfu comforted his daughter, telling her not to care what others said and just live a good life.
Xia Ruzheng sighed. She understood deeply how self-comforting the phrase "the innocent are innocent" was.
In the following days, the rumors grew stronger and stronger, and became more and more bizarre, such as seeing two people sneaking around behind the house, seeing two people alone in the mountains, and seeing two people walking hand in hand on the road... If Xia Ruzheng had not been sure that he hated Huang Zhong to death, he would probably have doubted whether he had really done these things.
The father, his two daughters, all turned a deaf ear to the rumors outside, and Xia Chunfu no longer mentioned Xia Ruzheng's marriage. It was definitely not possible to find a good marriage at this moment. Recently, many matchmakers came to him and mentioned people like widowers, divorced, widowed, ugly, and even second-rate people. They really looked down on people.
Xia Chunfu has made up his mind that if Xia Ruzheng really cannot get married, all the property except Xia Ruqian's dowry will be left to Xia Ruzheng, and he can adopt a child to support him in his old age.
Xia Chunfu's sister Xia Guihua took time out of her busy schedule to come over.
Xia Guihua had a loud voice and yelled as soon as she entered the room: "Qianqian, come over and get a bucket of water! Oh my god! It's so hot!"
Xia Chunfu came out and said, "Why did you come here in the hot midday sun? You'll be sunburned to death."
Xia Guihua curled her lips and said, "I'm so busy, why would I come to you instead of working when it's cooler?"
"What's so important that you're running like this?"
Xia Guihua lifted up her coat and wiped the sweat off her face. Xia Ruzheng came over with well water. As he walked in, he could see a white patch under Xia Guihua's lifted coat, and he quickly looked away.
Xia Guihua was surprised to see that it was Xia Ruzheng who brought her the water. She said, "Miss, thank you so much for your hard work."
Xia Ruzheng's face flushed instantly. She had indeed been quite arrogant in the past, so it was no wonder that people laughed at her.
Xia Chunfu defended his daughter, saying, "You have a really annoying mouth! Tell me what's going on!"
Xia Guihua gulped down a bucket of water, wiped her mouth, and then said, "What else could it be? It's just your eldest daughter! She's so bold and you don't do anything about it? Many people come to ask me about it, and I don't know what's going on. I'm almost embarrassed by all the questions. I tell them, if our Xia family really had a daughter like that, I would have kicked her out long ago!"
Xia Guihua's voice was so loud, she was practically shouting it out, as if she was afraid that the neighbors wouldn't know. As she said this, she kept glancing at Xia Ruzheng, looking very proud.
Xia Chunfu said angrily, "It's okay for others to talk shit, but why is your aunt not speaking up for her own family? I know my daughter well! If you like to gossip like those people, don't even step foot inside my house!"
Xia Guihua was even more agitated than Xia Chunfu. She stood up suddenly, rolled up her sleeves, put her hands on her hips, and started to curse: "Hey! Xia Chunfu, what's wrong with the Xia family's daughter? As an aunt, can't I teach my niece a lesson? This wicked niece has ruined my reputation too! How can I live my life in this family? Speak!"
Xia Chunfu wasn't buying it. He knew exactly what kind of person his sister, having grown up with her, was. He grabbed Xia Guihua's arm and shoved her out the door, snarling at her, "You frivolous, you came here in the middle of the day just to mess with your niece? Go back and sort out your family affairs first! If you bring this up again, I'll rip your mouth off!"
After saying that, Xia Chunfu spat at Xia Guihua, snorted, and slammed the door.
Xia Guihua was so angry that she was jumping up and down outside, banging the door loudly. Fortunately, the Xia family's door was strong, otherwise it would have been broken.
While knocking on the door, Xia Guihua scolded Xia Chunfu for being ungrateful, and talked about how she took care of him when he was a child, washed his clothes and fed him, etc. Xia Ruzheng was so upset that he couldn't help but frown.
"Dad, aren't you going to invite Auntie to dinner?"
Xia Chunfu was still angry and said, "Why leave food for us? Are you going to let her make such a fuss that the three of us can't eat properly? Don't meddle in the adults' affairs. Go take a nap after dinner. Don't be reluctant to eat the watermelon in the well, but don't eat too much. Eating too much will make the watermelon cold and it's not good for girls' health."
His daughter-in-law died early, and Xia Chunfu had to play both the father and the mother, which were things that the mother should have worried about.
Xia Ruzheng was speechless. She was in her early twenties and still a child. What about those kids running around who were younger than her?
Finally, when there was no more noise outside, Xia Ruqian came out of the kitchen, sweating profusely. She said, "Sister, I told you not to be so enthusiastic. Look, people are firing at you."
Xia Chunfu looked unhappy, but he did not blame Xia Ruqian. He was obviously very unhappy with his sister.
Xia Ruzheng felt quite regretful. Originally, after being reborn, he felt everything was precious. He also felt responsible for the unpleasantness in his relatives' family in his previous life. Now that he thought about it, the deterioration of their relationship wasn't due to any misunderstanding, but rather to profit.
When Xia Ruzheng's grandfather divided the family estate, he did so clearly. Daughters, after marrying with dowries, were left with no property, while sons each received a share. After the turmoil, preserving the family fortune was difficult, so it took considerable uproar for the family to finalize the division. The division of the estate came down to individual ability and luck. Some, like Xia Chunfu, managed it well, and even after donating a portion, were still able to enjoy a comfortable life. But Xia Chunfu's brothers weren't so fortunate. This disparity fueled suspicion and gossip. The division had been so clear and witnessed, but now it seemed as if the old man had hidden something for Xia Chunfu. So his brothers and sisters watched closely, waiting for his two daughters to marry so they could divide their fortunes.
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