"That's right. Even if you're the village chief's daughter, you can't be so unreasonable and argumentative, can you?"
An older woman standing nearby spoke first, her voice full of dissatisfaction.
“Su Qingzhi came to propose marriage legitimately. The ring was a token from the Su family. Who doesn’t know that? We, the neighbors, all saw and heard it with our own eyes and ears. She’s lying through her teeth and deliberately causing trouble!”
"That's right. The Su family's daughter is gentle and virtuous, and she even saved her life, yet she receives such slander in return. How can she live with herself?"
Another elderly woman chimed in, her tone indignant.
"Her fuss has made her a laughingstock, and she thinks she's some kind of goddess who no one dares to say a bad word about her?"
"..."
More people gathered around, whispering among themselves.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing! What kind of mess are you making of by arguing like this!"
Shen Zhiyu's face turned ashen. Seeing Liu Yuelan surrounded and isolated by the crowd, he was both angry and anxious. He quickly strode over and stood in front of her.
He lowered his voice, almost gritting his teeth as he urged, "Shut up! Aren't you embarrassed enough? You were the one who said you'd give it to us, you made the decision in front of everyone! You insisted on buying the ring, saying you only wanted that one and nothing else! Now that things have been exposed, you're blaming others? We're in the wrong first, if we keep making a scene, it'll only make things worse!"
"First, find a way to get rid of these onlookers and prevent the situation from escalating! If this continues, you'll ruin the reputation of the entire Shen family! Once your name is destroyed, how will you ever stand in this village again?"
After all, Liu Yuelan was his newlywed wife, his lawfully wedded wife.
Although Shen Zhiyu felt from the bottom of his heart that what Liu Yuelan did this time was hopelessly stupid, impulsive and ignorant, and completely disregarded the consequences.
But now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to bite the bullet and cover for her, to take the blame for her.
But Zhu Xiuqin was completely different.
From the moment Liu Yuelan stepped into the Shen family's gate.
Zhu Xiuqin's smile never truly relaxed.
When Liu Yuelan dared to forcibly take away a full thousand yuan in cash in front of the whole family.
A raging fire was ignited in Zhu Xiuqin's heart!
But Liu Yuelan didn't even blink, reached out and took it, and said it with a straight face.
From that moment on, Zhu Xiuqin gritted her teeth and made a vow in her heart.
She will never let Liu Yuelan get away with this!
Chen Chunxiang is here right now.
She seized the opportunity to launch into a tirade, sneering, "Heaven is truly blind! What sins did our Shen family ancestors commit to deserve such a clueless and unreasonable wife? She's always causing trouble with nonsensical things; sooner or later, she'll ruin herself and this family!"
"How are we supposed to live like this? You should marry a virtuous and capable wife who can manage the household and keep accounts. But look at what she's done! What terrible things did our Shen family do in our past lives to deserve this? It's like a spendthrift has entered our family, bringing one disaster after another!"
Chen Chunxiang was not one to be trifled with either. Once her temper flared up, she immediately raised her voice and retorted without backing down.
“Mother-in-law, what exactly do you mean by that? Your words are barbed and sarcastic. Who are you insulting? If you have the guts, name them! You are the head of this family and hold the reins of power. Now that the family is in such a mess, shouldn't you first examine your own behavior instead of blaming my daughter?”
"And also, I just heard from the neighbors that you hit my daughter? You've got some nerve! My daughter has been pampered and spoiled since she was little. No one has ever dared to say a harsh word to her. How dare you, an outsider, lay a hand on her?"
Zhu Xiuqin was speechless for a moment, her face flushed, and she stammered for a long time, with beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. She managed to force a smile and stammered, "No... I didn't really hit him, mother-in-law, please don't get agitated. I just wanted to teach Zhiyu a lesson, but I got angry and couldn't hold his hand, which is why I accidentally dragged Lanyin into it."
"I didn't mean to, and besides, I didn't hurt her. Look at her now, she's perfectly fine, standing steadily and speaking clearly. There's nothing wrong with her at all! Don't listen to other people's gossip!"
"Still fine? I think you've probably knocked his brains out! Otherwise, why would he spend two thousand yuan to buy a broken iron ring and treat it like a treasure? What kind of stupid thing is that? People will laugh at you if word gets out!"
"Exactly! Two thousand yuan is no small amount. It could buy so much rice, flour, oil, and salt. And it's just gone like that? What a waste!"
The neighbors watching the commotion chimed in with their own opinions.
They seem to thrive on chaos, constantly stirring up trouble.
While standing in front of his mother Zhu Xiuqin, Shen Zhiyu reached out and grabbed his mother-in-law Chen Chunxiang's arm, anxiously advising, "Mom! Mother-in-law! Let's talk this out, don't get agitated, don't get agitated! We're all family, what knot can't be untied? Sit down and talk it over!"
He tried to coax and persuade her, smoothing things over and putting on a smiling face.
After much persuasion, they finally managed to calm the furious Chen Chunxiang down temporarily.
Although Chen Chunxiang stopped shouting, her face remained gloomy.
I truly feel sorry for my daughter, but I feel even more heartbroken that those two thousand yuan are gone just like that.
That's no small amount; it's the hard-earned money she saved up penny by penny through frugality!
She glared fiercely at Liu Yuelan, who stood to the side with her head down, and muttered through gritted teeth, "You idiot! You're even dumber than a pig! If we don't get this money back, every single penny, then don't call me your mother! From now on, I don't have you as my daughter!"
"Mom, listen to me, my sister was scammed. They tricked her into thinking it was an antique worth a lot of money. She was just trying to recoup her losses because she was worried about the money. You don't understand what happened..."
Seeing his sister so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head, Liu Xincheng felt sorry for her and quickly stepped forward to try and explain for her.
Before she could finish speaking, Chen Chunxiang suddenly turned her head, glared at him, and without saying a word, grabbed Liu Xincheng's ear with such force that she almost twisted it off.
"Shut up! Stop listening to your sister's nonsense and use your brain! Stop taking sides with others all day long, you spineless coward!"
"You're all such a worrywart in this family! If I can't find that two thousand yuan, I might as well jump into a well! It'll save me from getting so angry at you spendthrifts every day!"
The mother's voice was sharp and piercing, like a rusty iron saw grinding against one's nerves, each word carrying long-suppressed anger and disappointment.
The mother and son stormed off.
Seeing that there was no more drama to watch, the neighbors dispersed.
Only Zhu Xiuqin continued to make a fuss, raising her voice higher and higher.
"What a jinx! What an unlucky bastard! You spent two thousand on a piece of scrap metal and you still have the nerve to say you were scammed? Who would believe that? Do you think we're all idiots?"
"Pah! Look at yourself in the mirror! You're covered in dirt, your eyes are darting around, you look guilty! I think you deserve a beating! You didn't get a good beating! If it weren't for the fact that you're a daughter-in-law of the Liu family, I would have already whipped you out with a broom!"
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