Chapter 36: Chaos
When Liu Xiaoru heard this, she felt extremely embarrassed.
Zhang Yunniang patted her hand gently, then handed her a broom and said, "Don't be afraid, you can beat her. Your husband seems to be a man of high reputation. If they fight together, just run to the yard. The louder you shout, the less he will dare to fight."
Liu Xiaoru suddenly felt like she had found a backbone. She took the broom, gritted her teeth and walked out.
Earlier, when Zhang Yunniang saw that Liu Xiaoru was abnormal, she asked Gu Mingda to take Niuniu to play in the yard. At this time, Niuniu was still asking Gu Mingda: "Dad, what is a little whore?"
Gu Mingda was overwhelmed. He looked at Mrs. Wang who was still cursing in the street with an unfriendly look, then turned around and said to his daughter gently, "These are curse words. Niuniu, don't learn them."
Niuniu nodded, not quite understanding, and said, "This old lady is bad!"
Gu Mingda touched her little head, thinking of how Liu Xiaoru had cried before, and said, "Niuniu is really amazing. She can even help adults."
Niuniu was so proud when she heard this that she picked up a stick beside her and said, "I can also help beat up the bad guys! Don't let this old lady scold my aunt!"
As she said this, the little girl, who was not as tall as the others, rushed out with a stick in her hand and was about to beat Wang Po.
Gu Mingda quickly hugged her around the waist and said, "My little ancestor, how tall are you? Are you going to beat up the bad guys?"
Niuniu was always obedient. After being stopped by him, she did not struggle and said angrily, "Okay, I'll talk to you when I grow up!"
Gu Mingda couldn't help laughing when he heard this. His heart was melted by his obedient and soft daughter. He praised: "Our good girl is really amazing!"
Gu Zhao, who was standing by, looked at his father, then at his sister, snatched the stick from his sister's hand, and said, "I'm a man, I'm more powerful! Daddy, praise me!"
But after running only two steps, he was grabbed by Gu Mingda.
His good daughter was confused, so Gu Mingda moved gently for fear of hurting her.
When his son was playing tricks, Gu Mingda took simple and rough action. He directly grabbed the boy's collar, which made the boy's neck red. He was hung in the air, and his legs were still flapping hard.
Although the two little kids who wanted to help did not take action, Mrs. Wang was forced to stop cursing.
Zhang Yunniang's original intention was to remind Liu Xiaoru to remember to resist and not to always accept everything.
But unexpectedly, Liu Xiaoru, who was carrying a broom and going out, hit Wang Po with red eyes and waving the broom the moment she saw her.
Mrs. Wang almost thought she had mistaken someone. Was the person waving the broom so vigorously really her daughter-in-law, and not the hot-tempered Zhang Yuniang from before?
If their faces were covered, who would be able to tell the difference between Liu Xiaoru and Zhang Yuniang?
"You little whore, you are really outrageous. You even dare to hit your own mother-in-law! Aren't you afraid that I will go to the government office and sue you for being unfilial and disobedient?" Mrs. Wang shouted, jumping to her feet.
Liu Xiaoru was really frightened by her, and her hand holding the broom paused slightly.
But Zhang Yunniang suddenly said, "Grandma Wang, your son is a scholar. If he really reports to the government, will it affect the government officials' impression of him? Will they think that he is not strict in managing the family?"
These seemingly well-intentioned words were, on the surface, a reminder to Mrs. Wang, but in reality, they were a reminder to Liu Xiaoru.
Liu Xiaoru cheered up and hit Wang Po again with the broom.
People living in the house never thought that they could see two exciting events in one day!
But this time the fight was not between two unrelated women, but between a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law. It was inevitable that some people would gossip and point fingers at Liu Xiaoru.
"It's common for mothers-in-law to beat their daughters-in-law, but it's really rare for a daughter-in-law to beat her mother-in-law."
"Wang's daughter-in-law is really ignorant. She is not afraid of being struck by lightning for beating her elders."
Hearing these voices, Liu Xiaoru wanted to refute, but she was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say.
Zhang Yunniang spoke up at this time and said, "Grandma Wang, why do you keep calling her a whore? Your daughter-in-law is an honest person who works hard for your family. How uncomfortable it must be for her to hear such slander. Aren't you also throwing dirty water on your son by saying such things? No wonder your daughter-in-law wants to beat you."
"Oh, if I met someone who couldn't think straight, I'm afraid I would jump into the well right now."
Liu Xiaoru's eyes lit up and she spoke without hesitation: "Mom, I stayed up late to do embroidery and did housework day and night to support my husband's studies. My eyes are almost blinded by my hard work. You actually called me a whore. You are forcing me to die. I won't live anymore!"
Liu Xiaoru said "I don't want to live anymore" but her hands did not stop moving. She was a head taller than her mother-in-law to begin with, and she beat Wang Po without any scruples, making her cry for her parents.
Niu Niu and Gu Zhao were both very excited when they saw this. Niu Niu waved her fist and couldn't help but sighed: "This aunt is so amazing! She is such a good fighter!"
Gu Mingda took the two children and walked to Zhang Yunniang, reminding her in a low voice: "Yunniang, this woman called her daughter-in-law a whore. Her daughter-in-law was just staying in our room."
Zhang Yunniang had not thought about this before. After being reminded by her husband, she grabbed a feather duster from the house and rushed towards Wang Po, shouting:
"How dare you slander my husband! Your wife was talking to me just now, and my husband was taking care of the children in the yard. How dare you throw dirty water on my husband! I will fight you!"
The onlookers didn't find it weird that Zhang Yunniang was so eager to protect her husband.
Instead, the two young wives nodded their heads in empathy: "Just because I said a few words to other women, my mother-in-law called me a little whore. This old lady Wang really deserves a beating for her mouth!"
"Yes, Mr. Gu has been taking care of the children in the yard. It's not like she didn't see when Granny Wang came. How could she still have the nerve to accuse her of stealing someone else? It's really too much!"
With the addition of Zhang Yuniang, public opinion in the courtyard immediately began to blame Wang Po.
Mrs. Wang was pinned down and beaten by two young women, and she once again let out a roar like a pig being slaughtered.
But no matter how loudly she screamed, even people from other courtyards heard the noise and came to watch the fun, her good son Wang Yaozu was still "studying hard" with a book in the house, with no intention of standing up for his mother at all.
Mrs. Wang could only flee in panic again. Before she left, her hair was disheveled and there was a bald spot on the top of her head. No one knew who had torn her hair off in the chaos. There were several blood marks on her face and her coat was torn.
Fortunately, it is late autumn now and people have more clothes to wear, otherwise Wang Po would have to go back with her arms exposed.
Liu Xiaoru had been busy cleaning up her mother-in-law for so long that she was already out of breath. Even if she didn't want to go back to that home, she couldn't stay with someone else forever. She held the broom, glanced at Zhang Yuniang, and walked towards the backyard resolutely.
Mrs. Wang returned to her rented house in a disheveled state, thinking that her son would say a few words of sympathy.
Unexpectedly, Wang Yaozu's face darkened and he accused, "I asked you to call the people back, why did you go out and fight with others again?"
This house is full of students preparing for the imperial examinations. Although Wang Yaozu has always been proud of his knowledge, he still has to be on guard against someone passing the exam, as such people can become his connections in the future.
Wang Yaozu had been very dissatisfied with his mother before. Not only did she fight with him at home, but she also went out to fight with others, which made him lose face.
Mrs. Wang shrank her neck and said, "It was your wife who started the trouble! She got involved with the wife of Gu Tongsheng in front and didn't plan to go home! I was so angry that I wanted to argue with her, but I didn't expect your wife to be so bold and beat me up as soon as she saw me. Look, I have all the brunt of her beatings!"
Mrs. Wang downplayed the incident and put all the blame on her daughter-in-law.
Outside the house, Liu Xiaoru heard everything and rushed in angrily with a broom in hand: "You slander me again! You are forcing me to die, I won't live anymore!"
Mrs. Wang was quite experienced. She dodged in a hurry the moment she saw the broom, but she forgot to pull her son back. Wang Yaozu had never faced such a chaotic scene before, and was hit on the head and screamed in pain.
This made Mrs. Wang very distressed. She shouted "my son" on the spot and held Wang Yaozu in her arms to comfort him.
"Liu, are you crazy? You even dare to hit your husband. You are really rebellious!" Mrs. Wang accused.
Wang Yaozu had never suffered such hardship. He usually just watched the quarrel between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law as fun. But now that the blame really fell on him, Wang Yaozu's anger grew stronger and stronger. He stared at Liu Xiaoru fiercely, wishing he could eat her alive.
When Liu Xiaoru saw this look, she felt frightened, but she also finally became sadly convinced that her husband was really the kind of wolf who would kill his wife.
She was being plotted against anyway, and sooner or later they would fall out. After giving up on her husband, Liu Xiaoru had no scruples. She smashed the broom at her husband and yelled, "You're on your mother's side too. You also think I'm not a faithful wife! Who have I worked so hard for all these years?"
The mother and son hugged each other, and this time they were hit together.
Wang Yaozu stood up from Wang Po's arms and reached out to pull the broom from Liu Xiaoru's hand.
Huh?
Wang Yaozu pulled several times, but the broom was still tightly held in Liu Xiaoru's hand.
Liu Xiaoru never expected that she was actually stronger than her husband!
(End of this chapter)
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