Pan Yinhua immediately noticed Chang Xiaohong's strange behavior. Ignoring Shen Cuiping, she went over to Chang Xiaohong and asked, "Xiaohong, what happened to your foot?"
Seeing Pan Yinhua run over, Shen Cuiping disregarded everything else, scrambled to her feet, rushed to Chang Xiaohong's side, and seemingly affectionately pulled Chang Xiaohong along, but secretly pinched her arm.
Remind her not to say anything inappropriate.
Chang Xiaohong kept her head down, not daring to look up at anyone, and whispered, "I...I fell by myself."
"Let me see." Pan Yinhua squatted down and was about to lift up Chang Xiaohong's faded trouser leg when Li Hong said, "Xiaohong, could you repeat what you just told your sister to your grandma?"
Pan Yinhua's brow twitched, and a bad premonition crept into her heart.
Afraid that Chang Xiaohong would say something, Shen Cuiping grabbed her arm and said, "What's there to say? You fell down while playing again, didn't you? Come on, let's go home with your mother."
He then tried to drag her home.
Chang Xiaohong was so frightened that her face turned pale. She looked at Pan Yinhua for help. Pan Yinhua usually seemed easygoing, but at home she was the boss and could make Shen Cuiping turn the world upside down.
She slapped Shen Cuiping on the back, pulled Chang Xiaohong over, and asked, "Xiaohong, what happened? Tell Grandma."
"What are you saying..." Shen Cuiping was about to stop her again when Li Hong stepped forward to block her, looking at Shen Cuiping with disgust in her eyes.
She already disliked Shen Cuiping, and now she wanted nothing more than to slap her a few times.
Xu Nuo had just asked Li Hong to go to the Chang family to see if she could find out anything. It wouldn't matter if she couldn't find out anything, as she didn't have high hopes, since Shen Cuiping was Chang Xiaohong's mother.
Unexpectedly, when Li Hong arrived at the Chang family's house, she saw Chang Xiaohong, who was about to go to gather pig feed. Chang Xiaohong was walking a little strangely, so Li Hong asked her a few more questions.
Unexpectedly, Chang Xiaohong hesitated, so Li Hong took notice. After learning the truth, she was so angry that she almost flew into a rage. That's why she brought Chang Xiaohong over directly.
The people who had been surrounding Xu Nuo gathered around and started asking Chang Xiaohong how she got injured.
Shen Cuiping said, "This child is just playful; he must have fallen while playing somewhere."
Few people believed her. Among the children in the village, Chang Xiaohong was the most sensible and obedient. She helped with farm work and always greeted the villagers politely.
The second wife of the Chang family liked Chang Xiaohong very much and asked, "Xiaohong, what happened? Tell your grandma and aunt."
Li Hong also walked over, squatted down in front of Chang Xiaohong, took her hand, and looked into her eyes: "Xiaohong, tell your grandma what you just told me, don't be afraid."
Shen Cuiping lifted the cuff of Chang Xiaohong's trousers, revealing a red and swollen patch on her knee. She asked in a trembling voice, "Xiaohong, what happened? Tell Grandma."
Chang Xiaohong looked up and quickly glanced at Shen Cuiping.
Shen Cuiping stared at her with eyes like a venomous snake, giving her a warning look.
Chang Xiaohong steeled her heart and said, "Yes, it was my mother who hit me."
The story begins last night.
Shen Cuiping called Chang Xiaohong back to her room to sleep. Chang Xiaohong had just finished chatting with Xu Nuo and was feeling a little excited, so she couldn't sleep. She asked Shen Cuiping, "Mom, can I go to the city when I grow up?"
Shen Cuiping was changing clothes and had no time to pay attention to her. She said impatiently, "Go to sleep."
Chang Xiaohong, who was still awake, stared at the dress her mother had changed into and asked curiously, "Mother, where are you going so late?"
Shen Cuiping's words were evasive: "Your grandfather said there's work to be done in the melon field, and he wants me to go. I... I want to go and earn work points."
Chang Xiaohong was a sensible and filial child. As soon as she heard that Shen Cuiping was going to work, she quickly got up and said, "Mom, I'll go with you. I can help you with the work."
Unexpectedly, Shen Cuiping slapped her on the head and muttered, "You brat, go to sleep, or I'll beat you up."
Shen Cuiping often scolded her behind closed doors, but Chang Xiaohong wasn't too scared. She obediently lay down, her gaze still fixed on Shen Cuiping's skirt: "Mother, it's not easy to do chores like this?"
She found it strange. This dress was her mother's favorite, and she usually couldn't bear to wear it. What a pity if she wore it to work and it got ruined.
She thought her mother didn't understand because her mother rarely went out to work, and she was trying to kindly remind her.
Once her mother realized how good she was, she stopped hitting and scolding her so often.
Shen Cuiping kept waiting for Chang Xiaohong to fall asleep, but she couldn't see her fall asleep no matter how long she waited. Annoyed by the questions coming one after another, she angrily pulled her off the bed and skillfully covered her mouth with her other hand.
The foot, still wearing a shoe, kicked Chang Xiaohong's leg hard.
Chang Xiaohong didn't dare to cry out. She gritted her teeth and sobbed, "I'll sleep, Mom, I'll sleep right away."
Shen Cuiping then released her, her face contorted with malice, and said, "If you don't sleep now, I'll beat you to death."
Chang Xiaohong was afraid of being beaten to death, so she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep even though she didn't want to. She stayed awake until Shen Cuiping left, but she didn't dare to open her eyes.
She was afraid of being beaten.
When Chang Xiaohong told Pan Yinhua this, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and almost fainted.
It is said that even tigers do not eat their cubs, yet Shen Cuiping actually treated Xiao Hong with such cruelty.
Moreover, Xiao Hong's statement coincided with Xu Nuo's.
Pan Yinhua turned around and slapped Shen Cuiping hard across the face, cursing, "You, Shen Cuiping, how dare you..."
She paused for a moment, then changed her words: "How dare you mistreat my granddaughter! Come back with me, and I'll beat you to death."
As she spoke, she grabbed Shen Cuiping's hair and made a move to drag her home: "Come on, let's go back."
If Shen Cuiping and Pan Yinhua go back to their hometown and talk things out in private, the Chang family won't lose face.
Unfortunately, Shen Cuiping was afraid of being beaten, so she refused to go back and lay on the ground making a scene, thinking that she could escape this calamity.
Just then, someone ran up shouting, "Something's wrong! Something's wrong, Captain!"
Despite his seemingly simple and honest nature, Nobunaga was actually quite shrewd. He had already seen through Shen Cuiping's scheme and was eager to take her back. He asked Duan San, who had interrupted him, with a hint of annoyance, "What happened?"
Duan San said loudly, "There's a drunkard at the village entrance who keeps saying he's coming to Luxian Village to find his old flame."
Chang Youxin jumped up in anger and said, "What old flame? Get him out of here right now!"
As soon as he said that, a drunk man reeking of alcohol appeared in the crowd, staggering as he walked.
Gao Aimin didn't know how he got there. All along the way, someone kept reminding him that his old flame in Luxian Village missed him.
Hearing this, Gao Aimin also began to miss the taste of Shen Cuiping.
He squinted and mumbled, "No... I'm not leaving. I'm here to find my Cuiping. Cuiping, come with me to the grass field. I'll make you feel good... Ouch!"
Chang Youxin, his face full of anger, kicked Gao Aimin.
Shen Cuiping, who had been standing to the side, was so frightened that her face turned ashen, and she fainted.
How could anyone let her go?
A bucket of cold water was poured over her, and Shen Cuiping opened her eyes a crack. Seeing that she was surrounded by people, she pretended to faint again.
The second wife of the Chang family rushed up and slapped her twice, making her cry out.
Chang's second wife said, "She's awake."
At this moment, the winds shifted completely. The people who had come to capture Xu Nuo with great momentum now all looked at Shen Cuiping with fierce expressions.
There was disdain, and also anger at being mocked.
The opera had ended there, so Xu Nuo packed up her textbooks and walked with Li Hong and Xu Yan toward the educated youth dormitory.
Although things have taken a dramatic turn for the better, Xu Yan still feels lingering fear when he thinks about what just happened, and his hand holding Xu Nuo trembles slightly.
Her hands were thin and calloused from farm work, her palms rough and her fingertips calloused. The moisturizing oil Xu Nuo gave her had improved them a lot. She sighed softly, "I never imagined that Shen Cuiping was such a vicious person."
He falsely accused her and mistreated his own daughter.
Li Hong was also full of anger: "Poor Chang Xiaohong, she didn't dare to say anything even after being beaten. When I went to find her today, she was even preparing to go and gather pig feed."
Xu Nuo felt a pang of sadness when she thought of that sensible and well-behaved child. She didn't want to stay there because she didn't want to see the Chang family lose face.
Her hand tightened, and Xu Nuo turned her head. Xu Yan was also looking over at her: "Nuonuo, pack your things and go back to the city."
After what happened, no matter what the truth is in the end, Xu Nuo and the Chang family can never be the same as before.
Xu Nuo gently shook hands with him and nodded. She planned to take Xu Yan back to the educated youth dormitory and then return to the city herself.
Seeing that Xu Yan and Li Hong looked sad and dejected, Xu Nuo blinked her big eyes, put on a high-pitched voice, and said to the two of them in an exaggeratedly sweet voice, "Honghong, Yanyan, thank you for believing in me, I'm so touched, waaaaaah!"
The man following far behind paused, shook his head with a hint of helplessness, and finally a smile appeared on his cold, hard face.
Xu Nuo kept whimpering. If Li Hong hadn't been carrying Xu Yan on her back, she would have given the two of them a bear hug.
What was supposed to be a very emotional statement turned into a laugh when she said it. Li Hong said, "Okay, okay, Miss, you're really something today, all sorts of things to say. You even know to call the police. Where are the police?"
Xu Nuo said helplessly, "When would I have time to call the police? It's just a bluff."
Those people went straight to the classroom and caught her red-handed. No one could call the police for her; it was just something they said to scare them.
After all, the villagers are feudalistic. What if they don't listen to her arguments and insist on tying her up and drowning her in the pond?
Xu Yan blushed slightly and asked in a low voice, "Nuonuo, did you see Shen Cuiping last night... that... you know?"
Xu Nuo shook her head: "No, I just saw her going out wearing a skirt."
Actually, I saw everything.
But Gao Aimin hadn't arrived yet, so she couldn't bring herself to say that Shen Cuiping had cheated on her husband. If she did, everyone would start investigating who the adulterer was.
Shen Cuiping was hoping no one would know, so that she could deny it and no one could do anything about it.
Xu Nuo couldn't very well say that she had also gone out last night, walked very close, and even listened for a while, so she knew that the person was Gao Aimin from Gaoshan Village, could she?
If the adulterer is unknown, everyone will suspect the men in the village.
Given Li Xian's situation in Luxian Village, the villagers might very well target him without distinguishing right from wrong.
That's why she kept rambling on and on until Gao Aimin appeared and let him say it himself.
This way, Shen Cuiping has nowhere to run, and no one else will be implicated.
Xu Nuo only brought a few clothes with her, leaving most of them with Li Xian. She didn't have much to pack, so she sat with Xu Yan in the educated youth dormitory for a while.
Xu Nuo looked left and right but couldn't see the cup, so she asked Xu Yan, "Where is your cup?"
"cup?"
"Hmm, where is it?"
"That one over there has a hole in it."
Xu Nuo walked over and pretended to pour water from her own cup, filling it to the brim.
Her eyes were full of smiles. The water from the flowers and plants, which used to fall in drops, was now flowing into a small stream.
Xu Yan, sitting in the back, didn't see it, but smelled a familiar fragrance and murmured, "It smells so good."
Xu Nuo turned around and handed the cup to her. Xu Yan looked a little serious and asked, "Nuonuo, what is this?"
Herbal teas are extremely rare on the black market. Others may not know why, but Xu Yan knows very well that she and Luo Chen were the ones who collected them. They were just ordinary herbal teas, but they became different after passing through Xu Nuo's hands.
Xu Nuo sat down on the edge of the bed, opened her hand towards Xu Yan, and water splashed instantly from her palm.
Xu Yan thought she was seeing things and rubbed her eyes: "This?"
"I don't know what happened either, that's just how it is." Xu Nuo shrugged, her big eyes looking innocent, which softened Xu Yan's heart. She took Xu Nuo's hand and earnestly advised, "Nuonuo, this matter is too unusual. It's not that I think it's bad, but if others find out, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to you. With your abilities, what if people find out and have bad intentions?"
Xu Nuo smiled sweetly: "Mm!"
…
After drinking several buckets of cold water and being punched and kicked by someone, Gao Aimin finally sobered up a bit.
After seeing everything around me clearly, my heart sank.
He looked at Chang Youxin: "B-Captain, what's going on?"
A tall, strong man next to him kicked Gao Aimin in the face and spat, "Adulterer, how dare you come to our Luxian Village to cause trouble."
Pan Yinhua went back and never came back. Shen Cuiping would grab onto Chang Youxin's trouser leg and cry her heart out: "Father-in-law, father-in-law, please save me! I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"
As soon as Shen Cuiping cried out her innocence, Gao Aimin also began to wail in perfect unison: "Injustice! What happened? How did I wake up in Luxian Village? You've framed me! Someone's framed me! I didn't do anything with Shen Cuiping! Help... Ouch!"
Someone kicked Gao Aimin in the face, right at his teeth. Gao Aimin couldn't dodge in time and had two front teeth knocked out instantly.
Ignoring the pain, Gao Aimin cried even louder: "I'm innocent! I don't know how I got here, Captain! Please believe me! Please believe me! I really didn't do it!"
Whether it was true or not, everyone already knew the answer. At this moment, they remained silent, only concerned about Chang Youxin's unpleasant expression.
We still have to give the captain face.
Chang Youxin, enraged, kicked Shen Cuiping aside and said to the crowd, "Tie up these adulterers."
This was a public trial of a woman who had been defiled. Everyone became excited. Gao Xiaoyun and the second wife of the Chang family, who had been cheering the loudest for Shen Cuiping, quickly tied Shen Cuiping's hands behind her back and showed no mercy despite her screams and cries. They bound her hands and feet together with a rope.
Gao Aimin was already beaten black and blue, his missing teeth were covered in blood, and he couldn't even beg for mercy clearly. He was spitting out bloody foam as he spoke. Gao Aishan's son kicked him hard, and he fainted from the pain.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com