Chapter 34 My Daughter is My Own (Part 4) A Guide to Pampering My Wife and Daughter...
After watching the commotion for a while, Third Aunt and Aunt Wang saw the crowd disperse and quickly gathered two of their friends around Song Ce, whispering, "Ce boy, tell your Third Aunt, what did you see last time? Why are they all following that slut... your Aunt Li to the hospital?"
Several middle-aged women around them also had curious and gossipy expressions on their faces.
Seeing this, Song Ce hesitated and said, "Third Aunt...is this not appropriate? My Aunt Li isn't here. Is it okay for me to say these things?"
“What’s inappropriate? You’re too honest, Ce. Where do you think the gossip in your family came from? Let me be frank with you, it’s most likely that… your Aunt Li started it.”
Upon hearing this, Song Ce looked incredulous: "No way, Aunt Li and my family have a pretty good relationship, don't we?"
“Silly child, it’s not that we have a good relationship with your family… Here’s what you’re saying, you can tell your auntie in secret, if you can’t trust others, can’t you trust your third aunt, Aunt Wang and me?” an older woman said.
“Aunt Qi, how could I dare! Here’s what happened. That day, I took my Qiulan to the hospital, and I happened to see my Aunt Li walking out of the obstetrics and gynecology department. She was on the phone when she came out, talking about something like marriage. It must be that Aunt Li’s son is getting married.”
"What? Obstetrics and Gynecology?" Aunt Qi and Aunt Wang exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with a strange light. "Young man, and then?"
"And then? Then I saw my Uncle Qian and Uncle Wen at the hospital entrance, all bundled up so thickly I almost didn't recognize them," Song Ce said seriously.
"Young man, you're still too young!" A few nosy aunties laughed and retreated to the back to chirp crickets.
"If I remember correctly, that old man's son is already engaged, right? The wedding is at the end of this year, isn't it?" Aunt A said.
"That's right! You can't tell just because the kid is young, but that old hag is probably calling someone! Her husband isn't that old, and she's dressed like a vixen all the time. Who is she hooking up with?" Aunt B asked.
“It must be someone from our village. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that old man’s belly looks bigger than it did in the summer,” Aunt C said excitedly.
"We can't say for sure. Didn't you see how she acted like a vixen at noon, twisting her waist and touching her belly? You tell me..." Aunt D left a foreshadowing.
"What else could it be? The old clam is about to lay a pearl! Her son will have just gotten married, and this old woman will have given birth to a little one. That'll be a laughing stock!" Aunt E said with a smug look on her face.
"I knew she'd been coming out so often lately, swaying her hips and twisting her waist. Turns out she's trying to find a ready-made father for the child in her belly and force someone to marry her!" Aunt Qi chuckled.
These middle-aged women thought they had already lowered their voices, but Song Ce could still hear them clearly. Seeing this, Aunt Song San didn't want Song Ce, a grown man, to be sitting there holding a child and listening to gossip, so she quickly said, "Ce, let's go home. I'll pick up Xiao Zheng's books while I'm at it."
"It's alright, Third Aunt, I'll just deliver it to Xiao Zheng and Aunt Wang's third sister tomorrow."
"Oh, that's great! Thank you so much!" Auntie San and Aunt Wang said with smiles.
"Okay, aunties, I'll head home now. I think Rou Rou is asleep," Song Ce said.
"Ce boy, hurry back! Rou is still so young! Don't let her catch a cold," the group of middle-aged women said in a few words.
Song Ce carried Song Rou slowly back home. With his omniscient perspective, he naturally knew where the rumors had originated. Although Song's father was a bit of a womanizer, he wouldn't do anything to betray his wife. When Aunt Li's scheme failed, she naturally couldn't say anything good about him. As the saying goes, hatred extends to the house and its crows; the one who started those gossips was none other than Aunt Li, now subjected to the rumors from the "Auntie's Intelligence Station."
As the saying goes, a lie repeated a hundred times becomes the truth. Repetition is definitely a powerful force, which is the origin of the famous Goebbels effect. Even if the information is initially false, people may gradually accept and believe it.
Just like in the original life, once, twice, three times... the more times it was repeated, the more it destroyed not only the marriage, but the entire family.
So, with Song Ce's "unintentional revelation" and "slight guidance," these busybodies started analyzing the situation one after another. In just two or three days, rumors about Aunt Li spread like wildfire in the village, directly overshadowing the theory that Song Ce's daughter was not his biological daughter, and the rumors were only growing stronger.
By the time Aunt Li realized it, the busybody had already asked the question with a look of amusement.
"What did you say?" Aunt Li exclaimed in shock and anger, "You bunch of heartless bastards, what nonsense are you spouting? I've lived an innocent life, how could I possibly do such a thing?"
Li Feng, Aunt Li's only son, quickly pulled his agitated mother back, his face full of anger: "Mom, you know perfectly well that Qiaomei and I are getting married at the end of the year. Aren't you just making us disliked by everyone? How are we supposed to go out and interact with the villagers after this?"
"Feng, you don't even believe your own mother? Instead, you believe these gossips from the villagers?" Aunt Li was furious and punched Li Feng twice.
“Mom, it’s not that I don’t believe it… it’s just that everyone in the village is talking about it now, what can I do?” Li Feng said hesitantly.
"Oh dear! Someone help me! I don't want to live anymore! Everyone, be the judge! I raised my son from infancy, and now he dares to talk to his old mother like that! Heavens! I'd rather hang myself from the big tree at the village entrance than suffer this at home!" Aunt Li wailed, slapping her thigh as she sat there, her voice filled with anguish.
"Mom...Mom! Get up! You've made me lose all face! Is it respectable for you to act like this?" Seeing the villagers surrounding him with expressions of amusement, Li Feng said angrily, "Mom, if you don't get up, I'm never taking care of you again!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Li immediately stopped crying. These words were like a fatal blow to her. She wiped away her tears with her sleeve and followed Li Feng home step by step.
It just so happened to be lunchtime for the villagers. Seeing Li Feng angrily dragging his mother home, the dinner tables in every household became even more lively.
While serving the rice, Song's mother hummed a tune and said to Liang Qiulan, who was about to help, "Qiulan, don't bother. Go and watch over Rou'er. The rice will be ready soon."
"Yes!" Liang Qiulan responded crisply, then went back into the house to get a rattle drum to play with Song Rou.
At the dinner table, Song's mother shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth and swallowed, a relaxed smile on her face that made Song's father feel uneasy.
"Mom, is there some good news in our family? Why are you in such a good mood today?" Song Ce asked with a smile as he took the rice bowl that Liang Qiulan handed him.
"It's not our family's happy occasion, it's your Aunt Li's family's. Haven't you heard? Aunt Li is pregnant," Song's mother said mysteriously.
"Good news? What's the good news? Isn't Li Feng getting married at the end of the year?" Song Ce asked, feigning ignorance.
“You silly child, it’s not about that, it’s about your Aunt Li… who’s pregnant!” Song’s mother said with a smile.
"Cough cough..." Mr. Song, who was drinking water, choked on it and quickly swallowed it down. He said, "What nonsense are you spouting, old woman? How old is Aunt Li..."
"What do you mean I'm talking nonsense? Ce, tell your dad, last time you accompanied Qiulan to the hospital, did you see your Aunt Li?"
Meeting Liang Qiulan's questioning gaze, Song Ce calmly nodded, "I did see it. I even called out to Aunt Li, but she probably didn't hear me. She left the hospital very quickly."
"Which...which day?" Mr. Song swallowed hard and asked cautiously.
"Just half a month ago, Dad, have you forgotten?" Song Ce glanced at his father: "You were the one who took Qiu Lan and me to the station that day!"
"Oh, it was that time..." Mr. Song repeated, feeling incredibly fortunate that he hadn't impulsively agreed to accompany Aunt Li to the hospital that day. Otherwise, what a mess it would have been if his son and daughter-in-law had run into them!
After the family finished eating, Song Ce had just helped his mother clear the dishes when they heard a loud banging on the door.
"Song Ce, you brat, come out here!" Aunt Li shouted angrily at the closed door.
Song Ce and his mother exchanged a glance, then walked to the front door and opened it. Looking at Aunt Li, who had a murderous look on her face, he asked in surprise, "Aunt Li, what's wrong with you? Come in quickly."
"What's coming in? Don't pretend with me, you brat! Did you gossip about me?" Aunt Li spat and yelled.
Aunt Li had a loud voice, and soon a lot of villagers gathered at the Song family's door to watch. Some of them, who were close to Song's mother, even squeezed in from the doorway. "Aunt Li, don't talk nonsense. Ce is a cultured man and an honest man. Why would he say anything bad about you?"
Aunt Li stared intently at Song Ce. "That boy is wicked. He even bullies a widow like me. I'm his elder! How can he talk about his elders like that?"
Upon hearing this, Song's mother in the courtyard was outraged. She grabbed Song Ce and pulled him behind her, saying, "You old hag, what nonsense are you spewing? Everyone in the whole village knows my son is the most honest man. Are you trying to smear my son because you're desperate?"
The villagers were shocked to see Song's mother like this. Song's mother had a good temper and rarely got into conflicts with anyone. Her only weakness was her son. Now that Aunt Li had slandered her son in front of her, it was no wonder she couldn't stand it.
Aunt Li was furious. "A few days ago, didn't you tell Aunt Chen and the others that I went to the hospital?"
Song Ce remembered this Aunt Chen; she was Aunt Li who had been cricket fighting that day, and the foreshadowing aunt D. He had long suspected that there must be a busybody among that group of aunties who was playing both sides. Song Ce waved his hand innocently and said, "Aunt Li, you misunderstood me. When Aunt Chen asked that day, I just casually said that I saw you at the hospital that day, and Qiu Lan and I greeted you for a long time, but you ignored me. I didn't say anything else."
"It wasn't you who said it, I...I...did that?" Aunt Li said through gritted teeth.
“Aunt Li, who are you? Besides, our two families have a good relationship. We have no grudges or enemies in the past or present…” Song Ce said meaningfully.
"You...!" Aunt Li was furious at the sight of Song Ce's feigned innocent face. Did he really see her that day? Did he really not say anything? Or did he know something...? Aunt Li was lost in thought when Song Ce asked again in a gentle tone, "Aunt Li, did you hear someone say something bad to you? You've all watched me grow up, you're all elders I respect. In all these years, have you ever seen me or heard me say anything bad about anyone?"
"Exactly!" Aunt Song was the first to stand up: "Our Ce boy is such an honest and educated kid. Would he point his finger at someone and curse like a shrew like you? Let alone me, among all of us, who has ever seen Ce boy so unruly?"
"Isn't that right?" Aunt Wang also stood up to speak for Song Ce: "Everyone, be the judge. Ce used to go to school all the time. He didn't get into university, but didn't he give all the books in his house to the children in our village who are still in school? Some children couldn't do the problems, and Ce would give them serious lessons. Be honest with yourselves, which child in your family hasn't heard Ce's lessons?"
This was thanks to Song Ce, who, after coming to this world, distributed almost all of the original owner's books from childhood to adulthood to the children in the village who went to school. Naturally, those families who received books from Song Ce came out in twos and threes to speak up for him.
“Yes, Ce is not the kind of person Aunt Li described,” a villager chimed in.
"I think some people have run out of excuses, so they're trying to pin this on Ce because he's easy to bully," an aunt said meaningfully.
"Don't say that, or people will blame that bastard for it too." This was Aunt E, who had been cricketing with him last time.
These words were incredibly hurtful. Upon hearing them, Aunt Li yelled, "You old codger, what nonsense are you spewing!"
The older woman, E, retorted, "How can I compare to you? You just insist on smearing the younger generation. Tell me, why does such an honest kid like Ce only spread rumors about you instead of other people?"
The surrounding area was filled with the whispers and pointing of the villagers. Aunt E was also cursing and swearing. Several people who were on good terms with Song's mother were also speaking up for Song Ce. For a moment, Aunt Li's ears were filled with words of criticism. The string that had been taut in her mind suddenly snapped.
"It's all because he found out that I told people his daughter wasn't his child! He's deliberately getting revenge on me!" Aunt Li couldn't take it anymore and shouted.
Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.
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Author's Note: I got really into it writing, haha! If there's anything that's not quite right, please feel free to point it out. Thank you all for your support, likes, and comments! Sending you lots of love!
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