It was almost dark when Yan Qingqing and the others returned to the village. Yuan Huiniang helped Yan Qingqing out of the car.
Yan Qingqing waved her hand and said, "I'm not so old that I need someone to help me."
Yuan Huiniang could only stand aside and secretly smile. She noticed that if anyone said her mother-in-law was old, even if it wasn't said explicitly, her mother-in-law would secretly roll her eyes at that person. Although she sometimes felt that her mother-in-law should enjoy her retirement, she also knew that the family couldn't do without her mother-in-law now, as she couldn't support the family.
Just as Yan Qingqing was saying goodbye to the people riding in the oxcart, Xu Shi rushed over in a panic.
He ran while panting heavily and said, "Second sister-in-law, you're finally back! Hurry home, something's happened."
Yan Qingqing's heart skipped a beat. Only Xinniang and a few others were at home. How could the children handle something if something happened?
Without even asking what had happened at Xu's house, he ran home as fast as the wind.
Yuan Huiniang, Li Xiang'an, and Li Xiangjian were also very anxious, so they grabbed their things and ran home.
But they found that they couldn't keep up with Yan Qingqing's speed at all. Li Xiangjian even muttered, "When did Mom start running so fast?"
Yuan Huiniang was also surprised. Yan Qingqing was usually very weak, how could she run so fast?
However, with something happening at home, she didn't have time to think too much and just ran home with her head down.
Their home is located at the west end of the village, some distance from the village entrance.
Before Yan Qingqing even entered the door, she heard a man shout, "You wretched girl, I gave your family two taels of silver as a betrothal gift!"
What's wrong? You're already looking down on me before we're even married? Let me tell you, you'll be mine sooner or later, so you'd better be smart and serve me well so you can have a good life in the future.
Otherwise, I'll beat you to death!
Li Xinniang said with a sob, "I will not marry you. My mother said that your family's betrothal gifts will be returned to you later."
The man laughed arrogantly a few times and mocked, "Your widowed mother couldn't even save two taels of silver in her whole life. I heard she was quite pretty when she was young. If you're willing to come with me, I can take you and your daughter as my wives."
At this moment, Li Xiangkang's angry voice came: "Big sister, let me go! This bastard dares to insult you and Mother! I'm going to beat him to death!"
The man became even more arrogant upon hearing this, shouting, "You little brat who hasn't even grown a beard yet dares to challenge me! I'll beat you to death!"
Yan Qingqing was instantly enraged. Did this cripple really think he was easy to bully?
Then he grabbed a wooden stick from the doorway and rushed over, catching the lame man off guard and giving him a hard blow.
He casually cursed, "Let's see who dares to hit me."
Before the cripple could even see who it was, Yan Qingqing kicked him in the groin.
The lame man immediately arched his back in pain, crying out in pain.
Yan Qingqing looked at the cripple with a cold expression and said, "You came to my house to cause trouble while I was away. Do you really think I, Yan Qingqing, am easy to bully!"
Only then did the lame man realize that the person who came was his future mother-in-law.
But he'd heard that Yan Qingqing was timid and cowardly; when Old Lady Li sold Li Xinniang to him, she didn't dare utter a single word. How could she be so fierce now?
Li Xinniang and Li Xiangkang looked at Yan Qingqing with excitement; they had been truly terrified.
Now that Yan Qingqing is back, they have someone to rely on.
With tears blurring her vision, Li Xin's mother stepped forward, tugged at Yan Qingqing's sleeve, and softly called out, "Mother."
Yan Qingqing softened her expression, turned to look at Li Xinniang, patted her hand, and said, "Don't be afraid, Mother is here!"
Tears instantly streamed down Li Xinniang's face. No one knew how terrified she had been; she was truly afraid that the lame man would ruin her life.
Now that she saw her mother and heard her mother's words, her heart instantly calmed down.
After recovering from the pain, the lame man felt that being beaten by Yan Qingqing was an utter disgrace.
After regaining his composure, he shouted, "You bitch, you won't listen to reason, so I'll teach you a lesson today too!"
As she was about to hit Yan Qingqing, Yan Qingqing pushed Li Xin's mother back and said domineeringly, "Watch closely, today I'll teach you how to deal with this kind of scoundrel."
After saying that, Yan Qingqing rushed towards the lame man. Although Yan Qingqing's body was weaker now, she still remembered the kung fu moves.
With a simple grappling move and an over-the-shoulder throw, the lame man was subdued before he could even react.
Just then, Yuan Huiniang and the other two arrived home. As soon as Li Xiangjian saw his mother fighting with someone, he rushed over with a roar.
At this moment, Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangkang also picked up sticks and came over, beating the lame man until he cried out for his parents.
The commotion was so loud that villagers gradually gathered around.
Seeing the fierce looks of Yan Qingqing and her son, everyone felt a little scared, and even Old Mrs. Li hid in the crowd and dared not say a word.
The incident quickly alarmed the village chief, who, fearing a fatality, had to intervene, saying, "Nephew's wife, you must stop immediately. If you continue fighting like this, someone could die."
Yan Qingqing had vented her anger enough. She really wanted to kill this cripple, but she didn't have the power to clean up the mess right now.
Besides, she was exhausted from all that hitting, so she put down the stick, clapped her hands, and said, "Alright, stop hitting me."
The children stopped after hearing Yan Qingqing's words, and Li Xiangkang even added a kick at the end.
Li Kaishan coughed lightly, pretending not to notice, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yan Qingqing then embellished her story and recounted what she saw when she got home.
When the villagers of Canghe Village heard that this cripple was so shameless, they all began to condemn him for being shameless.
The lame man was so frightened by Yan Qingqing and the others that he just sat on the ground, covering his face and grimacing.
Upon seeing this, Yan Qingqing said, "Uncle Village Chief, you also watched our Xinniang grow up. She is a well-behaved and filial child."
She's the apple of my eye; I could never marry her off to this crippled man. We must call off the engagement.
Li Kaishan hesitated. After all, marriage was a big deal. Although he felt that he shouldn't have agreed to the marriage in the first place, it wasn't his family's business.
He glanced at Old Master Li standing in the crowd. Old Master Li had taken out a tattered pipe, which wasn't smoking, took a puff, and then said, "Retreat!"
Yan Qingqing was somewhat surprised, after all, he had not objected when he arranged this marriage for Xinniang.
But then Old Mrs. Li's sharp voice rang out, "I can't stop you from announcing the engagement, but the betrothal gifts have already been spent, and I can't afford to give you any more!"
Yan Qingqing knew that the eldest son of the Li family was a bottomless pit when it came to studying, and she hadn't expected them to return the betrothal gifts.
She just couldn't stand the way Old Madam Li was acting, so she said coldly, "You were the one who decided to accept this betrothal gift. It was two taels of silver. How come it's all gone so quickly?"
Or perhaps the money was used to pay for Li Chengye's studies? If so, that would be utterly ridiculous. A scholar, unable to afford his education, had to sell his niece as a dowry. How could he ever face any scholars again?
"It's better if someone with such depraved morals doesn't pass the exam; if they did, that would be a tragedy for the people and a disgrace to our Canghe Village."
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Li turned pale with anger, pointing her finger at Yan Qingqing and stammering for a long time without being able to utter a word.
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