The first thing Xu Yuxian did upon entering the hall was to ask Qin Shi and the others to leave: "I have something to say to my two sisters-in-law. Everyone else, please go out and get some water!"
Qin and Wang Xiaoju ignored her and only looked at Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi nodded: "You can rest outside for a while. I'll let you know if anything happens."
Although the Du family had already made their intentions clear at the county government, and dared not do anything under the pretense of leniency, they still could not let their guard down.
Wang Xiaoju was quick-witted and immediately took Qin Shi and Pi Shi out, but they stood guard not far from the door.
Xu Yuxian gritted her teeth in anger: When did peasant women become so obedient?
The hall door closed, and Xu Yuxian was no longer the "whiny girl" from before. She sat upright in the main seat, exuding the air of a matriarch.
Unfortunately, her swollen face was simply unbearable to look at, making people want to burst out laughing at the sight of her.
The atmosphere in the hall was tense. Jiang Zhi stared coldly at Xu Yuxian, waiting to see how she would explain the origin of the child.
We need to find out about the male lead Nie Fantian's background, but more importantly, we need to figure out how to deal with his anger when he returns seeking revenge.
Xu Yuxian and that "son-in-law" must have had some shady dealings to send the Nie family's child to Xu Family Village to pretend to be hers.
Xu Yuxian struggled to open her eyes, which were swollen to slits, and stared pitifully at Jiang Zhi: "Since your sister-in-law has come to our door, just name your price and we'll call it a day!"
Jiang Zhi raised an eyebrow: "You need to explain yourself first. Whose child is that? What despicable things have you done outside?"
Xu Yuxian clenched her fingers: "This has nothing to do with you, don't ask any more questions!"
Beside her, Liu also said, "Xiao Lan, we've found that courtyard over there. They said it belongs to a family surnamed Nie, and that they've hired a son-in-law to live with them while running a cloth shop..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xu Yuxian interrupted her aggrievedly: "Sister Liu, that was just a run-down house I randomly found. I don't know anything about the Nie Family Cloth Shop."
"I've been away for years, and I've always missed my parents and brother, which is why I asked Genbao about them."
She didn't mention her sister-in-law. Since her parents and brother were all dead, her sister-in-law, who was not related by blood, was just an outsider.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn't have even asked the Xu family, and she wouldn't have had to be beaten by this shrew.
Seeing that Xu Yuxian was still lying, Jiang Zhi once again felt that she was brilliant.
When you encounter a tea connoisseur like this, you really need to slap them hard. At least you'll feel better when you hear their nonsense.
Liu, standing nearby, couldn't hold back any longer: "Xiao Lan, you can't say that. We're all members of the Xu family. We, as her sisters-in-law, should know whether you're doing well outside, and about the child too..."
When the topic of the child came up again, Xu Yuxian changed the subject and spoke vaguely about Nie Fantian's background: "That child shouldn't have been raised at home. He's a burden to his parents and brother. I'm deeply guilty."
If you feel it's too expensive, then I'll cover all the money you've spent over the years, including your future marriage and children.
After she finished speaking, Ma Gan Niang took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table in front of Jiang Zhi and Liu Shi: "This is fifty taels of silver, take it! You probably have never seen anything like it in your entire lives."
Xu Yuxian had initially planned to pay only a dozen or so taels of silver to get rid of her, but now that her parents and brother were gone, and her shrewish sister-in-law had come knocking on her door, slapping her repeatedly, a dozen or so taels of silver wouldn't be enough. She decided to pay her off first and then slowly get revenge later.
She laid out the silver and tried to make some expressions, but her face was so swollen that she could only continue to look pitiful: "Although I am the wife of the Du family, as a second wife, I am not well-off. I can only secretly take a little from the eldest daughter's dowry to help my family."
Her words made it sound like Jiang Zhi and the others were coming to extort money from others.
Madam Liu frowned: "We didn't come here for money. You're a second wife and you're in trouble, so we don't have to give you the money. But you have to make it clear whose child Xiaotian is!"
Xu Yuxian turned her head and said, "What does this have to do with you? Just take the money."
Jiang Zhi finally understood that Xu Yuxian had no intention of revealing Xiao Tian's identity.
That's not important; all I need to do is distance myself from it.
"You caused their families to be destroyed, their wives and children to be separated, and brought retribution upon the Xu family. You can't escape it either!" Jiang Zhi said coldly.
I don't know if Xu Yuxian is just a fool with audacity, or if she's absolutely certain she can disregard these things.
Hearing the word "retribution," she remained unmoved, instead saying sarcastically, "Sister-in-law, all you've said is that you want more money because you've worked so hard. You lost one son, now you should be happy with another one!"
Liu stood up abruptly, pointed at Xu Yuxian and said angrily, "Xiao Lan, you've changed! You've completely changed! You used to be kind-hearted and considerate, but now you've become heartless, cold-blooded and ungrateful."
Your sister-in-law has sacrificed so much for that child, and you actually say something about Da Rui... You have no conscience!
"Errui's mother, we don't want this money. We will also disown Xu Xiaolan from now on. She has no family in Xujia Village!"
There are bottom lines to being a decent person. Using Errui's mother's dead child as a pretext is something even the kindest person can't stand.
Jiang Zhi was surprised that Liu actually spoke the words of severing ties on her behalf.
Of course, it would be great if she could sever ties with Xu Yuxian; she couldn't be more wicked than Xu Yuxian.
The hatred level is maxed out, so when the male lead comes back, he'll have someone to slap in the face, instead of himself.
However, I must accept these fifty taels of silver. The original owner worked hard to raise a child, and even if the child is ungrateful, there should be some return.
Jiang Zhi grabbed the fifty taels of silver, so heavy she almost dropped it: "It feels so good to touch gold and silver!"
When Liu saw Jiang Zhi take the silver, she hurriedly said, "Er Rui Niang, this silver is dirty money, we don't want it!"
Jiang Zhi wrapped the silver in a handkerchief, then hugged it to her arms and turned to leave: "We're using the money to do good deeds, which is also helping her accumulate merit."
"When she dies, she'll have to endure the trials of climbing mountains of knives and boiling oil before the Ten Kings of Hell, and she'll suffer less in the Hell of Tongue-Pulling."
Xu Yuxian's face turned pale, and Liu was speechless.
At the door, Wang Xiaoju and the others had been waiting. Finally, Jiang Zhi came out, and they quickly came over and asked, "Auntie, have you finished talking?"
She originally wanted to ask Liu, but seeing her mother-in-law's face was as long as a bitter gourd, she decided to ask the smiling village chief instead!
Jiang Zhi nodded: "It's settled, let's go outside and talk more."
The group of people came and went like a gust of wind, leaving behind only a mess and a hospital full of injured people at the Du family's residence.
Madam Ma touched her swollen and painful face, gritting her teeth as she said, "Madam, are we just going to swallow our anger like this?"
She was actually resentful; nothing had happened, yet the lady insisted on asking.
Now that I've gotten myself into trouble and am being beaten for no reason, it's hard to say whether I'll be able to get out of this situation in the future.
Hmph, that's how it is for people from humble backgrounds—narrow-minded, short-sighted, and can't stand not showing off when they're in the limelight.
Xu Yuxian was also feeling frustrated; all of this had happened so... too quickly.
She originally intended to ask about the situation in Xujia Village, and then gradually inquire about other things.
But after just a few simple questions, only four days later, her sister-in-law from her maternal family could sense something was wrong and brought people to her door, catching her off guard and causing her to suffer a loss.
"Let's leave it at that for now, and I'll send a message to the master first!"
Xu Yuxian decided to confide in a man first, and that the little brat couldn't be kept either.
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