Chapter 192 Dead End
In just half a month, Liu Huazhi has become much thinner. Her thin winter clothes look loose on her body, as if she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
The wounds from the rat bites showed no signs of healing, leaving his face, hands, and ankles a bloody mess, inflamed and festering, looking quite horrific.
Not a single relative came to pick them up. The two constables on either side were not surprised and gently nudged Liu Huazhi: "Let's go."
Liu Huazhi walked forward with heavy steps, passing through narrow, dark, and unlit alleyways, as if she had embarked on a dead end.
She was escorted to Xujiaba by two constables, looking utterly lost. Along the way, the people she encountered gave her strange looks and pointed at her.
The whispers behind her remained unchanged, her eyes lifeless, like a soulless puppet.
When the villagers saw Liu Huazhi being escorted back, their eyes were filled with undisguised disgust.
"Wasn't this woman supposed to be in jail? Why was she brought back by the officials today?"
"She's pregnant and doesn't need to squat for the time being, and you didn't know that?"
"It's none of my business. Who has time to ask about her every day!"
"Oh dear, a woman who's in jail has ruined the reputation of our village! She should be kicked out, why send her back!"
"What a tragedy! Huaining is really unlucky to have married her! There's a high chance that the child in her belly is an illegitimate one. After all, she knows Liu Erleng, and maybe she's having an affair with him. Otherwise, why would she hide him and serve him good food and drink every day?"
“That’s right. I also think she’s having an affair with Liu Erleng. Why don’t we go to the clan chief and ask him to kick her out? This kind of scourge should be left to fend for itself.”
"..."
The villagers of Xujiaba humiliated Liu Huazhi to the extreme, wishing she didn't exist in the village, and their words were full of sympathy for Xu Huaining.
At this moment, the clan chief, supported by his grandson, hurriedly arrived.
Upon seeing the emaciated Liu Huazhi, he was startled. After observing her carefully for a while to confirm it was indeed Liu Huazhi, he managed a weak smile and bowed to the two constables.
"You two officers have worked hard. Please come with me to my home for some tea."
After walking a long way, the two constables realized that there was no profit to be made in Xujiaba and they didn't care for the tea served at the clan chief's house, so they waved their hands impatiently: "No need, old man, please lead the way."
Seeing this, the clan chief could not force them and could only lead them towards Xu Laosan's house.
More and more villagers gathered along the way, and by the time they reached Xu Laosi's house, the entire village had arrived.
Hearing the noise outside, Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua, who were huddled inside the house, wanted to pretend they weren't home.
But they dared not offend the two constables escorting Liu Huazhi.
Finally, Feng Lianhua came out with a dark face, opened her dilapidated courtyard gate, gave the two constables a fawning smile, and then glared fiercely at Liu Huazhi:
"You little bitch, what are you doing back here if you're not going to die in jail!"
Liu Huazhi remained expressionless, ignoring Feng Lianhua's insults.
The clan chief noticed the two constables' impatience and quickly stopped Feng Lianhua: "Take the person inside immediately, don't waste Master's time!"
Feng Lianhua's insults stopped abruptly, and she quickly stepped aside with a hint of obsequiousness: "Please come in, officer."
The two constables showed no intention of going in; one of them shouted:
“The criminal Liu has returned home to give birth. As her relatives, you have a duty to guard her and not allow her to leave the village even a step. If she escapes, you will be held accountable!”
Feng Lianhua had already received instructions, and upon hearing this, she nodded and bowed, saying, "I know, I know, I will definitely keep a close eye on her and not give her a chance to escape."
The constable nodded, gave some more instructions, and then left as everyone watched him go.
Feng Lianhua didn't want to see the villagers' mocking faces, so she pulled the willow branch, which looked like a wooden stake, into the yard. Without even saying hello to the clan chief, she slammed the gate shut, shutting out the strange looks from them.
The villagers were unhappy and surrounded the clan chief, all talking at once:
"Clan leader, a woman like Liu cannot be kept. Let's kick her out."
"Yes, yes, let Huaining divorce her. We can't let her ruin Huaining's future."
"Huaining is too kind-hearted to kick her while she's down and divorce her. You must stand up for Huaining and make sure she can't miss next year's imperial examination."
Ignoring the villagers' increasingly agitated voices, the clan chief gazed deeply at the tightly closed courtyard gate with his weathered eyes, sighed silently, turned and walked away from the crowd without looking back.
The villagers who were left behind looked at each other, unsure of their clan chief's thoughts.
Inside the room, as soon as Liu Huazhi stood still, Feng Lianhua raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face: "You troublemaker, I'll beat you to death!"
Liu Huazhi's face was slapped to the side, and drops of bright red blood immediately seeped from the wound caused by the rat bite.
She didn't scream or resist; she just stood there silently, as if she weren't the one being beaten.
Seeing this, Feng Lianhua felt a surge of sadistic pleasure and raised her hand to slap the other half of his face.
"You slut, you whore, how dare you flirt with other men and get pregnant with someone else's bastard child! Today I'll teach you a lesson on how to be a wife!"
The slap was so powerful that it knocked Liu Huazhi to the ground.
Liu Huazhi lay on the cold, chicken-dung-strewn ground, her ears ringing as she couldn't hear Feng Lianhua's curses.
Immediately afterwards, Feng Lianhua began to punch and kick him.
"You slut, why don't you just die? A whore like you doesn't deserve to live! As long as you live, everyone will laugh at us and make Huaining unable to hold his head up high!"
Feng Lianhua's punches and kicks grew heavier with each blow. Unable to hear Liu Huazhi's pleas for mercy, she became increasingly dissatisfied and grabbed a nearby stool, smashing it over Liu Huazhi's body.
"If you know what's good for you, find a rope and take the bastard in your belly with you to die, so you don't tarnish Huaining's reputation by living on!"
Liu Huazhi tightly protected her stomach with both hands, as if protecting her own life.
Feng Lianhua's blows grew increasingly brutal, until finally, unable to withstand the heavy impact of the stool, she let out a painful groan: "Ugh—wooo—"
Feng Lianhua hit even harder, her eyes filled with utter malice: "You bitch, go to hell, hurry up and die, don't dirty my hands!"
Liu Huazhi finally couldn't hold back any longer. She grabbed the stool that had been thrown down and stared intently at Feng Lianhua: "I... I didn't do anything to betray Brother Huaining. The child... the child belongs to Brother Huaining!"
That night, Liu Erleng saved her and was very generous, so she did have some thoughts about him.
However, for the sake of her future, she never let Liu Erleng succeed, and the child in her womb was Huaining's child.
Feng Lianhua suddenly stopped what she was doing, her gaze falling on Liu Huazhi's lower abdomen. Her eyes flickered as she looked at Xu Laosan, who hadn't spoken a word from beginning to end: "Father of the child, perhaps..."
Why don't we wait until the baby is born? Maybe it really is their grandson.
Xu Laosi narrowed his eyes, looked at Liu Huazhi's belly, and after a long while, he made a decision.
The child cannot be kept, and this woman cannot be kept either!
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