Chapter 18 That vicious woman who killed her husband!
Wang Lao Er could also hear this pitiful scream from inside his house.
"What's going on?" Wang Lao Er was stunned and looked towards the source of the sound.
Granny Wang's expression changed, but she didn't panic: "It looks like it's the eldest son's daughter. Could it be that Chunni was beaten by the eldest son? Sigh! Really, that eldest son, he never listens to anything I say. Come on, let's go take a look, just in case he really hurts her, I don't have the money to buy him another one."
Granny Wang had five children in total. All three daughters married out of the village, while her two sons remained in the village. The eldest son, Dazhu, had a bad temper and liked to drink. After getting married, he separated from the family and built a new house in the east of the village. The second son, Erzhu, was relatively mild-mannered and listened to Granny Wang the most. Therefore, after her husband died, she lived with him, intending for him to take care of her in her old age.
Wang Erzhu hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the inner room and asked his mother, "Then, what about her?"
Granny Wang snorted coldly: "Lock her inside, don't let her run around."
The Wang family's mud-brick house wasn't big; it had three rooms in one entrance. The middle room was the main room, the east room was where Erzhu lived, and the west room was where Granny Wang lived. Chu Yanxi overheard the conversation between the mother and son inside the house, opened the door, and came out: "Mom, Second Brother, take me to see them."
Chu Yanxi felt very heavy-hearted at this moment.
Chunni was beaten? Why did she let out such a desperate scream? Did she, as the book says, fight back and kill her drunken husband? Since God sent her to this world, she has a responsibility to save Chunni.
She had to go and see what was going on.
Wang Erzhu felt a pang of sympathy for his newly acquired wife: "You're still recovering from childbirth, so don't let the cold wind blow on you. Just stay inside and don't go anywhere."
Granny Wang grabbed Chu Yanxi's wrist: "Want to see some excitement? Then go and see! See how those unruly and disobedient wives in our village who can't bear sons get beaten by their husbands!"
When Granny Wang heard a scream from the east end of the village, she was convinced that her eldest son had gotten drunk again and was beating his wife. She decided to take Chu Yanxi, her newly bought daughter-in-law, to get some education so that she would know her place and work diligently at home to serve her and her son.
Chu Yanxi was pulled along by Granny Wang, stumbling out of the house and mingling with the surging crowd.
Villagers surged in from all directions, their faces filled with fear, curiosity, and even a hint of secret excitement. She searched for Lu Zhe in the chaos and soon spotted him on the other side of the crowd—Li Wenshu, who looked like a cadre, was also limping along behind.
Their eyes met briefly again.
This time, Lu Zhe learned his lesson and hid his complicated emotions in his heart, nodding slightly at her.
Chu Yanxi shook her head, indicating to Lu Zhe not to acknowledge her yet.
A crowd gathered in front of a particularly dilapidated mud-brick house. The house was so low it almost seemed to sink into the ground, and the walls were cracked, barely patched up with mud. The wooden door was askew, and a crowd of people had already gathered around it, discussing the matter animatedly.
"Make way! Make way! The clan chief is here!" someone shouted.
An elderly man with white hair and beard, leaning on a cane, walked in, surrounded by several middle-aged men. The villagers automatically made way for him.
Chu Yanxi was forcibly dragged to the front by Granny Wang, and the sight before her made her gasp for breath.
On the earthen bed, a burly middle-aged man lay supine in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open, his face frozen in shock and rage. A deep, long wound ran down his neck, the flesh torn and bleeding profusely, a gruesome sight.
Beside the corpse, a emaciated, ragged young woman huddled in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed). She looked to be under thirty, but the long years of hardship had aged her and made her appear haggard. At this moment, her eyes stared blankly ahead, as if her soul had been ripped away, her right hand gripping a blood-stained woodcutter's knife tightly.
This is Chunni.
Chu Yanxi transmigrated into the book too late! After suffering domestic violence for a long time, Chunni fought back tonight to protect her daughter from being sold and has killed her husband.
"That damned, wicked woman—" Granny Wang nearly collapsed, screaming, "She killed my eldest son!"
Granny Wang never expected that the person who died was her own eldest son!
With her son, whom she had carried for ten months, dead before her eyes, Granny Wang could no longer care about Chu Yanxi. She stumbled into the house, raised her hand and started hitting and pinching Chunni, her voice shrill like a file tearing at everyone's ears: "I'll beat you to death, you vicious woman! I'll beat you to death!"
The crowd erupted in uproar, and the sound of anger rose instantly.
"A life for a life!"
"Kill this wicked woman!"
"The Wang family has wasted their time raising you! You ungrateful wretch!"
The villagers were furious, and several hot-blooded young men had already grabbed sticks and hoes, ready to rush in and drag Chunni out.
Chu Yanxi was deeply shaken. Despite having witnessed countless crime scenes, seeing firsthand the horrific scene of a woman driven to desperation killing her abuser still tugged at her heartstrings.
Chu Yanxi's professional instincts allowed her to quickly assess the scene: Chunni's cheeks and arms were covered in bruises, some of which had scabbed over, while others were still fresh, which were typical characteristics of someone who had suffered long-term domestic violence.
The body was not yet stiff, so the time of death should not have been long. The wound lacked obvious spurting arterial blood, the blood color was abnormal, and the amount of fresh blood spurting at the scene was extremely small, which is inconsistent with the scene of death due to excessive blood loss after being stabbed! Upon closer inspection, Wang Dazhu's face was bluish, and there seemed to be filth around his mouth and nose.
Based on the above, Chu Yanxi concluded that Wang Dazhu's cause of death was more likely suffocation due to vomit after drinking alcohol.
"Quiet down!" The clan chief, known as Old Man Wang, slammed his cane heavily on the ground, his voice authoritative.
The crowd quieted down a little, and even Granny Wang, exhausted, slid down to the ground, stroking her son's body and shedding tears.
"The clan elders will handle this." Old Man Wang glanced around, his gaze landing on Chunni on the kang (heated brick bed), cold and ruthless. "Do it according to the rules."
Chu Yanxi's heart tightened. She knew that in this closed clan society, following the rules often meant vigilante justice. Chunni might not live to see a legal trial; she would likely be executed by the angry villagers.
Her gaze swept across the crowd, searching for Lu Zhe.
Squeezed at the back of the crowd, Lu Zhe stared intently at Chunni on the kang (a heated brick bed), his face deathly pale and his lips trembling slightly. His gaze carried a deeper, more painful resonance, as if he were seeing his own unbearable past through Chunni.
"This...this is too much, too much!" Lu Zhe muttered, wanting to rush forward to stop the villagers' actions.
Li Wenshu tugged at him, his face anxious, signaling him not to say anything more.
"Drag her out!" Old Man Wang ordered.
Several burly men rushed forward and roughly dragged Chunni off the kang (a heated brick bed). Chunni offered no resistance and was dragged to the center of the yard like a rag doll, where she was thrown onto the muddy ground. The wood-chopping knife she had been clutching fell to the side with a clatter.
"Speak! Why did you kill him?" Old Man Wang demanded sternly.
Chunni slowly raised her head, her empty eyes sweeping over the villagers watching, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "He... he's going to sell the girl to buy wine..."
There was a moment of silence in the crowd.
"You killed someone for this?" Granny Wang shrieked. "That little brat was a worthless piece of trash, we sold her and that's fine! And you actually killed my son for this!"
These words were like a fuse that ignited the villagers' anger once again.
"You don't know what's good for you!"
"You vile woman! You should be drowned!"
Burn her!
Stones and clods of earth began to rain down on Chunni. She curled up, neither dodging nor avoiding them, her eyes still vacant.
Chu Yanxi's brain was working at lightning speed.
She had to stop this, but she was too weak to save anyone. She looked at Lu Zhe, signaling him to handle the situation.
Lu Zhe took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said a few words to Li Wenshu. Li Wenshu hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
"Fellow villagers, I am Li Dingcheng, the clerk of the township government." Li Dingcheng raised his voice, "Since someone has died, the person should be handed over to the government for handling, not executed privately."
“Li Wenshu, this is a matter for my Wang family,” Old Man Wang said firmly. “In Wang Family Village, clan rules supersede the law! This vicious woman murdered her husband; it is an outrage against humanity and must be dealt with according to the rules of our ancestors!”
"Yes! Do it the old way!" the villagers echoed in unison.
Chu Yanxi observed that not all the villagers looked indignant. Some women had mixed feelings, and some showed a hint of sympathy, but no one dared to speak up.
“Old Wang,” Li Wenshu tried to reason with him, “this is a new society now, we can’t just resort to vigilante justice all the time. This should be reported to the police and let them handle it.”
"Call the police? By the time they arrive from the village, it'll be too late!" roared a burly man with a fierce face. "We're going to make her pay with her life today!"
The situation was on the verge of erupting. Chu Yanxi knew he had to do something to buy time.
"Wait!" Her voice was clear and powerful, standing out starkly in the noise.
Everyone looked at the unfamiliar young woman in surprise.
"Who are you?" Old Man Wang squinted.
"This, this is my new wife," Wang Lao Er hurriedly explained, reaching out to pull Chu Yanxi back.
Chu Yanxi shook off his hand and looked directly at Old Man Wang: "Old man, I know a little about medicine. I think my brother's death was a bit suspicious, it doesn't seem like he was simply hacked to death."
"What do you mean?" Old Man Wang frowned.
As she stood there for a while, Chu Yanxi's lower abdominal pain intensified. Her face turned pale, but she endured the pain and walked towards the corpse. Seeing that this outsider was not afraid of the corpse and walked towards her step by step, the villagers unconsciously made way for her.
Chu Yanxi bent down to examine the body, walked around the room, observed the bloodstains on the kang (a heated brick bed), and finally looked up: "The deceased's face was bluish-purple, and his eyes were wide open. He must have been dead drunk, and when he vomited, his trachea was blocked, and he suffocated to death..."
Before Chu Yanxi could finish speaking, Granny Wang jumped up and slapped Chu Yanxi across the face, making her stagger and almost fall. "Who gave you permission to speak, you old hag? Do you have any right to speak here? What do you mean, 'suffocated'? Chunni killed the eldest son!"
Chu Yanxi stood still, one hand resting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), gritting her teeth inwardly. This body was too weak; even though she was quite skilled, she couldn't resist at this moment.
Granny Wang didn't give Chu Yanxi a chance to speak again. She dragged her out of the house, shoved her into Wang Lao Er's arms, and glared at her, yelling, "This is the wife you bought! You better keep an eye on her and don't let her run around. If she disobeys, you can beat her!"
Wang Lao Er, who always obeyed his mother, raised his hand and slapped Chu Yanxi: "You damned woman, behave yourself!"
Lu Zhe wanted to rush over, but was stopped by Chu Yanxi's calm gaze.
He knew what she meant: the situation was unclear, so don't act rashly.
Looking at Chu Yanxi's swollen cheeks and pale lips, Lu Zhe felt as if his heart was being pulled back and forth by something, a sour, bitter, and painful feeling.
She is such a rational person.
She looked so weak.
But why is she so strong?
In this remote mountain village with its strong preference for sons and strict clan rules, how much pressure must she, a woman and a newlywed bride bought into the family, have faced by voluntarily standing up to challenge authority? She is clearly a calm and rational person, so why would she stand up for Chunni when she herself is in dire straits?
Knowing it's impossible, yet still doing it, what drives Chu Yanxi to bravely move forward?
Even Chu Yanxi stepped forward, so Lu Zhe certainly couldn't fall behind; he had to fight for Chunni's life.
He stepped forward, showing his work ID and an official research letter stamped with the official seal: "Fellow villagers, my name is Lu Zhe, a writer from the Provincial Writers Association. I'm here to visit the village to learn about the changes in the mountain village since the reform and opening up. It's still uncertain whether Chunni killed the person. Your unauthorized use of torture is illegal and will implicate the entire village. How about this: let's conduct a preliminary investigation first. If it's confirmed that she killed the person, then we'll report it to the police."
Old Man Wang pondered for a moment, then looked at the other clan elders and exchanged opinions in hushed tones.
Taking advantage of this moment, Chu Yanxi shifted her gaze to Chunni and saw that her originally empty eyes were now filled with a deathly stillness.
Chu Yanxi had seen those eyes on Zhang Ya's face before the explosion.
Chu Yanxi's heart sank.
Chunni's condition is extremely dangerous, not only physically but also mentally. Long-term domestic violence has destroyed her will to live. Killing her husband with a kitchen knife had exhausted all her courage and strength. At this moment, she is likely already resigned to death and doesn't care how the villagers will judge or execute her.
At this moment, village chief Wang Guofu also stepped forward.
He was a middle-aged man who had received some education, was knowledgeable, and understood the authority of the law. However, in this mountain village where clan power was strong, he had very little say.
The discussion among the clan elders finally yielded a result.
Perhaps it was Li Wenshu's identity and the bright red official seal on Lu Zhe's letter that had a certain deterrent effect, coupled with the village chief's persuasion, that made Old Man Wang speak with a cold face: "Alright, then let's give Li Wenshu and Writer Lu some face. Lock this poisonous woman in the ancestral hall first, and tomorrow invite the sorceress to come and ask the ancestors. If it really was Dazhu's wife who killed her, then murder must be paid for with her life!"
At this point, he slammed his cane heavily on the ground: "There's no need to call the police. We'll handle our village's affairs ourselves!"
Granny Wang plopped down on the ground and began to throw a tantrum, rolling on the ground and wailing, "Why did you call the police? Murderers should pay with their lives! This vicious woman is so cruel! My eldest son, my eldest son was hacked to death by her! Such a vicious woman must die!"
Most of the people in this village are surnamed Wang, and the families are large. The villagers are united and all join in the commotion.
"Pay with your life! Pay with your life!"
"Let her die!"
"Burn her to death!"
Old Man Wang raised his dragon-headed cane, the symbol of the clan leader, tracing an arc in the air. His wrinkled face, illuminated by the flickering torchlight, exuded an indescribable sense of authority: "When the shaman arrives tomorrow, the truth will be revealed. Lock the person in the ancestral hall first!"
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