Seeing Wang Muxiang's face swollen like a pig's head, unable to speak clearly, yet still relentlessly belittling and belittling her, Song Yueying struggled to hold back her laughter.
Standing next to her, Qi Yanjue frowned.
"Wang Muxiang, who are you talking about..." Before Song's mother could finish speaking, her wrist was grabbed by her daughter, and she promptly shut up.
Seeing her so self-aware, Song Yueying was both satisfied and pleased. Song's mother's fighting spirit was off the charts today; she was truly afraid that she would silence everyone with a single word.
If she doesn't give people a chance to speak, how will she know why these people are determined to break down her gate and barge into her yard today?
"Who am I talking about? Who else could I be talking about? I'm telling you right now, I'm talking about your shameless precious daughter." Wang Muxiang said with a face full of disdain.
"Bringing a man home for dinner in broad daylight is utterly shameless."
"You..." Song's mother was so angry that she was about to pounce on Wang Muxiang, but Song Yueying grabbed her wrist and whispered to comfort her, "Mom, calm down, don't fall for Wang Muxiang's tricks."
"You've been tricked?" Song's mother looked at her daughter in confusion.
Song Yueying nodded, "The moment you struck someone, you fell into Wang Muxiang and her daughter's trap."
Song's mother still didn't understand, but she had calmed down. Song Yueying wanted her to calm down; whether she understood or not was unimportant.
Qi Yanjue looked at Song Yueying in surprise. He realized that Wang Muxiang had said those harsh words to provoke them. He was about to remind her when she figured it out herself.
His wife is smarter than he thought.
This commotion brought the stunned villagers back to their senses.
Her gaze was fixed on the man standing under the eaves.
He was dressed in military green, his figure as upright as a pine tree, exuding an aura of righteousness. Just standing there, his presence was impossible to ignore.
That face...
"Oh my god!" an aunt exclaimed, staring intently at Qi Yanjue's face. "This man is quite handsome."
"It's not just that he's good-looking, it's that he's really good-looking. He's the most handsome man I've ever seen."
"You've only seen a few men. If you ask me, you won't find another man with his looks, not just in the whole brigade, but in the entire Qingyuan Commune."
"Yes, yes, yes."
"That's right, that's right."
Seeing everyone's attention shift away from her, Song Rumeng's face turned green with anger. She wanted to scream and tell everyone not to focus on looks and forget why they were there.
But she couldn't; her image was that of a gentle and kind woman, not a shrew who liked to scream.
“Cousin, you…” Song Rumeng looked at Song Yueying with disappointment, but pointed at Qi Yanjue standing next to Song Yueying, her voice trembling.
"How could you hide a man in your house?"
“Your husband died for his country just a year ago. Have you forgotten him so quickly? Even I, as his cousin, still remember how good he was to you. How could you…”
"You are the widow of a martyr!"
Song Rumeng's words were sincere and moving. The other two widows from the village echoed her sentiments, as if they shared her pain.
"Yes, Dr. Song, you are the widow of a martyr. You must live up to the expectations of your husband who sacrificed his life to defend the country!"
"When my husband died, my world collapsed, and I couldn't think of anything else. My husband fell to his death, and I'm still like this. Dr. Song, your husband is a martyr!"
“Auntie is right.” Song Rumeng continued, “Cousin, your husband lost his life for the country, and the country gave you a large sum of compensation for his death.”
"How could you take the money your husband risked his life for and go find some other man of dubious origin?"
"How can you do this to your husband who sacrificed his life? How can you face your country?"
“If someone like you comes into our brigade, we’ll be dragged down by you. After the harvest season, our brigade will go to the commune to be selected as an advanced brigade.”
“You…you…” Song Rumeng looked like she couldn’t continue.
When the villagers heard that Song Yueying's actions would affect the brigade's chances of being selected as an advanced brigade by the commune, they all objected.
The men, out of consideration for their reputation, couldn't criticize Song's mother and Song Yueying too much. The women, however, had no such concerns and rushed to lecture Song Yueying.
"Yes! Dr. Song, your husband lost his life for the country, you can't let him down."
“The government is giving you a pension so that you won’t forget that your husband sacrificed himself for the country. But you’re using the money your husband earned with his life to find other men. That’s really going too far.”
"It's not excessive, it's clearly inappropriate, it really shouldn't have happened, it's very inappropriate."
"That's right, that's right. You are a martyr's widow. Doing this is letting down the country."
"I'm also sorry for your sacrificed husband."
“In my hometown village, there was a woman whose husband was also a soldier who sacrificed his life for the country. She raised her child alone and remained a widow for her husband her whole life.”
"Look, look, that's what a good woman should do. Dr. Song, you should learn from her."
"Yes, yes, yes." Several people echoed.
Everyone chimed in with their own words, each sentence revolving around sacrifice, the martyr's widow... This enraged Song's mother. If her daughter hadn't been holding her hand, she would have already lunged at them and started hitting them.
Her son-in-law is standing here perfectly fine, but these people insist that he sacrificed his life, and that her daughter is some kind of martyr's widow.
Pah! A bunch of malicious, heartless bastards, blind as can be. To curse her daughter and son-in-law to their faces, it's intolerable.
"I'll learn from you... umm..." Before Song's mother could finish speaking, Song Yueying covered her mouth. Her eyes widened, filled with confusion and heartache.
Two emotions kept repeating in Song's mother's eyes. Song Yueying understood and withdrew her hand from covering Song's mother's mouth.
She whispered in Song's mother's ear, "Mom, let's not talk yet, let's listen to what they have to say. And don't rush to do anything, I'll let you have your fill of beating them in a bit."
Song's mother's eyes lit up, all other emotions vanished, leaving only the question: "Are you serious?"
"Really." Song Yueying nodded slowly.
Song's mother was then calmed down.
Qi Yanjue, the person involved, remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was burning with rage. It wasn't because the villagers said he had sacrificed himself, but because they accused Yueying of having an affair.
They also asked Yueying to learn from a widow who had lived her whole life as a widow.
He doesn't judge other people's choices, but he can't tolerate these people bullying his young wife like this.
"Learn what? Is being a widow something to be learned? That's utterly absurd." Qi Yanjue's voice was cold as he looked at the people who were telling Song Yueying to learn from the widow.
"How old is Yueying?"
"You're making a girl who's not even twenty years old learn how to be a widow? Isn't that ridiculous? Isn't that immoral?"
He even said that even if he died, he wouldn't ask Yueying to be a widow for him. Yueying's life had just begun, and she had the right to be happy.
Happiness shouldn't be ruined for a dead man.
Completely unprepared for his sharp retort, Song Yueying looked at him in surprise.
Qi Yanjue's words were like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil, popping and crackling.
The men present, in particular, had been enjoying the show when they were suddenly humiliated. To dare call them laughable and immoral was simply intolerable.
"Who do you think you are, daring to talk to us like that?" one of the men asked first.
Another man chimed in, "Where are you from? You're tall and strong, and wearing a military uniform. Are you just looking for trouble?"
"He came to our brigade to meddle in our affairs. I think he doesn't want to go back."
"Yes, we absolutely cannot let him leave the village today. Does he think all the men in our village are dead, daring to come here and have a secret rendezvous with a widow?"
"I think he's got some nerve, coming here in military uniform. He's incredibly audacious."
"Not only was he incredibly audacious, he also treated us like ignorant fools."
"Unfortunately, he's really messed up today. All we have to do is send a letter to his unit and tell them what happened today, and he won't be able to join the army."
"Is this possible?"
"Of course."
"Are you telling the truth?"
"If I say you're an ignorant fool, you really are an ignorant fool. What I'm saying is true, of course. My nephew is a henchman, he knows all the ins and outs of this."
"Then what are we waiting for? Quickly write a letter to his unit and make sure he can't join the army. Let's see how he can still act so arrogantly then."
Everyone was excited and eager to try, urging the man to write the letter quickly.
Song Yueying's pretty face darkened; she didn't quite understand these things. But if things were allowed to continue, it would definitely implicate Qi Yanjue, and she didn't want to drag him down with her.
Just as she was about to speak, she felt a gentle pat on her back and turned to look at Qi Yanjue.
Qi Yanjue shook his head at her, signaling her not to speak.
“You…you people are heartless, utterly despicable bastards.” Mother Song raised her hand and pointed at the men who were speaking.
"Go write a letter! Hurry up and write one. I want to see how many letters you write to prevent him from joining the army." Song's mother said indifferently.
Those who were talking so enthusiastically suddenly felt uncertain.
Qi Yanjue was surprised that Song's mother knew these things.
Song Yueying was still somewhat confused when Qi Yanjue whispered something in her ear. She instantly realized that her worries had been completely unfounded.
She also realized that these people were after her.
Seeing that everyone had shut up, Song's mother snorted, "I told you to go write letters, but you didn't go. You were all talking so enthusiastically just now, it was all just for fun."
“You’re joking, but I’m not.”
"If anyone dares to say my daughter is a widow again..." Song's mother continued, her gaze sweeping across the crowd, "I'll knock their teeth out one by one."
Song's mother spoke in a voice similar to Song Yueying's, both being soft and gentle. Even when she spoke harshly and threateningly, it had no deterrent effect whatsoever.
None of the villagers present took her words seriously.
Those who witnessed her hitting Wang Muxiang before also didn't take her words seriously.
"So what if I say your daughter is a widow? Zhao Dongxue, aren't you a widow yourself?" The speaker was Aunt Li, who was looking at Song's mother with a mocking expression.
"You want to knock someone else's teeth out? Zhao Dongxue, don't you know your own limitations?"
"Don't you fear that your tongue will be blown off by such boasting?"
Hearing from Song Rumeng that a man had appeared in Song Yueying's house, she couldn't sit still. She repeatedly told Zhao Dongxue to let Song Yueying marry her youngest son.
Zhao Dongxue refused and gradually stopped associating with her.
Sensing that Zhao Dongxue was distancing herself, she plotted to find an opportunity to teach Zhao Dongxue a lesson. Once Zhao Dongxue was subdued, no matter how assertive Song Yueying was, it wouldn't matter.
As long as she gets Zhao Dongxue under her control, Song Yueying will obediently marry her youngest son.
Before she could even take any action, she received the devastating news that a man had appeared in Song Yueying's home. She had no time to think and could only do as Song Rumeng instructed.
"Sister Li, what did you say?" Song's mother's voice trembled slightly as she stared wide-eyed at Aunt Li. She couldn't believe these words were coming from Aunt Li's mouth.
She and Aunt Li are friends! The reason she can become such a close friend with Aunt Li is because Aunt Li always tells her how she understands her hardships.
He always advised her to take it easy and raise Xiao Yingzi properly.
Yes, raising Little Shadow to adulthood—only now did Song's mother realize that Aunt Li had been eyeing her Little Shadow for a very long time.
"Li Cui, you're trying to befriend me with ulterior motives, aren't you?" Song's mother questioned angrily, her eyes red. "Before, you kept telling me that I was crazy."
"When the illness strikes, it will harm Little Shadow without you even realizing it. You let Little Shadow come to your house and take care of her, but you don't really want to take care of her."
“How could I not genuinely want to take care of her? As long as she obediently becomes my daughter-in-law, I will definitely take genuine care of her,” Aunt Li retorted righteously.
"You're a crazy widow with a child, and you can't even support yourself."
"I helped you raise your child, so isn't it only natural that she should marry my son and become my daughter-in-law?"
"If it weren't for the fact that your Song Yueying is good-looking and barely a match for my son, and hasn't inherited your madness, I wouldn't bother being friends with a lunatic like you."
"But you still disagree and insist on raising the child yourself. You're really overestimating yourself."
“I’m on good terms with you, and I’ve asked you many times to marry your daughter to my son, but you always refuse. You’re really ungrateful.”
A soft chuckle followed by a burst of laughter that echoed in everyone's minds. Song's mother pointed at Aunt Li, laughing until tears streamed down her face.
“You…your son…hahaha…” Song’s mother gave up; it was just too funny, she couldn’t stop laughing.
Song Yueying and Qi Yanjue had no idea what Song's mother found funny, so they could only let her laugh.
At first, the villagers thought she had gone mad and were prepared to avoid her hitting them with a stick. After waiting for almost a minute, Song's mother was still laughing and showed no intention of looking for a stick.
The villagers were then convinced that she wasn't having a fit of madness, but genuinely found Aunt Li's words funny.
Other villagers who knew about Aunt Li's son's situation also laughed, but they didn't dare laugh as freely as Song's mother. Aunt Li was the team leader's wife, and everyone had to give her some face.
"Zhao Dongxue, what do you mean?" Aunt Li roared angrily. "Laugh, laugh, laugh until you die of laughter."
She had previously thought Zhao Dongxue was having a mental breakdown, but now she realized they were mocking her. What right did Zhao Dongxue, a madwoman, have to laugh at her, a normal person?
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