Li Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment before turning back to return to the courtyard.
The only way to deal with the demons is to allow Wu Shiyao to continue growing stronger.
Upon opening the door, they saw Jiang Wanqing with blood on her head, staring blankly and shedding tears.
Jiang Wanqing burst into hysterical sobs the moment the door was opened. "Brother, Mom and Dad, I'm innocent! They're trying to ruin my reputation! They're trying to destroy me! Wentao is pressuring me, saying he treated me like that if I didn't marry him, and that I was always seen with him. Everyone thinks I'm not innocent. I didn't do anything! I'm innocent!"
Her face was still covered in blood, her eyes were wide open, filled with terror, and there was blood under her clenched fingernails. Her appearance terrified her family; their usually gentle and sweet-smiling sister had become such a frightening sight.
He immediately hated Wentao, thinking that it must have been Wentao who forced her to scare her like this in the first place.
Jiang Jianjun and Chen Fen were also in tears. Their little sister was the most beloved in the family. Wen Tao knocked on their door every day, and they thought it was not a big deal, but now it had hurt their little sister so badly.
The change in Wanwan from being sensible and cute to rebellious and insisting on marrying Wentao is traceable. It must have been Wentao who deceived her and kept putting pressure on his younger sister.
That evening, Jiang Xing had an idea. The family whispered among themselves and, with much coaxing and gentle persuasion, finally managed to get Jiang Wanqing to eat and go to sleep.
After they left, Jiang Wanqing wiped the blood off her head. It was just rat blood she had used to deceive her parents.
The following night, Wentao was ambushed on his way home and was beaten so badly that he was unable to walk. The news spread throughout the village. The Jiang family was having a happy meal in the yard when everyone in the village saw what happened. Now, no one knew who had done it.
Jiang Wanqing was still acting erratically and refused to eat, repeatedly saying the same few words, "...Mom, I'm scared." After saying that, she bit her index fingernail, her eyes began to dart around, making her look even more eerie.
However, she couldn't keep up the act any longer.
In this relatively closed-off era, a girl without a clean reputation would be gossiped about behind her back. Her parents would surely be swayed by the rumors and gossip, and if she were to marry into Wen Tao's schemes, it would be a huge loss. It would be better to make her usually easygoing father more assertive. With that in mind, she endured her hunger and persevered.
There was a plate of cabbage on the table, but none of the three of them took a bite. They were also anxious. Jiang Jianjun sighed, "It's a good thing she didn't like her. Recently, Wentao has been colluding with a group of educated youth to spread rumors about Wanwan everywhere. Yunyan even told her father that Wanwan is not innocent. These past few days, my uncle has been saying that I didn't take good care of the children. People are saying bad things about Wanwan everywhere. Look at how the children have been driven. If I hadn't seen Wanwan so desperate, I would have thought that Wanwan and Wentao were just friends and would still get married. Sigh."
Chen Fen also became heavy-hearted. "Wanwan is not a child who likes to lie. She definitely can't stand being questioned. The people in the village are also very malicious. They say rumors can spread like wildfire. In a few days, Wentao might say something really hurtful. This man is really disgusting. I can't stand it when he slanders Wanwan like this."
Jiang Xing looked at Jiang Jianjun and said, "Dad, say something."
Finally, Jiang Jianjun made up his mind, "Let's send him to another farm."
On the third day, the family finally managed to persuade Jiang Wanqing to come out for a meal. She was even thinner and more fragile, looking extremely frail, with a scar on her forehead.
After she carefully finished her meal, her family tried to comfort her. The fire had been burning for a long time, and a bright light emanated warmth in front of her. Jiang Wanqing's eyes immediately blurred with tears.
He suddenly threw himself into Chen Fen's arms, "Mom...."
As the slender young woman rushed towards her, Chen Fen became even more affectionate, saying, "Mom's here."
Jiang Jianjun broke open a sweet potato, ate it in a few bites, and looked extremely somber.
"This girl is so old, yet she still cries so much." Jiang Xing took a few bites of sweet potato.
After finishing his meal, Jiang Jianjun said in a low voice, "Didn't my sister have that dream last time? I changed Fu Yi back, but he didn't go back to his hometown. On the contrary, Wen Tao didn't go back either. There's been a big fuss about it these past few days. My uncle even said that I'm not humane at all in handling things."
Chen Fen, however, was indignant. "Your older brother is no good. Just because he lost the election for brigade leader, he secretly colluded with others to play cards, causing a group of people to slack off. As a result, the entire production team's output didn't improve, and our brigade was severely criticized."
Chen Fen stroked Jiang Wanqing's head, her voice no longer as loud as before, and began to nag, "If you really report Wen Tao, your older brother will report you for abusing your power for personal gain. I don't think you'll be a good captain then."
Jiang Wanqing's body stiffened slightly in Chen Fen's arms. He hadn't expected his mother to understand the implications of the situation, as she was the one who had reported his father in his uncle's family in his previous life.
Jiang Jianjun's face wasn't so bad after his wife scolded him. He knew in his heart that it might really be true. He took another bite of sweet potato, and his tone softened unconsciously. "He is my brother after all. We are all family."
Chen Fen started scolding him again. After Jiang Xing finished eating the sweet potato, he fetched water and boiled it in the kettle to wash his face and feet.
Outside the house, the fields were silent and empty.
As night deepened, the family finished their chores, extinguished the kerosene lamp, and fell into a deep sleep. Jiang Wanqing slept exceptionally soundly that night.
Not far from this simple, large, and bare house, there were several trees, and a dark figure stood under the trees.
The shadowy figure watched the family close the doors and windows, then pounded the nearby tree trunk a few times before limping away into the pitch-black night like a rat.
The next day, her brother had already gone to school, her mother had gone to sell vegetables nearby, and her father was in town supervising the construction of the railway. There was food cooked the night before in the pot. She ate some and then went out with some flatbread.
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