Seeing Ms. Li Junior like that, Yang Chuxia didnât say anything and didnât urge her. She wanted to see if Ms. Li Junior could really go through with it.
Ms. Li Junior was in a dilemma as well. She was afraid of the pain and wished someone would stop her so she could put the scissors down. But no one stepped forward.
Her hand was shaking uncontrollably. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she threw the scissors to the ground and her face turned red with anger.
"Hmph, if you canât do it, just apologize. This is not negotiable!"
Hearing this, Ms. Li Junior mumbled and came up to Ye Ziâan. "Brother An, Iâm sorry. Auntie misspoke."
Her voice was low, but loud enough for everyone to hear. That was enough. Ye Ziâan didnât say anything after Ms. Li Junior called him lame and stayed silent, not knowing what was on his mind. At this point, he just nodded.
Yang Chuxia saw this and was slightly worried, but didnât ask anything at the moment.
She just snorted coldly at Ms. Li Junior, "If you had apologized earlier, it wouldâve been over. Why are you being so stubborn? Oh, right, sorry for hitting you just now." With that, she took the opportunity to address everyone else, "In the future, whoever talks bad about Brother An, you better make sure I donât hear it. Otherwise, youâll end up like this."
Humph, these people looked harmless but had sharp tongues, always gossiping behind othersâ backs, especially Auntie Li, whom Yang Chuxia had heard badmouthing Brother An a few times.
Today was a perfect opportunity for her to make her stand clear.
After apologizing, Ms. Li Junior couldnât stay any longer and hurriedly left without considering her mother-in-law. Just as she reached the entrance of Yang Chuxiaâs house, her husband Yang Jinhai burst out and started beating her.
He cursed as he hit her, "You stupid woman, youâve made me lose face, youâve humiliated me!" He grabbed Ms. Li Juniorâs hair and slapped her left and right, much harder than Yang Chuxia did. Moreover, he made it clear that no one was allowed to intervene or else heâd hit them as well. He didnât even listen to Land Officer Yangâs words. And so, nobody dared to step in.
It wasnât until he had beaten her almost senseless that he dragged Ms. Li Junior back to their house.
Everyone gasped in surprise. They hadnât expected Yang Jinhai, who usually seemed so quiet, to be so brutal when hitting someone.
With Ms. Li Junior gone, everyoneâs gaze returned to Aunt Caixiaâs family. Yang Jinshuiâs mother had almost forgotten why she came here in the first place because of the commotion caused by her daughter-in-law.
"Anyway, Iâll say it here, youâre not allowed to take this little wench back. Wherever she came from, thatâs where you send her back to. Stop meddling in other peopleâs business."
Yang Jinshuiâs motherâs last sentence was of course directed at Yang Chuxia and thatâs what she was thinking as well.
You say sheâs meddling? Yang Chuxia raised an eyebrow. She originally didnât plan on getting involved, but now she had no choice but to intervene.
Stepping forward, she took Aunt Caixiaâs arm and said, "Auntie, donât worry about Jinling, just take her back to your home. Youâve already separated from the main family last time over Jinxiuâs affair. I donât believe they can still stick their hands into your business once the families are separated. Thatâs not right."
Land Officer Yang chimed in, "Thatâs right, our Yangshu Village doesnât have the habit of driving people out when theyâve finally come back. Jinshuiâs mother, you canât do that. And besides, youâve already separated Jinshui from the main house, so you shouldnât be able to interfere with their family matters anymore. If you hadnât separated, itâs one thing if you donât want Jinling to go back, but now, what gives you the right to stop her?"
"Fine, youâre all on her side, huh? You all want to bully me, an old woman?" Seeing that even Land Officer Yang was speaking up, Yang Jinshuiâs mother immediately threw a tantrum, sat on the ground, and started to wail, "Yang Jinshui, let me tell you â as long as Iâm here, that little wench isnât coming back home. Dirty and contaminated thing, why canât she just die outside? And you, you stinking woman, just wait till Jinshui divorces you. You canât even bear a son, you worthless wife, and yet you dare to talk back to me?"