10 – Is the young wife scared?
“Our house was robbed!” As soon as Taohua saw her husband, she dropped her carrying pole and threw herself into his broad, sturdy embrace.
Qin Feng, still holding an axe in his hand, was momentarily unsure whether to hug Taohua or not.
However, Taohua didn’t stay in Qin Feng’s arms for long. She quickly grabbed his other hand.
Pulling Qin Feng toward the front courtyard, she said:
“It was the two Wang brothers. They came knocking fiercely on the door. I was too scared to answer, so they kicked it open. Brother Qin, the courtyard gate we just finished making is already broken by them.”
The two Wang brothers?
Qin Feng immediately furrowed his brows. “The tall one and the short one?”
“Yes, exactly them.”
Now Qin Feng understood.
He had seen those two brothers this morning when he returned from checking traps in the mountains.
At the time, Qin Feng thought they were just heading up the mountain and didn’t pay much attention.
He never expected they were actually lying in wait for him, waiting for him to leave so they could come knocking.
Hah, they’ve got some nerve.
Qin Feng tightened his grip on Taohua’s hand and tilted his head slightly to instruct her: “In a moment, you go back inside and stay there. I’ll handle them.”
Taohua softly agreed.
But when Qin Feng reached the front courtyard and looked…
What was there left for him to handle?
The Wang brothers, Da and Er, were already lying on the ground, unable to get up.
Qin Feng then remembered the carrying pole his young wife had been clutching tightly earlier and couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“Did you do this?”
Taohua’s clear, bright eyes were filled with innocence. She nodded, her voice soft as she said:
“It was me, but I don’t know what happened either. It was like those two deliberately threw themselves at my carrying pole and then fell down on their own. Honestly, I was terrified at the time.”
Wang Da and Wang Er, lying on the ground unable to move: “…………” Damn it, the ones who were terrified should have been the two of us, right?
Now that her husband was standing in front to shield her, Taohua didn’t want to go back inside anymore.
She also wanted to know why Wang Da and Wang Er had come to cause trouble and why they had kicked in the bamboo gate she and her husband had just finished making yesterday.
…
“Speak! What were you two doing at my house while I was away?” Qin Feng demanded, throwing the axe in his hand.
The axe landed perfectly, embedding itself in the ground right between Wang Da and Wang Er’s heads.
If Qin Feng had been off by even half an inch, one of the brothers would have immediately met the King of Hell.
The two were so frightened they didn’t dare even breathe heavily. After confirming their heads were still attached, Wang Er finally spoke with a tearful face:
“It was my older brother. He told me to come settle accounts with Chen Taohua.”
“Settle what accounts?”
“It was a few days ago, when a group of women were washing clothes by the river. My mother and Chen Taohua were both there, and then—”
“Hmm? Who are you calling by that name?” Seeing this ruffian address Taohua so directly, a fierce aura immediately rose between Qin Feng’s brows. “Is my wife’s name something you can just call?”
“I was wrong, I was wrong!” Wang Er quickly slapped his own face. “I meant that day when washing clothes, my mother and your wife were both there. Well, a group of women started arguing while talking, didn’t they?
Later, your wife kicked my mother’s washing basin into the water. In the middle of winter, my mother had to take off her shoes and socks, roll up her pants, and wade into the river to retrieve the clothes.”
“My mother is old, and the river water is freezing. She fell ill from the cold after returning home that day and is still running a fever. Look, it’s your wife who caused this trouble. Who else could we turn to for justice if not your wife?”
“You’re talking nonsense!” Taohua finally understood.
She had indeed argued with Granny Wang that day, but it was Xiao Lan who kicked Granny Wang’s basin.
As for whether Granny Wang actually fell ill after returning home, Taohua hadn’t witnessed it herself and couldn’t take it as truth.
They were simply afraid to confront Xiao Lan because she was the Village Chief’s granddaughter, so they came to her instead.
But Xiao Lan had acted out of loyalty that day, kicking Granny Wang’s basin to help Taohua vent her anger. Naturally, Taohua wouldn’t drag Xiao Lan into this.
She questioned Wang Er, “Aren’t you from Baiyun Village? Don’t you know the water in the river where we wash clothes is warm? It flows down from the mountain. Our ancestors said there are hot springs up there, and the warm water comes from that source.
Washing clothes there in winter is incredibly warm. None of us have ever had any issues—how could your mother have fallen ill? If she really caught a chill, it could have happened anywhere, but definitely not in that river!
Besides, if your mother truly fell ill that day, why didn’t you come to me immediately? Why wait four whole days? Could it be she caught a chill somewhere else, and you don’t want to spend money on medicine, so you’re trying to extort my family instead?”
Although Qin Feng hadn’t been present during the incident by the river, hearing Taohua’s logical and well-reasoned argument made everything clear to him.
“It seems you think I, Qin Feng, am an easy target.” Qin Feng’s eyes narrowed, his gaze sharp as an eagle’s as he stared at Wang Er. “Which foot kicked my door?”
Wang Er felt as though Qin Feng might pull out his axe and chop off his leg at any moment. He was on the verge of tears, scrambling to his feet.
“Brother Qin Feng, please spare us. It must have been my mother’s mistake—we wrongly accused your wife. We’ll fix your door right away. Is that okay?”
“I’ll give you one more chance.” Qin Feng was never one to be overly lenient. “If neither of you admits it, then it must have been the other one. Tell me which foot he used to kick the door, and I’ll let it go.”
The Wang brothers, selfish by nature, immediately pointed fingers at each other upon hearing this.
“His left foot.” “His right foot.”
“Very well.” Qin Feng cracked his knuckles. Before anyone could see what happened, he had dislocated both brothers’ feet—one left, one right.
The brothers’ ankles instantly popped out of place, and they let out piercing screams like slaughtered pigs.
Wang Er groaned in pain, “Qin, you liar! You said you’d let it go!”
Qin Feng sneered coldly. “I said I’d let it go, but this matter isn’t in the past yet. Go, fix my courtyard gate!”
Wang Da wailed, “Brother Qin Feng, how can we fix it with our feet like this?”
“It seems you don’t want your hands either.”
The brothers didn’t dare refuse. Hobbling on their injured legs, they went to repair Qin Feng’s courtyard gate.
As they worked, they muttered to each other, “We tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice. What a huge loss.”
After finishing the repairs, they begged and pleaded until Qin Feng finally let them go.
Everyone had left, and only then did Qin Feng notice that his little wife behind him was staring at him motionlessly.
He frowned, and a sense of foreboding instantly rose in his heart.
After what had just happened, his little wife must be afraid of him, right?