The Li parents also knew about Chen Lang’s background, yet they had all been kept in the dark by him. All of this came from Li Xianglian’s dreams; they had not expected their daughter to have the ability to foresee the future.
According to Li Xianglian’s instructions, Father Li continued working at the station as a courier.
Mother Li stayed at home taking care of their daily meals.
Unexpectedly, Wen Zhile really brought two workers to help Li Xianglian weed the fields. Wearing a bamboo hat, Li Xianglian limped as she carried water to the field. From a distance, Chen Lang watched with suspicion, so he quietly followed behind.
Once he arrived, he saw Wen Zhile there as well and immediately exploded in anger. He cursed, “Li Xianglian, have you no shame at all? You are a married woman, yet you are secretly meeting a wild man in the cornfield!”
At that moment, Mother Li and Father Li also appeared from the field.
Father Li, holding a hoe, rushed over to hit him.
“You shameless bastard! You slander my daughter without knowing the truth! The weeds here are already as tall as a person, yet you stay at home sleeping and even make my injured daughter hire people to weed the fields!” Father Li raised his hoe. “Today I will beat you to death if I have to!”
Chen Lang hurriedly dodged, but Father Li relentlessly chased him.
“Help! Li Xianglian, stop him! If I die, you’ll be a widow! You’ll never be rid of me for the rest of your life!” Chen Lang shouted in panic.
His cries echoed through the valley, attracting nearby farmers.
“Chen Lang is truly despicable. Xianglian is unlucky to have married him.”
“Chen Lang, just let Xianglian go. You’re lazy enough already, yet you still try to twist the truth. Disgusting!”
Chen Lang’s face turned dark from the villagers’ scolding. Seeing that Father Li was old and couldn’t catch him, he bent over and laughed. “Old man, you can’t even hit me, and you’re exhausting yourself. What’s the point?”
Li Xianglian took a deep breath, picked up a lump of mud from the ground, and threw it at him. “Chen Lang! Do you think I won’t hit you?”
Chen Lang couldn’t dodge in time. The mud struck his forehead, making his head ring.
“You—” Chen Lang staggered forward, trying to hit her, but Wen Zhile stepped in from behind and punched him to the ground.
Everyone was stunned.
Li Xianglian looked at Wen Zhile in shock. He appeared gentle and refined, yet he actually knew how to fight.
Mother Li covered her mouth, standing beside her daughter. As Chen Lang struggled to get up, he pointed at Wen Zhile and said shakily, “You dare hit me? Do you know who I am?”
“Just a poor scholar. What else could you be?” Father Li said coldly.
“I am…” Chen Lang suddenly froze, grinding his teeth. He pointed at them, then at Li Xianglian. “Li Xianglian, are you trying to murder your husband?”
Li Xianglian sneered, too lazy to respond.
Seeing her silence, Chen Lang became even more furious. “Li Xianglian, I’m telling you—I will divorce you!”
Li Xianglian immediately looked at him. “You want to divorce me?”
“What? Scared now? If you kneel and apologize, I might forgive you,” Chen Lang said proudly again.
No one understood where his arrogance came from.
Wen Zhile curled his lips. “False accusation.”
“This is between husband and wife. What does an outsider like you have to do with it?” Chen Lang spat. “I will remember what you did to me. You’d better be careful, or else—”
“Or else what?” Wen Zhile asked calmly.
“I’ll make you suffer!” Chen Lang threatened.
Mother Li looked worried. Li Xianglian said softly, “He’s just talking big. Don’t worry, Mother. We’ll be fine.”
She then turned to Chen Lang. “Don’t involve others in our matters. I’ll ask you once again—do you really want to divorce me?”
Chen Lang sneered. “Afraid now? Li Xianglian, my patience is limited. You’ve pushed me too far. I don’t understand—why have you changed so much… why have you become like this…”
“Shameless, unreasonable, heartless… You don’t go home, you don’t care about your husband and child! If I hadn’t followed you today, I wouldn’t have known you were secretly meeting a wild man!”
“Chen Lang, don’t you dare ruin my daughter’s reputation!” Father Li suddenly struck his back with the hoe, knocking him to the ground.
Mother Li hurriedly stopped him. “Don’t go too far—it could kill him.”
“Hmph!”
The villagers were speechless. “He bites the hand that feeds him. Xianglian really wasted her life on him.”
“Exactly! Just a mere scholar and he thinks everyone wants to be his wife? Disgusting! Xianglian, divorce him—we’ll all testify for you.”
“Yes, Xianglian, divorce him.”
Everyone looked at Li Xianglian.
Wen Zhile also looked at her and said softly, “If you’re in difficulty, I can help.”
“Thank you,” Li Xianglian said. She turned to the villagers. “Thank you all for believing in me. I am deeply grateful. Chen Lang, let’s divorce.”
Chen Lang’s eyes widened. He struggled to stand. “What did you say?”
“I said—divorce!”
Chen Lang curled his lips. “Divorce? Heh, you’ll regret it!”
“Whoever regrets it is a dog!” Li Xianglian said coldly. Then she asked, “When will we go to formalize it?”
Chen Lang sneered. “Divorce? You can forget it for your whole life! There is only widowhood or divorce by expulsion. Stop dreaming.”
Mother Li became furious, picked up mud from the ground, and threw it at him. The villagers followed, grabbing mud and stones, cursing and throwing them at him.
Chen Lang fled in disgrace.
He had left clean but returned dirty, a swollen bump on his forehead. Muttering curses, he returned to the courtyard. When he looked up, he froze, his eyes shifting nervously.
“You… why are you here?”
Xu Caishan had not seen him for a long time and had missed him. She had been at home taking care of the children and cleaning the house. She looked at him in disbelief. “Cousin, how did you end up like this?”
Chen Jue was also surprised. “Yes, Father, were you beaten?”
Seeing the bump on his forehead, he tried to hide it, embarrassed. “Sorry… don’t laugh at me.”
“Who hit you?” Xu Caishan grabbed his arm so he couldn’t hide, gently touching his forehead injury with a heartbroken expression. “Who was so cruel? Are you alright?”