Then she burst into loud sobs.
“Father, come and take your daughter away!”
Li Miaomiao cried so bitterly that the villagers began whispering and cursing Lin Dalang in low voices.
Seeing the crowd pointing and gossiping, Bai Lian hurriedly rolled on the ground, throwing a full tantrum.
“Oh heavens! This shrew beat my son and now she’s crying victim. Is there no justice in this world?”
While secretly wiping her tears, Li Miaomiao caught sight of Bai Lian’s dramatic display and bit her inner lip.
Rolling on the ground, huh?
If you want to achieve big things, your face has to be thicker than a city wall.
The next moment, she also plopped down on the ground, crying and pounding the earth.
“Father! Come and take me away! The Lin family humiliated your daughter on my wedding day, and now they’ve come to bully me again. I can’t live like this anymore!”
When Xiao Xian saw her clenching her fists and hitting the ground, he remembered how afraid she was of pain. He bent down and grabbed her wrist, his gentle eyes filled with pity.
“My wife, it’s all my fault for being useless. Otherwise, even if I had to crawl, I would go to the magistrate’s office and seek justice for you.”
Crawl to the magistrate for her?
Li Miaomiao choked on her sob and hiccupped. Looking at his eyes, which seemed truly full of tenderness and sorrow, she froze for a moment.
He’s even better at acting than I am!
When Li Xiaorou heard that Xiao Xian wanted to go to the authorities, she quickly knelt halfway down and turned Li Miaomiao’s shoulders so they faced each other. She looked as if Li Miaomiao had stolen her husband.
“Sister, we’re family. Even though I married Lin, you’ll always be my sister. If you hate someone, hate me. Don’t blame Lin.”
“If you’re still angry, I’ll give you the position of first wife.”
Her hypocritical act might fool the Lin family, but Li Miaomiao only sneered inwardly.
First wife? Who wants that?
You like pretending to be weak? Fine, I’ll let you.
She slapped Li Xiaorou’s hands away.
Li Xiaorou seized the chance and fell to the ground. From any angle, it looked like Li Miaomiao had pushed her.
Seeing the newly married bride fall, Lin Dalang rushed forward, pulling both Li Xiaorou and Bai Lian away, then scolded Li Miaomiao.
“You vicious woman! Xiaorou is magnanimous and doesn’t argue with you, yet you still make trouble!”
“Make trouble? Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”
With Xiao Xian’s help, she stood up. After wiping her tears, she turned to the women in the courtyard and gave a long, bitter smile.
“I want to ask all the aunts and elder sisters here. If your daughter’s fiancé was stolen by her stepsister, and the unfaithful man later came to cause trouble, acting righteous instead—would you accept being the first wife?”
Within seconds, one aunt spoke up.
“I definitely wouldn’t! If he abandoned my daughter at the wedding, I’d already be merciful for not burning their house down. If they dared come looking for trouble, I’d kill that shameless couple myself!”
This aunt had three sons and one beloved daughter.
The other women who had daughters felt even more indignant.
“That’s right! I carried my daughter for ten months. Why should she be bullied by some heartless man?”
Their region was near the border, and the people were known for being bold and straightforward.
“Stepdaughters are ungrateful wolves. She’s clearly full of schemes.”
Another aunt said this while glancing sideways at Li Xiaorou. Without naming her, everyone knew who she meant.
Li Xiaorou felt extremely uncomfortable under their gazes. She hated that Li Miaomiao had deliberately led them to scold her.
“Sister, I already said I’d give you the position of first wife. Are you still not satisfied? Do you want me dead before you’re happy?”
At the word “dead,” Lin Dalang looked heartbroken.
“Xiaorou, you’re too kind.” Then he glared at Li Miaomiao. “You vicious liar. One day you’ll face retribution.”
His eyes burned with anger.
Unfortunately, Li Miaomiao didn’t care.
She picked up the basin of fried meatballs Xiao Xian was holding and said pitifully, “Since you say I’m lying, let’s go to the magistrate now and let the county lord decide. I don’t think we can settle this ourselves.”
Guo Ce was the magistrate’s son, so Lin Dalang wasn’t afraid.
He stiffened his neck. “Fine. Let’s go now.”
He didn’t believe that once they reached the magistrate’s office, Li Miaomiao wouldn’t be forced to confess.
Li Miaomiao wasn’t afraid either. Before beating Lin Dalang, she had checked the surroundings. At noon, only he had come to the village’s edge.
Except for Xiao Xian… this unpredictable variable.
He had been moody and unfriendly these past days. Today was the only exception.
Thinking of this, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
In just a moment, Xiao Xian saw through her thoughts. Meeting her gaze, he curved his eyes slightly, smiling without warmth.
“My wife, I’m willing to accompany you to the magistrate.”
His goodwill made her pause. She looked at his handsome eyes, unable to read his intentions.
Was he really helping her, or setting a trap?
Someone in the crowd immediately said, “I’ll go get my donkey cart and take you to Wuhe County for free.”
Before the man could leave, the village chief arrived, walking quickly with his cane.
“The village chief is here!”
Hearing this, Lin Youcai hurried to complain.
“Village Chief, you came at the right time. This shrew bullied my son. We were just about to go to the magistrate. Come with us as a witness.”
Before he finished, the chief strode forward and slapped Lin Dalang.
Smack.
The courtyard fell silent.
Lin Dalang covered his face, stunned. “Grandpa Village Chief, why did you hit me?”
His parents and Li Xiaorou rushed to pull him back.
“Why are you hitting my son? It was Li Miaomiao who beat him!” Bai Lian cried.
The chief struck his cane on the ground, his eyes sharp.
“I hit him because he deserved it.”
Li Miaomiao quietly told Xiao Xian, “Stand properly,” then walked over respectfully.
“Grandpa Village Chief, why did you come?”
Seeing she wasn’t injured, the chief relaxed.
“If I didn’t come, you’d have gone to the magistrate. Do you want other villages laughing at us?”
Wuhe County had a rule: every year, the villages were ranked, and the top three received large rewards.
Everyone wanted first place, so competition was fierce.
Problems that could be solved within the village were never taken to court.
If the magistrate thought the case was trivial, it would affect the annual evaluation.
Especially the big event every June—every village fought desperately to win.