Wen Jinzhu leaned against Madam Zhang. After taking a long while to recover, she finally came to her senses. She secretly raised her eyes, glanced at Wenxi’s back, then exchanged a look with Madam Zhang.
The mother and daughter’s eyes met, and each saw the scheming in the other’s gaze.
They simply refused to believe that Wenxi would truly dare to strangle Wen Jinbao to death.
Killing someone meant paying with one’s life. She was only putting on an act to frighten them.
As long as they seized her weakness, they could turn the tables and control her.
Wenxi’s weakness was that idiot, Wen’an.
Madam Zhang shifted position inconspicuously, deliberately raising her voice to draw Wenxi’s attention. “Wenxi! If you have the guts, come at us! What kind of ability is it to bully a child? If you’re so capable, let Jinbao go and we can talk this out!”
As she spoke, she gestured with her eyes. Wen Jinzhu immediately understood. She hunched down and stealthily circled around from the side.
But how could such a little scheme possibly escape Wenxi’s notice?
Wenxi had her back to them, yet it was as if she had eyes in the back of her head. Before Wen Jinzhu’s hand could touch Wen’an, she suddenly turned sideways and swung a backhand slap.
“Smack!”
This slap was even heavier than the previous one. Wen Jinzhu’s entire body was sent staggering sideways.
“You damn girl. What, I Didn’t Hit Hard Enough Just Now?” Wenxi said coldly.
Then she kicked Wen Jinzhu in the shoulder.
Wen Jinzhu rolled twice across the ground before coming to a stop. She curled up in pain, unable even to cry out.
Madam Zhang let out a cry of alarm and hurriedly tried to help her daughter.
She had only crawled half a step forward when Wenxi had already walked over and planted one foot on the back of her hand.
Just as she had stepped on Li Cuihua’s hand earlier.
Wenxi applied a little force with her foot and ground it back and forth.
“Ahhh—!” Madam Zhang let out a shrill scream of agony. Her face went white with pain, and her fingers felt as though they were about to be crushed. The pain pierced straight to her heart.
“Second Aunt, since you don’t know how to teach your daughter, I can teach her properly in your place.” Wenxi did not lessen the pressure beneath her foot in the slightest. “You’d better stop playing these sneaky tricks.”
“Wenxi! Take your foot off me! Take it off!” Madam Zhang gritted her teeth, her entire body trembling from the pain.
Li Cuihua sat on the ground, watching everything unfold. Though her heart was in turmoil, she cleverly hugged Wen’an and edged a little closer to Wenxi.
She did not know what her daughter intended to do now, nor what would happen next, but she knew that she could not make trouble.
If she could not help, then she absolutely could not hold her daughter back.
Wen Mancang was called back, and he entered the courtyard with a dark expression. The moment he raised his eyes and took in the scene, he froze.
Madam Liu was clutching her stomach by the base of the wall, the corners of her mouth twitching as she moaned.
Madam Zhang sat on the ground, her hair disheveled, holding Wen Jinzhu, who was sobbing pitifully. Both of the girl’s cheeks were swollen high.
In the middle of the courtyard stood Wenxi, her face covered in blood, one hand clamped around Jinbao’s neck.
“Grandpa! Save me…” The moment Wen Jinbao saw Wen Mancang, he cried out in a thin voice, “Wenxi is going to strangle me to death… It hurts…”
Wen Mancang’s heart clenched, and his anger flared up instantly.
He strode forward two large steps and pointed at Wenxi, berating her harshly. “Wenxi! What do you think you’re doing? You’ve gone too far! Hurry up and let Jinbao go! He’s your cousin, the root of the Wen family. Just try harming him!”
His voice was loud and booming, echoing throughout the courtyard as he put on the imposing airs of the head of the household.
When Madam Liu saw her man return, she regained her confidence as well.
She no longer cared about her stomachache. She crawled up from the ground and hurried to Wen Mancang’s side, glaring venomously at Wenxi.
“Husband, you’ve finally come back! This damned girl has gone mad! Completely mad! She hit Jinzhu, hit the Second Daughter-in-Law, and even dared to hit me! Once the Village Chief arrives, just have him beat her to death. That’ll settle everything once and for all, and save us from keeping her here to bring ruin to the Wen family!”
Before Madam Liu had even finished speaking, a sudden scream rang out.
Everyone was startled. They turned toward the sound and saw Wenxi’s fingers twitch. She had dislocated one of Wen Jinbao’s arms.
Wenxi curled her lips and looked provocatively at Madam Liu. “You old hag, if you don’t clean up your mouth, I’ll twist off his other arm.”
“Grandma! It hurts so much… My arm…” Wen Jinbao sobbed so hard that he hiccupped. Wenxi had dislocated his arm, which hung limply, completely unable to move.
“Wenxi! You little bitch! How dare you touch Jinbao? I’ll beat you to death!” Madam Liu’s eyes reddened, and she tried to charge forward like a madwoman.
“Stop.” Wen Mancang grabbed Wenxi by the arm.
His face was ashen as he stared fixedly at Wenxi’s hand, afraid that she would strike again.
His grandson was the Wen family’s only male heir. If Wenxi had truly crippled his arm, the Wen family’s line would be severed.
No matter how overbearing he was, he did not dare gamble with Jinbao’s life.
Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a booming shout came from the entrance.
“The Village Chief is here!”
The villagers who had gathered to watch immediately moved aside, orderly clearing a path.
A middle-aged man of about fifty entered with his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a coarse-cloth long gown, and his beard was streaked with white. The moment he stopped at the courtyard entrance, he naturally exuded the authority of a Village Chief.
The Village Chief paced into the courtyard. His gaze swept over the disarray covering the ground, then passed over Madam Liu, Madam Zhang, and Wen Jinzhu, each with bruised and swollen faces, before finally landing on Wenxi, who stood ramrod straight, covered in blood.
His brows drew together slightly. He had already heard a rough account on the way there, and he had a general understanding of the situation.
When Madam Liu and Madam Zhang saw the Village Chief arrive, they hurriedly supported Wen Jinzhu and hobbled over to him. They began complaining all at once, each trying to outdo the other.
“Village Chief, you’ve finally come! Hurry and take control of this! That crazy Wenxi is trying to kill people!”
“That’s right, Village Chief! Not only did she push Jinbao into the river, she also attacked the two of us, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law! This is outrageous!”
“Look at our injuries! She did all of this! Our Wen family really raised an ungrateful wretch!”
They wailed and cried, each raising her voice higher than the other, pushing all the blame onto Wenxi.
Their racket gave the Village Chief such a headache that his brows knotted into a lump. He abruptly raised his hand and shouted, “Enough! What kind of behavior is this, making such a commotion? Have you no sense of propriety?”
Madam Liu and Madam Zhang immediately fell silent. They sniffled and sobbed, not daring to make another fuss.
The Village Chief ignored them. He walked two steps forward and looked at Wenxi.
His eyes carried an intimidating authority even without anger, but his tone was gentle.
“Girl, what happened? Speak properly. Put Wen Jinbao down first. If you’ve been wronged, tell us; if you have grievances, voice them. We can sort everything out slowly. What kind of conduct is it to keep gripping a child like that?”
He assumed that the girl had been driven to extremes. As long as he comforted her properly, he could persuade her to let go.
“Village Chief.” Wenxi lifted her eyes to him. “I asked you to come today because I want you to uphold justice for the three of us. Wen Jinbao fell into the river himself while playing in the water. Just because I happened to be washing clothes nearby and didn’t see it, they forced this accusation onto me. When I refused to admit it, they beat the three of us within an inch of our lives.”
She slightly tightened the hand clamped around Wen Jinbao’s neck and asked him, “Now tell them yourself. How did you fall into the river?”