Wen Jinbao’s neck hurt now, and his arm hurt even more. He was completely terrified—how would he dare spout any more nonsense?
He sobbed between hiccups and hurriedly shook his head. “I… I fell in myself… My foot slipped and I fell into the river… You didn’t push me…”
As soon as these words were spoken, Madam Liu and Madam Zhang’s faces fell instantly, their complexions shifting between pale and livid.
Wen Mancang’s face turned even darker than the bottom of a cooking pot. His cheeks burned, and he felt he had completely lost face in front of the villagers.
The villagers at the entrance also began whispering among themselves, their buzzing voices carrying into the courtyard.
“I told you, Wenxi has always been such a quiet child. How could she have pushed anyone?”
“So they really did wrong her? And then beat her this badly? That’s going too far.”
Wenxi slowly turned her gaze toward Wen Jinzhu beside her. Her voice rose slightly at the end, the quiet menace in it unmistakable. “So tell me—which eye of yours supposedly saw me push him?”
That single “Hmm?” made Wen Jinzhu tremble all over.
She guiltily shrank backward, her eyes darting away as she dared not meet Wenxi’s gaze. Stammering, she whispered, “I… I must have… must have seen wrong…”
“Seen wrong?”
Wenxi let out a cold laugh. “Is simply saying you saw wrong enough after falsely accusing me of attempted murder? Can it justify beating the three of us half to death? Shouldn’t we settle this account properly?”
Wen Jinzhu lowered her head and bit her lip, not daring to say another word.
“All right, all right.” Seeing that the matter had been exposed, Wen Mancang only wanted to settle it quickly so the villagers would not make a complete spectacle of him.
He immediately assumed the authoritative air of a family elder and spoke before the Village Chief could say anything:
“Since it was a misunderstanding, now that it’s been cleared up, there’s no problem anymore. Why haven’t you released Jinbao yet? Just look at what you’ve done over such a minor matter! You even dared to hit your grandma and your Second Aunt. What kind of behavior is that? You have no rules at all!”
With just a few words, he tried to brush aside the fact that they had beaten people. Instead, he turned the blame around and accused Wenxi of being disrespectful.
Wenxi’s eyes narrowed slightly, anger surging in their depths.
Looking at Wen Mancang’s sanctimonious appearance, she found it incredibly ironic.
“What, I hit them but didn’t curse you, so now you’re feeling left out, you blind old bastard?” Wenxi snapped.
“All these years, you’ve beaten and cursed the three of us whenever you pleased. We worked ourselves to the bone, ate the worst food, and did the hardest jobs, yet you turned a blind eye to all of it and pretended not to hear a thing.
“Now that they’ve taken a few hits, suddenly you’re not blind anymore, and you want to lecture me about rules? So your idea of rules is that you’re allowed to bully us, but we’re not allowed to fight back?”
“You insolent wretch! How dare you speak to me like that!”
Wen Mancang had been publicly insulted by a younger member of the family. How could he possibly save face?
He was so furious that he puffed out his beard and glared, his pointing hand trembling. “You’ve gone too far! You really have gone too far! You have no respect for your elders. I think you truly don’t want to live anymore!”
“Ah!!”
Another scream cut him off.
With a movement of her finger, Wenxi dislocated Wen Jinbao’s other arm as well.
“I can’t be bothered to waste words on you. The three of us, mother and children, can’t survive in the Wen family anyway. We suffer humiliation and beatings every day, and sooner or later we’ll die. Having the Wen family’s most precious grandson buried with us wouldn’t be such a loss.”
She increased the pressure of her fingertips. Wen Jinbao’s face instantly flushed an even deeper red, and he began struggling to breathe.
“Say no more!” The Village Chief hurriedly waved his hand, signaling for Wen Mancang to retreat at once.
He had already seen what was happening. This girl had been driven to the end of the road. Someone with nothing to lose had no reason to fear those with something to lose. If they pushed her too far, she truly dared to kill Jinbao.
The Village Chief stepped forward two paces and continued trying to soothe her.
“Girl, I know you’ve suffered grievances today. If you’re angry, tell me whatever has wronged you. I’m here today, and I’ll stand up for you. But don’t do anything foolish. If someone really dies, you could end up in prison—or even have to pay with your own life! If you go to prison, what will happen to your mother and younger brother? Who will take care of them?”
He patiently coaxed her, thinking that she was a girl, after all, and must surely be afraid of going to prison. As long as he placated her properly, the matter could always be resolved.
As he spoke, he looked toward Li Cuihua on the ground. “Madam Li, you should persuade the girl as well. There’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome. Don’t let her do anything foolish.”
Li Cuihua sat on the ground and looked up toward Wenxi. By chance, Wenxi looked over at that moment as well and gently shook her head at her.
Li Cuihua understood at once. She gritted her teeth and swallowed back the words that had reached her lips.
She merely held Wen’an tightly and said in a low voice, “I… I’ll listen to my daughter.”
She trusted her daughter.
Since her daughter dared to do this, she must have her reasons.
The Village Chief froze for a moment, not expecting Li Cuihua to take that stance.
“Village Chief,” Wenxi said then. “I asked you to come here today for only one reason. The three of us want to live separately from the Wen family.”
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the ugly expressions on Wen Mancang and Madam Liu’s faces, then added, “Separating the household probably won’t be enough. Let’s sever our family ties instead. Let’s sever them completely and cleanly. From now on, we’ll have nothing to do with one another, whether in life, illness, old age, or death. That would be best.”
The courtyard fell utterly silent.
Li Cuihua and Wen’an stared blankly at Wenxi’s back, never imagining that she would actually dare to say such a thing as severing family ties.
Severing family ties was a momentous matter. It was equivalent to completely leaving the clan; even your names would be struck from the clan genealogy. Afterward, they would be unable to hold their heads up in the village.
The villagers at the entrance also erupted into an uproar.
“Sever their family ties? This girl is far too bold!”
“She was driven to it. If she stayed there any longer, she’d be beaten to death sooner or later.”
“How is a young girl supposed to survive on her own with a paralyzed mother and a simple-minded younger brother to care for?”
Madam Liu was the first to react. She opened her mouth, intending to curse Wenxi until she was utterly humiliated.
“You’d better think carefully before you speak.” Wenxi spoke first, her cold gaze sweeping toward her. “Say something I want to hear, and everything can be discussed. But if you say anything unpleasant, just wait to collect your precious grandson’s corpse.”
Madam Liu trembled violently in fright. Not only did she no longer dare to speak, she hurriedly clapped a hand over her own mouth.
Wen Mancang dared even less to speak.
He stood there with a dark expression, his chest heaving violently, not daring to say a single reckless word.
After a long while, the Village Chief stroked his grizzled beard and sighed.
“Girl, you can’t treat severing family ties so casually. You’re young and don’t understand how serious this is. Once you sever your ties, you won’t count as members of the Wen family anymore.”
“Village Chief, I’ve thought it through very clearly.”
Wenxi did not hesitate in the slightest. “There are only two paths today. Either you serve as a witness while the three of us sever our family ties with the Wen family and go our separate ways from now on, or Wen Jinbao can be buried with us.”
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” Wen Jinbao cried, terrified, his face smeared with snot and drool as he sobbed so hard he could barely catch his breath. “Grandpa! Grandma! Mother! Save me! Save me!”
The Village Chief looked at her face, stained with blood, and at the resolute expression in her eyes. He secretly sighed in his heart.
This girl was determined to leave. There was no persuading her now.