“Ouch! It hurts, it hurts!” Wang Xiulan instantly grimaced in pain. The hemp rope in her hand fell to the ground with a thud. With just a light shove from Su Wanxing, she staggered backward several steps and sat down heavily on the cold dirt.
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone present. Grandma Li Cuihua’s hands, which had been on her hips, froze mid-air. Grandpa Su Yuan also paused with his pipe still in his mouth. Su Wanfeng, who had been restrained nearby, even forgot to cry as he stared wide-eyed at his sister.
“Rebellion! This girl has gone completely rebellious!” Su Changhe was the first to react. He released his grip on Su Wanfeng, rolled up his sleeves, and rushed toward Su Wanxing. “I’m going to teach you a proper lesson today!”
Su Wanxing had been prepared. She pushed Su Wanyue behind her and said in a low voice, “Wanyue, go hide beside your brother!” As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed forward to meet Su Changhe.
Su Changhe was a man who had worked in the fields all year and had plenty of strength, but his movements were clumsy. Su Wanxing sidestepped his swinging punch, swept her leg under him, and at the same time kicked lightly behind his knee.
Thud!
Su Changhe lost his balance and fell face-first into the dirt, his chin striking a stone. He groaned in pain.
“Big brother!” Seeing this, Su Changjiang grabbed a wooden stick from the side of the yard and rushed forward. He was a bit more cunning than Su Changhe. Knowing Su Wanxing moved quickly, he swung the stick toward her without hesitation.
Su Wanxing’s eyes sharpened, but she remained calm. She dodged the stick nimbly and seized the moment when Su Changjiang’s swing missed. Stepping forward quickly, she grabbed the other end of the stick and yanked it away.
Su Changjiang had not expected her strength (in reality it was clever technique). The stick was instantly taken from him. Su Wanxing reversed her grip and pressed one end of the stick against his chest, giving him a light push. Su Changjiang stumbled backward repeatedly and slammed into the courtyard wall, unable to recover for quite a while.
Within just a few breaths, three adults had been knocked down by the fourteen-year-old Su Wanxing.
Outside the courtyard, many neighbors had gathered after hearing the commotion—Aunt Zhang, Uncle Li, Granny Wang, and several older children. All of them stared in shock.
“My goodness, how did Wanxing suddenly become so formidable?”
“She used to be so obedient. Even when her aunt bullied her, she never dared say a word. What happened today?”
“What else could it be? She’s been pushed too far! Didn’t you see her grandparents and uncles trying to sell her little sister? Anyone would panic!”
The murmurs of the neighbors reached Li Cuihua’s ears, and she felt deeply embarrassed. She climbed up from the ground, slapped her thigh, and began wailing loudly.
“What a jinx! A complete jinx! First she killed her parents, and now she dares to hit her elders! How did our Su family end up raising such an ungrateful brat!”
Su Wanxing looked at her coldly, completely unaffected.
“Grandma, have some conscience when you speak. When my parents had their accident on the mountain, if you had been willing to spend money to treat them, would they have died? The money and grain they left behind were all taken by you. And now you want to sell my four-year-old sister to a trafficker just to get money for Su Yaozu’s marriage. You are the ones without conscience!”
Her voice was clear and loud, every word distinct, allowing all the neighbors to hear clearly.
Su Yuan’s face instantly turned red with anger. He glared fiercely at Li Cuihua, signaling her to stop wailing.
Su Wanxing then turned to Su Wanfeng, who was hiding in the corner, and softened her tone slightly.
“Wanfeng, go to Grandpa Li Zheng’s house right now. Tell him there’s something extremely important and ask him to come and judge fairly.”
Although Su Wanfeng was still afraid, seeing how capable his sister was gave him courage. He nodded and ran toward the east side of the village where the village head lived.
Li Cuihua tried to stop him, but one cold glance from Su Wanxing made her freeze in place. She had just witnessed how formidable this granddaughter was—even her two sons had been defeated. If she stepped forward herself, she would surely suffer as well.
Su Wanxing walked over to Su Wanyue, crouched down, and gently wiped away the tears on her face.
“Don’t be afraid, Wanyue. Your sister is here. No one will sell you.”
Su Wanyue sobbed softly and wrapped her arms tightly around Su Wanxing’s neck.
“Sister…”
Before long, Su Wanfeng returned with the village head.
Village Head Su Xi was a man in his sixties. His hair was gray, but his eyes were sharp, and he held great authority in the village. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he saw Su Changhe, Su Changjiang, and Wang Xiulan lying on the ground groaning, Su Wanxing standing there with determined eyes, and the crowd of neighbors outside.
“Village head, you’ve finally arrived!” Li Cuihua quickly stopped crying and hurried forward, trying to speak.
But the village head ignored her. He walked straight to Su Wanxing and asked in a deep voice,
“Wanxing, your brother said you needed me to judge a matter. What is it?”
Su Wanxing took a deep breath and explained everything clearly from beginning to end.
“Grandpa Village Head, half a year ago my parents fell off a cliff while gathering herbs on the mountain and were badly injured. I begged my grandparents to spend money to treat them, but they said they had none and watched my parents die without treatment. My parents left fifty taels of silver and two dan of grain, but all of it was taken by my grandparents and my two uncles’ families. Today they even tried to sell my four-year-old sister Su Wanyue to a trafficker to raise money for my cousin Su Yaozu’s marriage. When I tried to stop them, they attacked me. I only fought back in self-defense.”
She paused before adding firmly,
“I want to divide the family! I want to live independently with my younger brother and sister so we won’t be bullied by them anymore!”
“Divide the family?” Su Yuan suddenly stood up. “You’re just a little girl with two small children. How could you possibly live independently? I refuse!”
“It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not!” Su Wanxing looked at him fearlessly. “The inheritance my parents left belongs to the three of us as well. You have taken our property and even tried to sell my sister. That already violates the law. Grandpa Village Head, tell me—are they right to do this?”
Village Head Su frowned and looked at Su Yuan, his wife, and the two brothers.
“Is what Wanxing said true? You really tried to sell her sister? And you took their parents’ inheritance?”
Su Changhe and Su Changjiang dared not speak, but Li Cuihua still tried to argue.
“Village head, we didn’t take it! They gave us the money willingly! And selling Wanyue is for her own good—finding her a good family. Isn’t that better than suffering with this brat?”
“Willingly?” Su Wanxing sneered. “My parents are dead. How could they willingly give it to you? And selling a four-year-old child to a trafficker, letting her drift from place to place—how is that for her good? Aunt Zhang, Uncle Li, you tell me. Is that for her good?”
Aunt Zhang stepped forward.
“Village head, I know something about this matter. Wanxing’s parents did leave quite a bit of money. And when they were injured, Wanxing begged her grandmother to treat them, but she refused. As for selling a child—that’s truly a heartless thing to do.”
Other neighbors also spoke up in agreement, saying the Su family had gone too far.
Village Head Su’s expression grew increasingly stern. He turned to Su Yuan and said,
“Su Yuan, Wanxing’s request to divide the family is reasonable. I think you should agree. Return their parents’ inheritance to the three siblings and give them a bit of land so they can survive.”
“Return it to them? Then what about the money for Yaozu’s marriage?” Wang Xiulan anxiously climbed to her feet.
Su Yuan also stiffened his neck stubbornly.
“Village head, it’s not that we’re heartless. It’s just that the family money has already been spent, and the land has all been divided. There’s truly nothing left to give them! If they want to split the family, fine—but the three of them must leave with nothing but their own ragged clothes!”
His words made it clear—they intended to throw Su Wanxing and her siblings out with nothing, unwilling to return even a fraction of their parents’ inheritance. They had no intention of giving anything back to the siblings; they only wanted to squeeze every last bit from them.