Jiang Yutong looked at Ning Zhengsong charging toward her and hurriedly said to him and Sun Taohua, “Think about this carefully. I have no grudge against such a small child, so why would I smother her to death? I only saw Mother-in-law come out of the room, and then I saw that Pan Di was covered with a quilt, so I went into the room to take a look.”
Jiang Yutong pretended to cry. “Mother-in-law, how could you be so cruel? I’ve been in the Ning family for so many years. Even if I haven’t made any great contributions, I’ve certainly worked hard. I heard what you said to my husband a few days ago. Even if you want to divorce me, there was no need to sacrifice your own granddaughter. She’s just a child.”
“Although Eldest Sister-in-law gave birth to another daughter, and you don’t like her, she’s still a human life. She’s a piece of flesh that was born from Eldest Sister-in-law’s body!”
Ning Zhengsong froze when he heard this. He already believed her to some extent, but that was his own mother, so he could only stubbornly say, “You’re talking nonsense.”
While Ning Zhengsong only half-believed her, Sun Taohua believed every word.
She had given birth to four daughters in a row, and Ning Yaoshi had always treated her with contempt. When Pan Di was born, Ning Yaoshi had nearly thrown her into the latrine. Fortunately, Ning Zhengsong had stopped her.
A wave of sorrow washed over Sun Taohua. She stopped crying as she held her baby, her eyes fixed intensely on Ning Yaoshi.
Feeling uncomfortable under her eldest daughter-in-law’s stare, Ning Yaoshi became angry. She stepped forward and slapped her across the face.
“You’ve got some nerve! How dare you turn against me? Do you think I’m that kind of person?”
Sun Taohua took the slap without resisting and softly called out, “Mother!”
Ning Yaoshi glared fiercely at her. “You’ve given birth to nothing but money-losing daughters, and you still dare to glare at me? Sooner or later, I’ll make my eldest son divorce you!”
Sun Taohua could only retreat while holding her daughter, not daring to say another word.
Only then did Ning Yaoshi’s anger ease somewhat. She had both of her daughters-in-law completely under her thumb.
Still feeling unsatisfied, she turned to Ning Zhengsong and cursed, “What are you waiting for? Didn’t you see that that wretched woman hit your younger brother and your own mother?”
Ning Zhengsong had always obeyed Ning Yaoshi. Hearing this, he once again walked toward Jiang Yutong.
Looking at the tall and burly Ning Zhengsong, Jiang Yutong knew that the original body was extremely weak. Although she herself could fight, she might suffer a disadvantage under the current circumstances.
She had always believed that if you couldn’t win a fight, you should run.
So she hurriedly shouted while running toward the door.
“Everyone, come and see! Scholar Ning passed the exam and now looks down on his poor wife. He’s even come up with such a vicious scheme to have me killed! I worked my fingers to the bone for all these years, supporting Ning Zhengqing so he could study and attend school!”
It happened to be the slack farming season, so people quickly gathered outside. They pointed at Ning Zhengqing and whispered among themselves.
Ning Zhengqing was a scholar who couldn’t even carry a shoulder pole or lift anything heavy. The kick Jiang Yutong had given him earlier had not been light, and now he was being pointed at and discussed by everyone. His face turned red, then pale, then red again.
He hurriedly said, “There’s no such thing! There’s no such thing!”
How could Ning Yaoshi allow such accusations to be thrown at her son?
He was now a Scholar Master. In the future, she was counting on her promising son to let her live a comfortable life.
Ning Yaoshi rushed toward Jiang Yutong, who was speaking nonstop.
“You ungrateful wretch! Our Ning family feeds you and clothes you, yet you’re still this vicious! You dare slander my son? This family has no place for you anymore. Today, I’m going to tear that mouth of yours apart and teach you to stop spouting nonsense!”
Jiang Yutong had crawled out of a horde of zombies. How could she possibly be afraid of Ning Yaoshi?
The moment Ning Yaoshi charged at her, Jiang Yutong sidestepped, causing Ning Yaoshi to stumble straight toward the courtyard wall.
Fortunately, Ning Yaoshi managed to hold back some of her momentum when Jiang Yutong moved aside, but she still hit the wall hard enough to develop a large bump on her head.
She immediately cried out, “Ow! Ow! She’s trying to kill me! She’s trying to kill me! The Ning family must divorce this poisonous woman!”
Jiang Yutong quickly said, “Everyone saw that, right? I didn’t touch her. She fell by herself. Don’t go dumping every accusation on me!”
Even Ning Yaoshi hadn’t expected Jiang Yutong, who normally couldn’t get a word out of her even if you beat her eight times with a stick, to suddenly become so outspoken today.
“Enough!”
A voice rang out.
Ning Zhengqing could no longer stand being treated like a monkey while everyone pointed and stared at him. He shouted angrily.
“Jiang Yutong, our Ning family has treated you well. Back then, we spent ten taels of silver to buy you, and we have always treated you decently. I never imagined you would turn out to be this kind of person. You’ve been in the Ning family for five years without giving birth to a child. Now you disrespect your mother-in-law and even assault me. This family has no place for you anymore. Today, I will write you a divorce letter. From now on, you and I will have nothing to do with each other!”
Jiang Yutong spat in disgust.
“Ning Zhengqing, you hypocrite! All these years, I worked like an ox and a horse in the Ning family, supporting you with every stitch and every thread so you could study. Now that you’ve merely passed the Scholar examination, your tail is already sticking up to the sky, and you think you’re too good for me?”
“What? Are you so eager to marry your teacher’s daughter?”
Jiang Yutong raised her hand. Her fingers were covered with needle marks and calluses left behind by years of sewing.
“Everyone, look at my hands! Look what they’ve become for the sake of this family. And my eyes—I’ve stayed up night after night doing embroidery. I’m still so young, yet my eyesight is already failing.”
As she finished speaking, Jiang Yutong’s voice became choked with emotion.
She felt a sudden ache in her heart. Perhaps the original Jiang Yutong had also been unwilling to accept this fate. She had worked day and night to support her husband through the imperial examinations, only to raise an ungrateful man.
Among the onlookers, someone who had always been friendly with the original Jiang Yutong spoke up.
“That’s right. Yutong has always been a good person. Over all these years, it was only because of her embroidery work that Scholar Ning could study in peace.”
“A person shouldn’t forget those who helped them.”
“Exactly! We all saw how much Yutong sacrificed.”
Ning Yaoshi finally recovered from the shock. Seeing that the situation was turning against her, she immediately threw herself onto the ground and began wailing.
“My life is so miserable! I raised an ungrateful son, and now he even hits me! Oh, heavens! I’m going to report this to the authorities and have this poisonous woman divorced!”
“She not only beat us, she even tried to harm my poor little granddaughter! Such a tiny child! Jiang Yutong is simply out of her mind!”
Jiang Yutong loudly interrupted her.
“Everyone, please help me call the village head and Doctor Li. Since the Ning family can no longer tolerate me, I demand a mutual divorce!”
There was no way Jiang Yutong would accept being divorced.
If anyone was going to end this marriage, it would be her divorcing Ning Zhengqing.
Besides, there was no way she would let Ning Zhengqing escape from her so easily. At the very least, she would make sure he paid a heavy price.
He wanted to marry his teacher’s daughter, didn’t he?
She would never let him have his way.
Before long, a stern middle-aged man pushed his way through the crowd and entered the courtyard.
It was Tao, the village head of Shangyuan Village.
“What is all this shouting and commotion?” he demanded.
After saying that, he cupped his fists toward Ning Zhengqing in greeting.
Ning Zhengqing was now a Scholar. There were very few scholars in Shangyuan Village, and it was rare for the village to produce even one Scholar in more than a decade. In the future, Shangyuan Village would have to rely on Ning Zhengqing in many ways.
Tao then turned sternly toward Jiang Yutong.
“Jiang, you have a perfectly good life. What are you making such a fuss about here?”
From Tao’s attitude, Jiang Yutong immediately knew that she would not get a fair hearing from him.
Fortunately, at that moment, Doctor Li arrived carrying a medicine box on his back.
“What happened here?”
Only then did Jiang Yutong finally breathe a sigh of relief. Jiang Yutong’s elder brother had once saved Doctor Li’s life, and over the years, Doctor Li had helped her quite a bit. Moreover, Doctor Li had practiced medicine and saved lives throughout the surrounding area for many years, earning considerable respect and prestige among the villagers.