Qiao Nian’s fingers trembled, and her eyes were red as she pointed at Wang Xiuying, each word filled with anguish.
“If your Li family didn’t want to take a wife, you could have just said so! Did you really have to humiliate me like this? What you said today was clearly meant to drive me to my death!”
Everyone seemed to come back to their senses.
What exactly had Wang Xiuying said?
Oh, right. Wang Xiuying had called Qiao Nian a slut and accused her of being the kind of woman who had been used by countless men…
Everyone was shocked.
If Wang Xiuying could insult her own daughter-in-law like that, then what kind of man did that make her son?
Some kind of cuckolded husband?
Besides, once a woman was accused of having an improper sexual reputation, someone could report her, and she could be publicly denounced.
Wang Xiuying really was trying to destroy Qiao Nian.
As for Qiao Nian being disrespectful enough to strike her mother-in-law…
Well, perhaps, maybe, it could actually be justified.
Wang Xiuying felt a rush of heat shoot straight to her head. She couldn’t tell whether the pain, humiliation, or embarrassment was worse. All she could feel was the burning pain across her face.
As the first woman in the family to ever be slapped by her daughter-in-law, she had truly lost every bit of dignity she had left.
She collapsed onto the ground, genuinely feeling wronged. Tears and mucus streamed down her face as she wailed in an exaggerated, drawn-out voice.
“I don’t want to live anymore! I’m an old woman of this age, yet I’ve been slapped by a daughter-in-law who just married into the family! What face do I have left to go on living? Ahhh! Waaaah!”
Old Mrs. Zhao, who was close with Wang Xiuying, grabbed her and glared furiously at Qiao Nian.
“How utterly disrespectful! This is completely outrageous! A daughter-in-law beating her mother-in-law is an offense against the natural order! In ancient times, you’d have been thrown into a pig cage!”
“People in ancient times are all dead now. Why don’t you go die too?”
Qiao Nian had already dared to hit her own mother-in-law. Why would she be afraid of some unrelated old woman?
“Since you like her so much, could it be that you think your own daughter-in-law, daughters, and every woman in your family are all sluts who sleep with countless men? Is that why you think there’s nothing wrong with what she said?”
Old Mrs. Zhao hadn’t expected that merely trying to speak up for Wang Xiuying would somehow turn the attack onto herself.
Her thin, gaunt face trembled with rage.
“You’re twisting the truth! Disrespecting your elders will bring divine punishment upon you!”
“What did I do to you?” Qiao Nian asked. “Using your logic, shouldn’t I be thanking you profusely and treating you with the utmost respect after you insulted me? Why aren’t you happy?”
Qiao Nian deliberately twisted her logic back on her.
The old woman was lecturing her about respecting elders, so Qiao Nian simply asked whether she should be grateful for being insulted.
As for the claim about divine punishment, Qiao Nian merely sneered.
If divine punishment really existed, the Qiao and Li families would be the first ones struck by lightning.
People never feel pain when the knife isn’t cutting their own flesh.
One after another, they were all so good at making thoughtless remarks.
Old Mrs. Zhao was about to say something else when her eldest and second daughters-in-law rushed out of the crowd and dragged her away.
They had finally realized that this young daughter-in-law was extremely sharp-tongued. Even if all of them joined forces, they probably couldn’t win an argument with her. They would only end up humiliating themselves further.
Besides, this was a matter between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Why did the old woman have to interfere?
More importantly, they didn’t even think the young woman had done anything wrong.
After suffering under their own mothers-in-law for years, they secretly found it incredibly satisfying.
Seeing her good friend being dragged away, Wang Xiuying remained sprawled on the ground, trembling with anger.
“You disrespect your in-laws, beat your sister-in-law and the children. Is this how your parents taught you to behave?”
“Even if my parents didn’t teach me properly, they certainly wouldn’t have taught me to poison my own biological father!”
Qiao Nian didn’t actually want to defend the Qiao family, but she knew exactly where to strike Wang Xiuying’s sore spot.
In her previous life, Wang Xiuying had constantly mistreated her behind closed doors and publicly framed her.
Seeing Wang Xiuying’s face turn pale with anger, Qiao Nian felt incredibly satisfied.
It was time for this old witch to experience a taste of what she had put others through.
Qiao Nian calmed herself down and asked,
“You said I shouldn’t beat the children. Then tell me clearly, right here in front of everyone: Does that mean that from now on, no matter whether these children murder someone or set something on fire, I’m not allowed to discipline them?
“If that’s what you mean, then from now on I’ll feed them the best food, take care of them properly, and never lay a finger on them again!”
Wang Xiuying opened her mouth but found herself unable to answer.
She hadn’t expected this wicked woman to be so vicious.
How was she supposed to respond?
If she said Qiao Nian wasn’t allowed to beat them, then whenever the children did something wrong in the future, everyone would blame her for failing to raise them properly.
But if she said Qiao Nian was allowed to discipline them, then would her three precious grandsons ever have a peaceful life again? Wouldn’t this woman beat them every single day?
Wang Xiuying ground her teeth in fury.
Their family was full of old and young people. All they could do was wait for Dakang to come home and have him beat this wicked woman to death.
Wang Xiuying remained silent.
The three Li boys seemed to gradually understand what was happening, and they began crying even harder.
Qiao Nian finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Look at that. This is what a real life is supposed to be like.
“Alright, stop making such a fuss. All four of you only have yourselves on your minds. I’m still worried about Dakang. Hurry up and let’s go to the hospital to see him. Oh, I’ve been worrying about him all day!”
As she spoke, Qiao Nian covered her chest with both hands, putting on an expression of deep concern.
Now that she had dealt with everyone else in the Li family, it was finally time to go to the hospital and meet Li Dakang.
……
After an entire afternoon of shouting and arguing, the drama finally came to an end as dusk approached.
Qiao Nian ignored them and reheated the leftover rice and green-pepper scrambled eggs from lunch. She ate a few mouthfuls to fill her stomach, then found a lunch box and carefully ladled the millet porridge from the pot into it.
She thoughtfully wrapped a towel around the lunch box to keep it warm.
By the time they arrived at the hospital, Li Dakang had already regained consciousness.
Li Yumei was carefully feeding him warm water.
When Li Yumei turned around, she noticed the faint slap mark on her mother’s face.
“Mom, your…”
The shock she felt was even greater than the shock of being slapped herself.
Could it be that this new sister-in-law had actually beaten her mother-in-law?
For a moment, Li Yumei couldn’t tell whether she felt more anger or disbelief.
Wang Xiuying shook her head. Dachen had only just woken up and was still weak. This was not the time to talk about it.
Besides, Dachen usually listened to her more than anyone else. Once he recovered, she would have him stand up for her.
“Come, Dachen. I saw there was still some millet in the kitchen, so I made you some porridge. I simmered it for two hours. Millet is good for the stomach, so have plenty while it’s still warm.”
Qiao Nian calmly walked over to the bedside, opened the container of millet porridge she was carrying, and handed it to Li Dachen together with a spoon.
Li Dachen had noticed that everyone’s expressions were strange the moment he entered the room, but since his mother had not said anything, he did not ask.
Seeing the millet porridge Qiao Nian had brought him, his heart warmed.
He had only managed to eat a few bites that morning, and after everything he had gone through, the doctor had ordered him not to eat anything when he woke up. By now, he was starving.
The millet porridge was at just the right temperature. It had been cooked until soft and flavorful, and the entire container was quickly emptied.
“All right. Dachen is out of danger now. Yumei, you should go home.”
After saying that, Wang Xiuying turned to Qiao Nian.
“After all, you’re Dachen’s wife. For the next few days, whenever you have nothing else to do, stay here and take good care of Dachen. No problem, right?”