“You!”
Qiao Weiguo never expected Qiao Nian to openly talk back to him in front of so many people. With all his old and new grievances rushing to the surface, he stood up and immediately tried to slap her.
Wang Xiuying finally felt somewhat satisfied. Seizing the opportunity, she quickly added fuel to the fire.
“Your in-laws, how exactly did you raise this daughter of yours? She got married, and on her very first day at her husband’s home, she sent her husband to the hospital! She beat the child, beat her sister-in-law, and even dared to hit me, her mother-in-law! Our Li family absolutely cannot keep a daughter-in-law like this. Return the bride price immediately! We want a divorce!”
When Qiao Weiguo heard this, his dark, weathered face turned bright red with anger.
His married daughter had been brought back by her in-laws the very next day!
How was he supposed to show his face after this?
Qiao Nian dodged his slaps, jumping around to avoid him.
“Dad, what did I do? Didn’t you tell me before I got married? You said that if the child needed discipline, I should beat them, and that I had to keep the money in my hands because eventually, it would all belong to our Qiao family!”
“Oh! So this was your plan all along!”
Wang Xiuying let out a shriek, so furious that her mouth nearly twisted.
“Give me my money back!”
She knew it!
Qiao Nian must have taken the money. Even the six thousand yuan might be in her hands, and she could simply turn around and give it to the Qiao family.
Wang Xiuying charged forward, waving her arms wildly.
Qiao Weiguo didn’t dare hit a woman, so he could only awkwardly dodge her attacks. He felt more wronged than Dou E herself.
Soon, several deep purple fingernail marks appeared on Qiao Weiguo’s face.
Chen Hongmei could no longer sit still.
She grabbed Wang Xiuying and shoved her down onto a chair before smacking her hard across the face.
“You shameless woman! How dare you bully my husband! Stop spouting nonsense!”
Wang Xiuying was furious beyond words.
She had been beaten by Qiao Nian at the Li family’s home, and now, after coming to the Qiao family to demand justice, she was being beaten by Qiao Nian’s parents too.
How could they bully her like this?
Wang Xiuying exerted all her strength and directly overturned the chair, sending both herself and Chen Hongmei crashing to the floor.
She immediately got up, straddled Chen Hongmei, grabbed her hair with one hand, and slapped her face repeatedly with the other.
“Why do all of you keep bullying me?! You shameless family! Have you forgotten how you used to bow and scrape before me?!”
Qiao Nian’s eyes lit up with excitement.
They were actually fighting!
And they were fighting this fiercely?
She’d better learn a few things while she could. She might need them later.
Before long, Chen Hongmei’s face and mouth were swollen from the beating. Tears and mucus covered her face as she cried and cursed.
“Qiao Nian, are you dead?! Hurry up and help me!”
Qiao Nian’s eyes immediately brightened.
She clenched her itching fists and quickly joined the battle.
She kicked Wang Xiuying hard in the butt.
Wang Xiuying stumbled forward, and her face instantly collided with Chen Hongmei’s.
When she lifted her head again, both women’s teeth were stained with bright red blood.
Wang Xiuying tasted iron in her mouth.
“Ptooey!”
She spat out a mouthful of saliva streaked with bright red blood.
Then a tooth rolled out of the saliva.
It rolled along the floor twice with a soft clatter before coming to a stop.
“Ah!”
Wang Xiuying let out a piercing scream that shattered the silence.
“You’ve gone too far! I’m going to fight you to the death!”
She couldn’t reach Qiao Nian, so she could only turn her fury toward Chen Hongmei beneath her, grabbing and clawing at her with red-rimmed eyes.
Old Master Qiao watched the chaotic scene below, his face turning ashen.
He slammed his hand heavily onto the table.
“Separate them! Hurry up and pull them apart!”
His face felt like it was burning with embarrassment, especially in front of these distinguished guests.
At this point, he didn’t even dare raise his head and look at the people sitting across from him.
Qiao Nian obediently went over when she heard him calling for someone to break up the fight.
Of course, while pulling them apart, she conveniently pinched each of them several times.
Her older aunt, Qiao Qiuhua, her younger aunt, Qiao Qiuwen, and her third aunt-in-law, Shen Guifang, could clearly see that Qiao Nian was enjoying the chaos far too much.
They hurriedly stood up and each grabbed one of the women, pulling them apart.
The two women were separated at last, but their appearance was now a complete disaster.
Their clothes were disheveled and covered in dust, blood, and tears, all smeared together into a filthy mess.
They looked utterly miserable.
In an unnoticed corner, no one paid attention to Zhou Shaoquan.
He glanced down at his large, clearly defined hands, lowering his brows as he fell into thought.
Qiao Nian straightened her clothes and breathed slightly heavily.
Once again, she had to admit:
Beating people really was satisfying.
But it was also exhausting.
Old Master Qiao glanced at the distinguished guests and saw that they had no intention of speaking.
He had no choice but to ask, “Qiao Nian, tell us. What exactly happened? Why did you come back for no reason?”
The look he gave Qiao Nian seemed to be laced with poison.
This wasn’t a granddaughter.
She was clearly a disaster star.
It had been like this seventeen years ago, and it was still the same now.
He regretted it now.
Seventeen years ago, he should have thrown her somewhere much farther away. Then she wouldn’t have been able to come back and cause trouble for the Qiao family.
Qiao Nian spread her hands and deliberately glossed over the details.
“It’s exactly what you saw. I did what my dad taught me to do. My mother-in-law found out, so I came here to ask my parents for an explanation. My mom wouldn’t accept it, so we started fighting.”
Old Man Qiao frowned.
“Keep the money in your hands, because eventually it would all belong to the Qiao family.”
That certainly sounded like something his second son would say.
Seeing his father’s expression, Qiao Weiguo’s heart immediately sank.
“I didn’t! Qiao Nian is talking nonsense!”
At this point, he only wished he could stay as far away from Qiao Nian as possible.
Every time this debt-collecting demon appeared in front of him, another pile of trouble mysteriously landed on his head.
And there was nowhere for him to argue his case.
“All of you are willing to do it but not willing to admit it, huh?”
Wang Xiuying looked at them with contempt.
“I don’t care what really happened. Everything I said was done by Qiao Nian. You’re her biological father, so you’re responsible! My demand is simple: return the bride price and get a divorce. Take her back!”
Her greatest priority now was to send Qiao Nian, this disaster star, back where she came from.
As for Qiao Weiguo, he was merely a worker at a shoe factory. Once her son Dazhuan came home, she would make sure Qiao Weiguo returned the money anyway.
The moment Qiao Weiguo heard that he had to take Qiao Nian back, he immediately refused.
Who knew what had gotten into Qiao Nian these past two days?
He absolutely didn’t dare take this troublemaker back!
He had finally managed to marry her off and let another family deal with her.
And now they wanted him to take her back?
No way!
Thinking of this, he stiffened his neck.
“The money is already spent. There’s no bride price left, and I don’t want her back either. Do whatever you want!”
Wang Xiuying spat.
“You old bastard! I see what you’re doing now. You deliberately planned this! You’re after the money my Dazhuan earns! And it isn’t just the money—you even want to lay your hands on my grandson! Your ulterior motives are practically written all over your face!”
Enraged, Wang Xiuying once again moved as though she was about to attack.
“Quiet! Quiet!”
Old Man Qiao was angry too. This woman was completely unreasonable. She had ruined the good atmosphere of his family.
Qiao Wei’s eyes flickered.
She walked over from Zhou Shaoliang’s side, a smile on her face.
“Auntie Wang, please calm down. If my sister has done anything wrong, let me apologize to you on her behalf first.”
She pursed her lips, looking troubled.
“My sister is usually a very good person. She just gets impulsive when she loses her temper. Once she calms down, everything will be fine.”
“Slap!”
A slap landed across her face, leaving Qiao Wei stunned once again.
“My temper is already up!”
Seeing Qiao Wei’s innocent, sweet facade made Qiao Nian want to vomit.
“Qiao Wei, what are you pretending for? Yesterday, you were already arguing with me over Li Dazhuan at the residential compound! What? Are you trying to have it both ways today?”
Still not satisfied, Qiao Nian shoved her to the ground and began slapping her from both sides, one slap after another.
“Don’t you like Li Dazhuan? Fine! I’ll get a divorce, and you can marry him! Are you happy now? Tell me! Are you satisfied or not?”