The old woman panicked. “Don’t talk nonsense! Third Son, have you no shame?”
Qiao Shucun paid no attention to his mother. What, did he think that just because the sickle wasn’t pressed against her neck, he could say whatever he wanted?
“I don’t want shame—I want to stay alive. My mother wants me to marry Second Sister-in-law, but Second Sister-in-law refuses. So my mother wants me to help her work in the fields, grab her hand while we’re out there, and then call people over to see us. If Second Sister-in-law cares about her reputation, she’ll have no choice but to marry me.”
Jiang Xiu’s face flushed scarlet with anger. “You animal! Are you even human? I’m your sister-in-law!”
Qiao Zhangshi argued forcefully, “Your second brother is dead. Whoever you remarry, you’ll still be remarrying. At least my third son has never been married. He can treat his niece and nephew like his own children. If you marry some outsider, who will be as devoted to you as he is?”
“Pah! Their father is gone. I accept that my life is unfortunate. I’m not remarrying—I’ll raise the two children myself.
“Anyone who tries to make a move on me will have to fight me to the bitter end!”
Qiao Shulin had two brothers. The eldest, Qiao Shuhuai, was born of the same mother as Qiao Shulin, but he died young. Qiao Shulin’s biological mother died when he was three, and his father remarried, taking Qiao Zhangshi as his second wife.
After entering the family, Qiao Zhangshi gave birth to a son and a daughter. That son was Qiao Shucun.
Qiao Shulin had inherited all his parents’ good features. He had thick brows, large eyes, and a tall build. Even though his family was poor, finding him a wife would not have been difficult.
Qiao Shucun, on the other hand, had inherited none of his parents’ good features, while every one of their flaws had found its way onto him.
He had grown sideways instead of upward. The seven holes on his face—the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, and mouth—were all arranged with remarkable carelessness. The parts that ought to be large were small, and the parts that ought to be small were large.
With looks like his, even though Qiao Zhangshi had saved every penny for her son, he was nearly forty and still had not found a wife.
What girl would want to spend her life with someone of his kind? It wasn’t as though she made a living as a professional monkey trainer.
Five years ago, Qiao Shulin fell ill and died. After that, the mother and son began to entertain some ideas. Although Jiang Xiu had two children, she was beautiful and still looked remarkably youthful despite being in her thirties.
If Qiao Shucun married his sister-in-law, he would gain his second brother’s modest property and two little children to support him in his old age. If she gave him a son as well, he would be so delighted he could probably jump in his sleep.
The mother and son’s plans were more beautiful than a toad dreaming of eating swan meat. But they had barely brought up the idea before Jiang Xiu chased them out with a fire poker.
Ever since Jiang Xiu had married into the family, she had suffered no shortage of bullying from her stepmother-in-law. She wasn’t stupid enough to leap willingly into a pit of fire.
But that didn’t mean the mother and son had let her go. Qiao Shucun had made lewd remarks to her face and knocked on her door in the middle of the night. Jiang Xiu had to guard against him every day as though she were warding off a thief.
Today, Qiao Zhangshi had spotted an opening. Using the excuse of asking for money to support her in old age, she tricked Jiang Xiu into opening the door. Qiao Shucun immediately entered and tried to drag away the handcart. Jiang Xiu refused, and that was how the argument began.
Crying, Jiang Xiu said, “Not one of you has a conscience! His father treated you well when he was alive, but the moment he died, you started bullying his wife and children. Are you even human?”
Most of the onlookers were condemning Qiao Zhangshi and her son. What era was this? How could people still bully men and women like this? How could they mistreat a widowed sister-in-law and still face their own elder brother in the afterlife?
Qiao Shucun began pleading with Lin An’an. “Niece, put the sickle down. If you really hurt your Third Uncle, you won’t be able to escape responsibility. At best, you’ll spend some time in jail. At worst, you’ll be executed.”
Lin An’an sneered. “I’m not afraid. The police station isn’t yours to control. This is legitimate self-defense.”
Ji Cheng parted the crowd and hobbled over, leaning on his cane. “Give me the sickle. It’s so dull it’s practically useless. Could it really kill anyone? It’s only good for frightening cowards.”
Lin An’an glanced at the sickle, which gleamed coldly. She had never used one and didn’t know much about them. Could this thing really be all show and no substance? Was it only useful for scaring people?
“Hurry up. Give me the sickle.”
Given Ji Cheng’s profession, Lin An’an trusted him. She put the sickle away and handed it to him.
Jiang Xiu immediately pulled Lin An’an into her arms. “All right, all right. Are you hurt?”
Her daughter had nearly scared her to death. If An’an were injured, Jiang Xiu would be heartbroken as her mother. But if Qiao Shucun were injured, her daughter’s future would be ruined.
As soon as Qiao Zhangshi saw that her son was safe, she came back to life. With one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Jiang Xiu and her daughter, she jumped three feet into the air.
“You shameless slut! Your daughter took a sickle and tried to kill someone. I’ll have her sent to prison if it’s the last thing I do. Just you wait!”
Ji Cheng tossed the sickle in front of Qiao Zhangshi. “Open your eyes and take a good look. It’s so dull it couldn’t cut through anything. Who could it kill? It’s only fit for tricking children. Only an idiot would believe otherwise.”
Qiao Zhangshi was stunned by his words. She hurriedly picked it up and examined it. Not only was it covered in rust, it was obviously so dull it could hardly cut grass.
“No, no, that’s not right! It definitely wasn’t this one just now. Someone switched them!”
Ji Cheng’s expression darkened. “What are you implying? With so many eyes watching, who switched it? Point them out.”
Ji Cheng was no ordinary villager. He had arrested criminals and faced life-and-death situations. He naturally carried an imposing air that made people wary even when he wasn’t angry. Qiao Zhangshi’s voice dropped, and her confidence faltered.
“Did… did I see it wrong?”
Ji Cheng’s mother was also among the onlookers. If she didn’t step forward now, when would she?
“Qiao Zhangshi, Qiao Shulin only died a few years ago. As his stepmother, you don’t have to help his family, but you shouldn’t be tripping them up behind their backs, either. How much strength or courage could a little girl have? She took that broken sickle simply to bolster her courage, and you turned it into a weapon for controlling a widow and her children.
“Qiao Zhangshi, are you trying to use sending this girl to prison as an excuse to force Shanzi’s mother to marry Qiao Shucun? Don’t you have any shame? If Qiao Shucun were any good, would he have gone more than twenty years without finding even an idiot to marry? You’re simply trying to cheat her!”
“If you have the ability, go find a woman outside the family. What kind of ability is it to bully your own sister-in-law? Even if you take this to the authorities, marriage is a matter of personal freedom. No one will support what you’re doing.”
Whether or not Qiao Zhangshi had really been plotting exactly that, it was now as good as established fact. Once people said she had such intentions, then she had them.
Qiao Zhangshi grew angry and sneered, “She isn’t your daughter-in-law. Why are you two working so hard on her behalf? Do you think they’ll even appreciate it?”
Ji Cheng’s mother cheerfully retorted, “Feeling guilty, are you? So it really was what you had in mind. Who in the village doesn’t know about it? I stand with reason, not with relatives. You have no reason on your side, so you have no reason.”
Ji Cheng’s father was the village Party secretary, and the couple had considerable prestige in the village. At that moment, public opinion turned completely against Qiao Zhangshi and her son, and everyone began denouncing them.
…
When Qiao Zhangshi saw that she could gain no advantage, and that she had already lost face in front of so many people, she gave her son a look. The mother and son squeezed through the crowd and slunk away.
“Have you finished clearing the fields? Have you planted all the wheat? You still have time to watch a spectacle? Come on, let’s go!”
Ji Cheng’s mother had a gift for rallying everyone. The crowd of onlookers quickly dispersed until not a single person remained.
Lin An’an had been secretly studying Ji Cheng the entire time. She had clearly taken a sickle that gleamed coldly. How had it suddenly become one covered in rust?
Ji Cheng seemed to understand what she was thinking. He lifted the hem of his shirt, drew a sickle from his waist, and placed it on the table with a clang.
Lin An’an picked it up and examined it. She recognized it immediately. It was the one she had held against Qiao Shucun’s neck.
What else was there for the Qiao family to misunderstand?
Shanzi had used his small, inconspicuous stature to his advantage and coordinated with Ji Cheng to switch the sickles right under everyone’s noses.
“Ji Cheng, we owe you a great deal today. Come inside and have a word.”
Ji Cheng had been a tremendous help, so Jiang Xiu poured him a glass of water and added a little brown sugar.
When dealing with other people, there was nothing wrong with being ruthless. The soft feared the tough, and the tough feared those who didn’t care about their own lives. That principle still applied in many situations.
But one had to think of an escape route first, and Lin An’an clearly had not.
“An’an, you can’t be so impulsive next time. If it hadn’t been for Ji Cheng, who knows how that old woman would have tormented us?”
Ji Cheng’s mother was right. If Qiao Zhangshi had used Lin An’an as leverage against her, Jiang Xiu might truly have agreed to marry that inhuman dog. She couldn’t possibly stand by and watch her daughter’s life be ruined.
But from Lin An’an’s perspective, if it happened again, she would still do the same thing. She would simply be more thorough and make sure not to leave any evidence behind.
“What we really have to worry about is that the old woman won’t give up. Be careful from now on.”
Ji Cheng’s warning was not without reason. Since Qiao Zhangshi and her son had failed to achieve their goal, they would come up with some other underhanded scheme.
All they could do was stay on guard.