That final sentence landed like a drop of water in sizzling oil!
The villagers of Xiaohe Village loved nothing more than gossiping and watching others’ misfortunes—why else would they come swarming out in the middle of the night at the cry of “adultery”?
To seek excitement, a married couple actually had their own mother “catch” them in the act? This was an unprecedented scandal!
The villagers exchanged glances, then burst into uncontrollable laughter and chatter.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, who would’ve thought Zhang Sanjiao and her husband were into such wild games?”
“Haha, look at those needles all over the child—would it take less than an hour to stick them all? That Zhang Family’s Old Woman has truly lost her mind, biting anyone she can get her teeth into!”
Clearly, Zhang Family’s Old Woman had fallen for her own daughter’s vicious scheme, becoming the laughingstock of the entire village!
Wang Family Daughter-in-law, who’d never gotten along with the old woman, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “What disgraceful trash, unfit for decent company! Just hearing about it soils my ears!”
“You… all of you!” Zhang Family’s Old Woman trembled with rage, her face turning the color of liver, nearly fainting on the spot.
Lu Erniang, the Zhang family’s neighbor, asked doubtfully, “But there was no one there?”
“Don’t be stupid, Lu Erniang!” Wang Family Daughter-in-law laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. “With Zhang Family’s Old Woman leading such a big crowd, wouldn’t that couple hurry to hide somewhere? They’re probably hiding behind some haystack right now, laughing at their own mother’s humiliation!”
“I’ll tear your filthy mouth to shreds!” The old woman’s pent-up fury and shame erupted completely. She shrieked and lunged at Wang Family Daughter-in-law, the two women grappling violently.
The scene instantly descended into chaos.
Seeing things were about to spiral out of control, the Village Chief—who had been feigning ignorance—finally barked sharply, “Enough! Stop this at once!” He immediately assigned several men. “You lot, go search that area again carefully! To be thorough, check the Zhang residence too!” His gaze swept darkly over Meng Xizhou and the gasping Zhang Family’s Old Woman on the ground.
Time ticked by, a suffocating tension filling the room. Zhang Family’s Old Woman stared venomously at Meng Xizhou, her eyes brimming with enough hatred to draw blood.
Finally, the men sent out returned, each face pale with horror.
“We found them,” the leader said, his voice trembling with fear. “We discovered the couple in that abandoned well… a gruesome death, their clothes disheveled. They probably panicked when they heard Zhang Family’s Old Woman coming with the crowd, rushed to hide, and fell in by accident…”
“What?!” Zhang Family’s Old Woman shrieked, springing up from the ground. “Impossible! You’re lying!”
The villagers were stunned. They’d come out for some midnight entertainment—how had it turned into a tragedy so quickly?
Tears of terror welled rapidly in Meng Xizhou’s eyes. “How could this be… Mother-in-law, please accept my condolences!”
The word “condolences” jolted the old woman like an electric shock. Suddenly remembering something, she pointed a shaking finger at Meng Xizhou. “It was you! You little bitch! When I left the house, I heard Sanjiao and Liu Ming screaming in agony… You must have killed them!”
Meng Xizhou rose slowly from the edge of the bed, step by step, like a vengeful deity of death, advancing on the nearly broken old woman.
“Screaming? You must have misheard, Mother-in-law. It must have been Sister and Brother-in-law… having a wild romp. They were just… unable to control their noises of pleasure!”
Boom—!
Her words struck like thunder, leaving everyone dumbfounded! Even several elderly women flushed bright red with embarrassment.
Wang Family Daughter-in-law had found the perfect angle of attack, raising her voice shrilly: “Just listen! Zhang Sanjiao and her husband fooling around outside would’ve been bad enough, but they had to drag their foolish mother along to watch! Now look—they’ve lost all face and their lives too! Serves them right!”
“Exactly!” someone immediately chimed in. “If you ask me, Zhang Family’s Old Woman’s daughter and son-in-law died from her own stupidity!”
Zhang Family’s Old Woman felt a metallic sweetness rush up her throat, her vision flickering with darkness.
“Pfft—” The next moment, a mouthful of fresh blood gushed violently from her lips!
Meng Xizhou quickly expressed concern: “Grandma, you must take care of yourself! Your daughter and son-in-law… are still waiting for you to collect their bodies!”
Just as Zhang Family’s Old Woman wiped the blood from her mouth, this “thoughtful” reminder made her eyes roll back abruptly, and she collapsed stiffly backward.
Zhang Family’s Old Woman was usually mean-spirited and vicious, with terrible relationships among the villagers. Seeing her fall, not a single person stepped forward to help.
Only Meng Xizhou threw herself beside Zhang Family’s Old Woman, wailing dramatically: “Grandma~ Grandma~ Wake up!”
She reached out to check Zhang Family’s Old Woman’s breathing.
Fortunately, she was still breathing.
It was good she wasn’t dead yet—the main course hadn’t even been served. How could she choke to death on just a plate of peanuts?
Meng Xizhou turned to the ashen-faced Village Chief: “An elder burying the young—Grandma is so grief-stricken she’s fainted… Could I trouble you, Village Chief, to send two people to help my grandma bury her daughter and son-in-law?”
Looking at this mess, the Village Chief could only grudgingly accept it: “Of course, when any family in the village has troubles, we all help each other out.” He paused, “This Zhang Sanjiao couple… ah!” He then assigned a few people—some to carry the unconscious Zhang Family’s Old Woman back, others to go bury the bodies by the dry well.
As the farce drew to a close, the villagers dispersed in small groups, sighing and shaking their heads.
Meng Xizhou lay down on her cold bedding on the floor, unable to sleep at all.
Tomorrow would be her wedding night with that fool husband from her previous life, Zhang Zhi.
Just thinking of that name made her stomach churn violently, nauseated to the point of vomiting.
When he was two, he had pushed another child into a manure pit, then scared himself into a fever that damaged his brain, leaving his mind forever at a child’s level. Yet he somehow understood matters between men and women instinctively, like a boar in heat at any moment!
This lifetime, how should she make him die to repay that “marital affection” from their past life?
The next day, as soon as Zhang Family’s Old Woman woke up, she rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and with bloodshot eyes, charged toward the Village Chief’s house.
“Bitch! I’ll chop you to pieces!”
Just then, Zhang Zhi on the bed woke up, grinning as he shouted: “Mom… hungry… want milk…”
Seeing her beloved, precious son, Zhang Family’s Old Woman suddenly came to her senses. If she killed Meng Xizhou, who would bear her grandson?
Given the Zhang family’s current situation, buying another wife would be harder than climbing to heaven!
Daughters were just money-losers—dead was dead! How could they compare to her precious golden grandson?!
Besides, if it weren’t for that dead girl Sanjiao last night, how would she have lost so much face and become the village laughingstock?!
Zhang Family’s Old Woman slammed the kitchen knife fiercely into the cutting board and picked up a thick hemp rope instead: “Zhi’er be good, Mom will go tie your wife up right now! Later… she’ll give you milk!”