Looking at the full harvest basket, Pei Luo finally felt satisfied and prepared to head down the mountain. Although today’s harvest wasn’t enormous, she had spent a long time out, and the sun was already tilting west. If she didn’t descend soon, darkness would bring danger.
Dragging her exhausted body back to the village, having worked most of the day without eating, she was starving. Just as she thought about cooking some meat to reward herself, she saw a crowd gathered at her courtyard gate. From a distance, she could hear Madam Lu’s scolding, loud enough to seem afraid no one would hear.
“Oh, this heartless little harlot! My son just left home a short while ago, and she can’t bear the loneliness and brings a wild man home? My son isn’t even dead, yet she’s already so eager to find a lover? Shameless! Everyone, come see! This adulterer is even wearing my son’s clothes! Two children are still at home, and this little slut doesn’t hide it at all! My poor son! What kind of stepmother is this for the children? She’s brought back a harlot! She’s dishonoring our family, corrupting our household!”
Pei Luo had never heard Madam Lu curse so harshly. In her previous life, the original woman was often berated, but now the words were aimed directly at her. How could she tolerate this?
The villagers were pointing and whispering at Fu Yunqing. The two children hid behind him, terrified. Already injured and unaccustomed to encountering such a shrew, Fu Yunqing found himself momentarily speechless under the verbal assault. But the violent rise and fall of his chest betrayed the depth of his anger.
“You woman, you’re utterly unreasonable! I’ve said it already—I have no illicit relationship with Pei Luo, yet you dare to fabricate these lies!”
As the saying goes, harsh environments breed stubborn people. No wonder Pei Luo preferred living in this shabby courtyard with her children rather than with her mother-in-law. Madam Lu blocked her and the children in the yard, shouting loudly to draw a crowd. Clearly, she intended to ruin Pei Luo’s reputation.
Fu Yunqing had never witnessed someone so eager to sully their son and daughter-in-law’s name. It was an eye-opening experience.
“You adulterer! Of course you won’t admit it. When the village chief arrives, I’ll divorce that harlot for my son! Our Lu family will not tolerate such a shameless woman!”
Although old, Madam Lu’s voice carried full force, her energy especially explosive when she placed her hands on her hips while cursing. Pei Luo pushed through the crowd, smiling with charm, and walked up to link arms with Fu Yunqing. She called out loudly,
“You want to divorce me? Fine! I’ll elope with my lover. These two burdensome children will be yours to raise. They’re so small, they can’t work and eat a lot. With food so expensive, I can finally stop feeding them. You better divorce me quickly! But that pig Lu Yuan gave me, we’re not returning it, and you cannot sell these two children. Since their father entrusted them to me, I won’t let them be sold. Otherwise, even as a ghost, Lu Yuan wouldn’t forgive me. Now that you have to raise them, I suppose I should thank you. When the village chief arrives, just sign a pledge guaranteeing you won’t sell them, and I’ll leave with my lover immediately. Of course, if you deliberately let the children starve or fall ill and die, the village chief and villagers won’t let you off either.”
Madam Feng, i.e., Madam Lu, was related to the village chief and the late Lu patriarch. By custom, Pei Luo would call him “Elder Uncle.” Hearing that Madam Lu intended to divorce her on her son’s behalf, the village chief hurried over. He knew Madam Lu’s temperament; the third daughter-in-law was troublesome, but compared to her antics, Madam Lu was far more formidable.
“Elder Brother, you must take my side! This little harlot brought a wild man home while my son was away. She even wants to elope with him! It’s sheer delusion!”
In truth, Madam Lu regretted mentioning divorce as soon as Pei Luo threatened to elope with the wild man. If she divorced her, it would be tantamount to endorsing this adulterous couple. She couldn’t allow Pei Luo to leave easily, especially since the two children would then fall under her care. With limited food supplies, adding two more mouths meant less for her precious grandchildren. Selling Xiao Man was out of the question. Hence, when the village chief arrived, she no longer brought up divorce.
Pei Luo, confident Madam Lu wouldn’t divorce her easily, had deliberately spoken this way to provoke her. Rather than explain her relationship with Fu Yunqing and risk gossip, she turned the tables. She truly didn’t care to stay; if it weren’t for the children, she would have left immediately.
The village chief cleared his throat and looked at Pei Luo. “Is what your mother says true? Did you truly betray Lu Yuan?”
“Elder Brother, do you need to ask? Look at this little harlot, still linking arms with that man!”
Madam Lu pointed at Pei Luo and Fu Yunqing. Pei Luo noticed she was indeed holding Fu Yunqing’s arm. Though clothed, it was still improper. Fu Yunqing cleared his throat and stepped back slightly.
The village chief glared at Madam Lu, signaling her to shut up. Pei Luo sighed, her eyes instantly filled with grievance. “Elder Uncle, if I were truly that sort of person, would I have waited until now? To feed two children, I rise early and work late to dig wild vegetables in the mountains.”
She pointed to the basket at her feet, filled with wild vegetables. Even if they were medicinal herbs, villagers wouldn’t recognize them—otherwise, these herbs wouldn’t have persisted in the mountains for so many years.
“Then who is he? How did he come to be with you?” the village chief pressed on.