Shen Ning was completely baffled. What were these three little rascals up to? What had she done wrong?
Something wasn't right. Something was very wrong!
"I just went to town to buy some things. What's gotten into you all?"
Her thoughts paused as she remembered something, her expression turning much more serious. "Did someone come by? Did they tell you nonsense?"
"Stop pretending! I won't let you sell Xiaohua!"
What?
Sell Xiaohua?
That seemed to be the original body's idea, though it never succeeded. Later, it became the beginning of all the tragedies.
But she had never entertained such a thought!
"Who told you that? When did I ever say I wanted to sell Xiaohua? Who's been gossiping in front of you?"
Perhaps Shen Ning's expression was too stern, too fierce.
It wasn't the first time she had been like this, but it was the first time she had gotten angry over this matter.
The three children just instinctively felt something was odd.
Li Jianjun spoke timidly, "Granny Liu said it. She said you're going to sell Xiaohua to Zhou the Cripple's family to be his idiot son's wife."
"Granny Liu?"
For a moment, Shen Ning couldn't recall who this Granny Liu was.
Li Jianguo frowned, his small brow furrowed. "It's Liu Chunhua. She saw it with her own eyes. You're still trying to lie to us!"
Damn that Liu Chunhua! Spreading rumors in front of children! How infuriating!
"I'm going to tear her filthy mouth apart!"
Furious, she set down her basket, snatched the wooden stick from Li Jianguo's hands, and ran outside.
Following her memory, she hurried toward Liu Chunhua's house.
She had no intention of going quietly. Along the way, she shouted at the top of her lungs, determined to make this as big a scene as possible.
"Liu Chunhua, get out here, you old hag! You shameless bitch, bullying us orphans and widows! Everyone, come and see! Liu Chunhua, you disgraceful old crone! I'm going to tear your mouth apart today!"
The commotion naturally drew the neighbors out to watch.
Bang! Bang! Bang! She pounded heavily on the door, the wooden planks seeming on the verge of collapse under her force.
"Who is it? Stop yelling like a banshee!"
Liu Chunhua's voice came from inside. Just as she undid the latch, the door was kicked open.
"Ouch!"
A cry of surprise echoed as the person inside stumbled and fell to the ground.
Before she could react, someone was already on top of her, slapping her face repeatedly.
"I'm going to tear your mouth apart today! Spreading lies all the time, daring to scare my kids! I'll beat you to death, you wretched woman!"
Shen Ning was genuinely angry. She had finally managed to be somewhat nicer to the children, and they had started to warm up to her. She thought she could earn a bit more goodwill, but it was all ruined by that damned gossip.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
Liu Chunhua, caught off guard by the sudden attack, could only shield herself, continuously moaning in pain.
"Take that for your lies! Take that! I'll tear you apart!"
Fists and slashes rained down, and with her pinned firmly, it was a one-sided "massacre."
"Stop hitting her! Stop!"
The villagers watching the scene grew worried it might escalate and rushed over to pull them apart.
"Third daughter-in-law, stop fighting!"
"Yes, talk it out calmly!"
"Get up, get up!"
Shen Ning possessed remarkable strength in this body—it took three or four women to pull her up.
Li Jianguo, feeling uneasy, brought his younger siblings along and arrived to find Liu Chunhua’s house in an uproar.
Pleas for mercy, curses, and voices urging peace mingled together.
As the small group drew closer, they saw that the woman had indeed pinned Liu Chunhua to the ground and was beating her.
Granny Liu’s hair was disheveled, her face swollen and red, and her clothes covered in dust.
She looked utterly disgraced.
"Shen Ning! You bitch! How dare you hit me? I’ll fight you to the death!"
Once helped to her feet, Liu Chunhua felt emboldened again and charged forward for revenge.
Shen Ning wasn’t having any of it. Though several people were holding her back, rendering her hands useless, her legs were free!
She lifted her leg and delivered a sharp kick to Liu Chunhua’s stomach, sending her stumbling backward several steps.
"Come on then! I’ll tear your mouth to shreds today! You’re like someone who’s eaten shit—you’d die if you couldn’t gossip about others. Since you’re about to die anyway, why not talk about how your man keeps sneaking into the widow’s bed? Can’t control your own man, so you take it out on me? Let me tell you, no way!"
Whoa!
Several people nearby stifled their smirks.
This wasn’t exactly news in the village—after all, widows often attracted gossip. Her man had been spotted with Widow Luo more than once.
But no one would openly discuss it like Shen Ning did.
Now it was Liu Chunhua’s turn to feel humiliated.
"You little slut! What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Heh." Shen Ning snorted disdainfully. "Who doesn’t know about your dirty little secrets? Just yesterday, I saw you and Feng Laoliu sneaking into the baogu di. What, is it more comfortable in there?"
"Pfft—"
As soon as Shen Ning finished, someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
It was like flipping a switch—one by one, the onlookers couldn’t suppress their laughter.
Liu Chunhua’s face flushed crimson with rage, her eyes bulging like a bull’s, and she looked ready to explode.
"I’ll tear you apart! You’re spouting bullshit! Bullshit!"
"Bring it on! I’m not afraid of you! If I don’t knock your teeth out today, I’ll change my surname!"
The two were like firecrackers, ready to ignite at any moment. As they lunged at each other again, the bystanders hurried to pull them apart.
"Enough, enough! We’re all neighbors here. Let’s all calm down."
"It’s all a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. Cool off, cool off."
"Don’t fight, don’t fight."
Plenty of people stood between them, preventing any physical blows, but they couldn’t stop the war of words.
Liu Chunhua: "What baogu di are you talking about? You’re talking nonsense, you…"
Shen Ning: "Can’t control what’s in your man’s pants, so you go meddling in others’ affairs? You love sticking your nose into everyone else’s business—seems like that’s your thing!"
"I’m going to kill her! I’m going to kill this bitch!"
If it was about being loud and spouting nonsense, Shen Ning felt no pressure at all. Hadn’t she seen enough short videos, TV dramas, and palace intrigue shows to know how it was done?
"Stop fighting, stop fighting! Everyone, quiet down—Uncle Fuquan is here!"
The person at the door shouted, and they saw Village Chief Zhao Fuquan with his trouser legs still rolled up, holding a hoe in his hand. He must have just received the news and rushed over from the fields.
"What are you causing trouble for! Stop it! All of you, stop it! What kind of behavior is this!"