On the morning of the bride's return visit, Su Wanwan invited the Village Chief to her home to watch over Pei Changfeng.
The Village Chief walked around the courtyard, his face filled with satisfaction. It seemed the wife Pei Dajia had found for Changfeng was truly good. Not long after marrying in, she had already tidied the house in an orderly manner.
He had visited before when Pei Dajia and his wife were taking care of things, and the dust in the house had piled up like a mountain. After all, it wasn't his own family's affair, so the Village Chief couldn't say much. Pei Changfeng, no matter what, still relied on Pei Dajia and his wife for care.
"Village Chief, I've already fed Changfeng once this morning. Please feed him again at lunchtime. I'll be back in the afternoon," Su Wanwan said, still uneasy. "My eldest uncle and his family haven't brought Changfeng's medicine yet, and they haven't even said where they got it. I'll have to find time to go to town."
The Village Chief looked at Pei Changfeng, who had been washed clean and white, hesitating to speak. He wasn't sure whether Pei Dajia's family had taken the money but not gone to town. Privately, he hoped Su Wanwan wouldn't have a falling out with Pei Dajia's family. Everyone knew that since Pei Changfeng fell ill, it had been Pei's Eldest Uncle and Pei's Eldest Aunt taking care of him. The child surely regarded them as his own parents in his heart.
He had heard about Su Wanwan hitting Pei's Eldest Aunt yesterday. That was indeed wrong of Su Wanwan, but in front of her, the Village Chief said nothing, only telling her to go with peace of mind. He planned to have his own wife talk to her properly after the return visit was settled.
After Su Wanwan left, the Village Chief sat in a chair and murmured to Pei Changfeng, "Your wife is pure-hearted and means no harm. If you wake up and hear any gossip, don't believe everything you hear. At least remember how well she's taken care of you."
The Village Chief stroked his beard and said, "Although she hit your Eldest Aunt, it was because she wanted to get medicine for you. There was a reason for it. Even if her method wasn't right, her heart was in the right place."
Halfway through a sigh, the Village Chief suddenly sprang up from his chair, opened the wardrobe, and glanced inside. Seeing Su Wanwan's clothes still there, he sat back down.
As long as she hadn't run away, it was fine.
Faster than Su Wanwan's actions was Pei's Eldest Aunt. Seeing that Su Wanwan had brought the Village Chief to the house to care for Pei Changfeng, she couldn't find an opportunity to act. So she hurried to Su Wanwan's parents' home.
Widow Liu was feeding her son Su Chaochao when she saw Pei's Eldest Aunt arrive. She warmly welcomed her, "Dear in-law, what brings you here today? How are our Wanwan and Changfeng doing?"
"Oh, your face…" Widow Liu shuddered silently. "What happened to it?"
Hearing the name "Wanwan," Su Chaochao shrank back in his chair, thinking Su Wanwan was about to return. He stopped eating and hurriedly hid.
Pei's Eldest Aunt was furious. "Didn't you say Su Wanwan was virtuous and managed the household well? She nearly beat me to death yesterday! What kind of virtue is that? Managing what kind of household?"
Hearing that yet another person had suffered a loss at Su Wanwan's hands, Widow Liu nearly laughed out loud, but on the surface, she maintained her gentle and soft-spoken demeanor as she advised, "Oh, dear in-law aunt, you just don't understand. When my husband was still alive, he doted on Wanwan like she was the apple of his eye. Even my son Chaochao couldn't get a word in edgewise in front of him. But it's a good thing for a girl to be a bit delicate, don't you think? Look at our Wanwan—she’s as lovely as a flower. If it weren’t for your sincere proposal, I wouldn’t have been willing to marry her off."
Pei's Eldest Aunt laughed in anger. "I think you did this on purpose! You saw that Su Wanwan, that wretched girl, is hard to handle, so you wanted to marry her off early to save yourself the trouble, didn’t you?"
"Now, now, dear in-law aunt, don’t say such things. Even though Wanwan isn’t my biological daughter, I’ve treated her with all my heart," Widow Liu said, her eyes curving into a smile. "Not only did I not ask for a single copper coin in bride price, but I even added three taels of silver as dowry. Tell me, which stepmother could do as much as I have? Dear in-law aunt, you’re just too narrow-minded, unable to see things clearly. If you could be more like me, there wouldn’t be any obstacle in this world you couldn’t overcome."
Widow Liu had made inquiries over the past few days and learned that Su Wanwan hadn’t caused anyone’s death this time. That was excellent news—she no longer had to fear Su Wanwan coming back to beat her up!
Pei's Eldest Aunt had come today precisely because of this matter. Seeing how well Su Wanwan was taking care of Pei Changfeng and even daring to lay hands on her, Pei's Eldest Aunt felt a growing sense of panic. She said to Widow Liu, "You should take Su Wanwan back right away. Our family can’t afford to keep such a troublesome person!"
"That won’t do. A married daughter is like spilled water—once she’s gone, she’s gone. Besides, our Wanwan is already registered in your Pei family’s genealogy. If you want me to take her back, there has to be a proper reason. Our Wanwan has only been married for three days—what could she possibly have done wrong? If it really comes down to it…"
Widow Liu’s eyes flickered as she chuckled. "If it really comes down to it, dear in-law aunt, you’ll just have to endure it a little longer."
Back when she had first married into the family, she had thought she could use her beauty to win Father Su’s heart and then bully Su Wanwan, her stepdaughter, to her heart’s content. Who would have thought that father and daughter would defy all expectations? Widow Liu had no desire to relive the experience of being chased around in the middle of the night by Su Wanwan wielding a pair of scissors. Su Wanwan was too terrifying…
Widow Liu shuddered again, waving her handkerchief. "If there’s nothing else, dear in-law aunt, you should head back. I need to feed my son now."
Su Chaochao, having waited for so long without seeing Su Wanwan return, ran out of the house again.
Pei's Eldest Aunt was furious. This Widow Liu was simply too much! No, she had to find a way to send Su Wanwan away.
"Aunt, Mother, what are you talking about?"
As soon as Su Wanwan entered the house, she saw Pei's Eldest Aunt and Widow Liu speaking. She approached with a cheerful smile, looking curious.
Hearing Su Wanwan’s voice, Widow Liu’s smile stiffened for a moment before she quickly greeted her with exaggerated delight. "Our Wanwan is back! Did you miss your mother?"
In truth, Widow Liu was only eight years older than Su Wanwan, not yet thirty. In her youth, she had been the belle of the village, but she had been blinded by Father Su’s good looks and married him, becoming Su Wanwan’s stepmother for nearly eight years. Her younger son with Father Su was only six years old.
Su Wanwan pinched her younger brother Su Chaochao’s cheek before speaking. "Isn’t today the day for the bride’s return home? Changfeng isn’t well enough to go out, so I came back on my own."
Widow Liu couldn't care less about what happened in her family, only wishing she would leave quickly. She put on a genuinely joyful expression as if seeing her own daughter, "Not feeling well? Wait here, I'll catch a chicken for you to make soup for Changfeng. Don't worry about me, your brother and I are doing just fine!"
Su Chaochao also nodded tremblingly, "Sister, Mom and I are d-doing fine!"
Seeing Widow Liu and Su Chaochao acting so spineless, Pei's Eldest Aunt was genuinely frightened. How could Su Wanwan be so formidable? She had brought a huge trouble upon herself!
Noticing Su Wanwan turning to look at her, Pei's Eldest Aunt forced an awkward laugh and hurriedly ran off.
Su Wanwan's trip was quite fruitful. She took a newly fluffed cotton quilt that Widow Liu had commissioned, along with her own clothes, bedsheets, and bedding from home. Additionally, she took two jars of pickled vegetables, two chickens, twenty eggs, and a basket of vegetables. Widow Liu showed no resentment whatsoever—had Su Wanwan been able to carry more, she would have even given her the pillow.
When bidding farewell to Su Wanwan, Widow Liu and Su Chaochao nearly burst into tears while hugging each other. How wonderful—they had finally married her off!
Meanwhile, Zhou Chanyue had just finished gathering information about Su Wanwan and was preparing to go to Peijia Village to spread the word about her various misdeeds—such as chasing her stepmother for two miles with scissors in the middle of the night, beating her half-brother daily, and berating her father until he couldn't straighten his back. But as soon as she opened her mouth, the villagers of Peijia Village stared at her in astonishment.
"Huh? You only found out now?"
Pei Daniu scratched his head, "Your news is really outdated. I knew about it yesterday."
Zhou Chanyue's mouth twitched, "Wh-what?"
Pei Daniu counted on his fingers, "She also beat her own father with a stick, hit her stepmother with a ladle, tied her brother to a chair and starved him, and oh—yesterday she even beat Pei Changfeng's eldest aunt. Her face is still swollen."
Zhou Chanyue: "…Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Pei Daniu glanced around and rubbed his arms, "I won't talk to you anymore. My mom won't let me go out alone for fear I'll get beaten by Su Wanwan. I'm leaving now. You should be careful too!"
Zhou Chanyue had intended to ruin Su Wanwan's reputation, but who knew Su Wanwan's reputation was already so tarnished that there was no need for her to do anything!
Zhou Chanyue clenched her fists. No, even if Pei Changfeng were to die, he could only marry her—he absolutely must not marry another woman!
Fuming, Zhou Chanyue returned home. As soon as she stepped inside, Wu Sanniang grabbed her by the ear and scolded her, "Did you go to Peijia Village again? What did I tell you? Huh? Are you deaf?"
"Mom, Mom, stop twisting my ear!" Zhou Chanyue teared up, "Even though you won't let me marry Cousin, now that he's married, I should at least go see what kind of woman he married. Aren't you curious about it?"
Wu Sanniang, Pei Changfeng's aunt, crossed her arms and sneered at her daughter, "He's just a cripple now. Who he marries has nothing to do with me!"
Zhou Chanyue whispered, "Cousin is still a Xiucai after all. I don't mean anything else, but I just think Pei's Eldest Uncle's family isn't taking good care of him. They're practically wasting the silver the government sends every month."
Hearing this, Wu Sanniang's anger flared up again. In truth, when Pei Changfeng had just fallen ill, she had intended to take him in—not for any other reason, but for the monthly subsidy from the government office! Who would have thought that Pei's Eldest Uncle's family was so greedy? Not only did they refuse to let her take him away, but they also didn't give her a single copper coin from the money.
Seeing this, Zhou Chanyue continued to strike while the iron was hot, "Now they've even arranged a marriage for Cousin. It'll be even harder for us to take him in and care for him."
Wu Sanniang slapped her hands together fiercely. That's right, Pei's Eldest Uncle and his whole nest of greedy hearts must have thought exactly that. If they really let that woman stay, how could she ever find a way to get the money in the future!
No, that woman cannot stay!