Thinking of herself as nothing more than cannon fodder who only existed in the narration, Wen Ye felt like she was about to break apart.
Sacrificing her own life just to feed the dog-blood romance of the male and female leads?
Dream on.
“You people are going too far!” a sharp, angry voice pulled Wen Ye back to her senses.
Her gaze refocused and landed on the owner of the voice—Wen Liyue.
Wen Liyue was pretty and spoiled-looking, the very image of a cute, pampered young maid.
Right now, she had her hands on her hips, glaring at Wen Ye angrily.
“It’s all your fault! You injured Manager Liu, which caused my parents to lose their jobs! Our whole family was kicked out of the Liu Family Cloth Shop, and my father was even beaten by Manager Liu. How can you be so vicious!”
Wen Ye mimicked her posture, putting her hands on her hips.
“Sorry about that—but I did it on purpose!”
Yesterday, when she kicked Manager Liu, she was genuinely furious and wanted to hit someone—but she also deliberately offended the Liu family.
That way, the second branch of the family would inevitably be kicked out by the Liu household, cutting off the connection to the male and female leads.
Killing two birds with one stone—perfect.
Old Madam Wen was so angry she felt like she was about to explode.
“Wen Ye! You actually got your second uncle’s job taken away! You jinx! You’re destroying our Wen family!”
She looked like she wanted to rush over and tear Wen Ye apart.
But her body was covered in injuries, especially her lower back, which hurt badly, so she could only grab a handful of dirt and throw it at Wen Ye instead.
“Second brother…” Third Uncle Wen felt intense guilt and self-blame upon hearing that Second Uncle had lost his job.
The couple from the Lin family, as well as Wen Lan and her younger brother, were all frightened.
For a rural family like theirs, getting a respectable job in town was extremely difficult. In the village, Second Uncle Wen was someone others envied.
But now, the family’s pride had been ruined by Wen Ye.
Wen Ye’s eyes turned cold as she sneered.
“The Liu Family Cloth Shop… is that the one where the old man wanted to take my elder sister as a concubine yesterday?”
“So that’s how it is. I was wondering why that old Liu man suddenly took interest in my sister. Turns out Second Uncle and you people were the bridge, the matchmakers!”
She then stared sharply at the eldest and second uncles.
“Uncle, Second Uncle—your sons need money to study, so you decided to sell our third branch’s daughters? Why don’t you sell your own daughters? Are you that shameless?”
At these words, the faces of both the eldest and second branches turned the color of pig liver.
The Lin couple, who had just felt guilty and fearful over Wen Ye causing Second Uncle Wen to lose his job, suddenly came to their senses.
Right—what did it have to do with them?
Lin’s wife gathered her courage and stammered:
“If… if you hadn’t tried to sell Lan’er off to that Liu official as a concubine, you wouldn’t have lost your jobs. This has nothing to do with us—it’s your own fault.”
Old Madam Wen trembled in rage, pointing at her.
But Second Aunt-in-law Fang quickly pulled her hand down and stepped forward with a grievance-filled expression.
“Third sister-in-law, you’re truly misunderstanding us. Yes, it was our family that arranged the connection with the Liu family, but… at the time, Manager Liu said he was looking for a marriage match for the young grandson of the Liu household. That’s why we thought of Lan’er… who knew it would end up being the old Liu master… Sigh, we were also deceived. We are truly wronged.”
Wen Liyue nodded repeatedly. She knew it—her mother would never do such a thing!
“Did you hear that?” Old Madam Wen immediately shouted. “It was just a misunderstanding! You bunch of jinxes caused chaos, injured people, and stirred up trouble. Why is our family so unlucky!”
“Trying to whitewash yourselves? I spit on you shameless people!”
Wen Ye laughed coldly.
“There are marriage contracts and concubine contracts! Don’t they clearly state who the other party is? Didn’t they write it was the Liu family master? Didn’t they write his age? Didn’t they write whether it was marriage or concubinage?”
“Even if you didn’t read it, Manager Liu personally came yesterday to deliver the engagement gift and said it himself—it was the Liu master! The whole village knows my sister was going to be a concubine to a sixty-year-old man!”
“You, Grandma, and the eldest uncle were practically ready to send her over immediately! Don’t act like you were all deaf yesterday!”
The faces of the eldest uncle’s family changed drastically.
Old Madam Wen was so furious she nearly lost her mind again. Ignoring her injuries, she hobbled over, reaching out like claws to scratch Wen Ye’s face.
“Come here if you dare!”
Wen Ye was already prepared. With a cruel smile, she pulled out a kitchen knife from behind the door—sharper than yesterday’s cleaver.
“Aah—!”
Old Madam Wen nearly ran straight into the blade, stopping abruptly and falling to the ground.
“Why aren’t you coming anymore? This time, it’ll be your neck.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Wen’s old wounds throbbed again. The psychological trauma from being trampled by Wen Ye yesterday surged back.
“You little beast… don’t come near me!”
With a splash, Old Madam Wen actually wet herself from fear. The entire courtyard was instantly filled with a foul stench.
“Mother!” Boss Wen rushed over, shouting at Third Uncle Wen, “Third brother, look at what your family has done!”
Second Uncle Wen also stepped forward.
“Third brother, what family starts stabbing and killing at the slightest disagreement? Can’t we just sit down and talk peacefully?”
Fang nodded and began giving orders.
“Ye girl, put the knife down. Third sister-in-law, go boil water for Mother to wash up. Lan’er, help your grandmother into the house.”
The Lin couple and Wen Lan’s face turned pale.
But Wen Ye sneered, pointing the knife at Fang.
“What are you ordering people around for? Are the eldest and second branches dead? Do you not have hands? Why must my mother and elder sister do the work?”
She then looked at the Lin family woman.
“We made it clear yesterday to the eldest aunt. Since my mother married into this family, the eldest and second branches haven’t cooked a single meal. Our third branch has cooked for sixteen years. Now we’re taking a sixteen-year break. From now on, all household work belongs to the eldest and second branches.”
The Lin couple and Wen Lan hesitated, but still forced themselves to nod.
The eldest and second branches stared in shock.
Old Madam Wen looked like she had seen a ghost.
“Sixteen years? You lazy bunch think you can just go to heaven!”
“Whether we go to heaven or not is our business,” Wen Ye said coldly. “But if you keep causing trouble, you’ll be going underground instead.”
With that, she swung the kitchen knife and it slammed into the wooden door.
Old Madam Wen screamed again and quickly hid behind the two sons.
The eldest and second uncles were itching to rush forward and beat Wen Ye, but the knife in her hand made them hesitate. In the end, they could only grit their teeth and help Old Madam Wen back into the house.
Wen Ye pulled Wen Lan, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, Wen Liyue blocked their path, frowning as she stared at Wen Lan.
“You… you…”
“What?” Wen Ye stepped in front of Wen Lan.
Wen Liyue stared at her.
“How can you not go be a concubine in the Liu family? How can you not!”
Wen Lan froze, her face turning pale.
Though the question was unreasonable, she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and suffocation, as if she had violated some heavenly law.
Wen Ye sneered.
“So you like being a concubine that much—why don’t you go yourself?”
Wen Liyue angrily replied, “How could I ever become a concubine! I…”
“Since you can’t, why can my sister?” Wen Ye interrupted, hands on hips like an aggressive little rooster.
“We’re all from the same family—what makes you so noble? If you’re so noble, how proud would you be to have a concubine sister?”
“I—” Wen Liyue was momentarily stunned.
Of course, having a sister who became a concubine would be shameful—and others would use it to humiliate her…
Others? Who were “others”?
She didn’t know, but a strange feeling of expectation rose in her heart.
Wen Lan should become a concubine… and then she would be humiliated… and then…
And then what?
Wen Liyue stood blankly, dizzy, feeling that things should not be this way.
It was as if she had lost something important, as if her entire life had dimmed.
Wen Ye glanced at her mockingly and led Wen Lan away.
Leaving Wen Liyue standing alone in place.
……
The two sisters returned to their room and slammed the door shut.
Wen Lan let out a long breath.
“For some reason… I suddenly feel so relieved… like a mountain pressing on my head is gone.”
Wen Ye smiled lightly.
“That’s good.”
Because her fate had already been broken free from the cage.
She no longer had to serve as fertilizer for the male and female leads’ ridiculous, dog-blood romance.