While the Zhou Family was still rejoicing over Lao Er’s marriage arrangement, a major incident occurred in the Lin Family that quickly overshadowed the excitement about Zhou Qingcha.
The Lin Family’s eldest daughter was getting married. However, on the wedding day, when the groom came to fetch the bride, the bride unexpectedly took advantage of a moment of distraction and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, slammed her head against the wall. She immediately lost consciousness.
Her face was smeared with blood.
But that was not the most attention-grabbing part.
What was most worth noting was that Zhou Family’s eldest son hurriedly rushed to the bride’s side and, in full view of everyone, lifted her into his arms.
“Quick, quickly go call a physician!” Zhou Guanghai shouted loudly.
After saying that, he carried the bride and ran out. This shocked everyone present.
It was already outrageous enough that a so-called “bride snatching” had happened, but to hold a bride in the arms right in front of the groom’s eyes—this was nothing short of explosive!
Before the crowd could even react, Zhou Guanghai had already disappeared into the distance with the woman in his arms.
Zhou Guanghai had no time to care about the villagers’ shocked gazes, because at that moment, his entire heart and mind were focused on the woman in his arms.
Yesterday, Guihua had gone to find him and told him to come to her house today, saying she had a way to marry him.
In truth, he did not want to come. He did not want to watch the woman he loved marry someone else with his own eyes, but he still could not resist and came anyway.
And then he witnessed this scene.
He never expected that Guihua would use such an extreme method. He was truly panicked, afraid that something might happen to her. Without caring about anything else, he immediately went to the village to find a ox cart and sent Guihua to the medical clinic in town.
While things on Zhou Guanghai’s side proceeded quickly, the Lin Family had descended into chaos. That Butcher Wu already had a fierce reputation, and now that something like this had happened right in front of him, suffering such a humiliation, how could he possibly let it go?
He demanded an explanation from the Lin Family no matter what.
If the bride did not want to marry, a few slaps would usually be enough—knock her unconscious and simply carry her home. That was how his previous wives had all been married to him.
A disobedient woman had to be beaten. No matter how stubborn the bone, it could not withstand a few beatings; in the end, she would still obediently live with him.
But before he even got to carry her, another man had already held her. To him, this was shameless and disgraceful behavior. He had spent twenty taels of silver precisely to marry a young virgin home to serve him.
If it were not for his bad reputation, that amount of money could have bought him many wives. Yet in the end, he had ended up with a “damaged woman.” and in his rage he gave Old Man Lin two hard slaps.
What was supposed to be a marriage had directly turned into a feud.
The Lin Family relatives who were watching, although they usually did not approve of Lin Dayou’s behavior, could not tolerate outsiders bullying their own. They joined the fight as well.
This was no longer a personal dispute—it escalated directly into a conflict between two villages, even alarming the Village Head of Yangliu Village.
In the end, under the Village Head’s mediation, the Lin Family returned the betrothal gifts and additionally compensated Butcher Wu with one tael of silver.
Only then did Butcher Wu let the matter rest. After all, he was in someone else’s territory and had only brought five or six brothers with him. If a fight broke out, they would not be able to defeat this group, and in the end, he would be the one to suffer.
Butcher Wu had been in business for many years and had seen all kinds of people; he was best at judging situations and knew when to stop while ahead.
As for the Lin Family, how could they possibly be willing to return money that had already been in their hands? But if they did not compensate, what else could they do?
Lin Guihua could not find anyone for the time being. Lin Dayou originally wanted to marry his second daughter off instead, but the Lin Family’s second daughter was only thirteen years old, and due to long-term malnutrition, she looked like a ten-year-old child.
Butcher Wu, upon seeing her, only saw a thin and undeveloped little girl. If she were taken home, she might not survive two days of torment, and his reputation would only become worse, making it even harder for him to find a wife in the future.
With no other choice, the Lin Family could only pay the silver and finally send him away.
After dealing with Butcher Wu, Lin Dayou finally had time to settle accounts with the Zhou Family. Everything had been caused by Zhou Family’s eldest son. Because of him, their daughter had been touched—how could she still secure a good marriage? She would not be able to fetch a good price anymore. This loss had to be recovered from the Zhou Family.
Lin Dayou gathered several clan uncles and brothers and aggressively went to the Zhou Family. The Village Head also went along.
The Village Head looked utterly exhausted, as if he had already given up on life. He felt as though he had been cursed for eight lifetimes to be stuck with such troublesome villagers. He regretted it—if he had known earlier, he would have pretended not to be home. Why had he bothered to get involved? He was the Village Head, and even the Village Head was busy.
But after thinking it over, he also could not avoid it. After all, he was the Village Head, and mediating disputes was part of his duty.
However, unwilling to shoulder all the trouble alone, he called several respected clan elders, and the group instantly grew larger.
In an instant, the Zhou Family was once again pushed into the center of attention. The difference was that previously it had been a matter of honor; today, it was anything but.
Such a commotion had already spread through the village, so Father Zhou and Mother Zhou naturally heard about it. They were furious over their eldest son’s foolish actions. Mother Zhou smashed and threw things in her room, wishing she could beat her useless son to death with a cane. After venting her anger, she still had to think of a solution. After all, he was her biological son; no matter how angry she was, she had to deal with the mess he left behind.
The couple had no immediate solution, so they went to the Zhou Family ancestral home and called over several brothers to discuss together.
Soon, the two sides met, and a round of insults and arguments was inevitable.
Each side insisted on their own reasoning.
Lin Family: “Your son ruined my daughter’s marriage! He has no morals whatsoever! Spit! Your Zhou Family is utterly wicked—none of you are good people! Why doesn’t heaven strike you down with lightning!”
Having been insulted at her doorstep, Mother Zhou, with her fiery temper, immediately fought back. Without saying anything else, she spat back first.
“A nest of thieves and shameless women! Such a young age and already seducing men! My good son must have been bewitched by your fox spirit! That cheap woman should be drowned in a pond!”
Lin Family: “My innocent daughter was touched by your son, and you still dare argue? I can’t live anymore! Tomorrow I’ll hang myself at your door!”
Mother Zhou: “If you’ve got the guts, go ahead and hang yourself. I’ll even host a feast for the whole village!”
Lin Family: “You heartless beast! You destroyed a marriage—may heaven strike you down! Fine! When your daughter gets married in a few days, I’ll send my son to ruin her too. Let’s see if any respectable family will still want her!”
This sentence immediately struck Mother Zhou’s weak point. The marriage of Lao Er was the one thing the entire family was truly satisfied with, and she absolutely could not allow it to be ruined.
Originally, this matter had been in their favor. Their son had already touched the girl, so the Lin Family’s eldest daughter either married Zhou Hai or was drowned. But after all this trouble, the Lin Family clearly intended to negotiate the bride price.
If this had happened at another time, Mother Zhou would not have been afraid. But it had happened at exactly the worst possible moment.
Zhou Qingcha stood not far away and overheard the quarrel between Mother Zhou and the Lin Family. She twisted her handkerchief tightly, her fingers turning purple without her noticing. Her gaze turned vicious, and in her heart she cursed Zhou Guanghai and Lin Guihua countless times.
Zhou Qingling, seeing Zhou Qingcha’s expression, could not help but shiver. She firmly believed that if Zhou Guanghai really ruined Second Elder Sister’s marriage because of this, then even Zhou Guanghai’s own marriage would also be impossible to secure.