“Go on, tell us. If it’s really their family’s fault, we’ll definitely be on your side.”
“Do you know their daughter, Tang Jinhua?”
“Of course. She married a villager years ago, but the poor man died young. Everyone pitied her, saying she had such a hard life. Then, before long, she remarried—this time to a city official.”
“That made their whole family unbearably smug. They kept saying their ancestors must have been smiling down on them.”
Xu Nianchu spat on the ground.
“Smiling down? More like black smoke rising from their ancestral graves!”
“What do you mean?”
“Tang Jinhua worked as a nanny for my friend while my friend was recovering after a miscarriage. She secretly drugged her, and in the end, she caused her death!”
“She’d already been having an affair with my friend’s husband, and even those two children were his!”
“I came here today just to let your village know that heaven has finally delivered justice. Tang Jinhua has been thrown in prison. What wonderful news!”
The village women were stunned.
None of them had expected gossip this explosive.
Their mouths literally hung open.
“Miss, are you telling the truth?”
“Of course. Go ask around in the city if you don’t believe me. Tang Jinhua’s already in jail. How could that be fake?”
“I always knew she wasn’t a decent woman. No wonder she married Little Li so quickly back then. Turns out she was just treating the poor man like a stand-in.”
“That’s terrifying. Do you think Little Li might have been poisoned by Tang Jinhua too? That would mean she’s carrying two lives on her conscience!”
Xu Nianchu hadn’t expected them to make that leap themselves, so she quietly listened as they continued speculating.
“Let’s see if the Tang family still struts around acting superior now. Ever since their daughter married into a wealthy family, they’ve acted like they’d become relatives of the emperor. Looks like karma has finally caught up with them.”
Her objective achieved, Xu Nianchu suddenly swayed.
She nearly collapsed, but one of the women quickly caught her.
“Thank you. My health gets worse by the day. Now that I’ve finally seen them receive their punishment, I can die without regrets.”
She coughed twice after speaking.
Those words immediately brought tears to the women’s eyes.
“Miss, if there’s anything we can help you with, just say the word.”
Xu Nianchu wiped the corners of her eyes.
“There actually is.”
She reached into her bag and took out four loudspeakers.
The women licked their lips in surprise.
“Aren’t those the village chief’s precious loudspeakers? He only brings them out for major events and never lets anyone else touch them.”
“That’s right. I need everyone’s help. If you do it well, these loudspeakers will be yours.”
Her words landed like a stone dropped into a calm lake, sending waves through the crowd.
Their enthusiasm instantly exploded.
“Just tell us what to do! If I can do it, I’ll definitely help.”
Xu Nianchu smiled.
“Just go around shouting that Tang Jinhua’s been imprisoned, that she was another woman’s mistress, destroyed someone else’s family, and even caused my friend’s death. Shout it eight hundred times each, and the loudspeaker is yours.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure the whole village hears it!”
“Leave it to us! We hate people like her.”
When personal gain was involved, friendships meant nothing.
Besides, the Tang family had always been arrogant and domineering. Plenty of villagers had long disliked them.
Xu Nianchu selected the four women with the loudest voices and the sturdiest builds.
In this era, being plump usually meant your family lived comfortably.
The four women left excitedly with their loudspeakers.
The remaining six or seven women watched enviously.
“Miss, is there anything else we can do? My voice is loud too!”
“Yeah! Don’t let my skinny frame fool you—I can take a beating, and I can fight! Pick me!”
Xu Nianchu wiped away another tear.
“As it happens, there is.”
“Where there’s a Pan Jinlian, there’s always a Ximen Qing. My friend’s husband’s hometown happens to be the neighboring village.”
The women perked up immediately.
Business had arrived.
They listened with complete attention, afraid they’d miss their chance.
“Xu Shanchuan wanted to marry into my friend’s family for social status. He deliberately dumped his pregnant girlfriend without telling my friend.”
“After becoming successful, he kicked aside the family that had helped him. Isn’t that exactly like the modern-day Chen Shimei?”
“He even caused his own wife’s death and beats his own children mercilessly. He’s not even human! Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs.”
“We understand!”
“Xu Shanchuan’s a heartless beast!”
Xu Nianchu handed out the remaining four loudspeakers.
Within minutes, the news spread through the entire village as though it had grown wings.
Even people from neighboring villages rushed over to watch the spectacle.
The village chief stared with eyes as wide as saucers.
He couldn’t believe there was such a fool in the world—someone willing to give away loudspeakers just because people shouted eight hundred times.
Why hadn’t he been lucky enough to encounter something like that?
His eyes remained glued to the loudspeakers.
He completely forgot to wonder whether what they were doing was appropriate.
After all, he noticed those loudspeakers were even better than his own.
They were so powerful that even eighty-year-old grandpas could hear every word clearly.
Before long, the Tang family got wind of it.
Two sturdy middle-aged women had stationed themselves right outside their gate, shouting through their loudspeakers.
“Tang Jinhua’s a homewrecker! Back in the old days she’d have been drowned in a pig cage! She cheated with another man! She cheated with another man! And those two little bastards aren’t even her husband’s children!”
“The Li family, you’ve been fooled! How could you have married a shameless woman like Tang Jinhua? Neither of those children belongs to the Li family!”
Inside the house, the Tang family had been happily discussing tomorrow’s plans.
“We’re going to collect money from your sister tomorrow. Time to buy some new clothes.”
They hadn’t even enjoyed two minutes of happiness before the blaring voices outside reached them.
The entire family froze and listened.
The more they heard, the more outrageous it became.
Ever since his daughter had married into a wealthy family, Tang Shangen had walked everywhere with his chest puffed out, never lowering his eyes to the ground.
He had never imagined people would one day come to his doorstep to publicly humiliate him.
“Slander! It’s all slander!”
“Boss, go outside and see what’s going on!”
The eldest son hesitated.
“Dad… whether it’s slander or not, don’t you already know the truth? The real question is… how did this get exposed?”
He was panicking.
If this scandal came out and Tang Jinhua really ended up in prison…
Who would keep giving him spending money?
Tang Shangen pressed his lips into a tight line.
“Who did this? Who?”
“Everyone, come outside! I want to see who’s bold enough to cause trouble at my doorstep!”
The entire Tang family marched outside together.
They saw two women shouting into loudspeakers.
Whoever was behind this had clearly spent a fortune.
This wasn’t an enemy to underestimate.
The moment the two women saw the Tang family appear, they shouted even louder.
That poor young woman earlier had looked pale and sickly.
Clearly these people had tormented her for years.
Tang Shangen’s face darkened.
“Who sent you here to spread these lies?”
“Do you know that spreading rumors can get you arrested and thrown in prison?”
“How dare you slander my family! Are you tired of living?”
Standing beside him, the eldest son looked at his father with admiration.
How could his father say those words with such righteous conviction?
When…
None of it was true.
He truly had to admire his father’s ability to lie with a straight face.
The two women were momentarily intimidated.
But then they remembered what Xu Nianchu had told them and immediately shot back,
“Don’t you know Tang Jinhua’s already been sent to prison? The authorities have already ruled that she’s guilty. How could we just stand by and ignore it?”
The eldest son couldn’t hold back anymore and blurted out,
“What? Since when does being someone’s mistress get you thrown in jail?”