Chapter 4

“Defaming you? Bai Zhi, you really have no shame. You actually caused your mother-in-law’s death, and you still have the nerve to argue? How could there be a woman like you? You’re ruining the reputation of our entire village!” Chen Xiufen, the woman who had been gossiping outside the window earlier, spoke sarcastically from within the crowd. “Who’s farting over there? I can hear the voice, but I can’t see the person. Is a coward hiding behind everyone and talking?” Bai Zhi had never been the type to let herself suffer a loss. If someone offended her, she would get even on the spot. “How can you talk so horribly?” Chen Xiufen stomped her feet angrily after being insulted, but she didn’t dare show herself. She was afraid Bai Zhi would actually slap her. “You spread rumors about me and then complain that I’m rude? You’ve got some nerve!” Bai Zhi searched through the crowd for a while before finally spotting Chen Xiufen hiding far behind everyone else. What a coward. “Who spread rumors about you? You really did harm your mother-in-law. We all saw it!” Once Chen Xiufen started stirring things up, the others began chiming in as well. “That’s right! We all saw you dragging your mother-in-law outside. Your father-in-law was chasing after you, but he couldn’t even catch up!” “You’ve always treated Old Lu and his wife badly. Now you’re saying we can’t talk about the things you’ve done?” “You have terrible morals. You never cared about the children, and now you’ve even caused your mother-in-law’s death. The Lu family is truly unlucky to have a daughter-in-law like you!” “I think she’s nothing but a loose woman. She goes to the educated youth compound every day and messes around with the male educated youths there!” “Tsk, tsk. How shameless!” “You’ve all got it wrong! It’s a misunderstanding!” Lu Deren, who had gone to stay with Lü Shuyu earlier, had returned at some point. To everyone’s surprise, he was actually defending Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi hadn’t expected that either. She looked at him in surprise. “Uncle Lu! Why are you still defending this woman at a time like this? She’s about to abandon your son and run off with another man!” The person who spoke was He Suya, the village accountant. Bai Zhi looked at her. The woman wore the standard hairstyle of the era—two long braids. She had on a floral blouse and a pair of plain cotton trousers. Her small face was fair and delicate, making her look quite different from the other women who worked in the fields every day. “Do you live by the sea? Why do you care so much?” Bai Zhi shot her a sideways glance. “How can you talk to me like that? I’m only telling the truth. Everyone knows that you have an unusual relationship with the male educated youths at the compound.” He Suya wore a superior expression, as though she were passing judgment on Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi had no intention of putting up with her attitude. She immediately stepped forward and grabbed He Suya by the face. Bai Zhi possessed tremendous strength, and with just one hand, she could hold He Suya firmly in place, leaving her unable to move. “Ah!” He Suya cried out in pain but couldn’t break free. Bai Zhi tightened her grip and pulled her closer. “You can’t get anything decent out of a dog’s mouth. Who do you think you are, making accusations without a shred of proof? Just because you say something happened doesn’t make it true. Be careful, or I’ll report you for defamation and have you sent to prison.” Bai Zhi’s expression was frightening enough on its own. Combined with the force of her grip, it caused He Suya so much pain that she burst into tears. “Watch your mouth. Say another word like that, and I’ll make sure you regret it.” Bai Zhi released her. He Suya wiped away her tears and quickly retreated, covering her face. Her pitiful appearance stirred the protective instincts of several men. Holding hoes, sickles, and other farm tools, they stepped forward and stood in front of He Suya, glaring angrily at Bai Zhi. “What? You want to come at me together?” Bai Zhi snatched a wooden stick from one of the men. “Hey! Why did you take my stick?” The man who spoke immediately shut his mouth after Bai Zhi glared at him. “If you want to fight, then come together. Don’t waste my time!” Bai Zhi had no intention of actually getting into a brawl, but she absolutely refused to let herself be intimidated. She casually swung the stick around in her hand. Her intimidating gesture made the women take several steps back in fear. The men protecting He Suya, however, became even angrier. They had never been challenged so openly by a woman before. Everyone said Bai Zhi had incredible strength, but they were men. They refused to believe a woman could possibly be stronger than them. The two sides were just about to clash. “Don’t fight! Don’t fight! You’ve really misunderstood!” Lu Deren hurriedly stepped between Bai Zhi and the group of men. He was nothing more than a thin, frail old man. His withered hands desperately clutched at the weapons in the men’s hands, making him seem almost completely lacking in authority. Still, the men were willing to give Uncle Lu some respect. “Uncle Lu, don’t be afraid! There are so many of us here. We can stand up for you. This vicious daughter-in-law of yours has done so many wicked things. We’ll teach her a lesson for you. You should take this opportunity to drive her out of the family!” “That’s right, Uncle Lu. Your wife was harmed by her, so why are you still defending her? What are you so afraid of?” “No, no! Your aunt wasn’t harmed by her. In fact, Bai Zhi was the one who saw Shuyu running a high fever and carried her all the way here to find a doctor. She didn’t hurt anyone. Really, she didn’t.” Lu Deren repeatedly insisted that Bai Zhi had done nothing wrong. He seemed afraid that no one would believe him, so he explained it to every person standing nearby. “Is that really true?” Liu Daqiang, the man who had been shouting the loudest earlier, still couldn’t believe Bai Zhi could be so kindhearted. “It’s true, Daqiang. I would never lie to you.” Lu Deren was not a man who knew how to lie. However, in Liu Daqiang and the others’ eyes, his behavior looked more like someone who had been forced into submission by Bai Zhi. “Hmph. I understand now. Bai Zhi is only pretending to be nice to Auntie. She’s just trying to fool all of you so she can take even more from you later! I heard that you’ve basically given all your money to Bai Zhi. She must be planning to squeeze you dry before kicking you out of the house completely.” Liu Daqiang looked at Bai Zhi with contempt. Bai Zhi had already put down the stick when Lu Deren stepped in to stop the fight. Since someone was willing to explain things for her, she had no intention of getting involved any further. She hadn’t expected Liu Daqiang to be so stubborn that he would continue slandering her. “You’ve been talking nonsense here for so long, so why don’t you show me some evidence? Otherwise, I won’t let a single one of you off today.” “Why would we need evidence for something you actually did?” Liu Daqiang angrily raised the hoe in his hands and pointed it at Bai Zhi. The hoe was practically right in front of her, yet Bai Zhi didn’t retreat even an inch. This surprised Liu Daqiang. Anyone else—even a man—would instinctively step back when he pointed a hoe at them. He hadn’t expected this woman, Bai Zhi, to actually have some guts. “You don’t understand plain language? Did you personally see me hurt anyone?” Liu Daqiang froze. He was about to say that they had all seen Bai Zhi carrying Lü Shuyu around the village, but then he remembered that Lu Deren had already explained that Bai Zhi had been trying to save Lü Shuyu. “…No.” “Heh.” Bai Zhi reached out and snapped the hoe in front of her in half with one hand. Half of the hoe fell to the ground. Liu Daqiang’s eyes widened as he stared at the broken handle in his hand. How could this woman be so strong?! That was simply impossible! Bai Zhi stomped on the half lying on the ground, crushing it beneath her foot. “Then think carefully before you speak from now on. Otherwise, just look at this hoe and you’ll know what will happen to you.” Bai Zhi openly threatened everyone present. Yet, strangely enough, no one dared to argue with her. That had been Liu Daqiang’s hoe—the strongest man in the entire village! How was Bai Zhi so incredibly bold? How did she even dare to do that? “Grandpa!” Suddenly, a child’s voice came from the back of the crowd. It was Lu Tuan’an. She squeezed through the crowd and hurried over to Lu Deren. “I found Auntie! Where’s Grandma?” After saying that, she looked at Bai Zhi suspiciously.