Chapter 2

By the time everyone arrived at the place where Yun Fugui and Widow Wang had been fighting, the two of them were already in a state of panic. Widow Wang was crouching beneath the crooked-necked tree, her arms wrapped around her body. She looked as though she was about to burst into tears. “Brother Fugui, what are we going to do?” They had just finished their intimate encounter when they discovered that the clothes they had tossed onto the ground were missing. Hardly anyone ever came to this place. It was practically impossible! Without their clothes, how were they supposed to get down the mountain? Yun Fugui plucked a large leaf from a tree and held it in front of himself for cover while searching through the surrounding grass. “Chunlan, don't panic! Some wild animal must have come by and carried them off. I'll look around.” He was anxious too. If someone happened to catch them, they would be utterly humiliated. The village women had just arrived when they spotted Yun Fugui from a distance. His bare, white buttocks were sticking out as he bent over, rummaging through the weeds. “Oh my goodness! How embarrassing!” The moment Granny Zhou saw him, she hurriedly covered her eyes. Good heavens! She was an old woman who had just seen something she shouldn't have. Would she get an eye infection from this? “In broad daylight, and you're standing there with your bare butt exposed! Bah! Yun Fugui, have you no shame?” The other women who arrived behind her also covered their eyes, though they secretly peeked through their fingers. Tsk, tsk, tsk... Yun Fugui usually looked so respectable, but who would have thought he was as scrawny as a plucked chicken? He wasn't even half as sturdy as their own husbands! When Yun Fugui suddenly saw a large crowd of women approaching, he was completely dumbfounded. He let out a terrified scream and hurriedly ducked into the grass, refusing to come out again. Good heavens! Had every woman in the entire village come here? And what about his tigress of a wife? Widow Wang's face had turned deathly pale. She shrank into the grass beneath the crooked-necked tree like a frightened quail. She secretly prayed that those troublesome women from the village wouldn't notice her. Although her husband was dead, his brothers were still alive. If they found out she had been having an affair with Yun Fugui, wouldn't they skin her alive? Just as the women of Linxi Village were pointing and whispering among themselves, a figure suddenly came rushing over from behind, accompanied by a string of furious curses. “Widow Wang, you shameless bitch! How dare you seduce my husband!” The newcomer was Chen Xicui, Yun Fugui's wife. After hearing the news from a woman in the village she was on good terms with, she had rushed up the mountain with a belly full of rage. Her face was twisted with fury. She charged toward the crooked-necked tree, grabbed Widow Wang by the hair, and dragged her out of the weeds before scratching, pinching, and slapping her. She unleashed every trick in her arsenal, all while cursing furiously. “You shameless, brazen slut! You act all gentle and obedient whenever you meet people in the village, but behind everyone's backs, you're busy doing such filthy things!” “You shameless wretch! You think I'm easy to bully, don't you? How dare you seduce my husband? And you're still standing here naked! Are you afraid people won't realize just how cheap you are?” “You rotten-hearted little vixen! Why are your eyes so greedy? I'll drag you all the way to the village entrance today and let every man, woman, and child see what a filthy husband-stealing woman you are!” Yun Xi watched the scene with sparkling eyes. Her biological mother was certainly no pushover. According to the original owner's limited memories, she had suffered plenty of beatings and scoldings from her own mother. Widow Wang was completely naked. In front of all the village women, she didn't dare move an inch. She could only curl into a ball, cover her head, and sob pitifully. When she saw Chen Xicui trying to drag her toward the village entrance, she was so frightened that she immediately screamed: “Brother Fugui, save me!” If she really ended up at the village entrance and all the villagers saw her in this state, how would she ever be able to face anyone again? Chen Xicui became even more furious when she heard how affectionately Widow Wang called her husband. She grabbed the woman's hair and slapped her hard across the face. “You damned little whore! You've been sneaking around with another woman's husband, and you still dare to act coquettish in front of me!” When Yun Fugui saw Widow Wang crying so pitifully, and heard her delicate, trembling voice calling for him to save her, his heart ached. The two of them were still in the throes of passion, deeply infatuated with each other. How could he possibly stand by and watch? He even threw away the large leaf covering his front and sprang out of the grass completely naked, his manhood swinging freely. “Chen Xicui, you shrew! Let go of Chunlan!” The village women watching the spectacle had never expected such a development. They screamed one after another and hurriedly turned their heads away. Yun Fugui, that shameless bastard! “Brother Fugui...” Widow Wang covered her burning cheek and looked at him with tear-filled almond-shaped eyes. The Yun family was one of the wealthier families in Linxi Village, and she had already been caught having an affair in front of everyone. If she couldn't marry Yun Fugui, she would have no future left. No matter what, she had to seize this opportunity and marry into the Yun family. Seeing how pitiful she looked, Yun Fugui's protective instincts as a man surged to the heavens. With a cold expression, he stepped forward, pushed Chen Xicui aside, and pulled Widow Wang into his arms. “You shrew! Stop making a spectacle of yourself!” Chen Xicui staggered backward, nearly losing her balance. She stared at Yun Fugui in disbelief, her trembling finger pointing at him as she shouted at the top of her lungs. “Yun Fugui, you heartless bastard! You and that slut were caught fooling around in broad daylight, and you actually have the nerve to say I'm making a spectacle of myself?” Yun Fugui impatiently slapped away the hand she was pointing at him with, his face full of disdain. “What do you mean, fooling around? Don't make it sound so ugly. From now on, Chunlan belongs to me. Even if the two of us are a little more uninhibited in our private affairs, so what?” After saying this, he actually thought his solution was brilliant. If he and Wang Chunlan were labeled adulterers, her deceased husband's family would certainly make a huge fuss. But if Wang Chunlan married him, then no one would have any grounds to interfere. In this era, widows were not forbidden from remarrying. Chen Xicui's legs went weak, and she stumbled backward several steps. “You... You two are husband and wife?” She pointed at herself. “Yun Fugui, then who am I?” Yun Fugui frowned impatiently. “Xicui, behave yourself. You'll still be my legal wife from now on. But if you keep making trouble, don't blame me for disregarding our past relationship and demoting you to the position of a concubine. Enough! Hurry home and bring us a set of clothes.” With that, he put his arm around Widow Wang and retreated into the grass, unwilling to let the villagers continue treating them like monkeys in a circus. “Yun Fugui, you're going to demote me to a concubine?” Chen Xicui stood stiffly, her eyes fixed on Widow Wang with a murderous expression. “Widow Wang, don't think you can entertain such delusions just because you have a pretty face and know how to seduce men! Even if my husband has temporarily lost his senses because of you, I will never back down. “If you dare set foot in my house again, I'll not only tear that pretty little vixen's face apart, but I'll also go to your parents' home and make a huge scene. I'll make sure your parents, brothers, and sisters are all disgraced along with you! Let's see how you'll ever show your face in this village again!” Back then, if Yun Fugui hadn't sweet-talked her into marrying him, she would still have been a first-class maid serving the Old Madam of the Ning'an Marquis Household. She had worn fine silks and eaten delicacies fit for royalty. Her life had been more comfortable and respectable than that of an ordinary wealthy family's young lady. Yet, in just a little over ten years, he had changed his heart and gotten involved with another woman. “Brother Fugui, look how frightening Sister is!” Widow Wang shrank further into Yun Fugui's embrace, casting Chen Xicui a provocative glance. Things had already reached this point. Her reputation was ruined beyond repair. What did she still have to be afraid of? After being watched like a circus performance for so long, Yun Fugui was already filled with pent-up anger. He immediately barked at her. “Chen Xicui, why aren't you going home to get my clothes? What good will it do you if I end up disgraced?” The Yun family was at least considered a wealthy household. Wang Chunlan was young and pretty. So what if he wanted to take her as a concubine? Yun Xi immediately poked her head out from behind the crowd, eager to make matters worse. “Mother, Father said he wants Widow Wang to give him a son.” Xiao Ji also poked his head out, wearing an innocent expression. “Aunt Chen, Little Fool's father said... you're full of... money-losing daughters.” What a good kid! They made a perfect team. Yun Xi gave Xiao Ji an approving glance before continuing to fan the flames. “Mother, Father said he wants to divorce you and marry Widow Wang!” Xiao Ji nodded vigorously and echoed her. “Aunt Chen, Little Fool's father said...” He scratched his head and thought for a moment before adding: “He said... you're going to end the Yun family's bloodline.” Yun Xi added another malicious remark, deliberately driving another thorn into Chen Xicui's heart. “Mother, Widow Wang called you an old hag, and Father called you a stinking woman. Mother, what does 'old hag' mean?” The villagers of Linxi Village listened with great interest, completely unaware that Little Fool Yun Xi had suddenly become so articulate.