Seeing Ms. Li Junior like that, Yang Chuxia didn’t say anything and didn’t urge her. She wanted to see if Ms. Li Junior could really go through with it.
Ms. Li Junior was in a dilemma as well. She was afraid of the pain and wished someone would stop her so she could put the scissors down. But no one stepped forward.
Her hand was shaking uncontrollably. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she threw the scissors to the ground and her face turned red with anger.
"Hmph, if you can’t do it, just apologize. This is not negotiable!"
Hearing this, Ms. Li Junior mumbled and came up to Ye Zi’an. "Brother An, I’m sorry. Auntie misspoke."
Her voice was low, but loud enough for everyone to hear. That was enough. Ye Zi’an didn’t say anything after Ms. Li Junior called him lame and stayed silent, not knowing what was on his mind. At this point, he just nodded.
Yang Chuxia saw this and was slightly worried, but didn’t ask anything at the moment.
She just snorted coldly at Ms. Li Junior, "If you had apologized earlier, it would’ve been over. Why are you being so stubborn? Oh, right, sorry for hitting you just now." With that, she took the opportunity to address everyone else, "In the future, whoever talks bad about Brother An, you better make sure I don’t hear it. Otherwise, you’ll end up ."
Humph, these people looked harmless but had sharp tongues, always gossiping behind others’ backs, especially Auntie Li, whom Yang Chuxia had heard badmouthing Brother An a few times.
Today was a perfect opportunity for her to make her stand clear.
After apologizing, Ms. Li Junior couldn’t stay any longer and hurriedly left without considering her mother-in-law. Just as she reached the entrance of Yang Chuxia’s house, her husband Yang Jinhai burst out and started beating her.
He cursed as he hit her, "You stupid woman, you’ve made me lose face, you’ve humiliated me!" He grabbed Ms. Li Junior’s hair and slapped her left and right, much harder than Yang Chuxia did. Moreover, he made it clear that no one was allowed to intervene or else he’d hit them as well. He didn’t even listen to Land Officer Yang’s words. And so, nobody dared to step in.
It wasn’t until he had beaten her almost senseless that he dragged Ms. Li Junior back to their house.
Everyone gasped in surprise. They hadn’t expected Yang Jinhai, who usually seemed so quiet, to be so brutal when hitting someone.
With Ms. Li Junior gone, everyone’s gaze returned to Aunt Caixia’s family. Yang Jinshui’s mother had almost forgotten why she came here in the first place because of the commotion caused by her daughter-in-law.
"Anyway, I’ll say it here, you’re not allowed to take this little wench back. Wherever she came from, that’s where you send her back to. Stop meddling in other people’s business."
Yang Jinshui’s mother’s last sentence was of course directed at Yang Chuxia and that’s what she was thinking as well.
You say she’s meddling? Yang Chuxia raised an eyebrow. She originally didn’t plan on getting involved, but now she had no choice but to intervene.
Stepping forward, she took Aunt Caixia’s arm and said, "Auntie, don’t worry about Jinling, just take her back to your home. You’ve already separated from the main family last time over Jinxiu’s affair. I don’t believe they can still stick their hands into your business once the families are separated. That’s not right."
Land Officer Yang chimed in, "That’s right, our Yangshu Village doesn’t have the habit of driving people out when they’ve finally come back. Jinshui’s mother, you can’t do that. And besides, you’ve already separated Jinshui from the main house, so you shouldn’t be able to interfere with their family matters anymore. If you hadn’t separated, it’s one thing if you don’t want Jinling to go back, but now, what gives you the right to stop her?"
"Fine, you’re all on her side, huh? You all want to bully me, an old woman?" Seeing that even Land Officer Yang was speaking up, Yang Jinshui’s mother immediately threw a tantrum, sat on the ground, and started to wail, "Yang Jinshui, let me tell you – as long as I’m here, that little wench isn’t coming back home. Dirty and contaminated thing, why can’t she just die outside? And you, you stinking woman, just wait till Jinshui divorces you. You can’t even bear a son, you worthless wife, and yet you dare to talk back to me?"