"Aiyo, the Scholar Master has arrived—" jeered a young wife with a sour tone.
Song Chongjin, as if hearing nothing, led Wang Yongzhu forward without a sideward glance, treating the group of young women and wives as if they were nothing.
Wang Yongping, following behind them, furrowed his brows and chided, "What are you all gawking at? What? It’s already late, shouldn’t you be going home to cook and nurse the children? What’s there to stare at my brother-in-law for?"
Jinguan, no longer a child but not yet fully grown, occasionally listened to adult conversations, understanding only half. Making a face, he blurted out, "What’s to look at? Even if you keep staring, Uncle will still be my aunt’s! With your ugly mugs, how can you even compare to my aunt? Lalalala..."
That certainly stirred up the hornet’s nest.
Which woman would want to be called an ugly monster?
Besides, even comparing with the former Wang Yongzhu, wasn’t everyone a goddess descended to earth?
"You little brat, who are you calling ugly monsters? Could anyone be uglier than your Auntie?"
"Exactly! Back in the day, Wang Yongzhu was notorious in the village for being an ugly monster! Hasn’t she just gotten a bit thinner, a bit paler, and dressed a bit more stylishly? If I lost some weight, got a bit paler, and wore nice clothes, I could leave Wang Yongzhu in the dust!"
Once this was said, many agreed.
They began to denounce Wang Yongzhu in a cacophony of voices.
What does this have to do with me? You’re all infatuated with Song Chongjin, why am I taking the hits?
Jinhua couldn’t listen anymore, she shouted loudly, "You’re talking nonsense! Even if you did become thinner and paler, and wore nice clothes, you wouldn’t be pretty! My aunt is the most beautiful!"
"Right, our Aunt is the most beautiful! You’re all ugly monsters! Ugly monsters, love to act up, with stinky mouths, and no love—"
Jinpan and Jinguan joined in, even spontaneously composing a rhyme to mock them.
"Pfft—" Wang Yongping couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud.
Some villagers passing by also couldn’t help but laugh.
The more composed and serious ones spoke up too, "Look at you lot, gathering , what does it look like? It’s almost dark, shouldn’t you be going home? Is your dinner cooked? The children taken care of? The pigs and chickens fed? All so idle!"
One of the quick-tongued young men joked, "They can hardly bear it, having cried and wailed at not being able to marry the Scholar Master. Now they must be green with regret, seizing this chance to get a good look? Too bad, even if you look, he’s still someone else’s—"
There were also mothers-in-law, seeing that it was getting dark, their daughters-in-law still hadn’t returned home, no dinner prepared, pigs unfed, chickens not put in their coop.
They had left the children behind at home, crying for milk, so with no choice, they picked up their grandsons and came to find their daughters-in-law.
Seeing this scene unfold, she stepped forward and delivered two slaps to the ears, "Blaming you for being so carefree! What time is it, and you’re still loitering outside instead of going home? Heartless woman, haven’t you seen what state my grandson is in from hunger? What are you still looking at? Do you think you’re worthy to gaze upon the Scholar Master? Can’t you see yourself for who you are? Let me tell you, you are now with the Li Family. If you dare entertain any fancy thoughts, wait till Zhuzi beats you to death when we get home! You’ve already got a child, what more are you thinking about?"
She shoved the crying grandson, who could hardly catch his breath, into the arms of the young daughter-in-law and grabbed her daughter-in-law’s hair, dragging her towards home.
Before she left, she didn’t dare say anything about Song Chongjin, after all, he was now the Scholar Master. Still, she couldn’t resist spitting on the ground and glaring at the other women, "Shame on you all, do you not have men at home? Why are you ogling someone else’s man? Clearly, you haven’t been disciplined enough, acting so improper!"
The women who still had some sense of shame, the young wives and the maidens, exchanged embarrassed glances, feeling their faces burn as they silently backed away.
The young wives, in particular, felt an added layer of regret and fear, quickly lowering their heads and hurrying home.
After this commotion, the crowd thinned out by seventy to eighty percent.
Wang Yongzhu felt a sense of relief in her heart. Being surrounded by so many formidable women, even with her lack of fighting skills, just the thought of all these people eyeing her man made her heart uncomfortable.
Before she could fully relax, she heard a somewhat shrill voice, "Cousin, Chongjin cousin—"
Accompanying the voice, a frail figure stumbled and lurched forward.
Just as the figure was about to throw herself onto Song Chongjin, he quickly pulled Wang Yongzhu backward, causing the figure to fall to the ground and kick up a cloud of dust.
Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but feel pain for the person who had fallen, the thud of the impact was unmistakably solid.
The woman who had fallen looked up; she was dressed in clothes that had been washed to the point of fading and were patched in places not immediately noticeable. Her body was frail, her hair somewhat straw-like, and her sharp little face accentuated her large eyes.
Tears brimming in her eyes, she looked at Song Chongjin, "Cousin, it’s me, Second Sister Song! Have you forgotten? When we were kids, when my brothers bullied you, I couldn’t bear it and tricked them away from you, even giving you a fruit! Cousin, don’t you remember?"
Wang Yongzhu watched Song Chongjin with a mocking smile, "Cousin? Second Sister? A fruit?"
Song Chongjin’s legs grew weak under Wang Yongzhu’s gaze, but he still managed to look calm as he glanced briefly at the woman and after a long pause said, "If you’re referring to when I was ten years old and surrounded and bullied by the Song Family kids, I remember that! But this so-called tricking the bullies away from me and giving me a fruit—"
He paused there, then continued coldly, "Did you think I didn’t know? Why the Song Family boys beat me; wasn’t it because you played them against me, saying I was just an unsponsored bastard, and striking me was of no consequence? Wasn’t it you who told Song Laoda and the others to mistreat me, then seeing the Clan Leader approach, fearing reprimand, you duped them away, and upon his arrival, you handed me a rotten, sour pear?"
"If that’s what you’re referring to, of course I remember!"
A silence fell around them, and the woman, not expecting Song Chongjin to know everything, was suddenly at a loss for what expression to wear on her previously pitiful face.
Several wives who remained nearby, already bold by nature, still had the backing of their brothers at home, so they had the confidence to stay put.
Listening to his words, they looked at the woman with changed eyes, "Look at you, Second Sister Song, playing the victim? Have you forgotten how your family treated Scholar Song in the past? You’re hoping to latch onto his success now that he’s done well for himself, aren’t you? Pah! Even if Scholar Song agrees, we will not!"
"Exactly! How you leached off Scholar Song back then; do you think we’ve forgotten? Now that Scholar Song has finally had a few good days, you want to shamelessly worm your way back in? No