Chapter 314: Entering a Pig Sty
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Greenwich, Riverside.
It was just like any other ordinary village.
Gloria Kennedy headed out to the river to draw water as usual, but as soon as she stepped out of her house, she realized that someone had splashed filthy water on her doorstep.
She fumed. ‘What have I done wrong? My husband is dead, and I worked hard to raise my daughters. I’ve never done anything wrong! Why are they trying to drive me into a corner? I haven’t even offended them!’
Still, she had no idea who had splashed the water on her doorstep.
She headed out to draw water to clean the doorstep, but a couple of middle-aged ladies walked over just then.
“Oh, Gloria, why are you carrying your own bucket of water? Didn’t I see some men helping you just a few days ago?” That woman’s name was Hilda Acre.
“Hilda, you better watch what you say. Those men are just workers around here. They saw me struggling with the bucket and simply offered their help. Don’t spout nonsense.”
“Tsk tsk, are you the only one who struggles with carrying a bucket? Why don’t I see them helping me?”
“Hilda, you’re different. You have a husband, while she’s a widow. Widows…”
“Hahaha.” The three women burst out into laughter.
Gloria Kennedy was already used to this, so she didn’t take it to heart.
“Oh, right. Gloria, I’m sure you don’t know about something. Elder Taylor already knows about you seducing the outsiders, so he wants you to beg for forgiveness.”
Gloria Kennedy stopped in her tracks. “Beg for forgiveness? Why? I didn’t seduce anyone.”
“Oh, you don’t dare to admit to what you’ve done? The whole village saw you seducing those men. Are you still going to deny it?”
“I said that I didn’t do it.”
“Don’t raise your voice at me. Go raise your voice at Elder Taylor if you dare.”
Gloria Kennedy could no longer hold her tears back.
It had been more than two decades since she had married into the Taylor family. After the death of her husband, many around her had advised her to get remarried, but she had refused. She wanted to be buried with her husband.
But now, the family head didn’t even believe her and wanted her to beg for forgiveness!
“Tsk, you must be guilty. Look, you’re already crying. We wouldn’t be able to put on such a show.” Hilda Acre continued making a dig at the other woman.
Just then, they heard a commotion.
They turned around to see the young men of the village gathered around an elder, walking toward them.
This elder was the head of the Taylor family—Garrett Taylor.
“Elder Taylor is here. Good days are ahead, Gloria. You don’t have to be a widow anymore.” The women didn’t have any grudge against each other and hardly even said more than a word to each other. Yet, it delighted the women to see Gloria Kennedy down.
Who knew what was up in their minds?
Very quickly, the group of men arrived in front of Gloria Kennedy’s house.
“Elder Taylor.” Gloria Kennedy addressed the man respectfully.
“Alright. You haven’t forgotten about your manners, but why did you do such a shameful thing?” Garrett Taylor shook his head in disappointment.
“I didn’t do it, Elder Taylor.”
“Alright, you don’t have to say anything. I know what you’ve done. What’s going on with you and those foreign boys? Gloria, you have to understand that you’re part of the Taylor family. How could you do such a shameless thing?”
She quickly shook her head, denying everything. “Elder Taylor, you’re mistaken. Those men only helped me because I was struggling.”
Hilda Acre cut in. “Nonsense. I clearly saw that man touching your hand.”
“Yes, I saw you guys hugging each other.”
“That’s right. The three of us were there and saw you guys acting so intimately. I felt second-hand embarrassment just looking at you.”
Gloria Kennedy was stunned. ‘How shameless can they get? Why are you ganging up and cooking up stories about me?’
“What are you saying, Hilda? They’re spouting nonsense and maligning me!”
Garrett Taylor chuckled. “Maligning you? Do you mean that all three of them are lying?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Fine.” He looked around and asked, “Who else saw what happened?”
Gloria Kennedy clenched her fists nervously.
Just then, someone spoke up. “I saw it too.”
This person was named Hudson Taylor—Hilda Acre’s husband.
“Stop maligning others. You don’t even go to the river to draw water. What could you have seen?”
Hudson Taylor immediately retorted, “Who says? I just happened to go down to the river the other day. I wasn’t the only one who witnessed that; many others saw it too.”
“Yes, I saw it.” Another man from the Taylor family stood forward.
“Me too.”
Two, then three, then four…
It didn’t take long for more than a dozen men to step forward to accuse Gloria Kennedy of doing so.
“Gloria, do you have anything to say now?” Garrett Taylor was fuming as he chided the woman.
But there was only a smile on her face. “Hahahaha! Don’t you think this is funny, Elder Taylor? When have you ever seen these men go down to the river? Why did they happen to be there on that very day?”
“Are you still trying to say that they’re accusing you of something you didn’t do? Gloria Kennedy, you’re really something. Do you think the whole village would come together to malign you?”
This was exactly what Gloria Kennedy didn’t understand. ‘I’ve done nothing against them, so why are they ganging up against me?’
However, she wasn’t going to admit to something she hadn’t done.
“Elder Taylor, why are you trying to reason with this woman? You had better save your breath. I don’t think our ancestors would care for her apology either. Let’s just throw her into the pigsty,” Hilda Acre suggested.
Gloria Kennedy could hardly believe her ears. “Elder Taylor, are you really going to throw me into the pigsty?”
‘I’ve done nothing wrong, yet these people are treating me in this manner.’