Chapter 323 Content
Chen Guizhi felt that the matter touched on the reputation of a woman and her family’s honor, which, if tarnished even slightly, could destroy an entire family. These words should not be uttered without solid evidence, and even if they were true, as an unmarried girl, she shouldn’t talk too much about such matters.
"I’m not spreading gossip outside. I’m just letting you guys know, so when we see their family, we can keep our distance," Shen Yixiang stuck out her tongue at Chen Guizhi.
Yang PeiMin’s heart sank upon hearing this. Even if the rumors were false, Huang Tao would never find peace from the whispers. Often, people preferred to believe the juicy tidbits like "Huang Tao’s affair" over the mundane reality of "just an ordinary quarrel". Once such a whisper started, it would be fanned into flames without any actual fire.
Despite Chen Guizhi’s advice, Shen Yiyue leaned in and asked, "So, how did the Huang family arrive so promptly? And who is that person she called out?" She almost whispered this last question directly into Shen Yixiang’s ear.
Shen Yixiang shook her head, "Huang Tao’s two older brothers came over because of an urgent family matter, needing to borrow money. They planned to get the money early to take care of their business but had not expected to encounter their sister being beaten by her husband. As for the name yelled out, nobody knows yet. Those who followed the commotion and eavesdropped at the window relayed some of it. Before, Li Er had refused to explain why he was hitting Huang Tao. Seeing his behavior, the Huang family demanded an explanation. If he couldn’t give a reason, then it was a groundless assault on their sister, who had borne him three sons. Now, not only had he hit their sister but also her uncles; this matter was far from over, with the Huang family aggressively seeking an explanation."
"The Huang family instantly gained the upper hand, taunting the Li family and suggesting they deserved compensation. Mrs. Li would not have it. She jumped out, cursing Huang Tao for being lazy and disrespectful, claiming that just because she had borne some sons, she thought she was entitled to be treated like an ancestor. Such a daughter-in-law would be slapped no matter where she went, and her second son was not wrong to hit her."
"The two families were in a heated argument, with Huang Tao’s sister-in-law proving to be a tough cookie. She sat on the ground, refusing to get up, accusing the Li family of being heartless. They married her in, she bore children, and they treated her like dirt, and now even her family was attacked. Such an unjustified assault was unacceptable anywhere. At that point, the Huang family didn’t want to listen to our village chief’s words either. They wanted to call the village chief and chief of Huangjia Village to mediate and assess the situation, believing they shouldn’t be bullied just because they were outsiders in this area..."
This escalated the personal problem to a village-wide issue. Huang Tao’s sister-in-law might have been brash, but she spoke with reason, forcing our village chief to pay serious attention to it. Indeed, if no reasonable explanation was provided, it could cause a rift between the two villages, which would be troublesome.
Thus, under the pressure of the village chief, Li Er could no longer hold back and blurted out that Huang Tao had been shouting another man’s name on their bed. For a man, the worst insult was to be cuckolded by his wife. Li Er didn’t elaborate, but from his humiliated face, everyone instantly understood.
Mrs. Li pounced on Huang Tao with a shriek and slapped her face twice. Now, the Li Family glared at the Huang family with fiery eyes. After Li Er spoke, he regretted it, realizing that, despite his vague words, everyone now believed that his wife had been unfaithful. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, repeatedly insisting, "No, no, that’s not it... it’s just that she wasn’t careful and didn’t cooperate when we... you know..."
But as soon as these words were out, he knew he had misspoken again. He saw his mother stop hitting, quickly retract her hand, and retreat into the crowd. Huang Tao stopped wailing, and everyone stared at Li Er and Huang Tao in stunned silence, you could hear a pin drop.
"It’s not..."
With a piercing scream, Huang Tao covered her face, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.