Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Meizi and Granny Hua were instantly furious.

Meizi shrieked, "You, a good person? If you were any good, you wouldn’t have married Sister Liu’er off to the Tang family as a concubine, nearly getting her killed. You’re the worst one in this whole village! If you dropped dead, Sister Liu’er would probably live longer! The way you torment her every day, she can’t live in peace." When she started cursing people out, she was just like Li Changliang—she said whatever was on her mind.

Granny Hua’s mind suddenly sharpened, and she chimed in, shouting, "So what if this old hag is no good? At least my two sons aren’t cowards! My Changliang even saved Liu’er! But you, you old hag, look at the fine son you raised—can’t even protect his own sister. No wonder Zheng Changhe said Sun Jinshan and his son are both a pair of cowards."

Liu’er’s mother never expected this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo to gang up on her. Every word they said was like a knife to the heart. Her face paled and flushed in turns, her eyes bulging with rage. When she heard Granny Hua’s last sentence, her fury shifted toward Juhua. She glared at her and began to hiss, "You scabby—"

The moment Juhua saw the woman turn to glare at her, she knew what was coming. Before Liu’er’s mother could finish, Juhua cut her off with a fierce glare and a sharp command, "Don’t you start with me! Call me ’scabby girl’ one more time, and I’ll have someone knock out every last one of your teeth. I guarantee it. You believe me? I can’t be bothered to argue with you, but don’t think for a second that I’m scared of you. Piss me off, and I’ll bring both my maiden family and my husband’s family to tear down that little house of yours."

And believe her, Liu’er’s mother certainly did!

When this girl got truly angry, she was terrifying. Besides, with the Zheng Family and the Zhang family combined, knocking all her teeth out would be an easy task. She glared hatefully at Juhua, swallowing the string of curses she was about to unleash. She practically choked on her own anger, her eyes rolling back as her chest heaved.

Juhua said coolly, "A mother like you is a rare sight indeed. You keep saying everything is for your daughter’s sake, but have you stopped to think? Before you got here, Sister Liu’er was talking and laughing with us, doing just fine. The moment you arrive, you start shouting and making a scene, not letting her have a moment’s peace. Is this how you care for your daughter?"

Meizi added, "She just loves to put on a show, always trying to make herself look good without caring what anyone else thinks. My Jingwen was right. Get out of here. This is my house, and you’re not welcome."

Liu’er’s mother said through gritted teeth, "I’m here to see my daughter. What’s wrong with that? You’re the ones keeping her here, so now you won’t even let her own mother see her?" As she spoke, she looked toward Liu’er.

Liu’er looked at her mother and, after a long moment, let out a deep sigh. "Mother, please go home for now. Seeing me like this... I can’t take it. My body hasn’t recovered, and I don’t even know how many days I have left. Can’t you just let me have a few days of peace?"

At this, Liu’er’s mother started to cry. "I didn’t want to argue," she sobbed. "I just can’t stand seeing them bully you, fobbing you off with this kind of food. When will your body ever recover? Mother is just worried sick! Liu’er, come home with me. I’ll kill a few chickens and make you some stew. You’ll get better faster."

When Granny Hua heard she wanted to take Liu’er home, she immediately refused. "Take her home? In your dreams!" she shouted. "Where were you before? I nurse her back to health, and now you show up to take her away. She’s a daughter-in-law of my Li Family now. You think you can just take her whenever you please?"

Liu’er’s mother started stamping her feet again. "I wanted to take her home that night! It’s all your son’s fault, and that scabby... and Juhua! I don’t know what nonsense they filled her head with to make my daughter turn against her own mother. If I take her home to recover, isn’t that just what you want? You’re too stingy to kill a chicken, so I’ll do it. What’s wrong with that?"

Granny Hua retorted sarcastically, "If you had taken her home that night, she’d probably have died, been buried, and had grass growing on her grave by now. Hmph! All you know is ’kill a chicken, kill a chicken.’ Is raising a few chickens such a big deal? You’re just showing off."

Juhua and the others were getting a massive headache watching them start to argue again. Suddenly, they heard Li Jingwen shout, "Little Uncle! This woman is cursing! Hit her! She cursed at Grandma, at Mom, at Auntie Juhua, and at me!" he tattled, jumbling up his report.

Juhua was overjoyed to hear this. She looked up and, sure enough, Li Changliang was back. He was standing in the doorway, his face grim as he glared at Liu’er’s mother. "I told you not to come here. Didn’t you hear me?" he asked in an icy voice. "Get out!"

Seeing this blockhead had returned, Liu’er’s mother lost much of her nerve. Still, her naturally stubborn personality wouldn’t let her back down. She yelled, "Not letting a mother see her own daughter—what kind of son-in-law are you? You..."

Before she could finish, Li Changliang grabbed her by the arm and dragged her outside, cursing as he went. "If you don’t come, she has a chance to live! If you come, she definitely won’t make it, so of course I’m going to kick you out! You’re nothing but trouble wherever you go. All you do is show up and start fights. Now get the hell away from here!"

Thrown out the door by her son-in-law, Liu’er’s mother felt utterly humiliated. She couldn’t swallow this insult. Besides, Liu’er was looking better, so of course, she had to try and win back her daughter’s affection. And so, she stood blocking the Li Family’s main gate, crying and wailing to the crowd of onlookers. She accused Li Changliang of tricking her daughter, of taking her home only to neglect her. She claimed that as sick as Liu’er was, they weren’t nursing her properly, just fobbing her off with thin gruel.

Shi Tou’s mother, her belly large with child, didn’t believe a word of it. "That can’t be right," she said doubtfully. "Changliang isn’t that kind of person. Even if they don’t have much else, they can surely afford to kill a chicken. Sister, you should stop. There must be some misunderstanding."

Hearing this just fired Liu’er’s mother up. She immediately began to swear up and down that she wasn’t mistaken in the slightest. "They admitted it themselves! They even said this is the best way for her to eat. Isn’t that just fooling people?" ’I’m not even lying this time,’ she thought smugly. ’Let’s see how you all explain this to everyone. I fought with my in-laws for my daughter’s sake. Surely the villagers won’t say I don’t care about my daughter now, will they?’

Just then, Sun Jinshan came looking for her. He had heard his daughter-in-law had gone to the Li family’s to see Liu’er, and, fearing she would cause trouble again, had rushed over. Sure enough, she was. Li Laoda and the others had also returned from work for their midday meal, and a noisy crowd of onlookers had once again gathered outside the courtyard.

Furious, Li Changliang rushed out, ready to let loose a stream of curses, but Li Changming held him back. He couldn’t curse Liu’er’s mother like he used to. Whether they acknowledged it or not, she was still Liu’er’s biological mother.

When asked for the reason, Liu’er’s mother began rambling, retelling her story from the beginning. She went on and on about how the Li family didn’t value Liu’er, only giving her thin gruel to eat, and how they even cooked some loaches only for Juhua and Meizi to share them amongst themselves.

It had an effect. Even Sun Jinshan’s expression turned grim when he heard this. The surrounding villagers were all looking at the Li family members with faces full of doubt and disbelief.