Chapter 234: Rumor
After spending over half a month in Beijing, Su Qing set off on her journey back to the Northeast. Having seen Su Qing off at the train, Li Huan was a bit listless—not just because her good friend was leaving Beijing, but also because of the grueling study grind that lay ahead.
Meanwhile, Li Yuan, who knew Li Huan had been spending all her time with Su Qing, had been keeping a casual eye on her. When she saw Li Huan finally come home looking glum, she did some subtle probing and learned that Su Qing had returned to the Northeast.
Upon getting this news, Li Yuan wasted no time in calling Li Aiguo to tell him.
Li Aiguo’s foot had almost completely healed. When he learned that Su Qing had returned to the Northeast, he thought for a moment, then bought a train ticket to the Northeast as well.
"Su Qing, dear, you’re back!"
"Oh my, she’s getting more and more beautiful."
Spring planting hadn’t yet begun in Lihua Village, so a group of women had gathered by the old tree and large stone at the village entrance. They kept their hands busy with various tasks while chatting and trading gossip. When they saw Su Qing return, many of them greeted her with warm smiles.
The residents of Lihua Village had watched Su Qing’s face heal day by day. They all knew a medicinal powder from an old traditional doctor had cured the scars on her face, but no one had expected that after being away for over half a month, she would return looking even more beautiful.
"Aunties," Su Qing said, greeting the women with a smile.
One of the women spoke up. "Oh, by the way, Su Qing, someone came looking for you a couple of days ago. A man in his forties, said his surname was Fang. Who’s he?"
The woman’s eyes twinkled with gossip, her curiosity piqued. Ever since Su Qing had left the Old Su Family, her life had become remarkably eventful. She was either off traveling or having visitors come looking for her. And judging by the way those visitors dressed—tsk, tsk—they were all clearly wealthy. One could only wonder where a girl like her met such people.
It wasn’t just her; many of the women present were giving Su Qing gossipy looks. Thanks to Tian Aixiang spreading it all over the village, most of them knew about the man who had come looking for Su Qing. Tian Aixiang had been claiming Su Qing was involved with a man in his forties.
While most of them didn’t believe Tian Aixiang, they couldn’t help their own curiosity.
’Surname Fang, in his forties?’
Su Qing immediately thought of Fang Lutian. He was the only man she knew in his forties with that surname. But when she remembered who Fang Lutian worked for, she felt a pang of guilt.
Over the New Year, Old Mrs. An had made a special trip to ask her to find time to persuade Mr. Gong to take a look at An Zhihan’s leg. But she had been so preoccupied lately that she still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Mr. Gong about it.
’I wonder why Fang Lutian is looking for me now,’ Su Qing thought. ’I should probably pay the An Family a visit. After all, they bought that ginseng from me and gave me quite a bit of extra money for it.’
With that in mind, Su Qing decided she would make time to visit the An Family the next day.
Though her mind was occupied, Su Qing didn’t ignore the women. She smiled and said, "He’s an older relative of a friend. I suppose he came to see me about something."
"Oh, an older relative of a friend? Not your lover?" A sarcastic voice piped up from the back of the crowd.
Su Qing’s expression turned cold, and she looked over.
The speaker was Lu Chunhua.
When Lu Chunhua saw Su Qing look her way, she felt emboldened by her own age and the large crowd. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of Su Qing. Tilting her chin up, she stared at Su Qing, feeling a rush of vindication. ’That’s what this wretched girl gets for not giving me any of that medicinal powder,’ she thought. ’I’ll humiliate her in front of everyone.’
But when she met Su Qing’s cold gaze, Lu Chunhua felt an inexplicable flicker of fear. She quickly blurted out, "What are you looking at me for? I wasn’t the one who said it, it was your third aunt! Go on, ask around if you don’t believe me. Who in the village doesn’t know you’ve got yourself a lover in his forties?"
Hearing this, the surrounding women all looked at Lu Chunhua as if she were a complete idiot and instinctively edged away from her.
Of course, they had all heard the rumor, but none of them had taken it seriously. Everyone knew Su Qing had a major falling out with the Old Su Family. What good word could possibly come from Tian Aixiang? Besides, Tian Aixiang had always believed Su Qing was somehow responsible for her own daughter’s death.
’Only a brainless fool like Lu Chunhua,’ they thought, ’would be stupid enough to say it to Su Qing’s face, even if she believed it. She’s just asking for trouble.’
’Yikes, better stand back. Don’t want to get splattered with blood when the fists start flying.’
As the crowd instantly parted, Lu Chunhua was left standing alone to face Su Qing, who was now walking toward her with a stony expression.
Lu Chunhua stumbled back two steps in fear. "Su Qing, what are you trying to do? I’m telling you, I’m your elder, your distant aunt! You can’t—OW!"
Before Lu Chunhua could finish, Su Qing slapped her hard across the face. "I don’t care who you are. If you smear my name, I won’t let you get away with it. That goes for a barely-related distant aunt like you, and it goes for Tian Aixiang, too. I won’t let her off the hook either."
"You... you hit me again!" Lu Chunhua was livid. She’d already taken a beating from Su Qing once before, and now she was being hit in front of so many people. She had lost all face, all dignity.
Seething with rage, Lu Chunhua lunged forward, trying to scratch Su Qing’s face. ’That face has been getting on my nerves ever since it healed!’
But Su Qing wasn’t about to let her succeed. She had no intention of tolerating Lu Chunhua’s behavior. As the woman lunged, Su Qing simply kicked her squarely in the thigh.
Lu Chunhua instantly lost her footing and fell to the ground with a THUD.
"Oh, heavens, it’s terrible! Su Qing hit her elder!" Lu Chunhua’s thigh throbbed with a sharp pain, and she couldn’t get up. So she simply sat on the ground and started making a scene. "You all have to be my witness! This wretched girl hit her elder! It’s against all reason! She should be struck by lightning!"
"We didn’t see a thing."
"That’s right. Who hit you? I sure didn’t see it."
"Su Qing didn’t hit you."
...
Lu Chunhua was flabbergasted. One by one, every single person there denied seeing Su Qing hit her. They were all siding with Su Qing.
’What kind of justice is this?’
Just as Lu Chunhua was about to start wailing again, Su Qing’s cold voice cut in. "If you keep making a scene, I’ll send you down to the police. We can have a nice chat with the officers there, how does that sound?"
Lu Chunhua immediately shut her mouth. She might not be sure about other people, but she had no doubt Su Qing would actually do it. She had no desire to be humiliated by being dragged to the police station.
Seeing that Lu Chunhua had finally quieted down, Su Qing shot her one last cold glance and headed straight for the village brigade headquarters. She’d been ignoring the Old Su Family lately. ’Looks like they’re reverting to their old ways,’ she thought.