The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 155 Murder

Chapter 155: Chapter 155 Murder

Panic erupted in the courtyard, as nobody had expected Wang Daxiu to choose this moment to run into the Wang Family’s house, knife in hand, intent on violence!

Especially caught unawares were Lady Jiang and Jinshao, with their backs to the door listening to the commotion. As they turned around, they saw Wang Daxiu brandishing the knife as she barged in.

Lady Jiang, a weak woman, and Jinshao, a child who understood nothing of the world, were terrified at the sight of Wang Daxiu’s aggressive approach. Their legs went weak and even though they wanted to run, they couldn’t take a step, just standing there dumbfounded, watching as the sharp blade slashed towards them—

Off to the side, Jinhua let out a piercing scream as she attempted to rush forward: "Mother—"

But she was grabbed by Jinhoo who was sitting beside her. Rushing forward would be akin to throwing her life away, wouldn’t it?

Wang Yongping was the first to snap back to reality. However, he was separated from Lady Jiang and Jinshao by Jinpan and Jindou, and although he lifted his leg to try and save them, it was too late; all he managed was to yell, "You old hag, put down the knife—"

While holding back Jinhua, Jinhoo shouted, "Someone come quick, help! There’s someone trying to commit murder—"

It was the time of day when everyone would be returning home for dinner. Jinhoo’s shout alarmed the nearby neighbors, and immediately people started running towards the scene.

Jinhua couldn’t contain herself and closed her eyes, not daring to watch her own mother and brother get hurt in the attack.

Then she heard a sudden "Ouch—" followed by a "Clang—," the sound of something hitting the ground and shattering.

Jinhua cautiously opened her eyes, expecting to see a bloody sight.

Blood was indeed visible, but not on Lady Jiang and Jinshao. Instead, it was Wang Daxiu’s forehead that was somehow cracked open, her hair streaming with rice-porridge and mush, and two trembling leaves of vegetables, the rice soup mingling with the blood, trickling down, sticking to half of her face, looking both revolting and terrifying.

Jinshao was petrified, his mouth agape as he burst into crying, all the while shouting, "Mother—I’m scared—"

Having snapped back to her senses, Lady Jiang wrapped her arms around Jinshao and began to back away.

She fell to the ground, whether from weakness in her legs or something else, taking only a couple of steps before sitting down abruptly, shaking as she hugged Jinshao, her eyes wide with horror as they watched Wang Daxiu.

Wang Daxiu had swung her knife with the intention of attacking Lady Jiang and Jinshao, confident that the frail Lady Jiang and the small Jinshao would not be a match for her. However, before she could land a cut, her vision went dark followed by a searing pain on her forehead; then a hot, sticky, and scalding substance smeared across her head and face.

Especially her eyes—it was as if they couldn’t open anymore.

Could she be going blind? Wang Daxiu panicked, waving the knife with one hand to keep anyone from approaching her and frantically wiping her face with the other, only to realize that it was the hot, sloppy mush of vegetable porridge that had slapped against her face. Only then her panic began to subside.

Looking up, she saw that Lady Jiang and Jinshao were trying to escape in the midst of the chaos?

So she lunged forward again.

Her aggressive move terrified Jinhoo, who, with one hand, dragged Jinhua to the side and ran.

Jinpan had already stood up and was looking for something handy to use to stop Wang Daxiu, while Jindou, quick on her feet, realizing the situation was dire, clutched onto Wang Yongping’s trouser leg and hid behind him, refusing to let go.

Old Wang Laozhu was both angry and afraid; trying to speak, he choked on his saliva, and began coughing so much he couldn’t straighten his back.

It was Old Granny Zhang who remained composed in this critical situation, her immediate reaction being to pull her daughter behind her to protect her.

Wang Yongzhu blinked away the tears welling up in her eyes as she took in the sight of Old Granny Zhang standing protectively in front of her. In contrast to Wang Yongzhu’s own figure, the slender frame of her mother made it clear that, should Wang Daxiu strike, she would likely shield her daughter with her own body.

However, this was not the time for sentimentality. Wang Yongzhu saw that Wang Daxiu’s eyes were bloodshot, and she seemed to be in a state of frenzy, almost as if she had lost her mind. Yet, her gaze was firmly fixed on Lady Jiang and Jinshao.

Wang Yongzhu knew then that Daxiu was probably still clear-headed, aware that it was easier to pick on the weak.

It was a relief that she wasn’t truly insane.

No sooner had these thoughts crossed her mind than Wang Daxiu raised her knife to strike at Lady Jiang. In a flash, Wang Yongzhu, with the speed of lightning, hurled the bowl of veggie porridge—which was too hot to drink and left untouched on the table—at Wang Daxiu.

That Power Pill was indeed useful. Not only did it greatly increase her strength, but it also improved her aim.

She had aimed for the vegetable knife in Wang Daxiu’s right hand but, unexpectedly, hit her head instead.

Nonetheless, it was a serendipitous miss. The force of the throw, coupled with the bowl of porridge, cracked Wang Daxiu’s head open, and her vision was smeared with blood and porridge, saving Lady Jiang and Jinshao’s lives.

Old Granny Zhang watched in shock as Wang Daxiu bled from her head wound, then glanced at her daughter, who showed a trace of guilt. She wondered if her eyes were deceiving her.

Her own daughter’s strength seemed oddly excessive?

But now was not the time to worry about that; she felt that her daughter’s move was excellent. It had, after all, stopped the crazed Wang Daxiu.

Although she usually held no fondness for Lady Jiang and the third branch of the family, she couldn’t just stand by and watch them be killed. Seeing Lady Jiang so helpless, barely able to carry Jinshao a few steps before collapsing on the ground with trembling legs, infuriated Granny Zhang to the point where she wanted to slap her.

She was utterly useless!

Just then, Wang Daxiu wiped the blood and porridge from her face and continued her pursuit.

At critical moments like this, none of the men in the household seemed to be of any use.

Jinhoo was pulling Jinhua and Jinpan towards the exit of the courtyard, while the head of the family was still coughing nearby, unable to straighten his back. Jindou, the boy, was running around the courtyard searching for something, and Laosi, that useless creature, who was always so slick in fights, seemed absent when his loved ones were in danger of being chopped up, still vigorously entangled with Jinguan.

Jinguan, that coward, was clinging onto Laosi’s leg for dear life, hindering Laosi’s attempts to intercept Wang Daxiu by being a dead weight.

Wang Yongping tried to pull Jinguan off, but the boy mustered surprising strength at that critical moment, gripping his waistband so tightly that if Yongping applied more force, he feared he might end up pulling down both Jinguan and his own trousers.

In any case, he didn’t have a free hand in that moment.

Granny Zhang knew that in times like this, it was better to rely on oneself than to wait for help. Glancing around, she saw nothing useful to shield herself with—only a dining table in front of her. The table, made of solid elm wood that had lasted for several decades, was considerably heavy, typically requiring several people to move it.

With her strength, she surely couldn’t flip it over, but recalling the decisive way her daughter had thrown the bowl, she thought they might give it a try.

"Flip the table—" Granny Zhang stepped aside and quickly instructed Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu tacitly understood. Together, the mother and daughter exerted their force and flipped the dining table, scattering dishes, bowls, and food all over the ground.

Because they struggled to control their strength and ended up using all their might, Granny Zhang only felt her hands touch the wooden table, then with one heave, suddenly found nothing beneath her hands, as the table flew out.

She nearly lost her balance and stumbled forward a step.

She saw the table zooming straight towards Wang Daxiu, narrowly flying past Lady Jiang’s head as she lay collapsed on the ground and hitting Wang Daxiu squarely in the face.