The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 616 - 614 Kick the Door Open

Chapter 616: Chapter 614 Kick the Door Open

Wang Laozhu’s face was waxen yellow, his eye sockets had sunken in, his cheeks were severely emaciated, and his lips were so dry that they had started to peel. He laid there breathing faintly, completely unconscious.

The bedding on the bed was stained with indistinct yellow marks, and the kang was ice-cold to the touch.

Wang Yongzhu’s face darkened instantly, "On such a cold day, why didn’t you even light the kang for dad? He’s sick now, can he endure the cold? Is this how you take care of dad?"

Lady Qian hurriedly covered her nose and stepped forward to explain, "Little sister, you’ve got it wrong! It’s not that we don’t want to light the kang for dad, it’s just that these past few days the money spent on the doctor has been flowing out like running water. Here in the city, it’s not like the countryside where you can just chop some firewood from the mountains without paying. Everything costs money in the city, buying firewood requires silver!"

"Besides, the Lunar New Year isn’t over yet, and there are few people selling firewood in the countryside, so we simply ran out. We only stop during the daytime, but at night we still light it."

Wang Yonggui also felt the kang and immediately flew into a rage, "Cut the crap! Do you think we’re fools? If you really lit the kang at night, it’s only morning now, would it have no warmth at all?"

Upon hearing this, Old Granny Zhang didn’t waste words and rushed out the door, heading straight to the main room to feel the kang – it was warm.

Then she rushed to the room on the left, pushed the door, but it was bolted from the inside and didn’t budge.

"Laosan, Laosi, kick the door open for your mother!" Old Granny Zhang ordered.

Wang Yonggui and Wang Yongping hurried forward and kicked the door open with two kicks.

Inside, the parents of Lady Qian, looking embarrassed, faced Old Granny Zhang.

"In-laws, you’re here—"

Old Granny Zhang didn’t even glance at Lady Qian’s parents, rushing to the inner room, she touched the edge of the kang – it was also warm. Furious, she charged out.

Without a word, she first slapped Wang Yongan across the face. Lady Qian quickly stepped forward to block her, but Old Granny Zhang didn’t stop and squarely slapped Lady Qian, knocking her to the ground.

Lady Qian, covering her face in shock, couldn’t believe it. Over the years, she thought she had figured out her mother-in-law’s temper. Although verbally harsh, she had never laid a hand on her daughter-in-law.

When Wang Yongan was hit, she immediately rushed forward, banking on the fact that Old Granny Zhang wouldn’t physically harm her daughter-in-law, ensuring that she herself wouldn’t be hit, and possibly endearing Wang Yongan more to her side.

She had tested this several times before and always succeeded, so why wasn’t it working today?

Lady Qian’s mother couldn’t stand by and watch any longer. Her daughter being beaten in front of her was too disrespectful to the Qian Family.

She immediately burst out, with Lady Qian’s father stomping his foot in frustration and following her out, unable to hold her back.

Mother Qian prided herself as the Scholar Master’s mother-in-law and, fearful of being laughed at for being from the countryside, always spoke in a restrained, delicate manner. But today, seeing her only daughter being hit, her naturally loud voice could no longer be contained.

"I say, In-law, even when striking a dog, one should respect its owner! What do you mean by hitting my daughter in front of us? My daughter has married into your family for so many years, if not for merit, at least for her hard work, right? You come here without saying a word, and slap her without preamble, who are you trying to show by hitting her?"

"Let me tell you! The Qian family is not to be trifled with! How dare you treat my daughter like this, I’m telling you, unless you apologize to my girl, this matter is far from over!"

While cursing, she pointed her finger at Old Granny Zhang’s face.

Wang Yongzhu was enraged and moved forward to pull Mother Qian away, but Old Granny Zhang was quicker.

A slap swatted Mother Qian’s hand to the side, and with a leap three feet high, Old Granny Zhang shouted louder than Mother Qian, "It’s none of your damn business how I discipline the beast that crawled out of my belly! Your own daughter comes looking for trouble, and you blame me?"

"Today, let’s talk about your daughter marrying into our Wang family. In all these ten-plus years, has your girl borne my Wang family a son to carry on the lineage, or even served her in-laws duly? In over a decade, she’s birthed nothing but a maid, and I’ve held my tongue out of courtesy! Any other family with half a brain would be grateful and serve their in-laws."

"I don’t know how the Qian family raises their daughters! She has a girl, and she acts as if she’s so proud. Not only does she not serve her in-laws, but she also incites her husband not to honor his parents at home, running off to your Qian family to fawn over some irrelevant father-in-law and mother-in-law!"

"I slaved away to support my son to become a Scholar. Was it for your Qian family? If your Qian family is so capable and wealthy, why don’t you buy this Scholar from the Wang family? Without spending a penny, you expect to lure a Scholar with an unwanted old girl to your house? Shameless creatures!"

"My in-law, you can’t speak like that—" Father Qian couldn’t listen anymore and hastily interjected.

But when Old Granny Zhang was enraged, was Father Qian and Mother Qian able to stop her?

Instantly, she spat, "That’s what I said! I’ll say it anywhere! Your Qian family has no shame, enticing my son with an old girl worth nothing, who nobody wanted, keeping him preoccupied with supporting a shameless father-in-law’s family. In all these years, has my son who became a Scholar ever taken a penny from my Wang family? It all went to your Qian family!"

"If I were you, having taken advantage already, I’d keep quiet with your X faces and stay put in the house. What do you think you are up to coming out here? Do you really think just because you’ve lived here a few days, that this house now bears the name Qian? That Wang Yongan has become Qian Yongan?"

"A bunch of heartless, greedy bastards, all comfy in the house while our head of the family, your own father, lay sick in the side room, neglected, without even a warmed bed! Do you want to freeze him to death?"

"What good does it do your Qian family if our head dies? Could you possibly become the real father? Just for this alone, your girl, such a venomous woman, a wretch! I’m divorcing her right now, let’s see who objects!"

Old Granny Zhang’s tirade was like a storm, leaving Father Qian and Mother Qian exchanging glances, too afraid to even breathe loudly.

Especially when she spoke of divorcing Mother Qian, not only was Mother Qian stunned, but so was Wang Yongan.

Jinchai had come to realize that if Old Granny Zhang really set her mind to divorce Mother Qian, it was likely that Mother Qian would indeed be sent back home, so she hurried over and screamed, "You can’t divorce my mother!"

She grabbed onto Wang Yongan, "Father, Father! You can’t divorce my mother!"

A flicker of anger crossed Wang Yongan’s eyes. These past few days, he had been reminding Mother Qian, anticipating that the Wang family might send someone, advising her to be diligent, so as not to give the Wang family a reason to find fault with their treatment of Wang Laozhu, which would jeopardize their plans.

Although Mother Qian had been agreeing all along, today she was caught red-handed.

Thinking this over, he quickly made a decision.

His expression darkened; before he could speak, Mother Qian sensed trouble and, scrambling up, grabbed onto Wang Yongan’s clothes to plead, "Official... I know I was wrong, I beg you, for the sake of all our years together, please forgive me this once..."