The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 173: You Will Lose Completely (9)_1

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: You Will Lose Completely (9)_1

Grandma Fang was also approaching fifty this year, her hair already half white. She wore her hair in a bun secured with a wooden pin and was dressed in an indigo overcoat that had washed to a pale hue. Her face was a canvas of wrinkles, marked by age, her body slightly stooped.

Lady Yu then pressed on to ask how Lady Fang died, was it because Pei Zongli had come back from the dead and, after bringing back a rich family’s daughter and two sons, the Pei family drove Lady Fang to her death!?

Pei Qin recounted the process of Lady Fang’s death, "I was in the town at the time and didn’t know what Mother had heard. She left quietly before dawn, leaving behind a blood letter and collided to her death at the entrance of the Pei family’s house."

"Where’s the blood letter? What exactly did your mother write!?" Lady Yu asked urgently, grabbing her.

"It detailed the secrets of the Jian Xiao, but the Pei family took it," Pei Qin said calmly.

Grandma Fang’s voice suddenly became sharp as she interrogated, "Was she forced into the Jian Xiao? Was it the Pei family, the Pei family’s people who forcibly made her do it, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it!?" Her daughter was literate and attractive, and her father had been fond of her from a young age, teaching her to be knowledgeable and reasonable. Even if Pei Zongli was dead and he appeared in her dreams wanting a son, she would never have abandoned her morality, dignity, and chastity to demean herself by having a Jian Xiao with her uncle to bear Pei Zongli a son to leave behind a legacy. For years, she had been filled with regret and confusion, yet when her husband was so angry he disowned her, she said not a word!

Pei Qin watched her agitated and angry manner and said nothing.

"It was the Pei family who forced her! It was the Pei family who harmed her! It was the Pei family who harmed her!" Grandma Fang shrieked and cried.

"Mother!" Lady Yu supported her, teeth gritted with rage, "We’re going to confront them! That family of inhumane beasts worse than pigs and dogs!"

The two wept and made their way to the entrance of the Pei family’s house.

Pei Qin didn’t stop them but silently followed behind.

Si Ya locked the door, and along with San Ya and Pei Wendong, they also followed out. They wanted to see how their never-caring grandmother would cause a scene at Old Pei’s House.

Seeing that visitors from the Fang family had arrived, the villagers came out in groups to watch the commotion.

Grandma Fang and Lady Yu shouted abuses, Lady Yu cursed Pei Zongli, while Grandma Fang wailed and cursed at Old Pei and Lady Zhu’s names, banging on the door.

The family stood in the courtyard but no one came to open the door. The more the Fangs made a scene, the more it went against them due to the trap set by Lady Fang and another by Pei Qin.

"You beasts struck by thunder! You drove my daughter to her death and now you’re cowering inside without coming out! Heartless dogs! You caused the death of my daughter! Dare to come out if you have the guts!" Grandma Fang banged on the door while yelling her curses.

Lady Yu was also screaming and cursing.

Lady Zhu couldn’t hold back and started cursing back from inside the courtyard. She accused Lady Fang of being promiscuous and debased, that no one forced her, it was her own willingness to engage in Jian Xiao, and her death was her own doing, and she even tarnished their household’s doorway where she took her life.

Grandma Fang angrily cursed, demanding the return of her daughter’s blood letter, "...let the whole world see whether it was my daughter’s fault or if it was your Pei family that forced and harmed her! Your family caused the death of my daughter and then blamed her for it, shifting the blame onto our household. Now you’ve driven her to death as well, and you have the nerve to bite back! You’re worse than pigs and dogs! Less than beasts! Your Pei family will ultimately face retribution! None of your family will die a good death!"

Not opening the door was a problem, but opening it and fighting back with words would make them lose even more face. Old Pei stopped Lady Zhu from making another peep.

Outside, Grandma Fang and Lady Yu cried and cursed for a while, but they ran out of energy. The people inside were like turtles shrinking into their shells, silent, and eventually, the two women could curse no more.

"Would you like to visit the grave?" Pei Qin asked.

Of course, the two women wanted to go.

Pei Qin sent San Ya back home to get a basket of paper money and led them to the graveyard on the hill.

Grandma Fang questioned why they didn’t keep a vigil at home for Lady Fang and said that even with elders above, Lady Fang should have had at least a seven-day vigil.

Pei Qin never dragged her feet in her doings. With no one likely to come to mourn at home and not wanting to prolong the ordeal for San Ya and the others, she had Lady Fang buried early.

Seeing the fresh ash marks from the burnt paper offerings at the grave, Grandma Fang and Lady Yu crawled onto the grave mound for another bout of heart-wrenching tears.

Lady Yu, seeing that they had bought paper and pens and realizing they could read, tugged Pei Qin and asked, "What exactly did your mother’s blood letter reveal!?"

"It was written to Pei Lizheng, some words were incomplete. Something about seventy-seven, three bowls of wine and such," Pei Qin murmured.

Hearing it was for Pei Lizheng and knowing that Pei Lizheng had seen the blood letter, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law returned to the village to find Pei Lizheng.

Pei Lizheng wanted to say he hadn’t read it completely before it was snatched away by Old Pei, but the villagers had seen him read it, so he had no choice but to tell them to ask Old Pei for the blood letter. Even though Lady Fang died by suicide without coercion or threats, it was still a suicide, and he had no power to adjudicate justice on the matter.

Grandma Fang, looking at Sister Peiqin and her siblings, tears streaming down her face, went home to find Old Scholar Fang and her two sons, summoning both her second daughter and son-in-law, asserting that Lady Fang’s Jian Xiao was caused by the Pei family, that they must restore Lady Fang’s good name, and they must demand justice from the Pei family!

Upon hearing that his eldest daughter’s Jian Xiao was a result of being victimized by three bowls of wine, Old Scholar Fang’s eyes also reddened. He smacked his thigh and cursed Lady Fang, "She’s not mute, so why didn’t she speak!? After so many years, one child after another, who would realize she was forced into Jian Xiao!? Fool! Idiot! Even in death, it’s a sheer waste!"

Fang Li and Fang Fu looked at him, waiting for him to speak. Standing up for their older sister had its limits. Seeing their mother’s state and their father’s attitude, they guessed he probably intended to bring Sister Peiqin and her siblings into their home. That would mean suddenly having to support four additional children!

However, Sister Peiqin and her siblings owned a noodle stand, and Pei Qin had taught how to make hand-pulled carts and hand-pushed carts, having connections with the aristocratic Wang family and Landlord Chang’s house. She was even teaching Landlord Chang’s young master how to skateboard, and on the spot, he rewarded her with ten taels of silver. Truly supporting the four siblings wouldn’t be too much trouble for them!

Fang Li was not opposed at all; in fact, he was supportive. The siblings were just kids and didn’t understand matters. With so many benefits in their hands, if the Pei family snatched them away or if they were swindled by others, it would all fall into outsiders’ hands!