The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 171: Injuring Someone and Trying to Run Away, Not So Easy!

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Injuring Someone and Trying to Run Away, Not So Easy!

Liu Cuihua led her husband and son straight into the Pei Family’s home.

Confronting the hostile family, Shen Mingzhu appeared calm on the surface, but inside she couldn’t help feeling somewhat panicked.

After all, it was just her and Pei Ziheng, two vulnerable individuals at home. If a fight really broke out, they would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Shen Mingzhu instinctively protected Pei Ziheng behind her, maintaining composure on her face, "What do you want? The city isn’t as lax as the countryside. In the city, forcefully entering someone’s residence is illegal and could lead to imprisonment."

"Pah!"

Liu Cuihua angrily pointed at her nose and scolded, "Shen Mingzhu, stop putting on airs. What, you want to send our whole family to the police station, too?"

Behind Shen Mingzhu, Pei Ziheng turned and ran to the tape recorder, arbitrarily inserted a cassette, and pressed the record button.

Liu Cuihua’s family were genuine country folks who had never even seen a tape recorder, so they had no idea what Pei Ziheng was doing and paid it no mind.

Meanwhile, Shen Mingzhu quietly applauded her son in her heart.

"Shen Mingzhu, you’re so young, yet why are you so malicious? Baolan only spoke a few words about you, what’s the big deal? Everyone gets talked about."

Facing Liu Cuihua’s distorted accusations, Shen Mingzhu gave a cold laugh in response, "You know Shen Baolan’s character better than I do. If she only said a few trivial words, do you think she would have ended up in the police station?"

Liu Cuihua choked up, "Even if Baolan said some unpleasant things, it’s not like you lost a piece of flesh. Was it necessary to call the police? After all, we’re from the same village. Squabbles and bickering happen so often, who else but you would make such a fuss over a trifle and drag it to the police station? What, because your own man died, you can’t stand to see my Baolan doing well, can you?"

Shen Mingzhu was simply speechless with Liu Cuihua and her daughter Shen Baolan.

To call them stupid, they still knew how to plot the original host’s drowning and push her towards Pei Yang, the "short-lived ghost".

To call them smart, they didn’t consider that if Pei Yang really had an accident, news would have come back long ago.

"Aunt Cuihua, I won’t waste words with you. If you want to know why Baolan was taken to the police station, you can go there and ask what she did. The police handle cases based on evidence; they won’t wrongly accuse a good person, nor will they let a bad person go."

"Shen Mingzhu, we’re not here to listen to you spout nonsense. Come on, you’re coming with me to the police station now, and you’re going to get them to release my sister!"

Shen Hao was a hot-headed man. As he spoke, he started to pull and drag Shen Mingzhu out the door.

"You big bully, let go of my mom!"

Pei Ziheng charged up like a little cannonball, baring his snow-white little teeth and biting down hard on Shen Hao’s thigh.

He was like a fierce little beast protecting his mother.

Shen Hao cried out in pain and pushed Pei Ziheng away with a shove.

Pei Ziheng’s small body tumbled on the ground like a punching bag, his little head striking the corner of the wall heavily.

"Pei Ziheng!"

Shen Mingzhu was so scared that her heart seemed to stop, and she hurriedly rushed over to pick up Pei Ziheng from the ground.

"Ziheng..."

Seeing the fresh red blood trickling down Pei Ziheng’s snow-white cheeks, Shen Mingzhu’s eyes reddened with urgency.

"Ziheng, don’t be afraid, I’ll take you to the hospital right away."

With that, Shen Mingzhu carried Pei Ziheng towards the door.

Liu Cuihua couldn’t get out of the way in time and got kicked in the stomach by Pei Ziheng’s little feet, causing her to inhale sharply from the pain. But she didn’t care about her pain and turned around to hit Shen Hao with a backhand slap.

"Are you trying to kill someone, who told you to use your hands?!"

Shen Hao was stunned as well.

Although he was quick-tempered, he had never intended to harm Shen Mingzhu. He simply wanted to pull her to the police station.

He hadn’t expected Pei Ziheng to charge at him and bite so painfully, just like a rabid pup. His push was purely a reflex.

...

Shen Mingzhu, holding Pei Ziheng, ran down the stairs, her tears falling on Pei Ziheng’s face as she moved.

The tears, salty, felt itchy as they landed on the skin. Pei Ziheng raised a little paw to scratch the itch but accidentally touched the blood on his face, smearing his entire face into a bloody red.

The residents of the family compound were taken aback at the sight of Pei Ziheng’s blood-covered face.

Some made way, some were concerned, but Shen Mingzhu paid no heed to any of it as she clutched Pei Ziheng and dashed toward the exit of the family courtyard.

"Mingzhu! What happened to Ziheng?"

Just as she reached the entrance of the family courtyard, she bumped into Pei Wenping and Chen Yi, who had received the news and come rushing over.

Upon seeing Pei Ziheng’s blood-stained face, Pei Wenping was frantically worried.

Chen Yi remained the most composed, he immediately turned the motorcycle around and told Shen Mingzhu to get on with Pei Ziheng in her arms.

Once Shen Mingzhu was seated securely, Chen Yi drove the motorcycle toward the nearest hospital with a roar.

Pei Wenping chased after them all the way, and when she finally couldn’t run any further, she remembered to hail a rickshaw.

Even though the emergency room doctor diagnosed Pei Ziheng’s injury as just a superficial skin wound that didn’t even require stitches, Shen Mingzhu insisted on a CT scan after the dressing was in place, still unconvinced.

Children’s skulls are soft, and she was worried that he might have damaged his brain or be left with other sequelae.

Seeing that Ziheng was not in serious danger, Pei Wenping left Shen Mingzhu at the hospital and hurried back to the family courtyard with Chen Yi to settle accounts with Liu Cuihua’s family.

When Pei Wenping rushed back, Liu Cuihua’s family was being cornered at the Pei’s home by Feng Huiying and her people.

Liu Cuihua, seeing her son in trouble, wanted to slip away.

Feng Huiying, having accepted Shen Mingzhu’s gift and been reminded by her husband, paid extra attention to the commotion downstairs.

Once Liu Cuihua came knocking, she promptly phoned Pei Wenping.

Afterwards, seeing that Pei Ziheng was injured, she immediately summoned the onlookers, trapping Liu Cuihua and her family.

Injuring someone and thinking of running? It wouldn’t be that easy!

Pei Wenping didn’t bother to waste words with Shen Baolan’s family, she reported the incident to the police directly.

The police arrived and after getting an understanding of the situation, invited the parties back to the police station for a chat over tea.

And so, all four members of the Shen Baolan family ended up tidily at the police station.

...

The news of Shen Baolan’s family causing a ruckus at the Pei residence spread like the wind throughout the family courtyard, fermenting with each retelling.

From Pei Ziheng getting his head cracked open, to the mother and son both being beaten by Shen Baolan’s family, to Ziheng barely clinging to life after the beating, and finally, the rumor evolved to Pei Ziheng being beaten to death!

Ma Sufen had taken her grandson out early in the morning to visit old friends and upon returning, heard that Pei Ziheng had been beaten to death by his uncle by marriage.

Scared witless, she rushed home to call her husband and son.

The father and son also rushed home as soon as they got the message.

Unlike Ma Sufen, who was frazzled by the rumors, the father and son were much more composed and rational.

After seeking out well-informed sources and learning the ins and outs of the incident, Zhou Shuhuan headed straight for the hospital.

Regardless of anything else, he felt obliged to check on Pei Ziheng’s condition due to his brotherly bond with Pei Yang.

Zhou Shuhuan quickly located Shen Mingzhu and her son, who were undergoing a head CT scan after asking a nurse.

"The doctor says that Pei Ziheng’s skull isn’t fractured or bleeding, and as long as there are no symptoms like dizziness, headaches, or convulsions within the next 24 hours, there should be no major issues,"

Learning that Ziheng’s injuries were not serious, Zhou Shuhuan breathed a sigh of relief, but he also felt a deep sense of self-reproach and guilt.

On the surface, this entire ordeal was caused by an unnecessary act of kindness on his part, but in truth, only he knew that his visit to Shen Mingzhu was not solely motivated by his brotherly affection for Pei Yang.

He was immensely ashamed of the vile thoughts he harbored in his heart.

"Pei Yang’s wife, I’m really sorry, I’ll explain everything to you and Yang brother," Shuhuan said.

Shen Mingzhu glanced at Zhou Shuhuan, her voice indifferent, "No need, I’ll get back what Shen Baolan owes me on my own."

"I’ve decided to divorce Baolan," she declared.

Zhou Shuhuan didn’t even understand why he was telling Shen Mingzhu this.

Although he had been thinking about it for the past couple of days, it was still just a consideration, he hadn’t even discussed it with his family yet.