Chapter 110: This Is For Your Own Good
Lu Chengjing worried that it would be too bloody and scare the two children, so he had Liang Liang take Yuan Yuan to play in the shed, and they shouldn’t come out unless he called.
Yuan Yuan didn’t want to leave at all, but the little brother taught her to play marbles, and only then was the little one obediently carried away.
Shang Wan listened carefully for any movement and said to Xiao Huan and the others: “If you’re going to cut, do it quickly. Someone’s coming.”
No sooner had the words fallen than Shi Tou saw a flash of the knife shadow before his eyes, and the next second, warm blood splashed onto his face.
Xiao Huan raised the kitchen knife and brought it down, swinging it twice as deftly as chopping bone, and from then on, the world had one more eunuch Gao.
“Ah! So dirty!” Shi Tou jumped up abruptly and ran disgustedly to the wellside to fetch water and wash his face.
Blood trickled to her feet, Xiao Huan holding the bloodstained kitchen knife with an expressionless face, staring at Gao Qi.
Gao Qi’s pants were covered in bloodstains, and under the intense pain of losing his manhood, he glared round with bloodshot eyes, his torso and limbs twitching nonstop, emitting urgent muffled whimpers from his throat like a wild beast’s mournful cry.
That eye-searing thing wrapped in fabric rolled to the side.
“Nice technique,” Shang Wan snapped her fingers, “hurry and set it up.”
If it’s said to be an accident, it must be an accident.
Ma Jieyong kept twisting his head to glance at Shang Wan and the others, his heart itching with curiosity like a cat’s claws.
“Do your work, don’t look at what you shouldn’t.” He Sizhi slapped his disciple on the back.
“I’ll just look once.” So he said, but facing his master’s stern gaze, Ma Jieyong still grinned wryly and lowered his head to work obediently.
Just as they finished cleaning everything up here, Gao Laotai and Gui Shi came storming to the door aggressively.
There were also about ten villagers behind the two, men and women, and Li Xiaoshan was mixed in among them.
He ran over quickly, “Sister Xiao Huan, I heard that bastard Gao Qi bullied you, how are you?”
“Sister’s fine.” Xiao Huan smiled comfortingly at him.
With Gao Qi instantly turned into eunuch Gao, the pent-up frustration in her heart was already relieved!
“Good that you’re fine.” Li Xiaoshan patted his chest; he’d been scared half to death by the village rumors just now and hadn’t even waited for his brother before rushing over to check the situation.
Lu Chengjing swept his gaze over everyone and feigned ignorance: “I wonder what urgent matter brings everyone here so hastily?”
Everyone unanimously turned their gazes to Gao Laotai and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair Gui Shi.
Gui Shi’s cheeks were red and swollen, looking like bloated steamed buns. Stray hairs fell at her temples, paired with that aggrieved little wife expression, truly somewhat pitiable.
Gao Laotai stepped forward with her cane, her turbid eyes shooting out sharp light as she stared at Lu Chengjing.
“Lu Xiucai Scholar, you are a scholar and should understand propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame better than an old woman like me. Your Xiucai Scholar’s wife suddenly struck my daughter-in-law; for a junior to strike an elder, you ought to give an explanation!”
Lu Chengjing looked puzzled, “Who are you?”
Gao Laotai choked, then irritably said: “I’m from the Gao Family. By propriety, calling me Grandmother wouldn’t be amiss.”
Shang Wan curled her lip; what kind of propriety was this?
Unable to raise a good grandson themselves, rushing to claim someone else’s?
“My grandmother has been in the ground for many years, and Grandfather never remarried before he passed.” Lu Chengjing remained his polite and refined self, his expression quite sincere.
“How dare you curse me!” Gao Laotai turned red-faced with anger.
Lu Chengjing furrowed his brows slightly and puzzledly said: “When has Lu ever cursed you?”
He was telling the truth; rushing to be his already deceased grandmother wasn’t that just rushing to be buried?
Elderly people can’t handle anger, so Gao Laotai panted hurriedly twice. Gui Shi, worried she would pass out, quickly supported her and stroked her back to ease her breathing.
“Mother, if you faint from anger, who will stand up for your daughter-in-law?” Gui Shi sobbed, “They’re just bullying us defenseless widows and orphans with no one to rely on. If my child’s father were still here, how could things be like this?”
As she cried, Gao Laotai cried along with her, tears streaming down her old face most pitiably.
Some villager couldn’t stand it and spoke up: “Xiucai Scholar’s wife, it was wrong of you to strike someone. Apologize to them, and we’ll let this matter pass.”
“Yeah, with the marriage alliance between the two families imminent, it’s not good to fall out.”
“Soon to be in-laws, don’t ruin the harmony.”
The villagers tried to mediate, but every sentence stepped on the landmines of Shang Wan and the others.
Shang Wan’s face darkened, “You can eat food carelessly, but you can’t speak carelessly! Who is in-laws with whom? Did they come to propose marriage or exchange wedding contracts?”
The villagers hadn’t expected Shang Wan’s reaction; the riverside incident had spread through the village, Xiao Huan’s reputation was already ruined—who else could she marry besides Gao Qi?
The man who spoke first looked embarrassed, “Isn’t this sooner or later? Since the two young ones are willing, Xiucai Scholar’s wife, why break up a pair of lovers?”
He felt he was kindly mediating.
Which family’s young lady after such a scandal wouldn’t hurry to marry her off?
Anyway, the two families were going to form a marriage alliance; if harmony was damaged, wouldn’t this young lady’s days at her husband’s home be hard?
“Which of your eyes saw true love between me and that rogue?” Xiao Huan stared coldly at him.
“How are you such an ungrateful child?” The man felt his good intentions treated like a donkey’s liver and lungs, and immediately darkened his face too, “Uncle is doing this for your own good.”
Xiao Huan snorted coldly: “Keep your ‘good’ for your own children; I can’t afford it!”
Shang Wan sized the man up and down, then suddenly “ah”-ed with a look of realization, “Oh, it’s you. No wonder you look familiar. The other day I saw you and Gao Qi bare-chested kissing in the reed marsh. Helping your paramour demand a wife—how generous!”
Everyone: !!!
What did they just hear?!
Kissing? Who kissing whom? Which paramour?
“What nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever kiss Gao Qi?” The man’s face instantly stiffened, his expression as disgusted as if he’d eaten a fly.
“How is it nonsense? I saw it with my own eyes.” Shang Wan pointed at her own people, “Right, not just me—they saw it too.”
Lu Chengjing, Xiao Huan, and Shi Tou were silent for a moment, then all nodded together.
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
If wife/sister said she saw it, then she saw it!
Shi Tou added: “The kiss was so loud, it made me blush just hearing it.”
He raised his hand to cover his face in feigned shyness.
Lu Chengjing and Xiao Huan turned to look at him, found it eye-searing, and quickly looked away.
The crowd was so shocked their eyeballs nearly fell out, completely unable to imagine the scene.
They cast sidelong glances at the man, their gazes mixing contempt, shock, disgust, surprise, and more—far beyond mere complexity.
The man immediately panicked, flushing red as he defended: “I didn’t; she’s talking nonsense!”
Shang Wan sighed, “Uncle, how are you so ungrateful? I’m doing this for your own good.”
The man trembled with anger, “You…”
“Hey, no need to be polite!” Shang Wan waved her hand to cut him off, “I’m just too kind-hearted; I can’t bear to see others break up a pair of lovers.”
“As the saying goes, true lovers end up together. Since I happened to see it, I can’t bear to watch you two sneak around for life, leaving lifelong regrets because of family and worldly eyes. True lovers should be together.”
“Yeah, Uncle, we all saw it, so stop hiding.” Xiao Huan held back her laughter and sincerely said, “Though it’s rare for two men to be together, true love fears nothing—we all believe you and Gao Qi are sincere to each other.”
