Chapter 125: Hastily Buried
“Speak quickly.” Shang Wan urged him verbally, but her two hands wandered to increasingly inappropriate places.
Lu Chengjing’s breathing grew disordered. He quickly grabbed the hand causing trouble inside his clothes, his voice soft and helpless, laced with compromise. “Niangzi, can you wait until I finish speaking?”
“Fine.” Shang Wan blinked her eyes. “Let go, and I won’t move.”
Lu Chengjing… didn’t let go.
He spoke faster than usual. “Whether it was deliberately orchestrated depends on whether Gui Shi is connected to that matter.”
“So what do we do next?”
“Wait.”
Shang Wan looked puzzled. “Wait for what?”
Lu Chengjing said, “First, wait for the Gao Family’s reaction. Second, wait for the Lin Family’s actions. Third, wait for people from the Lu Family to arrive.”
Shang Wan nodded and lightly flipped over to straddle Lu Chengjing.
“Business is done. Shall we continue?”
Lu Chengjing: !!!
……
The next afternoon, Lin Jianshan and Chen Guifang were escorted back by officials.
Lin Jianshan had committed adultery. After considering the full circumstances, the County Magistrate sentenced him to thirty strokes of the board.
Chen Guifang knew of the adultery but did not stop it, and even tried to extort money. She was punished with ten strokes.
The officials came mainly to deliver Gui Shi’s corpse.
Village Chief Lin led the way to the Gao Family. Gao Laotai stood at the doorway with her cane, refusing to let Gui Shi’s corpse enter.
“She is no longer a Gao Family woman. She’s dead, so die far away! Don’t come in and bring bad luck to my Gao Family!”
The officials ignored Gao Laotai’s opinion, set down Gui Shi’s corpse, and left, giving Gao Laotai no chance to refuse.
Gao Laotai was so angry her cane nearly splintered. But she didn’t dare confront the officials directly, so after they left, she stood in the courtyard cursing at the sky, refusing to let the villagers carry Gui Shi inside no matter what.
Everyone tried to persuade her, saying the dead should be respected and she should be buried quickly.
But Gao Laotai ignored them, slamming the door shut with a bang, firmly refusing to let Gui Shi’s corpse enter.
The villagers exchanged glances. They couldn’t just throw the corpse over the courtyard wall, could they?
Many people shouted for Gao Qi to come out and take his mother inside.
But aside from Gao Laotai’s cursing, there was no response from Gao Qi.
Gui Shi was from Willow Tree Village. Since her husband’s family wouldn’t handle it, they had to find her maternal family home.
Village Chief Lin sent someone to Willow Tree Village to notify the Gui Family to come collect the corpse.
But after waiting left and right until nightfall, the Gui Family finally arrived belatedly, with no intention of taking Gui Shi’s corpse back.
They pounded on the Gao Family’s door loudly, demanding an explanation from the Gao Family.
A perfectly fine daughter had married over, borne a son for the Gao Family, and now that she was dead, they wouldn’t even provide a coffin.
Gao Laotai didn’t open the door but argued with the Gui Family through the door panel.
The Gui Family grew increasingly furious, changing from banging to kicking the door—bang bang bang—audible from far away.
The villagers, worried something would happen, didn’t leave.
Perhaps tired of arguing, the noise inside gradually faded, and the Gui Family also grew hoarse.
Someone fetched Village Chief Lin to help mediate.
Thinking of his own son as the adulterer, Village Chief Lin’s face burned with embarrassment. He truly had no standing to mediate.
But he was the Village Chief; only he could step forward at a time like this.
Village Chief Lin forced himself to speak, only to face a barrage of cold mockery from the Gui Family. His old face nearly crumbled.
But the corpse had to be buried somewhere.
The Gui Family had one demand: Gui Shi was a married daughter and couldn’t be buried back at her maternal family home. She had to be buried at the Gao Family.
But Gao Laotai firmly refused to let a cheap woman who cuckolded her son be buried at her home.
The two sides were deadlocked, neither willing to yield.
The crowd thought they would stalemate all night when the Gao Family’s door suddenly opened.
Disheveled Gao Qi stood behind the door, agreeing to let Gui Shi’s corpse in.
Gao Laotai stood nearby with a long face but didn’t speak to stop it.
The Gui Family was full of anger, but Gui Shi was indeed at fault first, and the Gao Family had already conceded a step, so they didn’t press further and carried Gui Shi’s corpse inside.
The door slammed shut with a bang, leaving the crowd of onlookers outside.
Exhausted Village Chief Lin waved at the crowd. “Don’t crowd here. Everyone disperse. If there’s a burial tomorrow, come help out.”
The villagers agreed and went home.
Shi Tou ran home quickly and vividly recounted the Gao Family incident during dinner.
In the end, he sighed. “That Gao Laotai looks sickly, but she curses with full vigor.”
Xiao Huan ladled a bowl of soup for Shang Wan and lightly sighed. “Gui Shi didn’t raise Gao Qi in vain.”
Lu Chengjing and Shang Wan exchanged a glance, making no comment on the matter.
The next day, the Gao Family didn’t hold a funeral. They sent someone to the city to buy a coffin, put Gui Shi in it, carried it to the northern graveslope, dug a pit farthest from Gao Qi’s father’s grave mound, and buried her.
Many villagers secretly sighed. Gui Shi had treasured this son so much in life, yet after death, there was no funeral—just a hasty burial.
Village life returned to calm.
Because of the adultery, Lin Jianshan’s reputation in the village plummeted. The village men guarded against him like a thief, and the wives and aunts avoided him, exhorting their daughters not to speak to Lin Jianshan.
One can imagine how depressed Lin Jianshan was.
What depressed him more was that Zhou Shi ignored him too.
Not only did she ignore him, she also abandoned the household chores, infuriating Liu Shi who cursed at Zhou Shi’s nose all day, yet Zhou Shi showed no reaction.
Curse all you want; she covered herself with the quilt and slept soundly.
Liu Shi, unable to take it, grabbed a broom while cursing and chased Zhou Shi to beat her.
Zhou Shi didn’t dare retaliate against her mother-in-law but went back to the room, packed a few clothes, and wanted to take her son back to her maternal family home.
Liu Shi naturally wouldn’t let Zhou Shi take the precious grandson away. The two tugged in the courtyard. Chen Guifang and Liu Yuzhi stepped forward to persuade, but each got slapped by Zhou Shi.
The two were stunned. Chen Guifang naturally wouldn’t let it go and lunged to scratch Zhou Shi.
But her butt wound wasn’t fully healed. Not only did she fail to hurt Zhou Shi, she got a lesson from her, leaving two red marks on her face—adding injury to injury.
Liu Yuzhi timidly shrank back, not daring to step forward.
Zhou Shi snorted coldly, ignoring the three in the courtyard, and carried her crying son back to the room.
Liu Shi grumbled a few words, then took Liu Yuzhi out, showing no concern for her injured daughter-in-law Chen Guifang.
“Mother, let me help you.” Seeing Grandmother leave, Er Ya dared to run over and support Chen Guifang.
Chen Guifang felt comforted inside. Looking at Er Ya’s little face, she thought how good it would be if Er Ya were a boy.
She sighed softly and slowly walked back to the room with Er Ya’s support.
Seeing the man unconscious on the kang, she angrily pinched his thigh meat twice.
How had she been so blind to marry such a foolish man? Foolishly blocking for others, who showed no gratitude and even had the mood to commit adultery with a village widow.
Growing angrier, Chen Guifang’s eyes reddened. She threw herself on Lin Jianshui and sobbed.
“How long do you plan to lie on the kang? If you keep lying there, your daughter and I will be bullied to death by the family!”
“Lin Jianshui, you gutless man!”
“Get up! Get up!”
