The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 863 - 186: Chaos and Panic_3

Chapter 863: Chapter 186: Chaos and Panic_3

Zouxing’s wife had only seen Pei Qin from a distance; Zouxing hardly ever took her out, let alone to meet Pei Qin. She knew that Zouxing treated Pei Qin very differently. Every time she appeared, Zouxing would become so attentive. Even more so in the past few days, he was almost crazy helping her search for her daughter, which left her feeling quite uncomfortable.

"I came to make something!" Pei Qin directly sought help from the Zou brothers, Zou Xing and Zou Fu.

The iron-smelting technique was something she had taught them, and whenever she needed something made, the Zou family always prioritized her requests. Old Zou immediately had the brothers help her.

Pei Qin had them stop their work, and she didn’t allow anyone into the house, only bringing Liu Feng with her, keeping Zou Xing and Zou Fu busy inside.

Zouxing’s wife tried to deliver tea twice and was not able to bring it inside, which made her feel even more suffocated and upset. Even after all the help she had provided to their family, a woman being locked in a room with someone else’s husband, not coming out—what indecent things were they doing!

Old Zou just took care of the outside, listening to the ’ding ding dang dang’ of hammering from the ironworks, making sure that no one disturbed them.

Pei Qin stayed at the Zou family’s home for a few days, and upon leaving, she took with her two old-fashioned handguns.

Pei Qian also did something at home.

It had become common knowledge that Pei Houli and Meng’s, the daughter-in-law of Pei Lizheng, had hooked up and were having an affair for quite some time.

Previously, the news of Jiujiu’s disappearance had suppressed it, but now that Jiujiu was found, the undergarments and red panties hanging on the tree at the entrance of Old Pei’s house became conspicuously eye-catching.

The undergarments, belonging to his own wife, were undoubtedly recognized by Pei Yuansheng. Even though Meng’s was not affectionate with him, he still remembered and recognized the clothes she made. The undergarments hanging on the tree were clearly Meng’s.

Pei Lizheng had initially been forced to support Pei Qin and later turned against Old Pei’s house after opening a rice noodle workshop, but he never imagined that Pei Houli would steal away his daughter-in-law. This enraged him to the point of steaming fury.

Grandma Pei had seen Sun Erlang come out with the undergarments and red panties, and that very day she came home and pinned Meng down in the house, squeezing and beating her. Meng denied everything and was locked up inside, not allowed to leave.

When Pei Houli returned, he climbed up the tree in the middle of the night and took down the undergarments and red panties, trying not to attract attention. Lady Chen had died, and by custom, he only needed to observe mourning for a hundred days before he could remarry. But Meng’s was different; she was not a widow but the daughter-in-law of Pei Lizheng, and if this were to be exposed, both families would have a major conflict.

Just as it seemed that the issue was about to be suppressed, news of Meng’s beating was leaked by Grandma Miao, and when Zhang Dacheng’s family asked about it, the news spread throughout the village again.

Pei Yuansheng had been educated and had ambitions when he married Meng’s, and he was very pleased with himself at that time, but he did not expect his good days to last only a few years before he broke his leg. Over these past ten years, he appreciated Meng’s loyalty as she never left him, and he had endured and indulged her out of appreciation for her dedication. However, Meng had now crossed his bottom line by cheating on him and making him a cuckold; upon finding out, he was enraged and could not tolerate it, insisting on divorcing Meng and adamantly refusing to wear the cuckold’s cap!

As the matter escalated, Meng also lost her temper, calling Pei Yuansheng useless, unleashing years of pent-up resentment, and berating Pei Lizheng, Grandma Pei, and everyone else in the family to her heart’s content.

Grandma Pei lunged at her, shouting, "You shameless whore! I will beat you to death, you tramp!"

The three children cried helplessly by the side, not knowing whether to stop their grandmother, appease their father, or join in scolding their mother.

Meng did not let Grandma Pei hit her and fought back just as fiercely, "Divorce me? I’ve served your son for over a decade; your whole family owes me, and you’ll never be able to repay me in this lifetime, yet you talk of divorcing me!? What right do you have!? You old hussy, you dare hit me, watch me beat you to death, you old tramp!"

The villagers watched the drama unfold, and Grandma Miao, who tried to intervene, shouted to keep them back, "Stay back, stay back! You don’t want blood on you—it’s not good!"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a major fight, and during the altercation, Meng picked up a stone and smashed it on Grandma Pei’s head.

Grandma Pei screamed, her head left with a bloody hole.

This frightened Meng, who quickly got up and ran.

The members of the Pei family were unwilling to let this go, and they blocked her path, restraining her.

Pei Lizheng had lost face and spat up blood in anger. But for the sake of his three grandchildren, he could not bear to take Meng to the authorities. Her death as a wanton woman was not regrettable, but it could ruin their family’s reputation and affect the reputation of the three children. His granddaughter, Pei Yingchun, was already thirteen, soon to be of marriageable age.