âThis isnât Aunt Zhang.â Xiao Ailiu politely said, âItâs been a long time since Iâve seen Aunt Zhang, is Old Zhang doing well?â
âHeâs doing very well, much better than an ungrateful woman like you.â
Xiao Ailiu couldnât keep her expression, so she hurriedly walked away.
There werenât many villagers who were nice to her on the way.
There were quite a few people chatting under the big willow tree near the village well. When they saw Xiao Ailiu, they all started whispering, talking about how bad her character was.
Xiao Ailiu felt awkward and wanted to leave, but Aunt Wang Qi, with her sharp eyes, called out to her. âXiao sister, you rarely come back to the village. Why not come over and chat for a while?â
âThereâs nothing to talk about.â
âDonât you want to know about something related to your sister-in-law?â
Xiao Ailiu became interested, âWhat happened?â
Aunt Wang Qi pulled her aside, âLet me tell you, your sister-in-law is having an affair!â
âWhat!â Xiao Ailiu was shocked and overjoyed inside,thinking that this time, Su Qingyue would be finished! But she pretended to say, âAunt Qi, you canât talk nonsense about this!â
âHow can anyone dare to talk nonsense about such a big thing?â Aunt Qi whispered, âYesterday morning, I saw Su Qingyue and Li Gui coming hand in hand from the south riverbank, with no one else around. It was obvious that they had been alone for quite a while. They were initially together, but when they saw me, Su Qingyue got scared and ran away immediately covering her face, clearly hiding something. Li Gui hurriedly left too, both of them had guilty expressionsâ¦â
Aunt Wang Qi had figured it out. Since Li Gui didnât want to marry her daughter, she didnât need to protect his reputation.
There were quite a few villagers eavesdropping on this matter.
Aunt Qi had already told several villagers about this, so even without eavesdropping, they would have known what she was talking about.
Wang Cuihua happened to be there, and immediately said, âAunt Wang Qi, you old woman, youâre talking nonsense! How could Su Qingyue possibly have an affair? You even said the woman holding Li Guiâs hand was covering her face. If sheâs covering her face, how can you know itâs Su Qingyue?â
âWho else in the village has that lake-green embroidered dress that the wife of the Xiao family bought from the townâs cloth shop?â Aunt Qi said, âI saw it very clearly. Since she dared to have an affair and got caught, she has to admit it. What am I afraid to say?â
Xiao Ailiu was also indignant, âThere are so many cornfields along the river. Who knows what Su Qingyue and Li Gui did in the cornfields that canât be seen by others!â
Now everyone looked at Xiao Ailiu.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Wang Cuihua said incredulously, âSister Xiao, have you taken the wrong medicine? Instead of helping your sister-in-law clear up the misunderstanding, you smear her with this accusation. The crime of having an affair is no small matter. If itâs proven true and her husbandâs family pursues it, sheâll be soaked in a pig cage!â
âYou donât know how vicious Su Qingyue is!â Xiao Ailiu pointed to her swollen face, âLook, my face is swollen like a balloon. All of you, take a lookâ¦â She also lifted her sleeve, revealing bruises all over, âMy face and body are full of injuries, all inflicted by Su Qingyue and Chuan. That lowly Su Qingyue even incited my third brother to beat me. Itâs a good thing my second brother has a conscience and bought me medicine, otherwise I really wouldnât be able to get upâ¦â
As she spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks. âI havenât returned for so many years, and I just wanted to come back and see my three younger brothers. I truly realized my mistakes.â