The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: They Deserved It

Ma Liugun was caught completely off guard and tackled to the ground. She was so dizzy she was seeing stars, and before she could even react, the dark shape lunged forward and—CRUNCH—sank its teeth into her shoulder.

The other women were walking along just fine when they suddenly heard a loud THUD, immediately followed by Ma Liugun’s utterly wretched howls.

Ji Huan’s anxious and helpless attempts to stop the dog could also be heard.

"Dahuang, let go! You can’t bite people... Oh, Ma Liugun! I told you Dahuang just had puppies and is very protective of her litter. I told you not to come in, but you insisted. Now look what’s happened!"

Seeing the gruesome scene of Ma Liugun pinned to the ground being viciously mauled by Dahuang, the other women were scared stiff.

Two of them, the quicker-witted ones, turned tail and bolted.

The ones who were closer and felt too embarrassed to run simply put on a show, shouting and stomping their feet in an attempt to scare Dahuang away.

Unexpectedly, Dahuang abandoned the constantly screaming Ma Liugun and charged at the others.

In an instant, the courtyard was filled with a cacophony of shrieks.

Aside from Ji Huan and Dabao, almost no one was spared.

Dahuang shared the love equally, gracing each and every one of them with its attention. Even if they weren’t bitten, their clothes were torn to shreds.

At that point, no one could spare a thought for anyone else. They all scrambled to outrun each other as they fled for the gate, including a terrified Ji Xiu’e, whose face had gone pale.

A disheveled Ma Liugun scrambled and crawled her way out of the courtyard gate.

Dahuang was still growling, looking like it wanted to give chase.

Ji Huan shouted a sharp command to stop.

This time, it finally stopped.

Ji Huan wiped the beads of nervous sweat from her forehead.

’It’s satisfying to see those gossips scared out of their wits,’ she thought, ’but a dog biting someone is no laughing matter.’

’What if it had killed one of them? What if they got rabies?’

She really had tried to stop it, but when Dahuang got vicious, even she was intimidated, so all she could do was worry helplessly.

’It’s not usually this aggressive,’ she mused. ’Maybe it’s because this is a sensitive time for her...’

Ji Huan turned to Dabao. "Didn’t I tell you to watch Dahuang? How did you let her get out?"

When she heard someone knocking, she had sent Dabao to the kitchen to calm Dahuang. She never expected that Dahuang would still manage to rush out and cause mayhem, even with Dabao watching.

Dabao stood at the kitchen doorway, silently watching everything unfold in the courtyard, his face holding a calm that was unnerving for his age.

"Dahuang... fierce. Not listen. To words."

The fierce and disobedient Dahuang suddenly flopped listlessly to the ground, resting its chin on its front paws. It actually looked a little bit wronged.

’Fine,’ Ji Huan thought. ’They’re both so innocent.’

Feeling helpless, Ji Huan scolded Dahuang, warning it not to bite people so carelessly again, then went into the main hall.

After she left, Dabao beckoned to Dahuang with his finger.

Dahuang stood up and trotted over, its tongue out and its tail wagging. All traces of its previous listlessness were gone.

Dabao patted the dog on its head and said, enunciating each word, "They. Deserved. It."

Mrs. Zhu was in her room, sulking. She was angry that Ji Xiu’e had gone to Ji Huan’s house without her.

Ever since Ji Huan’s house was finished, she had been green with envy and dying to go see it.

But she didn’t dare!

Things were different now. Even if she had the courage of ten lions, she wouldn’t dare force her way into Ji Huan’s house again. Who knew if that crazy wench would start hitting people again?

She didn’t have the guts to go herself, and her mother-in-law had been kept on a tight leash by her father-in-law lately. Her mother-in-law was busy burning incense and praying to Buddha for the fourth son to succeed in his exams, with no time to meddle in other affairs.

Just then, her sister-in-law had suddenly returned!

Ji Xiu’e used to have a habit of returning to her maternal home for a while after the spring plowing, but she hadn’t done so for many years. Now that she had suddenly resumed the tradition, Ji Qingshan and his wife were naturally overjoyed.

Mrs. Zhu couldn’t say she was unhappy about it, but she was a little intimidated by Ji Xiu’e.

Ever since Ji Xiu’e lost her eldest son, her personality had grown increasingly strange. When she put on a stony face and said nothing, she looked just like her father.

Her father-in-law had always doted on her. Mrs. Zhu had heard that when Ji Xiu’e was a girl, he had even personally taught her to read for a few years.

Ji Xiu’e was used to being informal with Ji Qingshan and Aunt Kang and hadn’t changed even after marrying and having children all these years. She regarded her younger brother’s wife even less, often speaking to her with the tone of an elder scolding a junior.

But none of that mattered, as long as she could handle Ji Huan.

When it came to subduing people, Ji Xiu’e was even more formidable than Aunt Kang!

Therefore, for the past two days, she had been badmouthing Ji Huan to Ji Xiu’e at every opportunity.

She recounted every last detail of what had happened since the family division, from beginning to end, with the goal of inciting Ji Xiu’e to go to Ji Huan’s door and vent Mrs. Zhu’s anger for her.

Unexpectedly, Ji Xiu’e had no reaction after hearing it all. She just went about her business as usual.

Mrs. Zhu was disappointed. ’My sister-in-law has changed,’ she thought. ’She’s become someone I don’t even recognize.’

Who would have thought that today, in the short time it took her to use the latrine, Ji Xiu’e would lead a group of people to Ji Huan’s house.

Mrs. Zhu stomped her foot in anger.

’Should I go after them? They’ve already been gone for a while.’

’But if I don’t, this feeling is eating me up inside.’

Just as she was anxiously wringing her hands, she suddenly glimpsed a figure burst through the main gate and run inside.

Taking a closer look—who else could it be but Ji Xiu’e!

"Oh, Sister!"

Mrs. Zhu shrieked and rushed out of her side room. She helped Ji Xiu’e up, and her first reaction was to say a silent prayer.

’Thank goodness I didn’t go,’ she thought. ’Just look at the state Ji Xiu’e is in—’

her hair was a mess, her clothes were torn, and she’d even lost a shoe.

Seeing her pathetic, grimy appearance, Mrs. Zhu was in disbelief.

’That wench must have eaten a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall! How dare she hit Ji Xiu’e?’

At the same time, she felt a little schadenfreude. ’She looks even more miserable than I did back then.’

"Sister, what happened to you? How did you end up like this? Was it that wench? I told you she’s a real shrew now, you can’t handle her with ordinary methods... Sister? Sister?"

Mrs. Zhu offered her false comfort, but she noticed that Ji Xiu’e didn’t seem to be listening. Her face was filled with terror, and she kept glancing behind her as if something was about to chase her down.

Mrs. Zhu jumped in fright. ’Don’t tell me that wench followed her here!’

’If she sees me, she’ll beat me up too!’

With that thought, Mrs. Zhu panicked. She let go of Ji Xiu’e and scurried back to the west wing as if her butt was on fire.

Ji Xiu’e had been leaning on Mrs. Zhu and was caught off guard when she suddenly let go. She took a hard fall. She had managed to hold back her cries when the dog bit and chased her, but now that she was home, she let out a miserable scream.

Hearing the commotion, Aunt Kang scrambled out of the east room of the main hall. Seeing her daughter’s wretched state, she slapped her thigh and shrieked like a pig being slaughtered, "Xiue’e! Xiue’e, what’s happened to you? Don’t you scare your mother like this!"

Aunt Kang rushed over and checked her daughter from head to toe. She saw no visible wounds, but Ji Xiu’e’s face was deathly pale, as if she’d been bewitched, and her limbs had gone weak.

"Xiue’e! Don’t scare your mother! Tell me what happened! Did that jinx put a curse on you? I told you she was a scourge! She won’t rest until she’s cursed every last one of us in the Ji Family to death! Oh, my Xiue’e, what are we to do? If you die, how will your mother go on..."

Hiding in the west wing, Mrs. Zhu heard Aunt Kang start wailing as if for the dead and was thoroughly terrified.

’No wonder Ji Xiu’e looked so strange just now,’ she thought. ’She was cursed!’

’Heavens above, that wench’s curse is too powerful...’

Just as she was thinking this, she heard Ji Xiu’e’s flustered and exasperated voice.

"I’m not dead yet! Help me up!"

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