The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Slapping Mrs. Zhu

Ji Qingshan’s face burned with shame. The surrounding chatter made him wish he could find a hole to crawl into and hide.

He never expected his granddaughter to become so articulate and cunning. Every sentence she spoke was a lament of her hardships, yet each one also struck him squarely in the chest, making his heart ache.

But he had already lost any legitimate standing to discipline her. After all, they had already separated from the family, and in such a manner...

’It’s all that third son’s wife’s fault. Why did she have to go and provoke her for no reason!’

The silent fire in Ji Qingshan’s heart burned hotter and hotter until he suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit. Panicked, Aunt Kang rushed to pat his back and help him catch his breath.

Aunt Kang was also feeling a bit breathless. She had no idea if kicking out that jinx had been the right decision after all. Right now, it seemed like a loss; at the very least, she could no longer easily control Ji Huan.

Ji Qingshan waved his hand, signaling for Aunt Kang to stop.

He tried to soften his expression and said to Ji Huan, "Wuan, don’t overthink things. You’re a grown woman now and have your own household. Just live your life well. Don’t listen to your third aunt’s nonsense. Your grandparents would never need you to cut off your own flesh for them."

Ji Huan looked relieved. "I’m reassured to hear you say that, Grandparents."

Aunt Kang shot Ji Huan a vicious glare before helping the old man turn to leave.

Seeing the cooked meat fly away and having a bucket of filth dumped on her head by Ji Huan, how could Mrs. Zhu possibly accept it?

"You wretched girl, you talk a prettier game than you sing! Why don’t you tell us, since you don’t even have an income, where did you get the money to buy all those nice things and even make bone broth?"

The onlookers had been about to disperse, but they all stopped in their tracks at her words.

After all, they were also very curious. Were the village rumors true? Was the Hu Family’s vegetable money really Ji Huan’s? And did Ji Huan truly have an improper relationship with the man who drove the carriage into the village that day...

"Third Aunt, it’s one thing to be heartless, but if you don’t even have a brain, what’s the difference between you and a pig? I’ve already been separated from the Ji Family. Even my grandparents don’t interfere in my affairs anymore, so don’t you go thinking you’re so important. Where my money comes from, how I buy my things, whether I eat meat or drink soup—does any of that have anything to do with you?"

Ji Huan shook her head, an expression on her face as if Mrs. Zhu were a hopeless case.

Mrs. Zhu was driven mad with rage. Seeing Ji Huan about to leave, she grabbed her and refused to let go, her words becoming reckless.

"You’re just feeling guilty! The whole village saw it! Several carriages have been coming and going from that broken-down shack of yours. It’s useless to deny it! How old are you, already seducing men from outside the village? If you want to be shameless, fine, but don’t drag my daughter’s reputation down with you! And... and... what’s your motive for keeping that little monster around? You think nobody knows? You’re just raising yourself a child husband so you can sleep with him when he’s grown! You’re nothing but a shameless little who—"

SLAP—!

Before she could finish her sentence, a heavy slap landed across her face.

The surroundings fell instantly silent. Not only was Mrs. Zhu stunned, but the onlookers were also completely bewildered.

They looked at the cold-faced Ji Huan, then at the dazed Mrs. Zhu, and for a moment, they couldn’t tell who had gone mad—Mrs. Zhu or Ji Huan.

Mrs. Zhu half-covered her numb and burning cheek, momentarily unsure of what had just happened.

As the pain slowly spread, she finally realized she had been hit! Hit by the wretched girl she despised most!

"AHHH!!! I’m not gonna live anymore! I’ll fight you to the death!!!"

Mrs. Zhu’s face was contorted with rage. Shrieking, she lunged at Ji Huan like a madwoman.

Though she had the weight advantage, Mrs. Zhu only knew how to use brute force. Ji Huan’s body was accustomed to farm work, and in terms of both strength and agility, she was leagues ahead of Mrs. Zhu.

Ji Huan took two steps back, sidestepped, and seized Mrs. Zhu’s wrist. With her other hand, she delivered several more slaps—SLAP! SLAP!—across her face. When she was done, she gave her a push, and Mrs. Zhu stumbled and fell to the ground.

This time, Ji Huan had no intention of showing Mrs. Zhu any mercy.

"Anyone in this village can gossip about me, but not you! Don’t you keep calling yourself my ’Third Aunt’? Well, I’d like to ask, what kind of aunt calls her niece a ’wretched girl’ and a ’little whore’ with every other breath? What kind of aunt hates her own niece so much that when she can’t steal from her, she resorts to slinging mud at her!"

The crowd looked at each other. They really couldn’t think of anyone like that.

"You have two daughters of your own. Don’t you know what those words of yours mean to a young woman? If I had even a sliver of shame, I’d either be jumping into the river or hanging myself right now. Would that make you happy? But I’m going to have to disappoint you. I’ve already died once; I won’t do something so foolish again. My reputation isn’t worth a damn to me. Say whatever you want. My conscience is clear, so I have nothing to fear. You think you can destroy me with baseless rumors and empty words? Dream on!"

As she spoke, her eyes scanned the crowd. Everyone who met her gaze felt a bit awkward, as if her scolding was directed at them.

"You just want to know who the ’wild man’ is, don’t you? Fine, I’ll satisfy your curiosity. He came to do business with me. The money the Hu Family used to buy my vegetables was his deposit. As for the other two carriages, one belonged to Manager Wang from Jishi Hall, and the other to Steward Gu from the silk workshop. If anyone wants to know why they were here, go to town and ask them yourselves. Stop lurking in the shadows and engaging in such shameful activities!"

Ji Huan hadn’t wanted to waste her breath explaining so much, but she was sick and tired of it all. More importantly, she didn’t want the villagers’ malicious speculation to spread to Dabao, so she decided to lay everything out in the open.

"Whether you believe me or not is none of my business. But I’ll make one thing clear: you can gossip about me ’seducing a wild man,’ but you will not gossip about my Dabao! I’ve already asked the village chief to handle the household registration transfer. From now on, he will be registered in my household. He is my younger brother, closer to me than anyone. If I hear one more piece of gossip or one more dirty word about him, don’t blame me for not being polite!"

Finally, she looked at Mrs. Zhu and said, word by word:

"Stop using the title of ’Third Aunt’ to do your dirty deeds. If you’re not disgusted by it, I am. And stop spouting that nonsense about my reputation dragging down your daughter. I haven’t been part of the Ji Family for a long time now. Why are you getting so worked up over nothing? It has jack-shit to do with you!"

Having said her piece, Ji Huan didn’t bother to look at the colorful expressions on everyone’s faces. She simply turned and walked away.

A silence fell over the crowd at first, followed by a new wave of whispers. The target, naturally, was the few remaining members of the Ji Family. The gossip eventually circled back to the matter of the family separation.

Ji Qingshan was so filled with anger and resentment that he felt his lungs would explode.

The talk about the family separation had only just died down, and now Mrs. Zhu had stirred it all up again.

’Ji Huan’s final words hadn’t spared him or Ms. Kang at all. Was she slapping Mrs. Zhu? No, she was slapping him, right across his old face!’

’What an utter disgrace, for generations to come!’

"Eat, eat, eat! All you know how to do is eat! Has our Ji Family mistreated you? If you want to eat meat so badly, then go slaughter that pig and eat your fill! If that’s not enough, go back to your parents’ home! Stop embarrassing us here!"

For a daughter-in-law, this was a very serious accusation, especially since it came not from Aunt Kang, but from her father-in-law, who had never spoken so harshly before.

Mrs. Zhu had been slapped stupid, and now she was being scolded stupid.

She sat slumped on the ground, watching blankly as her in-laws entered the Ji Family home. The crowd of onlookers had also dispersed. Her son... her son had run off to chase the dogs that had gnawed on his bone.

She held it in, and held it in, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She threw her head back and began to wail, but this time, her tears were real.

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