CH 34

Chapter 34 – In The City (6)

“Why did she want to hit you?”

There had to be a reason.

“She said I stained the little sister’s dress.  The dress is so ugly and she looks so fat in it……. she gave me a scare.”

A burst of soft laughter slowly spread in the cloth shop.  Subconsciously, everyone’s gaze swept over the slightly rounded Bai Zhaohua and it was unknown whether it was done intentionally or unintentionally.

She and the dress indeed did not match and she looked fat!

“You are lying!  How can this dress be ugly?  And I’m not fat at all!  Mother, you said I look good.”

This is her favorite dress and the embroidery is Hunan Embroidery.

Like mother like daughter………Bai Zhaohua who was raised by Chen Yulian is just like her mother.  She was conceited and proud and did not want to be compared with others.  She wanted to use the best, eat the best, and did not care whether it was suitable for her.  Anyway, she must possess what other people do not have so that she can show off within her circle of sisters.

She likes to eat, especially those shiny fat meats where the juicy oil spurt out with one bite.  With the tasty oil filling her mouth, she could eat an extra bowl of rice and over time, her body became rounder and rounder.

However, she was not too fat but round and cheerful and could be considered a beauty among the obese.

“That’s right!  Of course, you look pretty!  My daughter is as beautiful as a flower, not like the little bastard who doesn’t know about beauty and ugliness and can’t differentiate between good and bad.”

Chen Yulian glared at Shuangming with a fierce light glistening in her eyes.  It felt like she wanted to bite him and chop him up to make buns to feed the stray dogs on the streets.

Upon seeing the close relationship between the father and son, hatred festered in her heart and anger filled her mouth.  She ground her silver teeth and an unpleasant bitter taste rose within her.

In reality, it had not reached the point where she wanted Xiao Jingfeng so much that she could not do without him.  To be honest, she disdained him for being poor but could not resist his good physique.  As soon as she laid her eyes on him, her spring heart fluttered and she wanted very much to enjoy a romantic and ecstatic night with him on the haystack and indulged herself to the point of exhaustion and oblivion.

No one wants to plow an infertile land but once the land is plowed everyone fights over it.

She assumed she was the one who fell for him first and before she could make a move, he was snatched away.  How can she allow others to snatch him from her?

So what if he has a wife?  To her, that is not considered important at all.  Whatever she wanted must belong to her and there is no other possibility!

“Madam Bai, please forgive me for being impolite.  My son is not a bastard.  He is a beloved child of me and my wife.”

Xiao Jingfeng had one arm around his wife’s shoulder while teasing his daughter with the other hand.  He did not even look at Chen Yulian who was rolling her eyes at him.

“Father!…….”  Shuangming called out happily again.

“Father!…….”  A soft voice followed as soon as the brother called out.

Both the brother and sister had called and the shy Shuangzhen also followed suit.

The three children took turns calling Xiao Jingfeng ‘father’ and a feeling of responsibility that he never had before suddenly surged in his heart.  His heart felt full……..full of emotion and excitement.  He is now a father and has a wife and children.  In the future, they are the burden that he most wanted to bear.

“Father?……..What ‘father’?  Are you the only one to have a father?  It’s unforgivable to stain my daughter’s dress!  You!……. Come over and kowtow to me!  You’re not allowed to get up until I’m satisfied!”

Chen Yulian pointed at Li Jing’er.  She refused to give up and deliberately made things difficult for Li Jing’er.

“I will only kowtow to the dead.  Wait until you have unfortunately died, then I’ll especially light  three jossticks in front of your altar.”

This person really needs to nourish her brain.  The crack in her brain is getting bigger and bigger.

“You…….how dare you curse me?!  You’re seeking death!”

She was so angry that she wanted to rush over to scratch Li Jing’er’s face and press her head down to give her a few punches.  But before she could make a move, she was held back by her brother.

“Yulian, forgiving others is forgiving oneself.  How long are you going to carry on causing trouble?”

Why are the sisters of other people so gentle and sensible while his sister is like a tigress in the mountains……..so fierce and vicious without any self-awareness?

Chen Dasheng wept silently in his heart.

“Why must I forgive them and not them bowing to me?  At the least, they should show sincerity and compensate for my daughter’s dress.  Make them take out a hundred silver taels and this matter will be settled.”

Does she have to worry there won’t be a chance to cause trouble for that woman?  What she has is backing!

One hundred taels?!

The lioness had opened her mouth wide!  This is practically extortion!

(A Lion opening its mouth wide means to demand an exorbitant price.)

“One hundred taels is impossible.  I still want to find out the truth about this matter and will never allow people to intentionally distort facts.”

Li Jing’er swept her eyes over and deliberately shot a cold look at Chen Yulian.  As a result, Chen Yulian, who initially had something to say, shuddered.

“Shuangming, did you stain the dress?”

A child needs to be taught but doing this is not to frighten him and using the correct method will teach the child well.

“No.”

“Then who did it?”

“It’s……..”  He hesitated and his eyes shifted all over the place.

Then his eyes landed on a particular person.

“Mother, it was this little sister who kept spinning around.  She turned and turned and giggled as her skirt flew up.  She didn’t see me standing beside her and her skirt covered my face while I was licking the candied hawthorns.”

Shuangzhen was anxious and wanted to hide the only remaining candied hawthorns in her hand.

So that was it……..the truth was revealed.

“Don’t be afraid.  A child who tells the truth is a good child and Mother is happy that you told the truth.  In this way, people who made mistakes can’t blame others for their mistakes.”

Li Jing’er smiled and patted her daughter’s head.  She was pleased that her daughter was brave enough to tell the truth.

With her mother’s encouragement, Shuangzhen became braver and smiled bashfully.

“Elder Brother was afraid I would be hit by the skirt, so he pulled me behind him to protect me.  As a result, the little sister shouted and that ugly auntie pointed her finger at Elder Brother and kept scolding him.  The words she used were not nice.  Father, she kept saying that we are bastards who have a mother but not a father and that we’re destined to have lives like beggars and cursed us an early death.”

As soon as the words were said, a sour feeling rose in the noses of the people who heard Chen Yulian cursing just now.  What the little girl said was the truth.  How can an adult be so mean as to say such vicious words to a 5-year-old child?  That’s devoid of conscience!

Initially, when the people heard Chen Yulian cursing, they only felt that she was shrewish and cruel to scold him even though the child was so young.  Now when the little girl explained in her soft and tender voice, the people’s hearts were filled with a heart-wrenching and unbearable feeling.  What crime has the child done to receive punishment without being even taught first?

Li Jing’er rubbed her chin as she contemplated.  She was thinking to herself that little Shuangzhen is truly the black belly in her family.  The little girl seldom talks but can give others a sudden shock when she speaks.  In the future, she does not have to worry about the girl anymore.

Whatever needed to be said had already been said.  Every word pointed out the important points and it made the people in the cloth shop feel sympathetic toward the children who were wronged.

“Lord Zhenfu, for the sake of our comradeship, we can ignore this matter but please restrain your younger sister and not let her simply accuse other people randomly.”

Xiao Jingfeng decided to let this matter rest and his words were not harsh.

“Brother, I’m sorry I didn’t manage my family well and your children were frightened……”

This troublemaker!  Stirs up trouble wherever she goes!

Chen Dasheng felt guilty and patted his brother on the shoulder to express his apology.

“Elder Brother, are you going to let go of this matter with just a few words?  Zhaohua’s dress is not cheap.  They are not allowed to leave if they don’t compensate.”

Chen Yulian, who was still domineering, looked arrogant and wanted to settle this matter with them.  No matter whether she is in the right or wrong, other people should be ‘filial’.

The troops under her elder brother that manage the Guard Base have greater authority than the Yamen.  Other than the commanders, deputies, and assistants, her elder brother, Lord Zhenfu holds a high position, is respected by many people, and has great power.  Why should she fear that those few lowly people can’t be taken down?

“Compensate?”  Chen Dasheng turned around to glare at her with displeasure.  “Are you so poor that you’ve gone crazy or are you purposely trying to blackmail others?  A set of Yue Bailuo clothes in the imperial capital doesn’t cost even a hundred taels!  This set of yours is only made with Hangzhou silk and you dare to ask for a hundred taels?  In addition, it was Zhaohua who behaved disgracefully and spun around in the cloth shop.  It’s just a dress, what is so precious about it?”

“Uncle, the dress will only look good when the skirt flies.  Look, there’re flowing clouds on it!  Only when the skirt is flying and the clouds moving, it will bring out my fairy-like beauty.”

Bai Zhaohua, who loves to look beautiful, lifted her skirt to spin around and the light cloud pattern started to move like flowing water and the pattern seemed to come alive instantly.

Chen Dasheng pointed at the obvious candy stains on the skirt and said sarcastically.  “That’s right!  Just to show off your beauty, you’ve ruined your skirt!  Are you satisfied now?”

She pouted unhappily.  “Uncle, how would I know that someone was standing behind me?  She should have avoided me when she saw me.  The idiot should compensate me for my dress.”

“Compensate?  Why should they compensate you?  Both you and your mother are grounded.  You’re not allowed to leave the house for 3 months and you’re to copy the ‘Women’s Commandments’ and ‘Women’s Rule’.”

If they still cannot be disciplined well, then he will send them far away so that he would not die of anger.

“What?  Grounded?!”

Is Uncle crazy?  How can a maternal uncle ground his niece?

“Elder Brother, you can’t ground me, I still have a lot of things to do.  The New Year is approaching and you need someone to deal with………”

He cannot do without her.

“No bargaining!  If you’re unwilling, you can leave my house.  I won’t force you.”

Chen Dasheng was so angry that he started to chase them away with the thought that rotten wood cannot be carved.