The scorching sun hangs fiercely, baking this quiet and ancient small village.
Chen's courtyard is one of the largest in the village. The small path paved with green stone extends from the entrance to the front house, and the flowers and grasses on the sides are somewhat withered under the scorching sun.
In the front house, the atmosphere was oppressive as if it was going to solidify.
"A crisp 'snap!' sound."
Yuyao just became conscious and had not yet sorted out the situation when she was hit heavily on the face, and she was sent flying to the bedside, with blood oozing from her mouth.
"You, this cheap bone, doomsayer, since you entered my Chen's house, nothing but bad luck. Thirty taels of silver for such a thing."
The woman's shrill scream was almost piercing her eardrums.
Yuyao was just in this world for a while, and her mind was still blurry. The slap on her face made her feel fiercely painful.
She slightly opened the corner of her eyes and saw an elderly woman standing in front of her, with wrinkled face and hanging eyes, looking fierce and menacing.
A cotton cloth outfit of decent quality, the silver hairpin on her head was a bit dazzling in the dimly lit room.
Her fingers were almost touching her face, and she was cursing and complaining in a very unpleasant manner.
She was annoyed very much, regardless of who this old woman was, how dare she hit her? How could she not retaliate?
"Snap!"
Yuyao's slap was delivered with all her might and urgency, and the room fell into an eerie silence, as if everyone had been under a charm.
Mrs. Wang, the mother-in-law, was as if she saw a ghost, her eyes widened. Her look was initially shocked and then turned into a flood of fury.
"You, you little slut, dare to hit me? You're going too far."
Mrs. Wang screamed at the top of her lungs, almost making her voice break.
Following, as if a wild mother beast was pouncing over, grabbing, beating and scolding, "You're an ungrateful thing. How dare you hit me. I spent a lot of money to buy you and you've paralyzed my son. I didn't throw you out already, but now you dare hit me. You should be torn apart by a thousand cuts. Do you know where this is? You can't go wild here. Today, I'll teach you a good lesson on behalf of your uncultured parents."
Yuyao saw the old woman coming at her and instinctively tried to dodge, but she was too weak, possibly from not eating properly for years or from kneeling too long; her knees were burning with pain, so her reaction was slow.
She felt her scalp was being pulled off as Mrs. Wang grabbed her hair, the force made her eyes tear up.
Her eyes flashed with a fierce look, her heart hardened, she endured the pain in her knees and kicked Mrs. Wang's belly with all her might.
Mrs. Wang was kicked by her and fell backward, hitting the ground heavily, and cried out in pain.
Holding her stomach, her face pale, it took her a while to recover.
The eldest wife Zhao and the second wife Qian from Chen's family were both shocked and stunned, only to rush to help the mother-in-law after a moment of confusion.
The second wife's mouth was the sweetest, and she was the most favored by her mother-in-law Mrs. Wang. She asked with concern: "Mother, how are you?"
The eldest wife, Zhao Shi, also went through the motions of checking on her mother-in-law, Wang Shi.
Chen's eldest son and second son, as well as Chen's father, had all gone out to work, leaving only a few women at home.
Chen Xu yuan, the third son of Chen's family, was angry and anxious on the bed. Although he was paralyzed and unable to move, his mind was clear. At this moment, he was also awake.
He was both heartbroken for his wife and also felt unhappy seeing his mother being beaten.
He wanted to get up and stop them, but his body was unable to move, and he could only weakly say: "Please stop. It's none of Yao's fault. It's my fault."
Mrs. Wang, after recovering from the blow, was even more enraged upon hearing her son Chen Xu Yuan's words, "You worthless creature, still protecting her to this day. See what she's done to me!"
She was about to charge towards Yu Yao again.
Zhao Shi and Qian Shi rushed to hold her back. Zhao Shi advised: "Mother, please calm down. What Xu Yuan said is right. If this matter escalates, it will not be good for us, and it will be a laughing stock for the villagers."
Qian Shi also chimed in on the side: "Yes, Mother. You should rest for a while. Don't upset yourself."
At this moment, a man in a green robe, with a handsome face and a charming demeanor, walked in hurriedly from the door. His eyebrows bore a trace of scholarly elegance.
It was indeed Chen Mu Feng, the sixth son of the Chen family.
He was originally in the room studying for the exam, but the noise here was too loud, making it impossible for him to focus and even pretending to ignore it was out of question.
"Sixth brother, why did you come?"
On the bed, the weak third son Chen Xiuyuan saw his sixth brother and his eyes flashed with a few complex and enviable emotions.
Chen Mu Feng didn't have a chance to respond. His gaze first fell on Yuyao, who had disheveled hair and red marks on her face. However, her eyes were stubborn and angry.
Which was quite different from her usual timid demeanor and the image of a "doomsayer".
His heart, without reason, moved slightly.
"I heard that there was a commotion in the room of the third brother, so I came over to check."
His voice was soft and smooth as he slowly stepped inside, trying to defuse the tense atmosphere in the room, "Mother, sister-in-law, we're all family. Let's talk things out properly. Why do we have to resort to hitting each other?"
He knew without asking that it was likely that his mother had started the fight first, but it surprised him that the third sister-in-law had retaliated.
But it was also understandable; Mother had always disliked the third sister-in-law, always treating her with disdain, with curses and beatings being a regular occurrence. In the past, there had been older brother to protect her.
After the third son became paralyzed, Mother shifted all her anger onto the third sister-in-law, blaming her for the son's condition. Beatings and curses became a daily occurrence. Such scenes were not uncommon.
Hearing this, Mrs. Wang was infuriated, pointing her finger at Yuyao's nose and cursing her, "Look at her, where does she resemble a proper wife? I spent so much silver hoping to carry on the lineage for the Chen family. However, she turns out to be a harbinger of bad luck. She caused your third brother to become bedridden. Today, she even dare to hit me back. It's treason!"
Yuyao listened to Mrs. Wang's accusations and furrowed her brow slightly.
At this moment, she had also sorted out some situations. The man lying on the bed should be the original owner's husband, who was paralyzed for some unknown reason.
This old woman should be the original owner's mother-in-law, blaming the original owner for everything and thinking that she brought bad luck to her husband.
"Quickly, transfer all the memories to me," she silently commanded the system within.
"Okay, host."
Following, a sharp pain in her mind, the original owner's memories flooded into her mind like a tide.
She massaged her temples, not having time to sift through the memories carefully at the moment, but just quickly scanned the reason behind the original owner's husband's paralysis.
The original owner's husband, Chen Xiuyuan, was the third child in the family. Once, he encountered a bear on a mountain and, out of panic, rolled down a hill. His waist happened to hit a stone by accident, resulting in his paralysis.
The original owner's mother-in-law called in many doctors, but none could cure him. Coupled with superstition, she blamed the original owner for being a curse.
As the original owner sorted through her memories,
At the same time, Chen Mu Feng was also having a conversation with Mrs. Wang.
Chen Mu Feng naturally knew the reason behind his brother's paralysis, but he also knew his mother's temper. "Mother, sister-in-law is gentle and has been married to our family for only a short time. With brother three's condition happening like this, it's understandable that she might not adapt easily. As for brother three's paralysis, it was an accident; no one wanted this to happen. It has nothing to do with sister-in-law, so why should mother lay the blame on her?"
Mrs. Wang loved her little son Chen Mu Feng the most, who was the only one in the family with a scholar's title and a passing exam. She treated him like a treasure and was fiercely protective of him. If anyone dared to say something bad about her son, she would definitely fight back.
Hearing her youngest son's words, Mrs. Wang's frown deepened even more, "Sixth son, as a scholar, how can you also speak in her favor? Do you know that since she entered our home, there has been no peace in our household?"
Although the tone was unsatisfied, the look in Mrs. Wang's eyes towards Chen Mu Feng was filled with some indulgence.
