Free Web NovelChapter 405: Chapter 158: Blood Everywhere
Before Chen Wanyue could finish, she heard a loud CLANG from outside the door.
Her eyes shot up warily. "Who’s there?"
Mrs. Shi paid no mind to her husband tugging at her arm. Her chest felt like it was about to explode with rage at their wickedness. In her distraction, the rolling pin in her hand had struck the wall, making the noise that drew Chen Wanyue’s attention.
But Mrs. Shi wasn’t afraid of Chen Wanyue. She shoved Mr. Shi’s arm away and kicked the door open.
"Chen Wanyue, you ungrateful wolf! I’ll kill you! To think you’d plot to murder us, an old couple—are you even human?! Back when you couldn’t even show your face in the Zhao Village, we were the ones who took you in! We didn’t care about your stinking reputation and arranged for you to marry our son..."
Mrs. Shi was so furious her lungs felt like they would burst.
At first, they had just assumed she was young and immature, that all her troublemaking and her ruined reputation were just a phase.
As it happened, their own family’s reputation wasn’t great either. If they wanted a bride from a respectable family, they’d have to offer a hefty betrothal gift, and even then, no one was willing.
The only exception was Chen Wanyue. They offered a paltry bride price of five taels of Silver, and she packed her bags and married into their family.
They had thought she was a simpleton. A bit dense, perhaps, but at least she could follow instructions and was quick with her chores. They figured that as long as she could give them a clever grandson, it would all be worth it.
It was only after she married in that they realized she wasn’t simple at all. Far from it.
The moment she moved in, she wanted to manage the books. She was constantly, both overtly and covertly, asking how much income the family brought in each month. She even secretly asked their son if he knew where the family’s nest egg was hidden, promising to buy him candy if he found it for her.
’The black-hearted wench!’ They had saved her from a desperate situation, and in return, she was after their meager funeral savings.
And not just their funeral savings—she had her eyes on the entire coffin shop.
Mrs. Shi’s resentment for Chen Wanyue was as vast as the mountains and as deep as the sea. If Chen Wanyue hadn’t constantly threatened her with the line, "I might already be pregnant," she would have beaten her as regularly as she ate her three daily meals.
But even though she’d held back, she hadn’t seen a shred of gratitude from Chen Wanyue.
And now her paramour was here. The two of them must have thought the time was right, because they were actually plotting to murder the whole family!
Mrs. Shi threw all caution to the wind. She charged forward, swinging the rolling pin. "You murderous bastards! Why doesn’t the heavens just strike you both dead with lightning!"
"Old man, what are you waiting for? If you just stand there, our whole family is going to die at the hands of this wretched pair!"
"Son! Oh, my son, wake up! Your mother and father are being tormented to death!"
But Mr. Shi was far too shrewd to simply rush into the room.
He turned on his heel and ran outside. "I’ll go get help!"
The two of them were old; they were clearly no match for the others.
He might plane wood for coffins all day, but for the heavy lifting, he had his wife and his simple-minded son to help. And if they weren’t enough, he could always hire laborers. In short, while his work took effort, it wasn’t the kind that built a lot of strength.
The peddler, on the other hand, spent his days carrying a pole laden with a hundred-odd pounds of goods through the streets and alleys. Mr. Shi was envious just looking at his corded muscles.
The two of them together were no match for the peddler, to say nothing of their son.
Their son had the intellect of a three-year-old; he couldn’t even understand an instruction to move a stool. Expecting him to help them in a fight was just a pipe dream.
Rushing in now would be suicide.
The only sensible thing to do was to report it to the authorities immediately. Failing that, he could at least rouse the neighbors. Once a crowd gathered, he doubted the pair would dare to commit murder. That was the only way to save their own lives.
When Chen Wanyue heard Mr. Shi run out, she kicked the peddler in a panic. "Well, go after him! Our plan is exposed! Today, it’s either them or us. If you want to live, you’d better drag him back here right now!"
Before the peddler could go after him, Mrs. Shi brought the rolling pin down on his head with a fearsome WHOOSH.
The blow landed on the exact same spot he had hit against the wall yesterday.
The wound, which hadn’t healed properly, split open again. Fresh blood gushed onto the floor. The peddler’s eyes rolled back in his head, his legs gave out, and with a heavy THUD, he collapsed, unconscious.
Seeing the peddler collapse, Chen Wanyue panicked.
She forced a smile, dodging the incoming rolling pin while grabbing a stool to shield herself. A stream of sweet-talk and flattery poured from her lips.
"Mother! My brilliant, wise mother! Please, don’t be angry, just listen to me! I never meant to harm you! I was just trying to placate the peddler so I could come and warn you!"
"Believe you? My foot! Chen Wanyue, oh, Chen Wanyue, you’ve really opened my eyes. You have the heart of a wolf! You won’t be satisfied until you’ve killed the two of us and gotten your hands on this coffin shop, will you! I see it clearly now. Today, either you die or I do."
