Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Soon, the cart arrived where they were waiting. The cart owner kindly helped the two women lift their goods. As for Mu Heng and his wife, Mu Heng did all the loading himself. He first made sure his wife was comfortably seated in the cart.
Even though Yueqian felt a bit awkward, she knew she could only slow him down. People in these times are very strong. She heard that they could lift deer weighing dozens of kilograms with one arm while holding something else in the other.
“Being a lady of leisure really is comfortable, isn’t it? In the capital, you sat around with people serving you, and now as a wife, you just sit and wait, letting your husband do all the work,” Aunt Liao remarked, seeing Yueqian looking relaxed while Mu Heng loaded numerous items onto the cart.
Though she was curious about the many things they bought because there were so many it made her dizzy, she felt more disgusted when she saw Yueqian’s demeanor, so she chose to mock her first.
“It truly is the fortune of a woman like me to have such a good husband. If I had to carry goods to sell with my niece and carry them back by ourselves, life would be unbearably tough,” Yueqian retorted, not being submissive.
Her principle remained the same; she didn’t get her nickname as the Villainess Qin by luck. If anyone decided to pick a verbal fight with her, they better make sure their heart could withstand the strain because her words could easily make someone choke.
"You! This impolite woman, you are just...," Aunt Liao was so angry she didn’t even know how to curse Yueqian properly.
Mu Heng, seeing his wife argue with Aunt Liao, unlike how she talked with scholars and Shopkeeper Bai, couldn’t help but smile affectionately.
He unconsciously stroked Yueqian’s soft hair, a gesture that showed their affectionate bond, which made Aunt Liao, who had just been verbally stung, even angrier.
Her heart pounded furiously with fatigue, her blood rushing so much that her blood pressure spiked, and soon, her aging body slowly collapsed as if she was about to faint.
"Oh no! Aunt Liao, Aunt Liao! Brother Heng, help! Aunt Liao just collapsed," the niece of Aunt Liao screamed when she saw her relative about to fall like that.
Mu Heng, who was close enough to Yueqian, reacted quickly. He leaped forward and managed to support the head of the fallen woman, preventing her head from hitting the ground. Nevertheless, the fact that she lost consciousness was still shocking.
"Brother Heng, oh... Brother Heng, I don’t know what’s wrong with Aunt Liao, please help her," the young woman panicked, doing nothing right, even starting to cry. Her small frame clung tightly to Mu Heng’s arm as if her subconscious trusted only Mu Heng and relied on him completely.
For her, Brother Hing was the most capable man.
"Fu Yu, calm down," Mu Heng frowned. He disliked having other women touch him. He was a man who valued decorum highly; men and women who were not spouses should not have such close contact.
Not just because of decorum, but in such a critical moment, he also looked at Yueqian, worried she might misunderstand. For Mu Heng, even he didn’t realize that now, no matter what happened, Yueqian had become the most important person to him. He would look at his wife’s face before doing anything.
"Please lay her down, let her head lie flat on the ground, don’t lift it up," Yueqian, who had come down from the cart, instructed her husband in a calm tone, seemingly oblivious to another woman clinging to her husband.
With her calm and composed demeanor, Yueqian helped Mu Heng relax a bit. He followed her instructions without hesitation and gently laid Aunt Liao’s head down as directed by Yueqian.
When Yueqian approached Aunt Liao, she began to untie the tightly bound cloth around the woman’s waist and chest.
It’s worth noting that Aunt Liao had dressed in tight clothing to facilitate her work more comfortably in this cold weather, tightened multiple layers to avoid any discomfort while moving.
As Yueqian loosened Aunt Liao’s clothing, she couldn’t help but admire these women; she wondered how they endured wearing such tightly bound clothes to keep from being encumbered while working.
“What are you doing? Are you seeking revenge because Aunt Liao spoke ill of you, to the point of wanting to disgrace her?” Fu Yu was shocked to see what Yueqian was doing, as it appeared that she was undressing Aunt Liao in front of two men. Wasn’t she meant to embarrass her?
“.........” Yueqian did not respond; she simply slid her hand into Aunt Liao’s clothes, not to expose her skin but to loosen the tight knots, allowing Aunt Liao to breathe more easily.
“You! You really are the villainous woman from the rumors! Stay away from Aunt Liao, or I will deal with you,” Fu Yu snapped as she saw Yueqian not replying to her, that evil beauty face continued taking of Aunt Liao’s clothes, prompting her to rush in, intending to pull Yueqian away from her aunt.
Snap!
Unexpectedly, Mu Heng, standing nearby, grabbed her shoulder and pushed her away. The force of his push, meeting the force of Fu Yu’s charge, caused her to fall.
Fu Yu was greatly shocked; she had never been treated like this by Mu Heng. Normally, he was a gentleman who always kept his distance from women, but now that he had married the evil Yueqian, was he really willing to act against her to protect another woman?
“Brother Heng, sob, why are you doing this? Sob, sob. You let this woman from the capital trample on Aunt Liao’s dignity, who has helped you so many times, and now you even... you harm me to keep me from stopping her. You have changed indeed,” Fu Yu said, her voice filled with hurt.
Tears streamed down the face of the young woman as she sat, dust-covered on the ground, her voice drawing the attention of many bystanders, including villagers from other villages and townspeople.
“Sir, go fetch the physician. I can only do the first aid; we need a physician to check her condition,” Yueqian said, wiping sweat from her forehead after finally loosening all the tight clothing.
Her hands were red from the effort of unraveling all knots, which Mu Heng noticed as well. He hesitated to leave but, catching another glance from Yueqian, he hurried off, leaving her alone there.
The young man’s disregard for Fu Yu’s tearful, seemingly aggrieved demeanor pained her even more, adding to her embarrassment as more villagers gathered around, watching the unfolding scene.
"Uncles, Aunts, please show mercy. I am the niece of Aunt Liao, who has just fainted. Yet, I had to witness a vicious woman from the capital abusing my aunt when she is most vulnerable. How can someone who takes advantage of others’ weaknesses to harm them still be considered human? Please think about this."
When Fu Yu couldn’t get justice from Mu Heng, she took the opportunity of his absence to deal with the wicked Yueqian.
The villagers, who had been watching, began whispering among themselves. It seemed they really sided with Fu Yu, the true niece, who was also in tears. For them, the apparent victim is usually the one being bullied, so their gaze towards Yueqian was filled with disdain.
"Hey! How can this woman be allowed to behave so disgracefully? She dares to assault someone ill; does she still have any humanity left?"
"Indeed, suddenly she started to undress someone in public. What kind of crude intentions does she harbor?"
"Who is she? Her face is unfamiliar. She may look beautiful, but with such behavior... just her existence is a danger."
"Someone should inform the authorities. They need to deal with her, put her in jail, it would be better. She’s a menace to society."
"I agree, throw her in jail." frёeωebɳovel.com
The villagers were uproariously indignant. Yueqian, initially indifferent to the chatter, frowned in displeasure as the crowd around her grew.
"As Aunt Liao’s niece, if you truly wish her to survive, you should keep these people away. The more they crowd around, the more dangerous it is for your aunt."
Yueqian backed off after doing all she could. Ideally, she would have liked to cool Aunt Liao down with a damp cloth, but given the already cold weather, it was unlikely that Aunt Liao was sweating profusely. Yueqian decided to leave her be and wait for the physician to examine her.
"Huh, the more people there are, the more embarrassed you are, aren’t you? Even a vile woman feels shame, doesn’t she?" Fu Yu smirked.
"All of you uncles, aunts, and elders, you heard her yourself, didn’t you? This woman wants me to drive you away. You just came to seek justice for me, and she’s embarrassed and wants to use my aunt as an excuse to say that you will put Aunt Liao in danger, when she herself is the real threat."
"So, I ask for your help to deal with this evil person. If she doesn’t want people crowding around, then please come closer and don’t let her get what she wants," Fu Yu, deeply misunderstanding the situation, thought Yueqian was embarrassed by the public scorn.
When Yueqian did not want something to happen, she would make it happen!
"Such narrow-mindedness, unconcerned with others’ lives, only focused on harming those she despises.... I truly pity your aunt," Yueqian grimaced sinisterly.
Her villainous expression only convinced the onlookers further of Yueqian’s malevolence.
"Are those words for yourself? Just because Aunt Liao said you were a woman whom Brother Heng married for a hundred silver taels, you got so angry you took this chance to ruin her. It’s you who are narrow-minded!" Fu Yu roared in anger, unable to comprehend why Yueqian still stood defiantly.
Yueqian, such a despicable person!
"What’s happening? The governor is passing through; what are all of you gawking at?" At that moment, a soldier’s voice rang out, indicating that the governor was about to pass by.
Fu Yu smiled satisfactorily, casting a triumphant look at Yueqian before running ahead. The crowd parted to let her through, revealing the governor’s carriage and the soldiers about to pass by.
