Becoming the Cannon Fodder Wife of Crazy and Powerful Official - Chapter 32

“Is it Meng Ruxin?” Xin Yueying looked up at Carpenter Yang.

Carpenter Yang, “So you already know. Yes, it’s her. She’s under the old locust tree at the village entrance, saying you bullied her. She also said you married a cripple and dress flashily every day to show off. Did you have a falling out with her?”

Xin Yueying lowered her eyes, brushing vegetable scraps off her clothes, “That little… Just you wait.”

Carpenter Yang went to the backyard and handed her a towel.

Carpenter Yang was very grateful to Xin Yueying and her husband. Back when he asked Shen Qingqi to make ten wheelchairs for sixty taels of silver—a high price—the other party politely refused. That afternoon, Carpenter Yang saw the neighboring shop also selling wheelchairs at half his price.

Later, more and more workshops started making wheelchairs. Now, with everyone competing, wheelchairs had dropped to five mace of silver each. If Shen Qingqi had agreed to make them for sixty taels each back then, Carpenter Yang would have lost everything.

Carpenter Yang said solemnly, “I know you and your husband are good people. Miss Meng isn’t bad either—she treats people for free. The villagers all respect her. I’ve consulted her too. She doesn’t talk like an uneducated person; she’s literate and reasonable. If there’s some misunderstanding between you two, just talk it out properly and resolve it.”

Xin Yueying’s face flushed red with anger. She listened in silence to the sarcastic remarks outside.

They were deliberately speaking loudly, afraid that those inside wouldn’t hear clearly,

“Xin Jinlian, are you having an affair with Carpenter Yang? Haha!”

“Must be! Her husband has no legs, so now she’s found someone with legs to cling to and cherish.”

“Hahaha, Carpenter Yang, you’ve got some nerve daring to take on this kind of goods.”

“Goddamn it.” Carpenter Yang was the first to lose patience. He rushed to the backyard, grabbed an axe, and charged back. He kicked the door open, raised the axe, and shouted, “Whoever keeps spouting nonsense! I’ll kill them!”

The crowd scattered instantly with a roar.

But Xin Yueying remained calm. She looked at Carpenter Yang, “Old Yang, as the saying goes, ‘Adversity reveals true friendship.’ I consider you a friend! In a couple of days, when I finish my new product, I’ll bring it here for you to sell again.”

Carpenter Yang indicated that she should forget about selling things for now and focus on this matter.

He comforted her a bit more, still suggesting she have a good talk with Meng Ruxin.

Xin Yueying nodded, pushed the door open, and headed toward the little grey donkey. She found that someone had thrown rotten eggs at its head.

She untied the rope and tugged on the reins. The little donkey, probably startled earlier, was now being stubborn and refused to move.

She tried pulling the donkey again.

It still wouldn’t budge.

“Hahahahaha, even the donkey finds her dirty!”

Several old women laughed loudly in the distance.

Xin Yueying didn’t retort anymore. She patiently waited for the little donkey to calm down. During this time, women behind her continued to shout insults.

Finally, the little donkey agreed to move. Xin Yueying urged the donkey cart forward.

Those few old women actually followed her, deliberately trailing behind her cart, “Xin Jinlian, how do you seduce men? Teach us, won’t you?”

Xin Yueying looked back. These women had hair streaked with white; they looked to be at least in their fifties. “Is it even worth learning now? If you only learn half before you kick the bucket, wouldn’t that be a waste of my effort?”

Old woman, “You might not even live to my age! If you keep this up, sooner or later you’ll be caught in the act and thrown into a pig cage to drown! Haha!”

The old women spat a few more nasty words, then chattered and laughed as they walked away.

But one remained, following her, “Of all people, you had to bully Miss Ruxin. Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”

Xin Yueying looked back. This old woman’s eyes gleamed with sheer stupidity.

She couldn’t even be bothered to waste a single word on someone like this.

“You’re young and don’t know any better, so let me tell you—you must accumulate virtue in life! You must repay kindness with gratitude!”

After saying this, she continued to chatter incessantly, not caring if anyone was listening.

“She offers free consultations—that’s her way of doing good and accumulating merit. If you offend a virtuous person, you’ll face heaven’s wrath!”

“I’m reminding you out of goodwill—stop being so wicked from now on. Everyone in the village says you’re a bad seed, that you’re Xin Jinlian. You’re still so young, yet your reputation is already ruined.”

“Your man is paralyzed, so why are you dressed so flamboyantly? Look at you, even wearing pearl hairpins! Have you no sense of propriety? Are you just waiting for your man to die?”

Xin Yueying ignored her and continued driving the donkey cart up the mountain.

Even after arriving home, the old woman still hadn’t left!

The old woman glanced around, her face full of disdain. “Oh, so you live in such a shabby place? Are you trying to find some rich landowner? No wonder you dress yourself up like a blooming flower.”

The courtyard was empty—Xie Asheng had probably gone to chop wood, Huo Qi was nowhere to be seen, and Shen Qingqi was likely inside.

The old woman’s eyes darted around, peering here and there, her hands tucked into her sleeves as she leaned forward to look through the door.

“Hey! Don’t you have a home?!” Xin Yueying glared at her. “Had enough of looking?!”

The old woman turned her head and spat. “I’ve wasted all my words on you—you’re truly beyond help! I’ve been kindly reasoning with you, telling you to accumulate some virtue so you won’t be reborn a dwarf in your next life.”

Xin Yueying’s right eye twitched.

The old woman sneered, “You just leave your husband lying inside without care? He’s paralyzed—”

“Say one more word and I’ll smash your mouth!”

Xin Yueying rushed over, grabbing the old woman’s shoulder. “Get out! Get out now!”

The old woman, strong as an ox, shook off Xin Yueying’s grip and pointed at her, shouting, “Xin Jinlian, let me tell you—Miss Meng saved my son’s life! She’s my savior. If you bully her, you’re bullying me! You wretched seed! You’re a damned, heaven-struck villain!”

She lunged forward, left hand in front, right hand behind, right leg stepping forward into a bow stance, advancing toward Xin Yueying, “Wretched seed, wretched seed, wretched seed, wretched seed, wretched seed!”

“…”

“Get out!!!” Xin Yueying rushed over, grabbing the old woman’s wrist to drag her away. The old woman resisted, still shouting insults, her left hand clutching the wooden frame of the east room as she struggled against Xin Yueying.

The old woman glanced inside and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Mr. Xin! You’re a coward! Your woman has already slept with Carpenter Yang! You’re so cuckolded you’re oozing green oil! You paralyzed waste! Your woman sleeps around, and you just hide like a turtle! You damned cripple!”

So this was the old hag’s real intention.

Just insulting Xin Yueying wasn’t enough—she wanted to curse Shen Qingqi too.

“Get away from me, you old turtle!” Xin Yueying cursed back, pulling harder on her wrist.

With a loud “crash—”

The wooden pillar was yanked askew by the old woman. The beam, losing its support, came crashing down. In the chaos, Xin Yueying let go and scrambled away. The solid wooden beam struck the old woman squarely on the head.

Amid the swirling dust, Xin Yueying stood frozen in place.

There was no movement from beneath the wood.

Bright red blood seeped out from under the disordered timber, slowly flowing toward her feet. She stared, unable to process what had happened.

After a moment, footsteps sounded from the distant woods.

She looked toward the sound and saw Shen Qingqi pushing his wheelchair, accompanied by Huo Qi and Xie Asheng walking toward the house. Huo Qi and Xie Asheng were carrying wooden pillars, while tools rested on Shen Qingqi’s lap. The three were chatting and laughing as they approached, but when they saw that the carefully constructed frame of the east room had vanished into thin air, they all froze in unison.

Huo Qi threw down the pillar he was holding, glanced at the blood on the ground, then at the ruined house frame, and yelled:

“Xin Lao Dao! You’ve taken another life!”

Xie Asheng looked puzzledly at Shen Qingqi. “Why ‘another’?”

Shen Qingqi, “…”

Xin Yueying turned to look at Huo Qi. “Is it possible that our feng shui is just cursed?”