Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 123

She glanced at Yu Jiao with a malicious smirk. “That Master He visiting your home personally, surely that wasn’t because of your medical skills, was it? As I recall, you were taken away by the He family for several days.” 

“Did you seduce that so-called Master He to earn your release? A woman spending days outside alone, shameless and without decency, how do you even have the face to return to the village?”

“Ying, that’s enough!” Madam Chen (Madam Qin) quickly cut in, seeing that Chen Ying’s words were getting more and more out of hand.

Yu Fuling’s face darkened. She stopped in her tracks, halting Yu Jiao as they were heading back, and glared angrily at Chen Ying. “Chen Ying, how dare you speak such filthy nonsense when you’re not even married yet? You’re the shameless one! Yu Jiao, let’s go home.”

Inside the house, Chen Gensheng had overheard Chen Ying’s outrageous remarks. His expression shifted, and he strode outside with a stern scolding. “Ying, what kind of vile nonsense are you spouting? Where did you even hear such trash? Apologize to Miss Meng right now!”

Chen Ying jutted her lip out stubbornly. “I won’t! I didn’t say anything wrong! Why are you yelling at me, Uncle?”

“You little brat…” Chen Gensheng was furious that Chen Ying had spoken so recklessly, dragging Master He’s name into a fabricated scandal. He shot her a fierce glare and hurried after Yu Jiao. “Wulang’s wife, don’t take her childish nonsense to heart. It’s my fault as an elder for not raising her properly. I apologize. You still haven’t seen my mother for her diagnosis, you can’t just leave like this.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Yu Jiao said coldly, with a mocking smile. “I came here only to treat a patient, not to be insulted. There’s no reason I should tolerate this behavior. I won’t be seeing your family’s illness.”

She flicked her sleeves, not even slowing her steps as she and Yu Fuling walked out of the Chen family courtyard. As soon as they stepped outside, they spotted Yu Qizhe standing under a poplar tree just beyond the gate.

Seeing Yu Fuling’s clearly upset face, he walked over and asked, “What happened?”

“Little brother, why are you here? Don’t tell me you came to see Ah Rou?” Yu Fuling snapped, still fuming from Chen Ying’s comments.

“My eyes were getting tired from reading, so I came out for a walk.” Yu Qizhe walked beside Yu Jiao, noticing that the anger still hadn’t left her face. He asked gently, “Weren’t you here for a consultation? Who upset you?”

Yu Jiao pressed her lips together and didn’t speak. Yu Fuling, however, exploded like a shaken bamboo tube spilling beans. “This wasn’t a consultation, it was a full-on insult! Chen Ying was outrageous! She smeared Yu Jiao and Master He, spouting all kinds of vile accusations. I swear, I wanted to tear her mouth apart!”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qizhe’s usually refined face turned cold. He reached out and gently took Yu Jiao’s hand, which was hanging by her skirt, and silently began walking her back toward the Chen household.

“What are you doing?” Yu Jiao looked confused. She didn’t understand why Yu Qizhe was dragging her back and tried to pull away, but couldn’t escape his grip. Yu Fuling was equally puzzled, dazedly watching Yu Qizhe lead Yu Jiao back into the Chen family courtyard before hurrying to catch up.

Inside, Chen Gensheng was still scolding Chen Ying, while Chen Rou was softly trying to mediate. Seeing Yu Qizhe enter the courtyard hand-in-hand with Yu Jiao, Chen Gensheng quickly pulled himself together, forcing a smile. “Zhe-ge’er, you’re here? I was just disciplining Ying. She knows she was wrong, Ying, hurry up and apologize to Miss Meng!”

He gave Chen Ying a subtle push, urging her to make amends.

Chen Ying stood her ground, face red, glaring hatefully at Yu Jiao. She bit her lip and angrily snapped, “I didn’t do anything wrong! She stayed alone at the He family’s place for several days, what virtue or purity does she have left?”

“Shut your mouth!” Chen Gensheng’s face twisted with rage. He hadn’t expected Chen Ying to double down on her slander right in front of Yu Qizhe. He raised his hand to slap her.

Chen Rou quickly pulled Chen Ying behind her, shielding her. Chen Ying, now totally unrestrained, threw caution and dignity to the wind, sobbing and shouting, “Master He was nearly dead! How could she save him in just a few days unless she were some sort of fairy? Who would believe that? If she wasn’t seducing him, why would he treat her so well?”

Hearing her get more and more outrageous, Chen Gensheng clenched his jaw in fury. “You disgraceful wretch! Get on your knees and apologize to Zhe-ge’er’s wife!”

Seeing her father so enraged, Chen Rou tried to cover Chen Ying’s mouth. The commotion alarmed the second branch of the Chen family next door, and Chen Genfu and his wife rushed over. Seeing their daughter in tears, they quickly stepped in front of her.

“What’s going on here? Big Brother, Ying is still young, even if she said something wrong, you shouldn’t scold her in front of outsiders,” said Chen Ying’s mother, Little Madam Qin, clearly displeased.

Madam Qin and Little Madam Qin weren’t just sisters-in-law; they were also cousins from the Qin family. After marrying Chen Gensheng, Madam Chen had introduced her cousin to Chen Genfu, the younger brother. Thanks to this familial tie, even after the family split following the patriarch’s death, the two brothers had remained close.

Madam Qin shot Little Madam Qin a stern look, signaling her not to speak out of turn.

Chen Gensheng, being the village’s righteous leader, carried considerable authority. He turned his wrath to his younger brother. “Genfu, perfect timing. That daughter of yours has been spreading disgraceful rumors about Zhe-ge’er’s wife. You, as her father, need to discipline her properly!”

Though he didn’t fully understand what had happened, Chen Genfu respected his elder brother and could more or less guess what was going on based on Yu Qizhe and Yu Jiao’s expressions. Without hesitation, he grabbed Chen Ying from behind Chen Rou and dragged her out, scolding her harshly. “You little wretch, get over here!”

Looking around, he picked up a tree branch and started hitting her while cursing, “Useless girl, spouting nonsense, disrespecting people! You bring shame on our family!”

Chen Ying screamed and tried to hide behind her mother.

Yu Jiao simply watched coldly, while Yu Qizhe didn’t say a word to stop it.

Little Madam Qin’s heart aching for her daughter, threw herself in front of her. “Are you trying to beat your own daughter to death? Then beat me first!”

Madam Qin noticed that neither Yu Jiao nor Yu Qizhe made any move to intervene, and her own displeasure only deepened. She finally spoke up, “Second Brother, Ying is already a grown girl. If she’s in the wrong, scold her, but don’t go hitting her with a stick.”

Chen Genfu had only intended to put on a show for Yu Jiao and Yu Qizhe, as was customary in the village. When kids got into trouble, parents would scold them for appearances’ sake, and that was usually enough. He hadn’t expected the two to remain so unmoved, forcing him to carry out a real beating.

Now that Madam Chen had spoken, Chen Genfu had an excuse to stop. He threw down the branch and spat angrily, “Stupid, blind girl, get inside and stay there! Don’t embarrass me in front of guests!”

Yu Qizhe stepped forward, blocking Chen Ying with a cold expression. “To a woman, her reputation is worth more than her life. The malice in slandering Yu Jiao’s name is deep. If this isn’t cleared up properly, who’s to say she won’t try again? I stayed at the He household with Yu Jiao, eating and sleeping in the same quarters. If you want details, I can recount every single one.”