Seeing that Mingyue opened her eyes and remained silent, her mother-in-law Zhou Huang pushed her hard again.
Mrs. Zhou Huang said viciously, "Since you are not pretending to be dead, then hurry up and get out with this burden. Don't force me to take a broom to send you off."
Farmers' wives are always strong. Mingyue was caught off guard and was pushed, staggering and almost falling into the mud. The pouring raindrops instantly soaked her whole body, and her already dizzy head became even heavier.
Yes, the original owner was a simple-minded person, and had been forced by the Zhou family to stand in the rain.
Zhou Pandi, who had been holding Mingyue's calf tightly, was also pushed into the rain. She was weak and powerless to begin with, and was unable to hold her mother at once. She fell heavily to the ground in an instant, and her clothes, which were patched but clean, were also covered with mud.
The little girl was so frightened that she cried out in tears, "Mother, mother, I'm scared, Pan, Pan brother is scared..."
The people in the Zhou family didn't feel sorry for him when they saw this. Instead, they made sarcastic remarks like "little stutterer", "money-loser", "he deserved to die" and so on.
When Mingyue saw this, her anger suddenly soared.
After all, Zhou Pandi is the blood of the Zhou family. This family really has no conscience.
Mingyue stepped forward and picked up Zhou Pandi from the ground. She was obviously a little girl of four and a half years old, but she was so thin that she had no flesh on her body. She seemed so light and weightless when she was held in her arms, which made people feel distressed just by looking at her.
Seeing that the little girl was soaked, Mingyue quickly held her in her arms and took two steps forward to stand under the eaves of the outer courtyard.
But she herself was also soaked. There was not much use in the two mothers hugging each other except that their clothes would get dirty together. She couldn't help but curse.
You have to know that the original owner was still doing heavy work in the fields when she was more than eight months old, so Zhou Panddi was a premature baby who was exhausted. The little girl has always been in poor health, so how could she withstand such hardship
And the increasingly dizzy head made Mingyue realize that her body might be sick as well. It seemed that she had to make a quick decision.
The little girl was well-behaved. She buried her head in her mother's neck, pretending that she couldn't see the bad guy.
"Leave? How can it be so easy?" Mingyue's heart softened a little. She pinched her thigh hard. The severe pain finally made her mind clearer, and her face turned cold.
"Zhou Chengwen, why don't you say something? You've always been hiding behind your mother, sister-in-law and brother-in-law. What kind of man are you?" Mingyue ignored the Zhou family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who were full of vicious calculations, and looked directly at Zhou Chengwen who was leaning against the door to watch the fun. She said with a stern look in her eyes: "If you are like this, I'm going to go to Xishan Academy to ask how the teachers there teach their students. How did they teach someone like you who is so unkind, unjust, unfaithful and unfilial, and who abandons you after having sex with you?"
Xishan Academy is the only academy in this small county town, and it is also where Chen Xiucai works as a teacher.
If Mingyue really went to Xishan Academy to cause trouble, then Zhou Chengwen would really become famous, but it would be a bad reputation.
What scholars fear most is having a bad reputation, which can even affect their chances in the imperial examinations.
As soon as these words came out, the air seemed to freeze.
Everyone in the Zhou family looked at Mingyue with expressions of shock, as if they had seen a ghost.
No one could understand how Chen Mingyue, who was weak and vulnerable and could be bullied by anyone in Zhoujia Village, could dare to say such a thing. "Chen Mingyue, you are such a jinx who can't give birth to a son. You dare to say that about your man. You really want to kill me. I will beat you to death today..." Mrs. Zhou Huang couldn't hold back her temper. While cursing, she picked up the broom at the door and was about to hit Mingyue. However, she stopped when she saw the rain getting heavier.
Several villagers nearby shook their heads and sighed after hearing Zhou Huang's loud voice, thinking that she was bullying her third daughter-in-law again. What a sin!
But sighs are enough, and it's okay to just listen to other people's affairs, but no one would bother to meddle in other people's affairs, which would be a thankless task.
The other wives of the Zhou family were also awakened by their mother-in-law's loud voice, and began to criticize Mingyue one after another, as if she had done something extremely evil.
Mingyue was not moved at all, and ignored the Zhou family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. She just looked at Zhou Chengwen with a gloomy face and said in a loud voice: "Give me thirty taels of silver and we will divorce."
Well, according to the original owner's memory, the Zhou family's entire assets were probably only thirty taels of silver.
After all, it's to support a scholar!
One stone can cause a thousand ripples!
Zhou Chengwen was in a state of shock and before he could express his opinion, the women in the Zhou family were already furious.
"Thirty, thirty taels? What are you dreaming about? Why don't you just go and rob?" Zhou's eldest sister-in-law's eyes were as big as bronze mirrors, and she couldn't help but put her hands on her waist.
Zhou Ersao smacked her lips subconsciously: "Old Third, are you crazy? Our Zhou family is so poor, how can we have thirty taels of silver?"
The wife of Zhou Laosi's family suddenly brightened up and started to make a plan: "If we have thirty taels at home, we can let my Yuanbao and Jinbao go to school to learn to read. Who knows, they may be able to pass the imperial examination and become high officials in the future, and earn an imperial decree for me."
Mrs. Zhou gnashed her teeth and cursed: "How dare you ask for money? You still have the nerve to ask for money. You are an old hen that can't lay golden eggs. Even if my son divorces you, even if I beat you to death, it is still our Zhou family that is right."
Mingyue glanced at the Zhou family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with some annoyance, not wanting to argue with them. After all, she knew that the real head of the family was the only scholar in the family, Zhou Chengwen, who everyone in the Zhou family thought would become a high-ranking official in the future.
"I don't want to waste time talking nonsense with you. Thirty taels of silver is not a lot of money to buy Zhou Chengwen's future. Moreover, he has hooked up with a rich lady in Hanchang County. Does he still need this mere thirty taels of silver?" Mingyue raised her eyebrows coldly: "Of course you don't have to give it to me. Then I will go to the academy to ask the teacher and Zhou Chengwen's classmates, and go to the county government to ask the county magistrate to see if a man who abandoned his wife and daughter and has a ruthless heart can continue to study in the academy? Can he continue to take the exam for a scholar?"
As soon as the words fell, the expressions of the Zhou family members froze.
No matter how ignorant one is of the law, one knows that if Chen Mingyue really did this, his son (brother-in-law) would probably never be able to become an official in the future.
You have to know that the Zhou family has used all their strength to support Zhou Chengwen's studies, hoping that he will become an official in the future. If one of them succeeds, the whole family will benefit!
For the Zhou family, Zhou Chengwen is the lifeblood of the family and the hope of the entire family.
Zhou Chengwen's original expression of watching a show froze on his face. He never dreamed that he would be threatened by Chen, whom he had always looked down upon.
However, Chen's threat really hit the mark.
(End of this chapter)