Chapter 5: Stop Looking, All of You

These words struck like a bolt from the blue. Those who had been walking leisurely immediately became agitated upon hearing the strange cry and quickly crowded around the doorway of the room.

Even the aunt who had been supporting Chen Xueying abandoned her and rushed over to join the crowd.

Watching the growing crowd and listening to the discussions at the door, Chen Xueying lowered her head to conceal the delight in her eyes.

“Oh my, Jiang Jiali’s buttocks are so pale!”

“Indeed! And Lu Niannian always acts so indifferent, who would’ve thought she’d be so brazen, sitting on top like that!”

“Stop looking, all of you! Get out!” But no one outside was willing to listen to them.

Their clothes were thrown on the floor. With no covering blanket on the summer bed, the two could only cling to each other naked. Someone mischievously tossed the clothes from the ground outside, causing the onlookers to roar with laughter.

The more frantic those inside became, the more delighted the crowd outside grew.

Soon, Chen Xueying heard her parents’ and brother’s voices approaching from behind. Turning her head to see the dense crowd, tears immediately streamed down her face.

Chen Zhenhua approached his daughter with a stick, followed by a group of uncles and cousins from the Chen family.

“What happened to my girl?” Though often disappointed in this daughter, she was still his flesh and blood. When trouble arose, he would always be the first to stand up for her.

“It’s Jiang Jiali! He said he hates me. He only coaxed me into marrying him because he didn’t want to work. Now that I’m married into his family, he’s not afraid anymore. He’s always liked Lu Niannian they’ve been together all along!”

Chen Xueying spoke between sobs and hiccups: “After the vow ceremony today, as soon as Liu Guixiang left, he hit me! He tied me up and locked me in the cabinet! He said he’d never have children with me if he had any, it would be with Lu Niannian! They’re the true couple!”

As Chen Xueying finished speaking, an aunt who had been watching the spectacle shouted loudly: “Secretary, come quick! Those two are rolling in the sheets right now!”

Chen Zhenhua looked at his daughter’s face, his eyes filled with complexity and heartache: “Don’t worry, your father will handle this matter for you!”

“That’s right, Xueying! Don’t worry, your brothers will definitely stand up for you!” The Chen family was tightly-knit. This was originally called Chen Family Village, and most families surnamed Chen were related in some way.

Hearing that Chen Xueying had been wronged, the group angrily advanced toward the room with sticks, causing those standing at the doorway to quickly make way.

It was only then that Chen Xueying’s mother, Wang Shufang, came running over. She embraced Chen Xueying and wailed: “My poor daughter! What sin have we committed to deserve this?! Wuwu~” The surrounding crowd looked at them with pity.
Wang Shufang had always been well-liked, and Chen Xueying was generally considered obedient. Since they were all from the same village and most Chens were related, naturally everyone took their side.

By the time Liu Guixiang rushed back, she found the courtyard filled with people. Before she could understand the situation, she was surrounded and beaten.

Chen Xueying was gradually pushed to the edge of the courtyard, where she spotted Jiang Yanqing running toward them from afar.

She had done this intentionally her face had been deliberately irritated with peanuts to cause an allergic reaction. She knew her father had seen through it, but her family had long been fed up with the Jiang family.

When you have a chance to beat them, why bother asking why?

At this moment, everyone was focused on the courtyard, with no one looking back. When Jiang Yanqing rushed over, she quickly reached out to stop him:

“Jiang Yanqing, this has nothing to do with you. Don’t go over there. Let me tell you about your true origins!” Jiang Yanqing halted, his eyes scrutinizing Chen Xueying intently.

“Jiang Jiali tied me up and hid me in a cabinet, then sent everyone away to secretly meet with Lu Niannian. I managed to escape and expose this.” She lowered her voice to explain what had happened here.

Jiang Yanqing’s jaw tightened, as if weighing the truth of her words.

His hearing was sharp. After standing there for just a moment, he quickly caught the commotion from the courtyard. Putting the pieces together, he understood the situation.

His face darkened slightly, though he had never held any particular affection for Lu Niannian having just returned yesterday and meeting her for the first time today.

“What do you mean by my ‘true origins’?” He was more concerned about this.

At thirty years old, he had long learned to see through things without speaking up. Age had made him indifferent, but he never expected such a twist.

A sealed-off part of his heart couldn’t help but stir with a flicker of greed.

“You were a child stolen by Liu Guixiang. She couldn’t have children initially, so she took one. If you don’t believe me, go ask the old village secretary he definitely knows. You’re not Liu Guixiang’s biological son. As for your birth parents’ whereabouts, Jiang Jiali knows but won’t tell you. I know, and I can help you investigate further.”

Time was short. Fearful of drawing attention, she hastily revealed fragments of information all details she had learned in her previous life after Jiang Yanqing’s death, when Liu Guilan received condolences from the police department.

Along with Jiang Yanqing’s pension, it became clear he had kept secrets from his family: he had actually been discharged from the military due to injuries long ago and assigned work as a train security officer. He knew that if his family found out, they would demand his discharge benefits, subsidies, bonuses, and even his job.

He had always told them he was an ordinary enlisted soldier. Liu Guilan, unfamiliar with such matters and trusting Jiang Yanqing wouldn’t lie, kept this hidden until his death.
She still remembered Liu Guilan cursing Jiang Yanqing daily back then: “See? A child from another family can never be truly loyal. I should’ve sold him off when Jiali was born better than letting the money go to outsiders instead of being sent home. We raised an ungrateful wretch.”

Later, when Jiang Jiali pressed Liu Guilan, she finally revealed Jiang Yanqing’s true origins. But by then, Jiang Yanqing was already dead forever unaware that the people he had called Mom and Dad for thirty years were child traffickers.

He had supported them all those years, and even in death, they profited from the honors he earned with his life and his pension.

In the entire Jiang family, Jiang Yanqing might have been the only decent person. She wouldn’t implicate the innocent. As for his sacrifice a year later she was just a village girl, powerless to intervene.

The least she could do was ensure he learned the truth before his death.

Jiang Yanqing stared at Chen Xueying with a heavy gaze. “You’d better be certain what you’re saying is true!” Without another word, he turned and headed toward the old village secretary’s house.

As if he had never returned at all. Watching him leave, Chen Xueying finally let out a sigh of relief.

Jiang Jiali, Lu Niannian, Liu Guixiang, this is just the first beating hope you can take it well, really get used to it!

Taking advantage of the chaos ahead, Chen Xueying slowly crept back inside. It wasn’t until everyone was exhausted that Chen Zhenhua finally called a few nephews to throw Jiang Jiali out into the yard.

When Jiang Jiali was tossed out, he showed no reaction at all, looking as though he had passed out cold. But no one cared at that moment not even Jiang Jiali’s uncle dared to show his face.

“Alright, old woman, stop hitting them. Now, what should we do?” Chen Zhenhua, after all, was getting on in years. Such strenuous labor, combined with the anger he’d felt that day, left him gasping for breath as he spoke.