novelraw Chapter 174 - 171: Now I See, It Was My Utter Foolishness
Chapter 174 - 171: Now I See, It Was My Utter Foolishness
The elder aunt saw her in this state and angrily said.
"Madam, I say, you saw it earlier. Your dear sister is playing you for a fool. Just now, my family Mianmian specially took her pulse and diagnosed her; your dear sister is in great health! She’s healthier than anyone."
"Yet she’s pretending to be ill, having you attend to her day and night. Isn’t she just torturing you? And Wang the Elder, that old scoundrel, clearly saw it but still sides with your sister to cover up for her."
"Perhaps he has long known your sister is fine but hasn’t said anything, just letting you care for her! The two of them have teamed up to deceive you!"
The woman smiled bitterly, her feet suddenly heavy as if filled with lead.
Tears brimming at her mouth, the smile in her eyes was ice-cold.
"Aunt Ruan, you’re right. Maybe I’ve been deceived by them for many years."
"I thought of my younger sister back then, considering my status, willingly entering the house, and agreeing for her children to be adopted by me; I thought... they were all doing it for my sake."
"In hindsight, I was foolish beyond measure. I gave all my dowry to sustain my husband’s business and now I have ended up with nothing..."
Actually, she had suspected a long time ago. Her sister was strongly sent over by her mother, and everything she ate, wore, and used was provided by her.
But in the past, considering her child’s adoption and being her biological sister, she was willing to dismiss it as overthinking on her part.
Now, seeing with her own eyes her sister pretending to be sick, she could no longer deceive herself!
The elder aunt took a deep breath, wishing to wake her up by scolding her: "You still have your life, so you can’t say you have nothing at all!"
"You have hands and feet, can you not live outside this house? If you cannot survive like this, then you deserve to die."
Harsh yet truthful words struck deeply into the woman’s heart.
The elder aunt wanted to scold a few more times but saw the woman suddenly quicken her pace, walking forward.
"Where are you going?" The aunt looked at Ruan Mian puzzledly as the two followed behind her.
The woman went straight to the Guancheng Government Office and fiercely struck the big drum!
The sound of the drum rang out, causing many people to stop and gather out of curiosity.
The elder aunt immediately snapped her fingers: "Mianmian, wait here."
After speaking, she quickly ran off and disappeared.
As the drumbeats echoed, the woman’s voice grew more resolute: "Lord! This humble woman seeks justice."
Soon, Wang the Elder and his concubine Yin Niang hurriedly ran over, looking flustered!
Seeing so many people around, he immediately stepped forward to stop the woman: "What are you doing here!! Do you want everyone to know about your good deeds?!"
The woman glared fiercely at them, wielding the drumstick and striking it across Wang the Elder’s face.
"You’ve done such things, why not let others see?"
"When I met you, you promised me that in this life, I would be your only wife, never to take a concubine! You wanted me to use all my dowry to support your business, I trusted you, loved you, and agreed."
"Later, I worked exhaustively for you, embroidering day and night for your first business, losing half my sight and ruining my body. Without any offspring for years, you then thought of taking a concubine."
Then, choking with emotion, she looked at Yin Niang: "And you, my dear sister, although we are not born of the same mother, I’ve regarded you as a dear sister since childhood, never depriving you."
"I also believed your mother’s words that they were for my sake, thinking you were sacrificing yourself for me, willing to enter the house and bond with me for life. I’ve accepted sisters serving one husband."
"Considering we’re family, it’s better for others to enter the house. Everything for your food, clothing, and use was under my care!"
"But you pretended to be sick, letting me be your old handmaid for two years, serving you closely. No matter how I taught your son, he was of no use—lacking both manners and skills. As I see it, you must have whispered behind my back, making him resent me to the core."
"Your whole family is heartless, using only me! In that case, it’s either fish die or net splits. Wang Shi, you and your younger brother have carried many lives for your medicine shop, have you forgotten?"
".stop spouting nonsense!!"
Wang the Elder turned ghostly pale, quickly shouting and explaining to the people around.
"My wife is so agitated she is speaking irrationally, please don’t believe her."
Then he hurriedly changed his expression, softening his voice in front of the woman to plead.
"Madam, our family matters should be discussed behind closed doors at home. As for Yin Niang, it’s all because she’s immature! Now, let her apologize to you!"
Seeing his furious demeanor, Yin Niang dared not keep pretending and quickly made a pathetic face full of apologies.
"Sister, sister, I’m willing to do anything you ask of me. It’s my fault, please come back with us! If the Lord really steps out, what are we to do as a family?"
"Besides, sister, suing your husband will get you imprisoned no matter what!"
"Don’t just spare others, think about yourself for a moment too."
Saying this, she crawled over to take the woman away.
Hardening her gaze, the woman raised her hand for two slaps!
The strikes made Yin Niang’s face immediately swell red, then she followed Ruan Mian’s example, kicking her knee and pulling off her hairpin, brutally stabbing it into her thigh.
Yin Niang wailed in pain, rolling on the ground.
The woman then smiled as she stood up, throwing away the drumstick: "Yes, suing the Lord will undoubtedly land me in jail. So I won’t sue the Lord, I’ll address the people instead!"
She then opened her voice and told everyone calmly.
"Everyone, my husband, for the sake of his own medicine shop, drove the former Tongxin Hall shopkeeper’s family out of Guancheng early on. He even killed the foreign medicine merchants before."
"In recent years, under his name, various fields and houses have been registered under different names, but all were illegally acquired, snatched from others!"
"And the proposed construction for West Field and East Market was strongly opposed by my husband, secretly hiring men to scare away those foreigners, causing considerable losses to many."
The crowd erupted upon hearing this.
"That West Field and East Market was originally supposed to be funded by Da Jing people, it’s said that after people died, everyone thought the place unlucky. If it had been built, how many garrison residents would have benefited?"
"Indeed, with the West Field and East Market unable to be built, the Wang Brothers built their shop in that good location. Could they be harming others in secret for that location?"
"Nonsense, nonsense!!"
Wang the Elder roared in anger, surrounded by shocked onlookers.
"Wang Shi, how could you be so morally bankrupt!!"
"Is what your wife said true?? Lord, Lord!!"
"Investigate, the government office must investigate strictly, such treacherous merchants pose a tremendous threat to our garrison!"
Amidst the uproar from the surrounding citizens, Wang the Elder was already beyond embarrassed.