Chapter 1168: Sold You All

Mrs. Chen listened, but didn’t stop fighting, and sneered, "What, are you trying to pretend to be injured by me to extort money again? Too bad, this is my family’s shop, and even if the neighbors hear some noise, they won’t come over like in the village. You’re doomed this time!"

As she said this, she yanked Old Ruan’s hair, ready to hit her.

Is Old Ruan the type to just sit and take a beating? She bit Mrs. Chen’s hand: "Ow, you old devout woman, shut up for me!"

Old Ruan was someone who wouldn’t let go once she started; ignoring Mrs. Chen’s shouting, she bit off a piece of her hand skin with a ripping sound.

A piece of flesh was missing from Mrs. Chen’s wrist, and blood gushed out like water, almost scaring Gu Dagui and Gu Dexing to death.

The two hurriedly came over, one holding back Old Ruan, and the other dragging Mrs. Chen away.

But having suffered such a loss, Mrs. Chen was unwilling to leave. Seeing Ms. Xiao Ruan come over to help, she grabbed her and took a fierce bite at her face.

"Ah!" Ms. Xiao Ruan’s face was bitten, and she cried out in pain, managing to escape back after struggling a few times, regretting that she had gotten involved.

Gu Dagui, dragging Mrs. Chen, said, "Lian Niang, a wise person doesn’t fight immediate adversity. Let’s run first and talk later."

After biting Ms. Xiao Ruan, Mrs. Chen felt relieved. Letting Gu Dagui drag her, she pointed at Ms. Xiao Ruan and said, "You wench, you’ve had a bad heart since you were a child. That old devout woman coming to scheme against the Xu Family was definitely instigated by you. Biting you is just interest; wait for me, I’ll definitely get back at you for this!"

Ms. Xiao Ruan cried, covering her face: "Wuwuwu, Cousin Third, you’ve got it wrong, I didn’t..."

"Pah, you didn’t? I trust you as much as a ghost! In the whole family, you’re the one with the shadiest heart!" Mrs. Chen cursed at Ms. Xiao Ruan, even mentioning how she once tried to seduce a rich family’s young master, ruining her reputation but failing, and ending up having to marry Second Son Chen.

Xu Zhao Ming and Gu Dexing were both stunned. Who would have thought they’d hear such old gossip? They almost wished they’d gone deaf immediately!

"Chen Shuihua, you’re talking nonsense!" Ms. Xiao Ruan, disregarding the pain in her face, shouted: "I was completely innocent when I married your second brother. Don’t falsely accuse me, wuwuwu..."

"Cry over nothing! Whether or not you’re innocent, you know in your heart. Even if nothing happened, you must have been taken advantage of a lot. Otherwise, with your mind, why would you willingly marry my second brother!"

Don’t talk about how it’s because Old Ruan was good to her, how marrying into the Chen Family spared her from dealing with a harsh mother-in-law. If she could’ve married into a better family, Ms. Xiao Ruan would have been willing to be a servant, let alone endure hardship.

Ms. Xiao Ruan, having her flaws exposed, couldn’t bear it on her face and dared not say more. Holding her face, she hid behind Chen Yin Hua and cried softly.

Chen Yin Hua laughed and whispered to her, "I told you not to get involved in this matter, just stay quietly, but you wouldn’t listen."

She deserved it, having suffered such great humiliation.

Ms. Xiao Ruan was so angry she gritted her teeth, secretly thinking: Little slut, don’t be smug. Your marriage is in my hands. Do you still think you can dominate over me?

However, Chen Yin Hua had already planned her way out... the head of the new household was definitely going to be her brother, Chen Shengxi, and she would let her third aunt take charge of her marriage. Ms. Xiao Ruan could only decide on her marriage if she could outmatch her third aunt.

"Brother Xing, Brother Xing, you have to help Grandma," Old Ruan took advantage of Gu Dexing coming over to stop her from biting Mrs. Chen, grabbing him and crying: "I gave you eggs to eat when you were little; I’m your elder. Although not your real grandma, you’re a scholar and know the principle of taking care of the elderly..."

"Old devout woman, let go of him!" Mrs. Chen was so angry, her eyes glaring at her: "What grandma, who do you think you are? Brother Xing’s grandma was the daughter of the village chief—you’re not even fit to pour her chamber pot!"

She yelled to Gu Dagui, "What are you waiting for? Hurry and go pull Brother Xing away!"

Gu Dagui had a headache; he only had one pair of hands. Dragging her, how could he have another hand to save Brother Xing?

Gu Dexing said, "Second Aunt, I’m fine."

He said this, but Old Ruan was cunning, and when she saw him trying to pry her hand off, she screamed, "Oh, my hand’s broken, the scholar broke an old woman’s hand."

Gu Dexing was stunned. If word got out about this, he reckoned he’d be harshly criticized.

"Granny Chen, don’t talk nonsense, I didn’t break your hand." Gu Dexing called Ah Feng and Ah Ling over, and after they restrained Old Ruan from both sides, he finally got free.

But Old Ruan was shameless. Seeing Gu Dexing run off, she insisted, "Scholar Gu broke the old woman’s hand, and I’ll go to the government office to accuse you of elder abuse!"

Just as she was shouting, Elder Xu said, "Someone, tie this old woman up and gag her."

"Yes." The Xu Family’s Guardian, upon hearing this, surrounded Old Ruan, quickly binding her and using a cloth to gag her. Finally, the house became quiet.

Old Ruan was shocked, and her eyes widened in disbelief towards Elder Xu, not expecting he would actually dare to tie her up.

Elder Xu looked at her astonished old face and sneered, "I, as a local gentry, have no need to hesitate in tying up an old woman fleeing famine."

Mrs. Chi and Ms. Shan were scared, but to rescue Old Ruan, they had to gather their courage and say, "Elder Xu, our mother is a good citizen. Even if she’s committed a crime, the government office should handle it. No matter how rich you are, you can’t tie up a good citizen. Let go of our mother, or we’ll report to the authorities!"

"Report to the authorities?" Elder Xu laughed, "Alright then, let me be a good person and have the servants at home drive a mule cart to report to the authorities for you? It’s just that when the officer arrives, we don’t know who they’ll arrest."

Mrs. Chi and Ms. Shan, upon hearing this, were so afraid they shrank back... Did Elder Xu already know something?

Chen Xiaoliu, being young, came to the shop to enjoy life, but not only did he not get to enjoy it, most of his family ended up tied up, angering him as he pointed at Elder Xu and cursed, "You old stinker, let go of my grandma and my dad, or I’ll call the authorities to arrest you."

He added, "When the officers come, they’ll definitely arrest you, not my family! My cousin is a scholar!"

Saying this, he glanced at Gu Dexing with a proud look.

Fool!

Everyone present silently cursed. Was this Chen Xiaoliu blind? Couldn’t he see Mrs. Chen didn’t acknowledge Old Ruan at all?

Even Mrs. Chen didn’t recognize them as relatives, and he still wanted Gu Dexing to acknowledge them?

Elder Xu laughed: "Indeed, young and ignorant. It’s fine. Once you’re sold to be a servant and beaten a few times, you’ll become sensible."