Chapter 149: 149

Chapter 149: 149

◎Baffled about who's good and who's bad!◎

The people in the courtyard were stunned by the sudden scene, unable to recover for a long time. Granny Wu's expression changed as she pointed at him, about to speak, while Uncle Chen staggered to his feet, wiped away his tears, and walked earnestly towards her.

"Kin, why didn't you notify me when such a big thing happened in your family?" His eyes were swollen from crying, and his nose was red. "I only learned that my son-in-law was in trouble after I came to the village and heard it from the young men guarding the village entrance. That's how I found out that Second Son is gone. How could a healthy person suddenly be gone? Kin, what on earth happened?"

As he spoke, he wiped away his tears, turned his head to look around, and gazed blankly at his old kin: "Where's Daya? Why can't I see Daya?"

Granny Wu finally regained her composure. She retreated step by step, plopping down onto the chair behind her. Her trembling hand held onto the back of the chair as she stared at him in shock, cursing: "You still have the nerve to ask about Chen Daya? Your Chen family heartlessly killed our Second Son, wasn't it just to take Chen Daya, that wretched woman, back to your home? We haven't even had the chance to seek trouble with your family, but you've come to our doorstep first. Good, very good..."

At this moment, the slightly lagging Chen family members entered the gate. A dozen or so people swarmed in like a dark cloud, walking straight to Uncle Chen's back. Some were wiping away tears, others were grieving, but their smiles were somewhat unnatural.

The Wu family's courtyard suddenly felt cramped.

When the Wu brothers saw so many of them arrive at once, they knew something was amiss. They exchanged glances with several brothers-in-law scattered among the crowd. Several tall men immediately approached, standing guard behind the Wu elders in a protective formation.

Seeing this, other relatives shot the Chen family a nasty look and also moved over.

In an instant, the two families stood on either side, the atmosphere becoming tense and hostile.

Villagers who had come to pay their respects and help looked at each other, confused about the situation. Weren't the Chen family the ones who murdered Old Second Wu? So why did Daya's father dare to bring his brothers and clansmen to the door, seemingly unaware of Old Second Wu's death?

What was going on?

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean 'your Chen family heartlessly killed our Second Son'?" Uncle Chen's chest heaved as he panted heavily, clearly enraged. "Kin, I call you kin, how can you spout nonsense without thinking? Are you losing your mind in your old age? Second Son was my son-in-law, whom I respected. I treated him like my own son. He and Daya loved each other dearly since their marriage. Who in the village doesn't know this? Even if you want to spout nonsense, you should at least make it believable. Don't just blurt it out like that! He was my only son-in-law, and I couldn't dote on him enough. How could I harm him!"

His face flushed red with anger as he pointed at them with a trembling finger: "Instead, I want to ask you, what do you mean by this? Now that something has happened to Second Son, instead of notifying us, you secretly arranged his funeral behind our backs. What do you think of us Chen family? He was my son-in-law! You acted furtively and even had people blocking us at the village entrance, not letting us enter. Could it be that Second Son's death has something to do with you? You're afraid and don't dare let us come to your door!"

"Bullshit! You, Old Second Chen, are crying foul while being the thief!" Old Man Wu slammed his chair and stood up. His wrinkled fingers pointed at him, clearly infuriated by his twisted words. "Since we can't report this to the authorities right now, I'll act as the magistrate myself and settle this case! Eldest, Third, Fourth, Fifth, hold him down! If Second Son's spirit is watching from above, open your eyes and see clearly. Father will avenge you!"

With that, he waved his hand. The Wu brothers and sons-in-law could no longer contain their anger. With fierce expressions, they lunged at Uncle Chen, pressing their hands onto his shoulders.

Uncle Chen's expression changed as he struggled and cursed: "You really are guilty and afraid. Second Son's death indeed has something to do with you! Daya, Daya, where are you? Come out quickly, Daya. Your father is about to be harmed by the Wu family. Daya—!" He yelled loudly in the direction of the Wu family's second household.

Old Wu the Elder became ruthless. Thinking that the Chen family not only killed his second brother but now dared to come to his house and slander them, he was utterly bewildered. He exchanged a glance with his third brother, who nodded secretly. Ignoring Uncle Chen's struggles, he clamped his large palms around the back of his neck and raised his foot to kick his knee pit, intending to force him to kneel.

If you dare come to our Wu family and cause a ruckus, you'll taste some hardship!

As Wu the Third's toe was about to hit Uncle Chen's knee pit, a shadow pounced from behind, colliding into him like a raging bull and then into Wu the Elder beside him. San Shi, like a small calf, panted heavily, saying nothing as he charged again at the Wu family relatives standing by, his eyes bloodshot: "I'll kill you, kill you. You killed my brother-in-law and want to hurt my father. Your Wu family is unreasonable and tyrannical!"

The Chen family seemed to have just come to their senses, rushing forward one by one to shield Uncle Chen behind them. This was what they had agreed upon from the beginning. Let the Wu family take the initiative to provoke them, let them make the first move. Uncle Chen even said that it wouldn't matter if he took a punch first; he would bear with it.

Without setting the stage first, how could the play continue.

Now, the two old Wu's couldn't hold back their anger. Wu the Elder and Wu the Third, the younger generation, actually dared to force him to kneel. The Chen family stopped wiping away their tears, no longer hiding the ferocity on their faces.

Da Hu walked over and smashed his fist into Wu the Third, who had been knocked aside by San Shi.

A dull thud echoed as Wu the Third stumbled, feeling something warm flowing out of his nostrils. He reached up to touch it, finding blood still warm on his fingertips. His nose was bleeding!

"How dare you hit me?!" Wu the Third, who had never been beaten before, always the one hitting others, couldn't hold back his rage. He raised his fist and struck at Da Hu, who didn't bother to dodge. The speed was too slow. Da Hu raised his hand, grabbed his fist, and exerted a little force. Wu the Third, who had been full of anger, suddenly cried out in pain, yelling "Ow, ow, ow," begging to be released.

"Okay." Da Hu kicked him in the stomach, sending Wu the Third flying far away.

"Third!" Granny Wu's expression changed as she hurried over to prop him up. Seeing her son's face smeared with blood, she sat down on the ground in a fit of rage, unable to maintain the dignity of a wealthy lady. Slapping her thigh, she wailed loudly, "You heartless bastards! Killing my Second Son wasn't enough, now you want to kill my Third Son. There's no justice in this world, no justice at all!!"

"Our victims haven't even cried yet, and you have the nerve to cry!" Auntie, who had been holding back a fire in her heart, couldn't stand it any longer. If it weren't for that old hag helping her son bully her daughter-in-law, how could Old Second Wu have died? "You know in your hearts who killed Daya's husband. Don't think you can bully our Chen family and throw all sorts of filth on us!"

Turning to see her sons and Wu family sons-in-law grappling with each other, she couldn't bear it anymore. She plunged forward, knocking aside Wu the Third, who had just sat up, and straddled Granny Wu, slapping her across the face twice: "Where's Daya? I ask you, where's our Daya? If it weren't for my niece being pregnant and vomiting terribly, unable to find a doctor, and hearing from her second aunt that there's a skilled midwife in Xiaogou Village, her husband wouldn't have rushed to Xiaogou Village with money to hire the Huang mother-daughter duo to help take care of her. It was during casual conversation at home that they realized Daya hadn't left the house for a long time!"

"A pregnant woman hasn't left the house for months. Isn't that strange? We're all parents. Which family doesn't have married daughters? How could we possibly feel at ease?"

She shouted loudly, these words purely for the outsiders to hear: "The world isn't safe nowadays. Worried about encountering bandits on the road and fearing that Daya might be suffering injustices at her in-laws, Second Son and his wife called on clan members to come along and check the situation. And then what happened? Guess what happened?"

She looked up at the surrounding villagers, her old face flushed red with anger: "The young men in the village told my nephew he was a murderer! They blocked us from entering the village! How did my nephew become a murderer? He just came to the village to hire a midwife. How did he end up with such a charge in the blink of an eye!"

Granny Wu wasn't someone to be trifled with. Moreover, this was the Wu family's territory, and she had plenty of daughters and daughters-in-law. How could she let herself be beaten down? Instantly, they crowded around, pulling and tugging at Auntie. How could Second Auntie bear to see her sister-in-law being bullied, especially with Qiu Yan and Zhao Di present? These two were always fiery-tempered. Rolling up their sleeves, they rushed forward. Qiu Yan grabbed the hair of a young woman, the one who had scratched her mother's face, and slapped her back with a loud slap.

"How dare you hit me?" Wu the Third's wife covered her face, her eyes turning red.

"Your mother hit you!" Qiu Yan said, grabbing her hair. The two women instantly tangled together in a fight.

From the Chen family's entry to the inexplicable outbreak of fighting between the two families, it took only half a cup of tea's time.

The villagers were dumbfounded, watching the men punch each other, exchanging blows, while the women pulled each other's hair and slapped each other, their faces flushed red.

"You, you..." Old Man Wu clutched his chest, seeing San Shi and his fifth son fighting near the coffin. The bright candles flickered and went out suddenly, an ominous sight that made his heart ache. His eyes bloodshot, he pounded the armrest hard and shouted loudly at the bystanders: "Call for help, all of you go and call for help. Today, I want the Chen family to come in upright and leave lying down!!"

It was simply too much, an outrageous affront.

"Give me back my daughter, give me back my daughter." Second Auntie's face stung from a slap, but she paid no attention. Her eyes red, she glared at Granny Wu. She wasn't acting; she was genuinely heartbroken, hating the Wu family to death. Regardless of others pulling her hair, pinching her waist, slapping her face, or scratching her arms, she remained motionless, straddling the position her sister-in-law had vacated, her hands clasped around her neck. Large teardrops fell onto Granny Wu's pampered face. "My good daughter married into your family, why didn't you let her leave the house? What did she do wrong? Why did you lock her up? Give me back my daughter, give me back my daughter, Daya, Daya, where are you? Mother is here..."

Her innocent and kind-hearted daughter was personally killed by the Wu family and Old Second Wu.

Thinking of the injuries on her daughter's body, she couldn't stop the tears. The Wu family, that den of snakes and rats, had bred that filthy Old Second Wu! As his mother, she bore an inescapable responsibility!

How could she not hate, wishing she could strangle Granny Wu to death. Living under the same roof, how could she not know what Daya had suffered. If it were someone else, it would be one thing, but as a woman, how could she watch her daughter-in-law be tormented like that? She was an elder, a mother-in-law, and she could have helped Daya.

Being women, being wives, how could she turn a blind eye!

She wanted Granny Wu dead, and she was doing just that. Her vision blurred by tears, her hands tightly clasped around Granny Wu's neck, watching her eyes roll back, watching her go from struggling to collapsing, her throat emitting a wheezing sound. She couldn't even hear the sounds around her, her face wooden, her grip growing tighter.

Until she was pulled away by several people. Granny Wu lay on the ground, coughing with white eyes rolled back. Suddenly, there were many unfamiliar faces in the courtyard. Her son and nephews were surrounded by the crowd, countless mouths opening and closing. She shook her head, and her hearing gradually returned.

The cacophony of voices entered her ears.

"This is Xiaogou Village, not a place for your Chen family to cause a scene!"

"You Wu family murdered my daughter and son-in-law, the Chen clan will never let this go unpunished!"

"Fine example of a thief crying 'thief'! You know in your hearts who killed the Second Master! And Chen Daya, she allowed her kin to plot against her husband; our Wu family will not let her off the hook. Hand her over if you know what's good for you!"

"You Wu family, I knew it, I tricked the truth out of you. I said it before, why would Daya suddenly cut off contact with her family, never leaving home, and even when we came here, she never showed herself. It turns out you had already done her in secretly! Was it you? Was it both of you, Wu Lao Da and Wu Lao San? You coveted the family wealth, couldn't stand seeing my daughter and son-in-law, so you took them out one by one. Once they were dead, the second branch was left with only an infant child at your mercy!"

"You, you're spouting nonsense!"

"I see now, I understand why it was so coincidental. You must have seen my nephew running to the village to fetch the midwife, and turned it into a plan. You didn't stop at killing my son-in-law, you pinned it on my nephew!"

"You, you..."

"It's because recently, besides my nephew, no outsiders have been around. So you plotted to kill Daya and her husband, then shifted the blame onto us. This way, you could cry 'thief' while covering up your own filth, clearing the suspicion of murdering your brother, and using the phrase 'the Chens killed Wu Lao Er' to silence us! Fine job, Wu Lao Da and Wu Lao San, keeping your hands clean while making the Chens swallow this bitter pill!"

"..."

"You, you have such venomous intentions, such ruthless schemes!" Uncle Chen had been waiting for this moment, having spent half the night memorizing his lines. Finally, he had the chance to unleash them.

It was all made up, he could say whatever he wanted. He felt like he was being divinely inspired, his words flowing smoothly without any stutters!

His eyes brimming with tears, he looked at the coffin in the main room, utterly heartbroken: "My poor daughter, I don't even know how she was murdered! She married into the Wu family, served her in-laws, tended to her husband, bore children, yet she didn't even have a proper coffin to rest in."

"Daya, oh Daya, where is your aggrieved spirit? Father is here to stand up for you. Daya, if you have any grievances, come find me tonight and tell me, Father isn't afraid!"

He pinched the corner of his clothes, sobbing uncontrollably, leaving the villagers staring in shock. They found the situation confusing, unable to discern who was right or wrong!