Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Among this family, aside from the eldest brother Lin Qiu and Chen Rong, the person Lin Sui was closest to was Chen Qingyun.

They were about the same age, with Lin Sui only four months older than Qing Yun. Having lived together for a long time, they shared many little secrets in private.

Seeing his former close friend lying listlessly on the bed, Chen Qingyun was both furious and resentful—angry that Lin Sui had been in such a hurry to marry into that family, and hating that the other party didn’t cherish him at all.

"Sui Er..."

Lin Sui opened his eyes at the sound. "Qing Yun, you're back."

"Lie down quickly." Chen Qingyun sat by his bedside, holding his hand, tears uncontrollably falling drop by drop.

"Don’t cry, I’m fine."

"How could you be so foolish? I heard that Huang kicked you so hard you had a miscarriage?"

Lin Sui buried his head in his arms and murmured in agreement.

Seeing him like this, Chen Qingyun’s heart ached even more. She held his hand tightly and said, "Don’t worry, everyone in the family is here. We will definitely get justice for you!"

Lin Sui clutched her hand and sobbed, "Am I so useless? Even after getting married, I’m still making everyone worry."

"Don’t say that. We’re both still young. Matters that should be handled by the elders, let them take care of it. Besides, you did nothing wrong. The fault lies with the Huang family. They must pay the price!"

The two talked for a long time. With Qing Yun by his side offering comfort, Lin Sui’s mood improved significantly compared to the past few days, and he managed to eat an extra half-bowl at dinner.

A mother’s heart is tied to her child’s. Seeing her son in better condition, Chen Rong also felt somewhat better and spoke more energetically.

In the evening, when Cao Kun returned home and saw so many carriages parked in the yard, he knew that his aunt’s family had arrived. Excited, he rushed into the house.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai standing at the entrance.

"Qing Yan, Cousin! Brother Huai! You’re here!"

"Yes, we just arrived this morning."

"Why didn’t you send someone to call me?"

"Nothing urgent was happening, so we didn’t want to interrupt your work."

Cao Kun washed his hands, entered the room to check on Chen Rong first, and then greeted Li Shi and Fang Ling.

Both had a very good impression of Cao Kun. This nephew-in-law was capable and competent, and he treated Lin Qiu and Chen Rong well. Everyone thought highly of him.

"How is Mother today?"

Chen Rong nodded. "Much better, don’t worry about me."

"You need to take good care of yourself so you can help us plan. This matter definitely won’t end here. If the Huang family dares to do such things, they shouldn’t be surprised when we retaliate."

"Kun, please don’t do anything foolish." What Chen Rong feared most was that this matter would implicate Cao Kun. If something really happened, what would become of her two sons in the future?

"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."

Li Shi and Fang Ling also reassured her, "Cao Kun isn’t someone who doesn’t understand what's important. He has a plan. Besides, we’re all here, so we definitely won’t let him take any risks."

Only then did Chen Rong feel at ease.

Lin Qiu finished preparing the medicine. Chen Rong and Lin Sui, still feeling weak, drank the medicine and half a bowl of rice porridge before resting for the night.

Cao Kun took the others to a restaurant in the county town for a meal.

Wang Ying still remembered this restaurant. He had come here with Qing Yan last year to celebrate Xiaomai’s full moon.

Upon entering, he realized the manager was different, but the interior looked the same as last year.

They went upstairs to the second floor and sat together. There wasn’t much joy of reunion on their faces, as everyone was worried about Lin Sui’s situation.

Chen Qingyan was the first to speak up and ask, "Has Huang Yong still not returned?"

"No. I sent two workers to keep an eye on his house. If he returns, we’ll know immediately."

"That beast!" Wang Ying couldn’t help but curse, growing angrier the more he thought about it. What kind of hatred could drive someone to beat another so severely?

Li Shi asked, "If he does return, have you thought about what to do?"

Cao Kun replied, "First, beat him severely, then demand a divorce from his family."

Chen Qingyun said, "Beating him is letting him off too easily! That horrible old woman in his family deserves a good thrashing too!" Today, while talking with Lin Sui, she learned that ever since he married into the Huang family, he hadn’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep.

He woke up earlier than the roosters and went to bed later than the dogs, with all the household chores falling on his shoulders alone. Yet, his mother-in-law was still dissatisfied, finding fault with everything he did and speaking ill of him to Huang Yong.

Huang Yong was also a beast. After listening to his mother, he would take his anger out on Lin Sui. At first, he just hurled insults, but later he started using his hands, often beating Lin Sui until he was bruised and swollen.

Wang Ying said, "Simply beating him isn’t enough. If we beat him lightly, it won’t satisfy our anger. If we beat him too severely and something happens, we’ll end up in trouble with the law."

Li Shi asked, "Then what do you think we should do, Ying’er?"

"We need to come up with a plan—not only to teach Huang Yong a lesson but also to ensure the Huang family can never hold their heads high in this county again..."

*

After the meal, Cao Kun took the group to a nearby inn to get settled. Since the Cao family home couldn’t accommodate so many people, and Chen Rong and Lin Sui needed quiet to recuperate, they decided to stay at the inn.

Wang Ying planned to go to the county the next day to find a short-term rental place. The county exam was approaching soon, and it wouldn’t do to get poor rest. He intended to use the time before the exam to review thoroughly—as the saying goes, even sharpening your skills at the last minute can make them shine.

Lying in bed, Chen Qingyan asked, "Do you have any ideas about what you mentioned earlier?"

"I have one idea, but we can’t do it ourselves. We’ll need to ask Chen Guang for help." Wang Ying turned over and began explaining his plan to his husband.

"A beating is definitely necessary, but just beating him is letting him off too easily. It was a human life, even if it was lost before coming into this world. We can’t let him off lightly."

Wang Ying planned to have Chen Guang secretly take Huang Yong and then give him a good scare.

Those with a clear conscience need not fear the knock at midnight. Wang Ying had done something like this before—he had once scared Xiucai Zhang out of his mind—so he naturally had ways to frighten Huang Yong half to death.

"Moreover, I think there’s no love or hate without a reason. He and Lin Sui have only been married for a few months. The way he treated Lin Sui makes me think there must be some other reason behind it. Perhaps we can uncover other scandals too."

Chen Qingyan nodded repeatedly. "You make sense. Let’s see if we can catch him in the next few days!"

Little did Wang Ying know that his random guess would turn out to be right.

*

In Majia Village on the outskirts of the city, in an old house at the village entrance, Huang Yong’s family had been staying for seven days.

This house belonged to Huang Yong’s maternal grandfather. After the old man passed away, it had been left vacant and unused. Recently, because of this incident, his mother had moved the whole family here to hide out for a few days.

"Mom, when can we go back?" Early in the morning, before daybreak, Huang Yong crawled out of Ma Shi’s bed.

"Are you in a hurry?" Ma Shi smoothed her hair and settled back against the pillow.

"Living here is so suffocating. We have to be cautious everywhere. These earthen walls aren't soundproof—I'm really afraid my elder brother and the other brothers might find out..."

"What's there to be afraid of? You're my son. It's only natural for a son to take care of his mother."

Ma Shi reached out her hand toward him. Huang Yong let out two awkward grunts before slipping back under her covers. Soon, the sound of indecent panting could be heard.

To tell the truth, this mother and son had been carrying on their illicit relationship for quite some time. Huang Yong had turned eighteen this New Year, and he had been involved with his mother since he was thirteen.

Back then, however, Old Master Huang was still alive, so the two of them had to keep to the rules, at most sneaking in a few touches.

A few years ago, when Old Master Huang passed away from illness, the mother and son broke the taboo for the first time, ending up in the same bed even before the third week of mourning.

One was a middle-aged woman consumed by lust, the other a young man who had just tasted pleasure and was greedy for more. Before long, they lost all sense of right and wrong.

Both knew their actions violated human ethics, so they were always cautious, afraid of being discovered. After all, Huang Yong still had to take the imperial exams—he couldn’t let such a thing ruin his future.

But as time passed, secrets don't stay secret forever. Ma Shi felt that her eldest son's wife was looking at them strangely and began to suspect that their secret might have been exposed.

To cover up their relationship, she decided to move up the wedding they'd already arranged, marrying Lin Sui into the family early to divert attention and avoid gossip.

Coincidentally, Lin Sui had her eye on Huang Yong too. The two had fallen in love at first sight during their initial meeting. Ma Shi had even quarreled with her son over this matter, and Huang Yong, having finally pacified his mother, naturally didn't have much liking for Lin Sui.

The marriage was merely to appease his mother. Once Lin Sui was brought into the household, Huang Yong had no intention of touching her.

But men, if they could control their lower instincts, wouldn’t have ended up in their mother’s bed in the first place. It didn’t take long after the wedding for Huang Yong to sleep with Lin Sui.

This, however, drove Ma Shi wild with jealousy. Outwardly, she found fault with Lin Sui at every turn, wishing she could torment her to death. Behind the scenes, she resorted to crying, making scenes, and threatening suicide, forcing Huang Yong to swear never to sleep with Lin Sui again.

Huang Yong, after all, obeyed his mother. After repeated provocations, he lost all affection for Lin Sui. At first, he just yelled at her, but later, Ma Shi, still unsatisfied, urged her son to beat her.

After the first beating, seeing that Lin Sui didn’t dare fight back, there came a second, then a third... until this time, when Huang Yong kicked Lin Sui hard enough to cause a miscarriage.

The bed rocked for what felt like forever before finally falling silent. Ma Shi, flushed and satisfied-looking, got up to wash herself. After cleaning up, she helped her son change his clothes. Though not husband and wife, they acted even more intimate than one, their disgusting behavior enough to make anyone nauseous.

"Don’t rush. Let’s wait a few more days. Right now, Lin Sui’s elder brother surely can’t let this slide. His husband is the head of the Porter's Guild and has many workers under him. If they really come looking for you and beat you up, I couldn’t bear it."

Huang Yong hugged his mother’s waist and swayed. "Mom, you’re the one who cares about me the most..."

"Hmph, if you know I’m good to you, why did you go and touch that slut? If you hadn’t kicked her and caused the miscarriage, I wouldn’t even have known she was pregnant."

"I only touched her that one time after the wedding."

"One time was enough to get her pregnant?"

"Who knows? That child might not even be mine. Looking at how fiercely Cao Kun protected her, maybe the two of them had something going on."

Ma Shi’s eyes lit up with a cunning idea. "There might be some truth to what you say. Perhaps those two really had an improper relationship! In that case, let’s head back to town tomorrow. If Lin Qiu dares to come looking for trouble, then it's on them if things get ugly!"

Huang Yong, overjoyed at the prospect of going home, scooped Ma Shi up in his arms. "Great! Once we’re back, I’ll divorce her. From now on, I only want you by my side, Mom!"

The next day, the Huang family packed their bags and returned to the county town by carriage.

Ma Shi’s plan was simple: if the Lin family kept quiet, they would act as if nothing had happened. At most, they would apologize to Lin Qiu, give her time to heal, and continue living as before.

But if the Lin family pursued the matter, they would claim that the child Lin Sui was carrying wasn't theirs. Not only would they divorce Lin Sui, but they would also make sure no one would come out looking good!

Unfortunately, she had miscalculated. If it were only Lin Qiu and Chen Rong, she might have succeeded in her scheme. But now, with so many of the Chen family around now, which one of them would tolerate such bullying?

As soon as Huang Yong arrived home, before he could even settle in, he was kidnapped while on his way to the outhouse.

The Huang family didn’t notice anything amiss until noon, when it was time for lunch. Ma Shi searched everywhere for her son but couldn’t find him. Panicked, her face turned pale, and she hurriedly dragged her eldest son to the magistrate’s office to report the incident.