Chapter 726 - 729: Rights and Wrongs

Chapter 726: Chapter 729: Rights and Wrongs

Yang Chen had never seen such behavior from a shrew before. The mannerisms of a streetwise commoner left him momentarily stunned, almost unable to react.

"You're asking for trouble..."

Just as Yang Chen was about to make a move, Ma Guifang quickly shouted at him from behind.

"Yang Chen! Stay back!" Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

Ma Guifang angrily pushed Yang Chen aside and scolded him, "This isn't something you should be involved in! Go back! Since when did I become your mother-in-law? We have nothing to do with each other!"

Yang Chen felt stifled. How could she be mad at him when someone had come to their door to humiliate them?

"Mom, she's gone too far, and you're still stopping me?!" Yang Chen's voice trembled with anger.

The fierce woman snorted coldly, "So you're just a wannabe son-in-law who hasn't even married into the family yet? Chasing after someone else's daughter like that? Well, it makes sense. The mother is a fox spirit, so the daughter must be just as seductive."

Seeing that Yang Chen was about to confront her, Ma Guifang hurriedly blocked his way. Turning back, she solemnly said, "Aunt Zhou, I think you've misunderstood something, but you can't talk about my daughter like that, slandering us."

Yang Chen was left standing behind, feeling utterly helpless. Truth be told, Ma Guifang wasn't someone he couldn't easily overpower, but the situation was different. He couldn't act too aggressively or cause a scene, so he had to endure for now, waiting to see how things would unfold.

"That's right, dear. It's not what you think," the old man tried to persuade her.

"Shut up!" Aunt Zhou's face twisted with anger. "You say nothing's going on?! Ever since that fox spirit started working here, you've been running over there every few days, bringing her vegetables or tofu. If there's a day when that fox spirit doesn't come to our shop to borrow something, you worry that she's not feeling well. I've been your wife for decades, and have you ever cared if I was feeling well?!"

The old man's face flushed with embarrassment as he stammered, "Dear, it's not what you think... I just saw that Guifang was here alone, far from Sichuan, without a husband to take care of her, so I thought I'd help out a bit. I had no other intentions..."

Aunt Zhou, her anger mostly dissipated, grabbed her husband and left. The old man was so scared he didn't dare look at Ma Guifang, appearing utterly pitiful.

As the Zhou couple walked away, Aunt Xiang sighed with relief and affectionately said to Ma Guifang, "Guifang, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Don't take it to heart. Aunt Zhou has a blunt personality; she speaks her mind when she's upset and even hits out of pure anger. She's not malicious. She's much better than those who gossip behind your back."

Ma Guifang smiled and replied, "It's nothing. I'm not some young girl who can't handle a bit of hardship. I've survived worse over the years. Go back to your work."

Aunt Xiang sighed, shook her head, and then turned to resume her accounting.

Ma Guifang turned around and looked at Yang Chen, saying, "Follow me."

Yang Chen immediately followed, still fuming. He had been itching to go after that shrewish woman and slap her back, but he held back, fearing Ma Guifang's displeasure.

Once they reached a quiet spot outside the kitchen, Ma Guifang stopped and turned to Yang Chen, "Why do you look even more upset than I, the one who got slapped?"

Yang Chen gritted his teeth, avoiding her gaze. He found it hard to accept what had happened and was already planning to find a way to slap that Zhou woman back later. How dare she slap his future mother-in-law!

Ma Guifang gave a bitter smile, "I know what you're thinking, and I should thank you for caring so much about me. But, Yang Chen, do you think this is the first time I've been slapped because of something like this?"

Yang Chen's mouth dropped open, "You mean others have slapped you here?"

Ma Guifang let out a breath, seeming to find it amusing as she touched her slapped cheek, "Ever since my first husband, Nizi's father, died, I've been slapped many times by village women for things like this, even during the years I was married to Zhang Fugui. Slapping is mild; they've even pulled my hair before. Heh, Zhang Fugui was a gambling addict, always fooling around and rarely home. I was left alone in the village, and naturally, some people didn't like me interacting with their men. They never had many words to say, but they sure weren't shy about using their hands."

"How could they do that..." Yang Chen clenched his fists, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

To think that she could recount such a story with a smile—what kind of inner strength must that require?

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8