Chapter 165: Worse Than Animals

Fourth Madame said that we should have a snack first to fill our stomachs. Once things are settled, she'll let us go back and have a drink. Our families even reserved a table of dishes for us!”“Haha,...Li Laosi nodded and said, "Liu Gege and I chased after him for six or seven miles. We saw him get into a carriage, and we knew something was wrong. We followed the carriage to an agricultural estate near Xindu. He went into the master's courtyard and when he came out, it turned out that Wu Gouzi's wife was waiting for him at the gate, and... they were very intimate!"

What kind of daughter-in-law is Wu Gouzi's

Everyone was stunned into silence, unable to speak for a long time. They were so shocked that they didn't know what to say.

Mrs. Cui embraced Jia Yin and softly asked Old Mrs. Li, "Who is Wu Gouzi's daughter-in-law"

Li Lao sighed, "We went into the mountains because we didn't have silver to pay for the road toll, but there was a family of three in our village who had saved some silver. They left us behind and passed through the city gate on their own. And they were rude too, basically offending everyone in the village."

Mrs. Cui nodded, having figured it out in her heart.

On the other side, the village head had a pretty good idea of what was going on. He asked, "How did these two get mixed up Are they helping outsiders plot against us"

Li Lao Si nodded and added, "The owner of that estate is surnamed Jiao. He should be from the family of the general who ignored the pleas for help at the dock earlier. The neighboring estate used to belong to the Dingbi Houfu, but now it's... Mrs. Cui's."

Everyone instinctively looked at Madam Cui. It wasn't that they doubted her, but rather out of surprise.

Madam Cui's face was unsightly. She handed Jia Yin to Old Lady Li and then sat down, intending to explain the situation clearly, otherwise it would be difficult to associate in the future.

“I wasn’t intentionally hiding from everyone, it’s just that my identity is rather complicated. I was the original wife of the Marquis of Dingbei, but our relationship wasn’t good. Soon after our marriage, I’ve been living alone in a manor outside Kyoto. During the relocation of the capital, the Marquis of Dingbei deliberately abandoned me. If it weren't for Brother Wen returning to find me, if it weren't for meeting you all, I would have died on the road.”

She took a deep breath and continued, “A few days ago, when I went back to Hou’s residence, General Dingbei had already taken another wife. I threatened him with charges of mistreatment, demanded a divorce from him, and got back all my dowry property, including that estate. The neighboring estate was the dowry of the new wife, Mrs. Jiao, perhaps because she wanted it close by for easy management. I didn’t expect the Hou’s estate to be returned to me.”

Only then did everyone understand. The men all thought that the Marquis of Dingbei, at a critical moment in his life, deliberately abandoned his wife, which was truly despicable.

The women gritted their teeth, “How come not a single man on this earth is any good!”

"That's it! He abandoned his wife during the escape and used her dowry to marry a new wife!"

"That's so shameless!"

Seeing that no one held any resentment towards him, Madam Cui let out a sigh of relief and shook her head with a wry smile.

"Those are all in the past, and I have no intention of pursuing them any further. I just want to live a quiet life, but apparently, both Duke Dingbei and the Jiao family won't let go of this juicy piece of fat."

Having said that, she looked at Li Laosi, "That Hu Lao San was sent by the Jiao family to scheme against me, right"

Li Laosi nodded. "We snuck into Hu Laosan's place and overheard her talking with Wu Gouzi's wife. Apparently, the Jiao family suspects that Fu Niu is your daughter and wants to find out more. Hu Laosan happens to be working as a slave for the Jiao family, so she took the job willingly. She set up a trap and wanted to sneak in."

Everyone was surprised and angry. "Old Third Hu is too much of a scoundrel! He actually helped outsiders scheme against us"

"Fortunately, we talked about it earlier, and thought they were in a terrible situation."

The village head's face was ashen. He knocked on his pipe and asked, "There were over twenty of them at the time. Where did they all go Did they really just scatter like Old Hu said"

Li Laosi was so angry that his teeth were clenched. He gritted his teeth and said,

"No, those people were sold by Wu Lao San! Wu Lao San, in order to survive, secretly sold Hu Lao Si and Zhang Shi Tou's families, along with his daughter-in-law and Wu Gouzi and the rest of them, to work as hard labor. He only took his son and Wu Gouzi’s daughter-in-law and ran away. As a result, his son was also lost on the road, their money was robbed, and in the end, he became a slave in the Jiao family."

Everyone was stunned, then a shiver ran down their spines.

Hu Laosan is too ruthless, that's his own brother and sister-in-law's family! Over a dozen lives were lost just so he and his son could survive. He even sold them out!

He hadn't even forgotten, and casually took over Wu Gouzi's young daughter-in-law... !

Such a person, thankfully, was driven out early on. If they had remained in the team, I'm afraid there would be tall grass growing over everyone's graves!

The Li family was more annoyed, "Fu Niu is our child, Lao San Hu doesn't know this, how could he come to inquire about the details"

Liu Biaotou replied, “According to Hu Laosan and that young daughter-in-law, when your family arrived in Qingxiu Village, Fu Niu was already two or three months old. No one had actually seen Fu Niu being born. It's possible that after Cui Fu gave birth, she entrusted her to your family for foster care.”

"Damn it, you stinking bastard!" Li Laotai was so angry that she cursed, "Funiu is my own granddaughter. She was born by Hongying in a cave on the escape route!"

Tao Hongying's eyes were also red with anger, wishing Hu Lao San was right in front of her so she could bite him hard to vent her hatred.

Mrs. Cui pondered for a moment, then said to the village head, “Uncle, tomorrow Old Man Hu will be coming again. After you have a good talk with him, I will take him away. As for the matters concerning the Jiao family and Hou Mansion, I will handle them myself. No matter what, this trouble is of my making, and I will definitely give everyone an explanation.”

The village head quickly waved his hand, "Don't say that like that. Hu Laosan is also from our village, he probably still hates us for driving him away, and we share some responsibility for this. As a woman, you ended up with such a horrible husband, it's already pitiful enough."

Li Laotai and Tao Hongying and others also persuaded, "That's right, Jinerou don't think too much. You usually love Funiu so much, you are willing to take her everywhere, which caused this trouble. To put it that way, shouldn't we blame Funiu for being close to you"

"People want to find fault with you and get back at Zhuangzi. Even without a reason, they'll find other opportunities to slander you."

Jia Yin broke free from her mother's embrace and ran to hug Mrs. Cui.

She hadn't expected that a little fun that day, going to Mrs. Cui's manor for food and drink, would cause such trouble for Mrs. Cui.

Mrs. Cui held the chubby little girl, struggling to hold back the tears in her eyes, she raised her head and smiled at the crowd.

"Fortunately, this matter was exposed early on, otherwise it would be really embarrassing to face people in the future."

"My lady, please don't say that. We haven't been stingy with the meat and grain you've sent us. If you refuse to come, how will we have a celebratory feast in the future!"

"That's right, we're family. We all came out of the mountains together. Don't talk like outsiders."

The villagers all urged him, saying that if he laughed, the whole incident would be forgotten.

After dinner, Mrs. Cui carried Jiayin into the carriage to sleep.

Lying in the soft bedding, Madam Cui still wiped away tears. Even with a strong personality, she was still a woman after all.

First, she was betrayed by her beloved husband and neglected for many years. At the brink of death, she was ruthlessly abandoned. Luckily, she survived, but her husband took a new wife.

I thought that parting ways meant a complete separation, but I was wrong. My new wife is relentlessly pursuing me, almost dragging my benefactor's family into the mess.

Even stone would have a heart that breaks with pain at this moment.

Jia Yin didn't know how to comfort her, she could only honestly nestle in Cui Fu's arms, her small hand gently patting her back.back. They were filled with concern."We're not home, didn't you eat properly Or were you wronged at the palace""What about your second uncle I'll break his legs if he doesn't behave! He's supposed to...