"What am I afraid of? I won't even fear reporting to the Government Office."
The night was deep and dark, and Yu Tingwan's words had a forceful impact.
"What? You want to report to the Government Office?"
Wouldn't it be better for Yu Tingwan to just accept her fate obediently!
Mrs. Xu charged over: "If you dare harm my second son, I'll skin you alive."
But before she could reach Yu Tingwan, she was stopped by Li Lian, who was the closest.
Li Lian pushed her away, cursing: "If you want to go crazy, go crazy in your own village! Do you think this is your home?"
"Daring to act like this right under our noses, do you really think the girls of Xilin Village are easy to bully?"
As these words landed, the villagers picked up the tools in the yard and surrounded the Xu Family.
Mr. Xu, panicked: "Are you going to beat us up?"
He was old and a light sleeper.
He woke up when Xu Fen tiptoed out of the kitchen, but he didn't stop him from start to finish.
At this moment, he was angry at Xu Fen for being useless, unable to handle even a woman.
The eldest of the Xu Family looked sullen, shielding his wife behind him, thinking he was lowering his posture: "Wan Niang, if you don't want to marry, we won't force you anymore. I'll have my second brother apologize to you. Don't hold on to this matter."
Yu Tingwan retorted, "What if I castrated Xu Fen and apologized to him afterward, would that be okay with you?"
The situation was about to get stuck.
The Village Chief sized up Yu Tingwan, impressed by her composure in handling the situation.
He placed his hands behind his back: "Now, it's dark and difficult to travel, so we'll leave it at that. Mrs. Wang, tomorrow at dawn, the Xu Family must leave."
Mrs. Wang frowned.
She was somewhat reluctant.
When they left, she'd have to do all the work again.
But she dared not contradict the Village Chief's words.
The Xu Family's faces all turned drastically.
"This won't do! Our house is uninhabitable, where can we go?"
"It's freezing cold, are you just sending us off to die?"
Li Lian was unwilling to listen to their sob stories: "That's your problem!"
Some villagers chimed in as well.
"Coming here in dire straits, if you were honest, we could let it pass. But being full of schemes?"
"Even if Mrs. Wang wanted to let you stay, we wouldn't agree. This kind of relative, I wouldn't want any dealings for a lifetime."
"Well then, go die! Spare another family's girl from being harmed."
At this time, the Village Chief looked at Yu Tingwan and spoke after a moment's contemplation.
"Wan Niang, this is truly a scandal."
"I know you've been wronged. Xu Fen had evil intentions, but in the end, he didn't succeed. Now he's injured like this, the Government Office won't get involved. If this gets out of hand, it won't be good for you either."
"Over the years, you know how your uncle has treated you; there's no need for me to mention it. You may not care about being criticized by outsiders, but you have to think about him and Yaozu."
"You're a good child, you wouldn't want to put them in a difficult spot."
"We, as outsiders, aren't in a position to handle this. Do you think this is okay? Why don't we leave it for now, and when your uncle returns, however he wants to deal with the Xu Family, I absolutely won't interfere."
Yu Tingwan was not surprised that the Village Chief would try to smooth things over.
After all, it wasn't his daughter involved, so he couldn't truly empathize.
How could an orphan girl like her compare to a scholar?
She wasn't foolish enough to have a head-on clash with the Village Chief who managed Xilin Village.
She lowered her head slightly, as if she was contemplating.
The Village Chief, seeing her aggressive demeanor from a moment ago softening now, also became more gentle.
"Is there some difficulty?"
Yu Tingwan pressed her lips together.
"I can no longer stay with the Hu Family."
"First the Dong Family, then the Xu Family, what's next?"
Her concerns weren't entirely unfounded.
The Village Chief was also disappointed in Mrs. Wang's actions.
Not to mention that Yu Tingwan didn't trust them, even he didn't.
"This is easy to handle; you can stay at my place until your uncle gets back."
There was an extra mouth to feed, but once Hu Dazhu came to pick up Yu Tingwan, they wouldn't be taking advantage of them for nothing.
However, Yu Tingwan didn't agree.
She had no intention of returning once she left the Hu Family.
Staying with the Village Chief meant dealing with a big family; coming and going wouldn't be easy. Neither did she want to owe favors.
Seeing her hesitation, the Village Chief said, "If you're worried about being a bother, there's an empty old house in the village. It's been long uninhabited but with some tidying up, it can be livable."
That night, Yu Tingwan moved into the old house.
Perhaps out of pity, seeing her limping after a fall, villagers volunteered to help.
Besides dried wood and a few pieces of clothing, and some fruits Yu Tingwan picked from outside to stave off hunger, she didn't have much luggage.
Though she'd lived with the Hu Family for years, she left little mark.
Granny Fan, noticing, made a sarcastic comment: "Anyone who didn't know better would think you were living in the wood shed."
"Seems like Wan Niang didn't have such a good time with the Hu Family."
Hearing this, Mrs. Wang was itching to fight her.
This is the countryside; having a place in the home for her to sleep was already good.
It was dark, Yu Tingwan couldn't see the road well; fearing the cold, she just followed everyone with her head down.
With an injury on her leg, she couldn't walk fast.
The old house was far and rundown, but the light was on next door, indicating someone lived there.
"Here we are,"
The Village Chief unlocked the door, allowing everyone to enter.
The old house hadn't been occupied for a long time, full of spider webs and dust everywhere.
It was just a small room, but Yu Tingwan was quite satisfied.
Having come this far, the villagers weren't in a rush to leave; they got to work cleaning, everyone moving efficiently.
The window, shaky and rattling in the cold wind, was temporarily secured by someone.
Granny Fan approached.
"Wan Niang, I have a nephew..."
She barely started before a stout woman beside her interrupted.
"Granny Fan, have some decency. Your nephew is mute, and you want to introduce him to Wan Niang?"
Granny Fan was offended: "What's wrong with being mute!"
If it weren't for her nephew being mute, she wouldn't even consider Yu Tingwan!
She took hold of Yu Tingwan's hand: "Child, I genuinely think you two are a good match."
Yu Tingwan: ...
Thanks.
Everyone pricked up their ears, looking in this direction.
Granny Fan: "There are benefits to not speaking, after all."
Yu Tingwan sincerely asked, "What benefits?"
Granny Fan choked: ...
Yu Tingwan kindly filled in for her.
"In the future, if we have a disagreement, he won't have the skill to argue with me."
Granny Fan: "Exactly, exactly!"
Yu Tingwan pulled her hand back forcefully.
Granny Fan didn't give up: "I have another nephew."
Stout Woman: "You better shut up."
"This other nephew of yours is even worse. Mentally deficient and already twenty-eight. He still soils his pants."
"Last time after you washed his underwear, he turned around and ran out naked."
"I saw it, and that thing was as thin as a needle."
Country folks speak without any reservations.
Though Yu Tingwan hadn't experienced intimate relations, she knew that normal couples were meant to be intimate.
The Hu house was small; every time Hu Dalang and Mrs. Xu got noisy in their room, it disturbed her rest.
Moreover, there were many stray dogs in the countryside; Yu Tingwan wasn't unfamiliar with the sight of a male dog mounting a female...
The mere thought made Yu Tingwan's scalp tingle.
Thin isn't bad, right?
Otherwise, how painful would it be?
Afterward, people would assume he hadn't entered.
Yu Tingwan was inspired.
If she were to seek a partner, it would be someone thin!