Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 32: The Sharp Feng Xi Reveals the Truth
As the words of Feng Jia’s wife fell, the crowd watching the excitement burst into whispers, many pointing fingers at Feng Xuxu while some others understood the situation clearly and knew there must be some hidden story.
"Grandmother Feng, please clarify your words. How have I been unfilial to my elders?" Feng Xi asked with a calm face, looking at Feng Jia’s wife who was sitting on the ground.
"What, you dare to argue back? Could it be that I, an old woman, spoke wrongly? What about your talking back to your grandfather?" Feng Jia’s wife immediately stood up from the ground and pointed sternly at Feng Xi.
"So according to Grandmother Feng, we should just let you sell my sister by weight as if she’s merchandise," Feng Xi sneered sarcastically.
"You, you..." Feng Jia’s wife choked on her words, anger trembling her hands as she pointed at Feng Xi, unable to utter a single sentence.
"Look at you, you little rascal, is this how you show filial piety to your grandmother?" Eryu angrily interjected from the side.
"I no longer belong to the Feng Family; it’s not your place to lecture us siblings," Feng Xi retorted disdainfully, having grown cold towards the people of the old residence ever since he knew that the grandfather had tried to marry off his sister to an idiot for a hundred silver and ten mu of paddy fields.
"Village head, you’re watching all of this. No matter what my father and stepmother say, they’re Feng Xi’s elders. To think that he would actually... Sigh," Feng Zhao’s wife from the Jiang Family turned her head and complained to the village chief with watery eyes.
"Elders, who was it that made us leave the house without taking anything with us, not even allowing us siblings to take away a single hair or a copper coin?" Feng Xi pressed Feng Zhao’s wife with his question.
"Oh, what’s the matter? It was you who chose to leave the family; it wasn’t us who forced you to. Besides, everyone knows your sister brings calamity. Marrying off your sister was enough, we didn’t make her drown in a pond, you should be satisfied and stop complaining," Feng Santian’s daughter-in-law, Feng Liu’s wife, said with hands on her hips, chattering away.
"Haha, a harbinger of calamity, drowning in a pond, Feng Liu’s wife, aren’t you ashamed to say such things? Do you not know whether my sister is a harbinger of calamity or not?" Feng Xi’s eyes filled with hatred as he looked at Feng Liu’s wife.
Feng Liu’s wife felt guilty under his gaze but still stubbornly retorted, "How would I not know? It’s all over the outside world." After saying this, she dared not look at Feng Xi, her heart in turmoil as she wondered if her secret had been exposed.
The wife from the Jiang Family had been there for a while, listening to Feng Liu’s wife and sneering. She took bold steps forward, turned around, and addressed the villagers who were watching the drama inside and outside the door, "I, the wife from the Jiang Family, apologize to everyone here. Regardless of my past, starting from today, I will reform and no longer spread nonsense." After finishing, she bowed deeply.
As soon as the wife from the Jiang Family finished speaking, she was greeted with a round of applause. The first to notice was the embroidery sister-in-law, "Big sister Jiang, I, your embroidery sister-in-law, believe in you."
"We all believe in you, big sister Jiang." Some of the women in the village expressed their support, showing the people of Feng Village were quite kind-hearted.
"Jiang Family’s wife, what are you trying to do? I’m telling you, if you go around saying things, I won’t be responsible for finding your son a wife any longer. Besides, the bride’s side has already shown interest," Feng Liu’s wife whispered, tugging at the wife from the Jiang Family’s sleeve, her eyes slyly scanning to see if anyone was looking at her, obviously feeling guilty.
After hearing Feng Liu’s words, Jiang Family extended her hand to brush off the grip on her sleeve and looked down on Feng Liu with disdain.
"Folks, I believe everyone knows about the rumor that Feng Xuxu is a jinx, right? In truth, there’s no such thing at all. It was Feng Liu who asked me to spread the word, promising to find a wife for my son if I succeeded. Tempted, I did such a foolish thing. I owe an apology to Feng Xuxu for saddling her with the reputation of a jinx." Regretting her actions, she shed tears of remorse.
"It turns out Feng Liu was the one who started this rumor. Why would she do that to her own niece?" the tall Feng Xiaoshi asked, puzzled, to the woman beside her.
"Hey, didn’t you hear? Feng Xi just said his grandfather was valuing Feng Xuxu by weight, selling her off!" the woman beside her recalled, speaking with a hint of uncertainty.
"I’ve got a bit of inside information, slipped by someone from my maternal home." Before the woman could finish, the others interrupted impatiently, "Enough. Get to the point, what exactly happened? Stop beating around the bush."
"Feng Santian’s daughter-in-law wanted Feng Xuxu to marry her foolish nephew, saying some fortune-teller had matched their horoscopes and claiming Xuxu could bring prosperity to the family. So, Feng Liu’s elder sister-in-law offered a hundred taels of silver and ten mu of paddy field as a betrothal gift, to take Xuxu back as a child bride to raise first. Feng Xi only asked to leave the clan after he found out about this," she said.
"Feng Liu has really lost her humanity. Why doesn’t she marry off her own daughter instead? She’s ruining our village’s name," a young woman exclaimed angrily.
"Shh, look." Another older woman nudged the young woman who was speaking.
"Enough. Since you all are here today, let’s clarify everything. Spare us the endless hassle later," Feng Xi said expressionlessly to Feng Youcai.
Feng Youcai’s face turned red with shame. Glaring at his daughter-in-law, who had caused more harm than good, he figured they already lost face and couldn’t lose much more. Thinking this over, he found some confidence and, puffing out his chest, he said in a collected manner, "Feng Xi, you and Feng Xuxu left the household with nothing. So, none of the Feng Family’s belongings should have gone with you. It’s all documented, with evidence to check. So, now, hand over the Feng Family’s silver and property deeds. It was my eldest son who earned them. Hmph, and you even dare to covet them."
"What a joke. When my sister and I left the clan, we already had nothing. When Dad was alive, all the silver he made went to you, not leaving a single copper coin for me and my sister. We ate the worst at home and never begged at your place for a bite to eat, so where would we get any silver or deeds?" Feng Xi said, his anger hard to contain. The frustration and helplessness he kept inside finally burst forth that day.
"Hmph, nice words. You gave it all to Dad, did you? Then where did the silver for buying the wasteland come from? Such a large sum of silver couldn’t have been stolen, could it?" Santian eyed Feng Xi suspiciously.
"Stop spouting nonsense here. Our silver is clean," Feng Xi couldn’t hold back and cursed in exasperation.
"What’s the matter? Can’t explain the origin of the silver, so you resort to cursing? Guilty conscience of a thief," Eryu chimed in, siding with Santian.
"Alright, I’ve listened for quite a while. All this talk just comes back to the matter of the wasteland that Feng Xi and Feng Xuxu bought. Are you saying it was the silver left by Dahong, Uncle Youcai?" The village chief observed Feng Youcai’s family with a cold eye. To get their hands on some silver, they were willing to label their own niece a jinx; and when the initial plan didn’t work out, they demanded the children leave without a thing. Now that they knew the kids had silver to buy wasteland, they wanted to seize it, throwing away all shame. Truly, for the sake of silver, there was nothing they wouldn’t stoop to.
