Chapter 110: Chapter 110: A Brawl Between Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law

Su Tao had been arrested and had already confessed. She was the one who murdered the three members of the Sun family, and she had even recounted the entire crime in detail.

In other words, Su Tao’s reputation as a murderer was now set in stone.

Upon hearing the news, the villagers of Lihua Village once again made the Su family the focus of their gossip, all waiting to see how they would react.

Before, Su Tao had only been a prime suspect and hadn’t been caught, so while the villagers had whispered amongst themselves, no one had reached a firm conclusion. But now, the matter was settled once and for all.

Moreover, the fact that a murderer had come from Lihua Village was bound to affect its reputation. Because of this, the villagers’ animosity toward the Su family deepened, reaching a point of utter loathing.

Meanwhile, a pall of gloom hung over the Su household. Ever since receiving the notice from the County Public Security Bureau, Old Lady Su had been in her room, slamming the table and cursing Su Tao. She shrieked that Su Tao deserved a horrible death, calling her a scourge and a jinx, and then directed her tirade at Tian Aixiang as well.

After a long tirade that did nothing to quell her rage, the more Old Lady Su thought about it, the more furious she became. She finally grabbed a worn-out broom and stormed into the kitchen where Tian Aixiang was cooking.

"You troublemaker! What kind of scourge did you bring into this world? She hurts everyone, including herself! That damn girl deserves a horrible death!" Old Lady Su swung the broom wildly, striking Tian Aixiang. "My biggest regret is letting my third son marry you! You’re a menace, and the daughter you bore is an even bigger jinx! You’ve brought nothing but suffering to our Su family!"

Old Lady Su screamed and cried as she attacked, not holding back in the slightest. She beat Tian Aixiang until she shrieked in pain. A vicious swing left a bloody welt across her face, which contorted in agony.

"Ma, have you lost your mind? Did I hold Taotao’s hand and force her to go kill someone?" Tian Aixiang retorted angrily. "Besides, weren’t you the one who insisted on selling her to the Sun family? None of this would have happened otherwise!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Oh, so you think you’re in the right now?" Old Lady Su grew even more incensed. "Weren’t you the one who told Su Tao to use a knife to scare them? If you hadn’t put the idea in her head, she never would have thought of it! You worthless woman! I’ll beat you to death to stop you from bringing any more ruin to our Su family!"

In her fury, Old Lady Su struck even more viciously, making Tian Aixiang gasp in pain. "Ma, don’t go too far! Who was the first one to pull a knife? Wasn’t it that damn girl Su Qing? She dared to pull a knife on you, and you didn’t even dare to say a peep! You only know how to pick on the weak!"

"You dare bring her up? You dare!" The mention of Su Qing only enraged Old Lady Su further. She trembled at the memory of Su Qing brandishing a knife at her. Furious at Tian Aixiang’s words, she viciously slapped her across the face.

Tian Aixiang was a woman nearly forty years old. Between Old Lady Su’s constant beatings and curses and the news about Su Tao, she was filled with pent-up rage. That slap was the final spark that ignited it all.

Tian Aixiang snatched a nearby ladle, dipped it into a large pot of freshly boiled water, and flung the scalding contents straight at Old Lady Su’s face.

"AHHH—" Old Lady Su let out a bloodcurdling scream. The broom stub dropped from her hands as she clutched her face, wailing, "My face! My eyes!"

Her anger still not vented, Tian Aixiang took advantage of the moment Old Lady Su was reeling. She landed a vicious kick.

THUD! Old Lady Su collapsed, her lower back slamming hard against the kitchen’s door frame.

"AHHH—" Old Lady Su cried out in agony again, then began to shriek, "My daughter-in-law is attacking me! My daughter-in-law is beating her mother-in-law! She’s trying to kill this old woman!"

Old Lady Su’s shriek brought Old Man Su and Su Shengli running. When the two men burst into the kitchen, they saw Old Lady Su clutching her face, collapsed at the doorway, while Tian Aixiang still had a water ladle in her hand.

"What is going on here?" Old Man Su demanded furiously. ’As if the business with Su Tao wasn’t bad enough, now these two had to cause a scene like this.’

Tian Aixiang sneered. "What’s going on? Father, can’t you see perfectly well for yourself?"

"You!" Unwilling to argue with his daughter-in-law, Old Man Su turned to Su Shengli.

Su Shengli was frustrated as well. He snapped at Tian Aixiang, "Something’s happened to Taotao and Ma is in a foul mood! Couldn’t you have just let her be?"

"Let her be? How am I supposed to ’let her be’?" Tian Aixiang exploded. "Look at me! Just look at what she did!"

As she spoke, Tian Aixiang pointed to her face.

Just then, Old Lady Su began to howl, "Oww, owww, it hurts so much! I’m being beaten to death by my own daughter-in-law! I can’t move! Ah, damn it all! May lightning strike this unfilial wretch dead!"

"Ma! Ma, what do you mean you can’t move?" Su Shengli panicked. If Tian Aixiang had really beaten his mother so badly she was paralyzed, the village gossip would bury him alive.

Old Man Su kicked Su Shengli. "What are you standing there for? Go find the Brigade Leader and borrow the oxcart! We need to get your mother to the county hospital!"

"Oh, oh. Right." Su Shengli nodded hastily, flung open the door, and bolted out of the courtyard.

Tian Aixiang was also stunned. ’I just splashed her with some water and gave her a push, how could she be unable to move?’ "Ma, don’t try to scare me. I barely touched you."

"Oww, I’m done for! A daughter-in-law is beating her mother-in-law!" Old Lady Su ignored everything else and just kept shouting at the top of her lungs.

And Old Lady Su’s voice drew a crowd. Many villagers hurried over to watch the spectacle.

"My, Aunt Su, what happened to you? Why are you lying on the ground like that?"

"Yikes, Tian Aixiang, what happened to your face?"

"Good heavens, don’t tell me you two actually had a fight?"

...

Everyone was chattering at once, and more than a few were clearly enjoying the drama.

Seeing the crowd grow, Old Lady Su wailed with even more vigor. "Oww, my old back! My face! My daughter-in-law is beating her mother-in-law! Damn it all to hell, why won’t a bolt of lightning just strike this unfilial wretch dead!"

Tian Aixiang said furiously, "Ma, what nonsense are you spouting?"

No matter how angry she had been moments ago, Tian Aixiang had cooled down enough to realize that if people believed she had beaten her mother-in-law into paralysis, her own reputation would be utterly destroyed. "You clearly lost your footing and fell on your own! Why are you blaming it on me?"

"Damn you to hell! Hitting an elder and then denying it! What a sin!" Old Lady Su howled with renewed vigor, making Tian Aixiang’s face pale with rage.

Most of the onlookers were just laughing and enjoying the show. Of course, there were a few who thought that something might genuinely be wrong with Old Lady Su. "Yikes, looking at her, you don’t think she actually hurt her back, do you?"

"No way. You think she’s really hurt?"

But despite their words, no one dared to step forward for a closer look. They were all afraid of getting scammed by the Su family; after all, Old Lady Su had never been known for being reasonable.