7 Chapter 7

Lu Chen icily looked at the woman. This woman had been condoning and pampering her son for decades. When Big Shu harmed people, she kept quiet but when her unscrupulous son got injured, she wailed and pointed fingers righteously. 

Lu Chen had little regard for a person like this. "My wife is not blind. She won't go after an ugly man."

Yao Shu's mother flew into rage and started yelling. "What can your pretty face do? Your entire family can't even afford to buy my son's rags." The woman turned to the village head, "Brother-in-law, I saw that Chang Ying walk past my stall last week. She was staring at my customer's food bowls and nearly salivating on the road."

In the crowd, there was a small flurry of Yao family supporters that took the chance to open their mouth to brown-nose. 

"Can you blame her? Lu Chen is a toad that wants to eat swan meat."

"He are so poor yet he went to bring a lavish girl into his house."

"Hmph, you better return her to town and marry within your station, Lu Chen."

"Hey, what are you saying? Just because Lu Chen is poorer doesn't mean his wife is a brothel character. We are only slightly better off ourselves."

"I saw the scene at the Yao farm. It was obvious Big Shu had sinister motives. You people should go and wash your brains."

Quickly there was some disagreement in the crowd. Some supported Lu Chen while some supported the Yao side. Most people simply sewed their lips shut and watched. 

Lu Chen stared down village head. The last words the man said were ringing in Lu Chen's ears like a tape recorder. 

Seducing...for coins.

She said his Chang Ying was seducing other men for money! 

Lu Chen could bow his head a thousand times for being too poor to fulfil his duties, but he would never, never, allow these filthy people to turn this around and call his wife a whore. 

"Village Head Yao, what does your relative mean by my wife seduced Big Shu? I brought this matter to you to handle it fairly, not slander my wife."

Lu Chen decided to ignore Big Shu's mother. The woman raised a creature like Big Shu and defended his foolishness. Lu Chen had already designated Big Shu's mother as an unprincipled person. It was no use reasoning with such person, they would never see the moral side. 

"I am being fair, I have to consider your wife and our Yao Shu's feelings too, ah." Village Head Yao said. 

"Village head, so this is how you want to treat rapists in our village?" Lu Chen felt his fingertips tingle.

It was the same sensation he felt when Big Shu ran his mouth at the hut, disgust. 

Village Head Yao continued defending his nephew without reservation. "What proof do you have to call my nephew a rapist? I heard Yao Shu said he and that girl were lovers. And he wanted to take over her responsibility from your hands." Village Head Yao waved his hand and smiled amicably. 

Lu Chen's brows furrowed at the man's words. "Village head, what do you mean?"

The village head clucked his tongue a few times and his smile grew bigger. "Ah, little Chen, from small to big, haven't I been helping out your family when you need to borrow money? Our two family relationship is really good. This matter can be settled easily too. See, I will even forget that you hit my nephew..."

"Brother-in-law!" Big Shu's mother protested with unwillingness vivid in her voice.

"Shush," Village Had Yao threw a look at her then turned back to Lu Chen with a wide smile still plastered on his face. "See, the two have already committed the act..."

"My wife and this man did not sleep together. He kidnapped her." Lu Chen sharply corrected, staring down at Big Shu in disgust.

"Big details, small details!" The village head laughed, patting Lu Chen's shoulder lightly like they were good brothers. "It makes little difference. My nephew here is interested in that girl. Fortunately, you just married her in, there is no hassle in transferring her to him. Don't worry, my family will compensate you well. I will recommend your little brother to the town office for a scholarship. How do you see it?"

Lu Chen shrugged Village Head Yao's hand off his shoulder. His eyes were as frigid as thousand-year glaciers, chilling to the bone. "You want to take my wife?"

"Lu Chen, I am just helping you. A girl like that, can you take care of her? Your family doesn't even have money to support an extra mouth, just give her to someone who can take care of her, okay?" The village head ignored his frigid glare and continued to goad him in a lighthearted tone. "You've not even spent a day with the girl since your wedding. So your marriage is easy to dissolve..."

Lu Chen grabbed Village Head Yao by his collar and lifted him off the ground. "Dissolve? I came here out of respect for you but you want to break my marriage?"

The onlookers were highly alarmed. After all, most of them just saw Lu Chen mete out punishment on Yao Shu. It was alright to beat Yao Shu for tampering with his family but this was the village head. The two were not the same at all!

Quickly, people grabbed the two men and tried to separate them. Some people both begged and admonished Lu Chen to let the village head go, while several hands tried to pry Li Chen's fingers from the village head's collar. 

When they finally succeeded, Village Head Yao fell to the ground. In the back of the crowd somewhere, the village head's wife and Big Shu's mother were already wailing loudly about the injustice. 

Village Head Yao grasped at his neck, looking up at Lu Chen in disbelief. Some people stood between Lu Chen and the village head to prevent Lu Chen from pouncing on the man again. 

Lu Chen shook off the hands holding him back, but he made no more move to get at the village head. The village head could create big and small problems for his family if he went too far. Also, his family had borrowed money a few times from the village head, out of consideration for the past, Lu Chen calmed himself down. 

Still, his eyes were layered in frost. Whatever respect and tolerance he held for the village head before, it was completely wiped from his gaze now. 

"You ingrate!" Village Head Yao wheezed and let some villagers help him back to his feet. "Have you forgotten all I did for your family?"

Lu Chen squinted slightly but his lips remained pressed in a thin line, showing no sign of answering. His family borrowed money from other people, not just the village head. In fact, they only went to him when they needed a large sum of money and they dutifully paid back all their debt every time. 

Village Head Yao snorted angrily and patted the dust off himself. "Let me see who your family will go to borrow money when your grandpa or your younger brother falls sick next time."

Lu Chen stared at the village head for a monent then opened his mouth, "Village Head Yao is funny. Our family borrows money but we won't exchange Chang Ying for that kindness. We always pay back diligently even though it takes time. Village head should do things in moderation."

After talking, Lu Chen turned and walked away. The crowd quietly watched him leave, then looked at the village head.

The village head looked at the young man walking away then at his beaten up nephew. One was young and upright, the other was already in his middle-age and still insensible. Village Head Yao tiredly exhaled and said, "Alright, it's already late. Everyone go home."

Without wasting time, Village Head Yao went into his house and locked the door.

The villagers dispersed too and chatted in twos or threes as they walked home. The big matter was over now. 

Lu Chen beat up Yao Shu. It seemed Shu was interested in taking in Lu Chen's little town wife, but from the looks of it, Lu Chen did not want to hear of it. 

The villagers discussed vibrantly as they went home. Some even said things like, with the Lu family situation, if Lu Chen could get some cash for giving his Chang Ying to Yao Shu as a wife, he should. 

Everyone knew that Lu Chen immediately left for the obligatory community service the morning after his wedding. And he just returned today, his wife could still be considered as fairly fresh goods. It was uncommon but not strange to handover a wife to another man in this region. After all, in the heads of these villagers, it was hard to maintain a town girl with the Lu family's condition now. 

As for Big Shu, the opinions were very mixed. Nevertheless, they all agreed he was an incurable rascal. 

Some jealous villagers even laughed at Lu Chen for walking around, acting better than them because he bagged a literate town girl. Wasn't his fancy wife nearly claimed by a scumbag?

While the villagers had their good, bad and ugly opinions about the matter, Lu Chen headed back towards the hut Chang Ying was still resting at. 

By the time, he made his way back to the farm hut, Chang Ying had fallen asleep again. Feifei was sitting outside the hut with a lantern, beating away the noisy summer mosquitoes. Beside her was an older woman. 

The woman had a few strands of dark black hair that fell out of the loose bun at the top of her head. Her skin was tan and rough from a lifetime of working in the farm under the sun. And her forehead had a few stress wrinkles. But despite that, her face, under the dim lantern light, was pleasing to the eyes. 

Her eyes were a tapered, enticing pair of fox eyes, similar to Lu Chen. A beautiful, long slinted pair but while Lu Chen's gave of the feeling of ambiguity, hers gave the feeling of ageless wisdom. 

Lu Chen's footsteps lightened as he got to her. "Mother, you came here?"

The woman, Mo Yue, looked up and smiled. "Silly boy, I haven't even told you welcome back. When I came home from the farm, your grandfather told me what happened. I rushed here and met Mama Zhou on the road, she explained everything to me. How could I not come here?"

Lu Chen nodded and looked towards the quiet hut. "Is she okay?"

"Chang Ying was asleep when I got here. Poor girl must really have suffered a lot today. It is good she can sleep. Tomorrow morning, I will go look for some medicinal ingredients to cook for her."

Feifei, sitting beside her, called out softly, "Big brother, did you settle the matter with the village head?"

Lu Chen's eyes dimmed as he shifted his gaze and looked at the hut. "The Yao family will handle Big Shu."

"So it is like that," Mo Yue said in an understanding tone.

Village Head Yao would be biased towards his family member, even if it was Big Shu. She knew that her son must feel very bitter. His wife had suffered grievances today but he couldn't do anything for her. 

Mo Yue stood up and patted the dirt off herself. "I am glad Chang Ying is alright. We should get going or your grandpa will go to bed without dinner."

Lu Chen quietly hummed in agreement and he went inside the hut. He carefully lifted his wife into his arms and carried her. Chang Ying woke up for the second time that evening. 

Lu Chen looked at her drowsy face and softly whispered, "Go back to sleep. I'll take you home now."

Chang Ying was mentally and physically exhausted after experiencing rebirth and reliving one of the most horrible days of her life. So despite the pain from the stitches, she fell asleep again.