13. Pretending to Faint to Drive Away a Family of Villains

If the old woman keeps nagging in a moment, then she is willing to be the unfilial one.

Meng Yun took weak steps out of the room.

“Grandma, good health to you!” Meng Yun said, then half-squatted—a proper gesture of respect from a younger generation.

The old woman was in a rage but suddenly saw this fiery young woman paying her respects. She knew exactly who it was. Madame Zhou looked at Meng Yun squatting before her but remained silent.

“Grandma, may I get up now?” Meng Yun asked softly and weakly.

The old woman watched Meng Yun like watching a show but still didn’t make a sound, as if to humiliate that wretched girl to death.

“Grandma, I feel dizzy…” Meng Yun’s eyes rolled back as she fainted to the ground, and by some twist of fate, she collapsed right onto Madame Zhou.

No one knew what was happening when a scream like a pig being slaughtered echoed through the courtyard.

“Ah… it hurts so much…”

Meng Yun lay unconscious on Madame Zhou, who was screaming in terror.

“You villain, bullying my daughter-in-law!” Jin Yanchuan barked, rushing over. He grabbed the screaming Madame Zhou and began punching and kicking her without care.

Madame Zhou’s screams grew louder.

“Mother! Mother! What’s wrong with you?” Several daughters-in-law hurriedly pulled Jin Yanchuan away and helped their own mother-in-law up.

“Yun’er…” Zhou Yaru ran over, holding Meng Yun protectively in her arms.

Jin Yanchuan saw the women scratching and clawing at him. Unable to bear such humiliation, he turned and struggled with the other women.

“You idiot…” Zhu Dani cursed under her breath, secretly squeezing harder.

“Ah, Father, this woman is scratching me, it hurts so much…” Jin Yanchuan cried out and began to weep.

Jin Shan could no longer tolerate it. He ran over to protect his son, while Jin Yanan fetched a stick from the kitchen and began fiercely striking the three aunts.

“Ah!”

The screams, like pigs being slaughtered, echoed far and wide.

The group tumbled into a chaotic brawl. Madame Zhou didn’t know who hit or kicked her but screamed in pain all the same.

“Everyone stop!” the village chief shouted.

The fighting finally ceased.

“What are you all doing? Neither old nor young behaving properly. Madame Zhou, you’re so old, how can you act like a child? The Jin family is celebrating a grand occasion, and you come to stir trouble? There’s no respect in such behavior.”

“The new daughter-in-law greeted you properly, why wouldn’t you let her get up? Yaru already told you she isn’t well, yet you still make things difficult. Where is the respect for elders in that?”

“Go home quickly. Your matters can be settled later. Today is the joyous day of two children’s happiness. No more nonsense, or the clan chief and I won’t tolerate your bad behavior.” The village chief spoke firmly, partly because he wanted to keep good relations, partly because he had long disliked the Zhou family’s old residence but couldn’t side with outsiders against his own.

But the Zhou family had gone too far.

Seeing the village chief’s fierce expression, Madame Zhou dared not continue her rampage. She glared at Zhou Yaru, then at the wretched girl lying unconscious, and left with her daughters-in-law.

Time will tell.

“Chuan’er, carry your wife back to the room,” Zhou Yaru said tearfully, seeing the mess in the courtyard.

The banquet was no longer edible. They packed up the dishes and left.

Aunt Kapok and Aunt Cuihua stayed behind to help clean up.

“Yaru, don’t cry. Your health isn’t strong; crying any more will only make things worse. This whole family depends on you,” Aunt Cuihua advised.

“If you ask me, don’t be afraid of them. You’ve lived here for sixteen years; it’s not like they can just kick you out with a few words,” Aunt Kapok added.

“But Yaru, your new daughter-in-law isn’t an ordinary girl. That girl’s sharp. When she fell just now, it scared me. I wanted to help her, but she squeezed my hand, as if to say she was faking it.”

“Really? That daughter-in-law is clever. If she hadn’t pulled that stunt, the mother-in-law and daughters-in-law wouldn’t have left.”

Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Kapok spoke in turns, while Zhou Yaru listened quietly.

“What they did today broke my heart. It won’t happen again. If worse comes to worst, our family will simply leave,” Zhou Yaru wiped her tears.

After finishing the cleanup, Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Kapok left.

The house suddenly fell silent.

“Wife, are you still in pain?” Jin Yanchuan looked at Meng Yun with concern as she opened her eyes.

“No, I’m fine.” Meng Yun thought he meant the fall just now.

“But that day you bled, and just now you were pushed down…”

Meng Yun quickly covered Jin Yanchuan’s mouth. “You silly fool, why do you have to say everything?”

“Can’t I say it?” Jin Yanchuan was puzzled.

“That’s our secret. No one can know,” she said softly.

“Not even Mother?” Jin Yanchuan asked suspiciously.

“No, not even Mother,” Meng Yun insisted.

“Oh, okay, Ah Chuan understands.” Jin Yanchuan nodded vigorously.

At dinner, “Yun’er, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Mother, I’m fine. It was all an act. Just don’t blame me for being childish,” Meng Yun forced a smile.

“How could I blame you? I know you do it for the family’s sake. If not for you today, who knows how long they’d keep tormenting us.”

“If you know they’re unreasonable, then why do you let them bully us?” Meng Yun asked, confused.

“Yun’er, some things can’t be explained in a few words. I endure it all to rely on the Zhou family’s reputation here in Zhou Village. If we leave, we really have nowhere else to go.” Some things can’t be told to a new daughter-in-law, at least not yet.

“Oh!” Meng Yun didn’t press further. Though she didn’t know the Jin family’s secrets, she was sure there was a story. So she would protect the Jin family. What’s more, while she was secretly making moves, she unexpectedly gained two merit points—an unexpected joy. Maybe that meant the people in the old Zhou residence were wicked, and perhaps they could be treated like Sunday worshippers in the future.

Also, she noticed when Jin Yanchuan kowtowed to the elders, the couple seemed somewhat flattered, which sparked Meng Yun’s imagination.

After dinner, everyone chatted a while in the courtyard before going to their rooms.

After washing up, the newlyweds lay on the bright red sheets. Meng Yun hesitated—should she just sleep quietly or be intimate with her husband? Though last time was under the influence of a potion, now that they were together, having slept with her silly husband, would it become the village's gossip by morning?

“Wife, I want to cuddle,” Jin Yanchuan said, turning to her.

Handsome and charming, his face rivaling a certain star’s, he expressed his heartfelt passion.

“All right!”