Carrying the rabbit, Chen Jie hurried home and soon arrived at his thatched cottage.

Then, he noticed a large crowd gathered in his yard.

His heart sank—could it be that while he was out, Su Yunjin and her sister had taken their own lives?

Thinking of Su Yunjin’s resolute attitude in the morning, he didn’t doubt that she might have done something drastic.

With this thought, Chen Jie rushed toward his yard. As he got closer, he could hear the voices inside.

"Su, you must be tired of living! How dare you dig wild vegetables on my turf? If you don’t give me an explanation today, I’ll skin you alive, you worthless piece of trash!"

The first voice he heard was a harsh, vicious one—Chen Jie recognized it immediately. It was Lu Qinshi, the wife of Lu San, a well-known ruffian in the village.

This woman was notoriously aggressive and was one of the most feared shrews in the village.

Taking advantage of her husband’s connections with the village’s fish market, she often bullied others.

Listening to a few more words, Chen Jie quickly pieced together what had happened.

It turned out that right after he had left in the morning, Su Yunjin had taken little Su Yunrui to gather wild vegetables.

These days, even wild vegetables were scarce, so they had gone to the East Riverbank.

That area was near the river, rich in water and vegetation, making it the best place for wild vegetables. However, it had long been claimed by Lu San’s family.

Lu Qinshi, being as domineering as she was, had marked off the area and declared it her exclusive territory, forbidding anyone else from gathering food there.

Su Yunjin, desperate with hunger, had taken a little anyway, not expecting to be caught by Lu Qinshi, who then chased her all the way home.

Now, Lu Qinshi was here, making a public spectacle out of Su Yunjin, vowing to teach her a lesson to set an example for others.

If she didn’t punish Su Yunjin today, more people might dare to pick from her so-called “territory” in the future.

This led to the current situation.

Chen Jie frowned slightly as he continued listening.

From inside the courtyard, Su Yunjin’s voice could be heard:

"Sister-in-law Lu, I did gather the vegetables. I apologize for it this time, and I won’t go there again."

"You won’t go again? Do you think you still have a future? You worthless piece of trash! Listen up, you took my wild vegetables—return them all, every single one! Then kneel and apologize in front of everyone, and I’ll let you off. Otherwise, I’ll tear your skin off!"

Hearing this, the surrounding villagers frowned slightly.

Lu Qinshi was being too much. If the vegetables had been taken, returning them should be enough—why force someone to kneel and apologize?

This was blatant bullying.

Yet, no one spoke up for Su Yunjin.

Lu San’s family was notorious for their shamelessness—dealing with them was like getting stuck to tar. No one wanted to get involved.

At this moment, Su Yunjin’s face was pale.

Coming from a scholarly family, she naturally understood honor and dignity.

But now, Lu Qinshi was clearly trying to trample on her self-respect.

She wouldn’t accept it.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Sister-in-law Lu, don’t push me too far!"

"Oh? You dare to talk back? I’ll tear your filthy mouth apart, you wretched little tramp!"

Lu Qinshi raised her hand, ready to strike.

In reality, she had come today specifically to assert dominance.

Recently, as food supplies ran low, more and more villagers had started digging for wild vegetables, and even her claimed land was being secretly foraged.

But most of these people had strong men in their households. As long as they didn’t go too far, Lu Qinshi didn’t dare to stir up trouble.

However, Su Yunjin had dared to trespass.

That infuriated her.

The way Lu Qinshi saw it, others had men backing them, but Su Yunjin?

Her worthless gambling-addicted husband didn’t even care about her.

Her family was in ruins.

If she didn’t make an example out of this easy target, then who else?

So she raised her hand, ready to strike.

The surrounding villagers couldn’t bear to watch—how could a refined lady like Su Yunjin possibly fight back against someone like Lu Qinshi?

A beating was inevitable.

Inside the house, little Su Yunrui clutched the wild vegetables tightly, peeking through the window.

Her small, dark hands held the vegetables as tightly as possible—her sister had told her to protect them no matter what.

But when she saw her sister about to be hit, she was terrified.

Just as Lu Qinshi’s hand was about to land, a voice suddenly rang out from outside.

"What’s going on here?!"

All heads turned toward the entrance.

They saw Chen Jie walking in, holding a large, plump rabbit.

Everyone’s eyes lit up with envy—the rabbit looked like it weighed at least seven or eight pounds!

"Jiu Si is back!"

The villagers greeted him with smiles and stepped aside to let him through.

Chen Jie walked in.

Lu Qinshi also saw him—and more importantly, the fat rabbit in his hands.

She couldn’t help but swallow greedily.

"Chen Jiu Si, you’re back just in time! Come and deal with your worthless woman!"

Seeing him, Lu Qinshi became even more arrogant, acting as if Chen Jie was going to take her side.

This wasn’t without reason—after all, Chen Jiu Si had been a notorious scoundrel.

Last time, she had even stood at this very door and slapped Su Yunjin twice.

At that time, Chen Jiu Si had been inside the house but hadn’t dared to say a word.

In fact, some people said that instead of helping his wife, he had actually scolded her for causing trouble.

A man like that—if you didn’t bully him, who else would you bully?

That was why Su Yunjin had gained a reputation as someone easily pushed around.

Her husband didn’t stand up for her.

Her family was all gone.

She was the perfect target.

Grabbing Su Yunjin by the arm, Lu Qinshi dragged her before Chen Jie and sneered,

"Jiu Si, you’re back just in time. Handle this useless woman of yours. She has no manners—she dared to steal wild vegetables from my land. You need to give me an explanation, or else when your brother Lu San gets home, things won’t end well for you."

The villagers all turned to look at Chen Jie.

Su Yunjin also glanced at him—but her eyes were full of disappointment.

She knew he wouldn’t stand up for her.

At home, he could be fierce, but outside, he was just a coward.

Lowering her head, she prepared to endure humiliation and a beating.

Chen Jie looked at Lu Qinshi and asked calmly, "What kind of explanation do you want?"

Hearing this, Lu Qinshi thought he was backing down and grinned.

"Hehe… I knew Jiu Si was reasonable! Fine, I won’t be too harsh. I don’t want the wild vegetables anymore. Just have this wretch kneel and apologize in front of everyone. Oh, and give me that rabbit you’re holding, and we’ll call it even."

Hiss—

The villagers gasped.

Lu Qinshi was truly ruthless.

A few wild vegetables in exchange for a fat rabbit?

This was daylight robbery.

The villagers looked on with sympathy.

Su Yunjin was truly unlucky to have married such a worthless man.

If her own husband wouldn’t stand up for her, then she was truly doomed.

Lu Qinshi, seeing that Chen Jie still hadn’t answered, threatened, "Jiu Si, I’m being nice now. If you refuse, wait until Lu San comes home tonight. He won’t be so polite."

Finally, Chen Jie spoke.

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