Chapter 17: The Wall That Fell

Just as Granny Fu went to her vegetable patch, the neighbor next door poked her head out furtively and spoke to Lin Qinghuan.

“Miss Lin, your grandmother and I have some history. I have chickens too, fatter ones. Why don’t you buy from me?” Zhang Cuihong glanced disdainfully at the trussed chicken in the basket.

“Don’t you know that old woman has a hard fate? She outlived all her descendants. A classic jinx. If you dare eat her chicken, aren’t you afraid misfortune will fall on you?”

Lin Qinghuan stared expressionlessly at Zhang Cuihong, a cold glint in her eyes.

Of course she knew this sharp-tongued woman. She used to often come to the Lin house to beg for handouts, urging Old Madam Lin to keep a tight rein on her and Qingyu.

Probably having heard that she had split from the Lin family and received ten taels of silver, now she was “warmly” inviting her to buy her chicken.

“I don’t know about jinxes, but I do know some women are widow-fated. Married here and there, all their husbands die, don’t they?” Lin Qinghuan mocked with a half-smile, openly poking at what Zhang Cuihong cared about most.

Zhang Cuihong wasn’t originally from Peach Blossom Village. She had remarried here after her first husband died. Unexpectedly, her second husband also died within a few years, so she had to stay widowed and raise her child.

“You damned girl! What nonsense are you spouting? Believe me, I’ll tear your mouth apart! A bastard born of a mother but not raised by her!” Zhang Cuihong cursed, spittle flying.

Everyone knew that the word ‘husband-killer’ was taboo for her. Mention it and she would fly into a rage.

But after hearing that last sentence, Lin Qinghuan’s gaze changed. Without a word, she walked toward Zhang Cuihong.

Her dark, sinister eyes were like a venomous snake. Zhang Cuihong shuddered, forced herself to swallow and said, “Wh-what do you want?”

Lin Qinghuan reached out and grabbed her wall. With a crash, she pushed half of it down.

Zhang Cuihong’s eyes widened. She didn’t even know whether to scold Lin Qinghuan or be afraid first.

Though it was a mud wall, pushing down half of it by human strength was impossible. Yet Lin Qinghuan, a frail young girl, had done it.

Zhang Cuihong dared not imagine what would happen if Lin Qinghuan used that strength on her.

“You dare push down my wall? Someone! Is there no justice? Come with me to the village chief’s house. I want justice!” Zhang Cuihong shouted.

Lin Qinghuan interrupted impatiently, “Fine. You want to tear my mouth? Let’s see who tears whose mouth first.”

Her threat, word by word, carried a deep ruthlessness. Zhang Cuihong was all bluff, easily cowed into silence.

“Don’t bother with the village chief. Let’s go straight to the county magistrate. Let’s talk about how you called someone a jinx and said I was born but not raised. How about that?”

Zhang Cuihong hadn’t gone to the Lin house to watch the commotion, but she had heard that the county magistrate himself came to Peach Blossom Village to back Lin Qinghuan.

Now the whole village knew that this worthless girl had struck it lucky enough to win the magistrate’s favor.

She was just an ordinary villager. She could act tough in the village, but if she actually faced an official, she would probably wet herself before being questioned.

“I-I won’t bother with you! What trash!” Zhang Cuihong muttered as she went back inside, no longer caring that Lin Qinghuan had destroyed half her wall.

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