Li Shan clutched his face, his eyes a little dazed. Had he said something wrong? Nothing was wrong, so why was he hit?
Bai Xuelian supported Li Shan, her apricot eyes wide. "How can you be so barbaric, hitting people without reason? Constable, you must uphold justice for us."
Wen Cen had been pulled out by Song Mingyue, and he had heard some of the matter. He also disdained Li Shan's behavior, but according to the law, Li Shan was not actually wrong. Although he felt Li Shan deserved the slap, he couldn't openly shield someone like this.
"Ahem, why did you hit him?"
"This man was spewing nonsense, and it made my heart churn. I couldn't help but hit him. The men in our Xinghua Village are all good to their wives and children. With such a scoundrel emerging, as a member of Xinghua Village, I truly feel heartbroken. It feels good to hit him." Zhang Erniu said with a straight face.
With the village men brought into the conversation, and described so nobly, how could the men watching not agree?
"Sir, you're not going to make a big deal out of this, are you? We don't think Erniu did anything wrong by hitting him. It's just that what Li Shan said was too unpleasant. Even if Erniu hadn't hit him, we were about to."
"Exactly, exactly. When men in the village have disagreements, they resolve them this way."
"It was just a slap, and the person isn't badly hurt. Why should you worry about it, sir?"
Everyone supported Zhang Erniu. Could Li Shan stand against all of them? Clearly not. This meant his slap was in vain.
Lin Ruixue glanced gratefully at Zhang Erniu, only to find Zhang Erniu staring intently at her. She nervously turned her head. "Li Shan, I've said all I needed to say. It's the New Year, don't make trouble for people here."
With that, Lin Ruixue turned to leave. Li Shan, ignoring the pain on his face, hurried to block her. "What did you say clearly? Who knows if you colluded with the Qi family? You lost the child and then tried to frame me and ruin my reputation. Everyone knows how I treated you before. I was completely obedient, so how could I have harmed your health?"
"Sister Lin, it's freezing outside. Hurry inside. You can't reason with such a scoundrel. He's already sent you a divorce letter, so you have no connection whatsoever. His making a scene like this is harassment. Since the constable is here, let him handle it. You should go back and rest and take care of yourself," Zhang Erniu said in a low voice.
Zhang Erniu blocked Li Shan, preventing him from stopping Lin Ruixue.
Yun Shi took the opportunity to help Lin Ruixue into the house.
Lin Ruixue's words just now had made everything clear. Her body was already weak, and she had been so angered by Li Shan that she had lost the child. Moreover, everyone had seen the attitude of the Qi family mother and daughter, so they naturally didn't believe Li Shan's claims.
"Zhang Erniu, what grudge do I have with you? Aren't you deliberately causing trouble?" Li Shan watched helplessly as they entered the house.
"No grudge. I just can't stand seeing you bully women. Li Shan, if I were you, after doing such disgusting things, I'd stay home honestly and wait for things to blow over before showing my face. I didn't expect you to be so brave, still jumping around, and quite happily at that," Zhang Erniu said with a sarcastic smile.
Li Shan was furious, but looking at Zhang Erniu's sturdy build, like a small mountain, and the burning pain on his face, he was reminded that he wouldn't fare well against this man.
"Li Shan, it's the New Year. Who has the time to waste here with you? Everything that needs to be said has been said. Stop wasting everyone's time and good mood. Hurry up and take your little white flower and leave. Wearing white during the New Year, don't you find it inauspicious? Do you really think you're a fairy? Anyone who doesn't know would think you're attending a funeral!" Qi Zhenzhen pouted.
Bai Xuelian, in her flowing white dress, had her eyes redden from Qi Zhenzhen's words. Seeing everyone's gaze turn to her, she awkwardly hid behind Li Shan, lowering her head.
During the New Year, everyone valued festivity. Even if the women weren't wearing red, they would always have a touch of red on them. Not like Bai Xuelian.
Dressed entirely in white, it was as if someone in her family had died.
The crowd whispered, murmuring about Bai Xuelian. Such a person looked unlucky. Li Shan still cherished her. They were so affectionate now, but who knew what the future held? Besides, a good young woman not properly seeking a husband, following a man without status, and doing so brazenly, was truly shameless.
Li Shan glanced at Bai Xuelian unhappily. In the past, seeing her in white made her look delicate and pitiable. Now, she was truly glaring. He couldn't help but reprimand her, "Aren't you going back quickly?"
Bai Xuelian bit her lip and looked at Li Shan, her eyes teary.
Normally, when she acted like this, Li Shan would surely coax her. But now, being outside and being ridiculed by so many people, and with the purpose of their visit not yet achieved, Li Shan was in a foul mood and had no intention of coaxing her.
"Li Shan, your little white flower is gone, aren't you leaving too? What, do you want to be a watchdog? No, no, no, I wouldn't dare use someone like you. Ungrateful, you might bite me back one day." Qi Zhenzhen continued to provoke. "Everyone should be careful when dealing with her in the future, lest you get tricked."
The crowd nodded in agreement, feeling that Qi Zhenzhen's words were very true. His wife had been with him for so many years, only to be kicked out in the end. Such a person should indeed be guarded against.
Li Shan gritted his teeth in anger, but his tongue wasn't as sharp as Qi Zhenzhen's. He trembled with rage, unable to utter more than a few words.
"That's enough. A grown man being so cowardly is truly pathetic," Qi Zhenzhen added.
"I won't argue with a little girl like you. Just tell me, my son was lost at your place. That fool Lin Ruixue isn't pursuing it with you, but I can't let my son die in vain. A fortune teller once said that my second child would definitely be a son, a very promising one, who would bring glory to the Li family." Li Shan shouted, his neck stiff.
Qi Zhenzhen understood, realizing the true purpose of Li Shan's visit. However, the logic was truly laughable. It was like saying, you killed my chicken that was supposed to lay eggs, and my chicken lays an egg every day, the egg hatches into a chicken, which then lays another egg and hatches another chicken, in an infinite cycle. The thickness of this person's skin was beyond normal estimation.
"So, what is your ultimate goal?"
"We're all neighbors. I won't take this life to court. Just use your kimchi recipe to make amends." Li Shan acted as if he wasn't going to make trouble.
Qi Zhenzhen chuckled. This was the real reason Li Shan had come to cause trouble. She had terminated their cooperation, and he, with his audacious courage, had directly targeted the kimchi recipe. It was utterly ridiculous.