Shen Si’s eyebrows were furrowed into a knot, and Lou Qing’s eyes were filled with impatience.
What was going on with Qiao Ci? Was she sleeping that soundly?
And the children too, why didn’t they come out to open the door?
Their knocking didn’t wake the people in the courtyard, but it did disturb the neighbors.
“Making such a racket in the middle of the night, what are you doing?”
“Damn it, can’t a person sleep?”
Since Shen Si still had to live here, he stopped Lou Qing and didn’t let her knock anymore.
The two of them stayed in the carriage all night. As dawn broke, there was still no movement in the courtyard, but the surrounding neighbors were gradually waking up.
At this time, the area outside the house was crowded with villagers, all watching Shen Si and Lou Qing, who had shamelessly hooked up with another man.
They thought that Qiao Ci must have reached her limit, and after the two went out to fool around, she simply refused to open the door.
Well done!
These villagers didn’t understand grand principles, but they knew basic decency.
Lou Qing, a young girl, came to Shen Si’s house without any status, and flirted with Shen Si every day.
Pity Qiao Ci, a proper girl, who married the crippled Shen Si, had to take care of six burdens, and worked hard to manage the household and care for the children without complaint.
In the end, the six children treated her like an enemy, Shen Si was indifferent to her, and it was said that Shen Si had never consummated their marriage. What a pity.
She had done so much, but neither the old nor the young appreciated her, truly worse than a free nanny.
Now it was even more tragic; her lame husband was about to be seduced by an outsider vixen.
While everyone was gossiping, they couldn’t say much. They were all fellow villagers, and in any case, they felt Qiao Ci didn’t deserve this.
Seeing the gossiping and pointing eyes of the crowd, Lou Qing’s eyes turned cold.
What a bunch of ignorant women, what contribution did they make to this world besides gossiping?
When the sun came out, Shen Yi and the others were finally woken up by the noise outside the courtyard.
It sounded like Father was back?
Shen Yi quickly helped his younger siblings get up and instructed them to make themselves look as pathetic as possible.
Then, they swarmed to the door and started wailing.
“Father, you’re finally back, sob, sob, we’re almost worn to death by our stepmother.”
“Wow, Father, Father, save me, sob, sob, stepmother doesn’t give us food to eat, we’re hungry!”
“She also locked the door and wouldn’t let us out, Father save me!”
Hearing the cries of his children, Shen Si was furious. He pushed the wheelchair specially made for him by Lou Qing, clenched his fists, and smashed the door open.
The thorns on the door accidentally pricked Shen Sisi’s face, and blood immediately began to flow.
Shen Sisi’s eyes widened, and she forgot to cry. When she came to her senses, she quickly covered her face, “Father, my face, sob, sob, am I going to be disfigured?”
Lou Qing quickly pushed open the battered door that had been smashed and helped stop Shen Sisi’s bleeding.
“Qiao Ci, you venomous woman! Aren’t you coming out quickly?!” Shen Si looked at the blood on Shen Sisi’s face, his heart aching. With his strong hands, he quickly maneuvered the wheelchair into the courtyard.
The surrounding neighbors, seeing the commotion, followed them into the courtyard.
Some kind-hearted people quickly went to the village chief’s house.
They thought that Qiao Ci must have been unable to bear Shen Si’s neglect, the children’s bullying, and Lou Qing’s provocation, and had completely gone mad.
Seeing Shen Si’s demeanor, he was probably going to beat Qiao Ci to death. At this time, the village chief had to be present to stop him, otherwise, if Shen Si beat his wife to death, their village’s reputation would also suffer.
Qiao Ci had already washed up and dressed, collected the quilt from the bed into her space, and then pushed open the door to walk out.
Shen Si pointed at Qiao Ci and said resentfully, “I entrusted the six children to you, and I never expected you to abuse them. You venomous woman, I shouldn’t have married you in the first place!”
“How did I abuse them?” Qiao Ci stood with her arms crossed, looking relaxed.
“Look at Sisi’s face, it’s bleeding!” Shen Si’s eyes were red, and his words were vicious.
“Heh.” Qiao Ci sneered, “What does her bleeding face have to do with me? Don’t you think everyone is blind and can say whatever you want?”
Shen Si’s throat tightened. He had been too angry just now, and his words were a bit off. However, how could he be wrong? It was all Qiao Ci’s fault!
So he looked at Qiao Ci imperiously, “If you hadn’t refused to open the door, would I have smashed it open and injured Sisi?”
Qiao Ci snorted, “Then you should ask yourself if you thought about the children next to you when you smashed the door. As for opening the door? I was sleeping and didn’t hear anyone knocking.”
Seeing that Shen Si was not good at arguing, Lou Qing stepped forward and coldly glanced at Qiao Ci, “I’ve already told you, we would be back late at night. Why didn’t you stay by the door to wait for us?”
Seeing her like that, Qiao Ci’s hands itched. “Wait for what? Wait for you two scoundrels to have fun and then expect me to stay up to open the door for you when you return? What a nice thought you have.”
“You vulgar woman! Who are the scoundrels?” Lou Qing was already a bit bothered by the fact that she was Shen Si’s wife, and being cursed at in public made her temper flare up.
“Who else could it be? Don’t you see everyone is watching you?” Qiao Ci continued, “Knowing that someone already has a wife at home, yet you’re actively seducing another man. Am I wrong to scold you?”
“Heh, you think too highly of yourself. What kind of wife are you? Shen Si just married you to take care of the children. At best, you’re just a servant. He’s never even touched you, has he?” Lou Qing said disdainfully, looking at Qiao Ci as if she were pathetic.
“Lou Qing, are you still deceiving yourself like this?” Qiao Ci truly couldn’t understand how a woman who had received a normal education could have such thoughts.
“That’s enough! Qiao Ci, I married you to take care of the six children. Now you’ve abused them in my absence. Today, I will clean house!” Shen Si said, pushing his wheelchair towards Qiao Ci, intending to hit her.
Before his bloodied iron fist could reach her, Qiao Ci casually extended her long leg and kicked his wheelchair over!
Shen Si lay on the ground in a mess, looking at Qiao Ci in disbelief.
This woman who was always submissive and full of love for him actually dared to kick him?
This was outrageous!
Seeing Qiao Ci kick Shen Si, Lou Qing quickly went to help him, but she was dragged down by the force of the wheelchair. After helping Shen Si up, she looked at Qiao Ci with cold eyes, as if looking at a dead person.
The six children also forgot to complain. They crowded around Shen Si, looking at Qiao Ci fiercely, as if they wanted to stab her.
Seeing this, the surrounding neighbors advised, “Madam Shen, everyone knows you’ve had a hard time. But we can’t hit our own husbands. Please calm down!”