PWE – Chapter 74 She had barely stepped into the house when he followed right behind.

Wu Yueying was stunned, shocked by those words.

She reached up to touch her own face. The moment her fingers brushed the wounds, pain shot through her, making her bare her teeth and twist her face in agony.

A villager standing beside Zhao Lijuan saw her like that and couldn’t help mocking, “Wow, quite the performance. But no matter how real you act, there’s not a single injury on your face. Your face is cleaner than mine—forget wounds, there isn’t even a red mark!”

“Exactly. Clearly she’s not injured, yet she claims her face is hurt and says Wange tried to kill her. Tsk, she must really hate Wange to slander her like that.”

“She’s Wange’s stepmother. You know what stepmothers are usually like.”

“Oh, I know. She probably can’t stand seeing Wange doing well and came here just to cause trouble. That’s why she’s making up lies like this.”

“Probably not just causing trouble. I bet she came to ask Wange for money. She’s been to our village several times before, and every time it was to ask Wange for money. Tsk, I guess she didn’t get any this time, so now she’s making a scene.”

“Wow, acting like this just because she didn’t get money? So hateful. And why should Wange give her money? She’s not Wange’s real mother.”

“Of course not. She’s just a stepmother. And let me tell you, my family is from their village. When I went home, I heard that this stepmother used to torment Wange all the time. After tormenting her, she would even complain to Wange’s father, saying Wange didn’t respect her. Aiyo, this stepmother is really awful. Treating Wange like that before, and now she still has the nerve to ask Wange for money? How did her skin get that thick?”

Hearing the villagers mock her one after another, Wu Yueying’s eyes grew red with fury; she felt utterly miserable.

She couldn’t understand what kind of “bewitching potion” Xiao Wange had given these villagers. Why were they all siding with her? Were they blind? Her face was clearly covered in injuries, it hurt so badly she could die. Yet they dared to say her face was perfectly fine. They were obviously refusing to speak up for her—clearly biased toward Xiao Wange!

Xiao Zhenqiang couldn’t hold back his anger and glared at Zhao Lijuan and the villagers. “Your eyes must be blind! My mom, my wife, and I—our faces are all swollen from being beaten, beaten into this state, and you still say nothing happened? You people should really go get your eyes examined! The town clinic probably isn’t enough; you need to go to the county hospital!”

Zhao Lijuan and the villagers: “……”

Their faces instantly darkened as they looked at Xiao Zhenqiang with displeasure.

One villager raised the axe he used for chopping wood and shouted fiercely, “You piece of trash, who do you think you are? You think you can act wild in our village? Saying we’re blind? Sounds like you’re tired of living! Believe it or not, I’ll chop you down right here! I’ll hack you into pieces!”

The other villagers also raised their sickles. “You dare challenge us? You think this is your home? Today we’ll teach you a lesson—you’ll know our village isn’t easy to mess with!”

Just then more villagers arrived. After hearing Zhao Lijuan explain what happened, they all became furious.

They rolled up their sleeves, ready to beat Xiao Zhenqiang. “Daring to say our village people are blind? Acting wild here? I think you really don’t want to live. Get him—everyone, beat him!”

Seeing the crowd rushing toward him, Xiao Zhenqiang swallowed hard, grabbed his mother and wife, and fled in panic.

There were too many people. They definitely couldn’t fight back. Running was the only option.

The villagers chased them for a while, then stopped.

But their angry shouts still reached the fleeing trio:

“From now on, if they ever come to Danshui Village, we beat them! See them and beat them! Acting like this in our village? Do they think we’re pushovers?!”

Xiao Zhenqiang and Wu Yueying: “……”

So that meant they could never return to Danshui Village. If they came, the villagers would beat them.

What should they do now? They still needed to ask Xiao Wange for money! She would never give them money on her own—they had to come ask for it.

Once they left the village, Wu Yueying suddenly turned and glared at Xiao Zhenqiang. She jabbed his head with her finger. “You! What were you doing back there?! Why did you curse them like that? Now look, you angered them—how are we supposed to come again in the future?!”

Xiao Zhenqiang was troubled as well. But…

He frowned. “But they were too much. They were deliberately lying. I couldn’t stand it, I just—”

“Even if you can’t stand it, you endure! Now that we’ve fallen out with Danshui Village, how are we supposed to come ask Xiao Wange for money?” The more Wu Yueying thought about it, the more depressed she felt.

Xiao Zhenqiang fell silent. He had no idea what to do, either.

Lü Qiuying said, “We’ll have to get Dad involved. Wange is too fierce now. Even if the villagers weren’t against us, we still aren’t her match. Only Dad can control her. Wange listens to him the most.”

Xiao Zhenqiang immediately agreed. “Yes, call Dad. Only he can control Wange and get money out of her.”

Wu Yueying’s face darkened. “Your dad won’t be able to get much. And when we come, we can skim some off the top. If your dad comes, how are we supposed to pocket extra money?”

Last time they asked Wange for 300 yuan but told the old man they only got 50. He believed them completely.

She gave him 50, and pocketed the remaining 250.

This time she planned to get four or five hundred and save more for herself. But instead of getting money, she ended up losing her own money.

Thinking about how Wange had taken her money made her furious.

She would not let this go. She would definitely take revenge and make that wretched girl regret it!

She stormed ahead angrily, looking as if someone owed her eight million.

The road they walked ran beside a ditch full of winter mud.

Wu Yueying had been walking fine—until suddenly someone pushed her from behind.

The push sent her straight into the ditch.

Her head hit the mud first.

Her whole face buried into the sludge; her mouth filled with foul mud before she could react.

Lü Qiuying and Xiao Zhenqiang were shocked. They rushed to pull her out.

Wu Yueying gagged and spat out mud, then immediately slapped Lü Qiuying hard. “You useless thing! You dared push me?! If there’d been a rock in there, I’d be dead right now!”

Still not satisfied, she slapped her again.

Already humiliated by Wange, and now pushed into a ditch and made to eat mud, Wu Yueying was furious enough to explode.

Lü Qiuying was stunned.

Holding her face, she protested in grievance, “Mom, why are you hitting me? I didn’t push you! You slipped, I saw it! You fell on your own!”

She was beyond wronged—more wronged than Dou E.

“You useless thing, still arguing? My footing was fine! You clearly pushed me!” Wu Yueying said, then turned to Xiao Zhenqiang. “Zhenqiang, look at your wife—she pushed me! She wants to kill me!”

Already irritated, Xiao Zhenqiang’s patience snapped. Seeing his mother’s mud-covered face, he turned and slapped his wife. “You stupid woman! Pushing Mom into a ditch in winter—are you trying to freeze her to death?!”

Lü Qiuying took three slaps in a row while being falsely accused. No normal person could endure that.

She clenched her teeth and clawed at Xiao Zhenqiang. “You bastard! I didn’t push her! She’s framing me!”

Xiao Zhenqiang’s expression darkened. He beat her. “Still arguing?! You’re asking for it!”

“That woman needs a proper beating. Zhenqiang, teach her well!” Wu Yueying added gleefully.

Lü Qiuying glared at Wu Yueying with hatred—she would repay this humiliation someday.

In the shadows, the hungry ghost watched the chaos with delight.

After enjoying the scene, it ran back to report to Xiao Wange.

…

In the courtyard, Xiao Wange, Zhan Zeyan, and Zhao Zhao sat eating sunflower seeds.

They had planned to go to town, but after the disturbance caused by Wu Yueying’s group, they lost the mood.

Zhao Zhao said it was better to stay home—today was freezing, and roasting by the fire was more comfortable.

A brazier burned at their feet. Cracking seeds while warming by the fire was quite nice.

Just as Xiao Wange lifted her teacup, the hungry ghost darted into the yard and relayed the ditch incident.

After hearing it, Xiao Wange chuckled. “Looks like Wu Yueying’s family will be busy fighting for a while. Lü Qiuying isn’t easy to provoke either. I bet they’ll be tearing each other apart for days.”

Zhan Zeyan glanced at her, smiling. “Using a ghost to stir conflict—and doing it so successfully—only you could manage that, Wange.”

Xiao Wange raised a brow proudly. “Of course. Within ten miles, I’m probably the only one who can command ghosts.”

Zhan Zeyan handed her a peeled seed with a gentle look. “Not just ten miles—probably a hundred.”

She accepted it, ate half, and fed the other half to Zhao Zhao.

She smiled slightly—this man really knew how to say pretty words, but she liked hearing them.

Zhao Zhao glanced at his father, then at his mother.

He pursed his lips, then stood up. “Mom, I want to play with the kids in the village. I haven’t played with them for days. I miss them.”

Children his age loved fun and noise. Wange understood.

She smiled softly. “Okay, go. Take some candy from home to share with your friends.”

“Mm!” Zhao Zhao grabbed two handfuls of candy and some sunflower seeds, stuffing both pockets full before running out happily.

Seeing her cheerful child lifted Wange’s mood as well.

Still worried for his safety, she sent the hungry ghost to follow him. But it could only stay outside for two hours before returning to the bell to purify resentment.

After Zhao Zhao left, Wange snacked on seeds for a while, then stood and walked inside, intending to clean the house—it hadn’t had a proper cleaning in days.

But as soon as she stepped in, Zhan Zeyan followed and closed the door behind them.

She turned, frowning slightly. “Why are you closing the door in broad daylight? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of something improper again?”

Zhan Zeyan stepped closer, gaze dark and low. “Wange… Zhao Zhao went out to play.”

“I know,” she replied calmly.

He suddenly wrapped an arm around her, leaning in. “He won’t be back for a while, so…”