Chapter 16: Fighting 01

As she approached and saw the cloth in the basket, an expression of envy flashed in her eyes. "Oh, this is good cloth. It looks like it costs several yuan per meter."

Mei Xue felt a flicker of displeasure at her attitude, and her smile instantly vanished. "Mhm, a bit over three yuan," she replied, not bothering to hide it.

Envy, is it? Fine, let her be envious to her heart's content. If it weren't for the fear of exposing herself, Mei Xue would have wanted to snap at this kind of person right then and there.

Unfortunately, the original owner's temperament had left her with too many shackles.

Not satisfied with just looking, the woman reached out to touch it. Hearing that the cloth cost over three yuan a meter, the bystanders, unconcerned about the rain, all crowded around.

Aunt Xilian felt somewhat displeased. After all, this girl was her own niece-in-law; these people were being far too shallow.

"Alright, alright, you've all seen it. Let Xiao Xue get back to her work. It's raining; aren't you afraid of getting your food wet?"

Hearing this, Mei Xue felt a little better. Seeing the woman holding a bowl, she assumed it was Aunt Xilian.

The crowd didn't care; even if their food got wet, they hadn't seen new cloth like this in ages.

"Oh, she's only been married for a few days and she's already being protected. Does your Anze acknowledge her?" one of the quick-tongued women remarked, whether intentionally or not.

Mei Xue was amused upon hearing this. She had originally intended to be a quiet, obedient daughter-in-law, but she hadn't expected the opportunity for a change to come so quickly.

"That's a funny thing for an auntie to say. He Qi and I have our marriage certificate. What do you mean he doesn't acknowledge me?" Holding an umbrella in one hand and clutching the basket in the other, she stood tall and retorted immediately.

The auntie likely hadn't expected the seemingly weak new bride to have such a sharp tongue.

Being rebuffed by the new bride, the woman grew indignant. "I didn't say anything wrong. Who knows if your certificate is real or fake? Besides, at your age, did you even get a real one?"

The woman's face was full of disbelief.

It wasn't just her; many in the village didn't believe it either. They said the Mei family had traded a debt of gratitude for a marriage.

Now that the whole family was dead and the daughter had been sent to be raised by another family, they said the marriage was just talk—no banquet had been held, so how could it be considered a real marriage?

Was Mei Xue really someone so easy to manipulate?

"Heh, you're quite funny, auntie. Are you from the police station? Do I need to show you my certificate? Besides, what relation do you have to my He family? Do we need your permission to get married?"

Mei Xue decided to use this incident to establish her authority.

She wouldn't let them think she was truly easy to bully.

Sister Chen pulled at the woman who had been rebuffed. The woman was none other than her neighbor, someone whose character was much the same. She had come to ask the men of Xilian's family to help check the water in the fields.

Since her husband had to work a part-time job in town today and was unavailable, and her land was adjacent to Xilian's, she had come up early after breakfast.

Her neighbor, having nothing to do at home, had followed her when she heard she was going to Xilian's house.

Unexpectedly, she had ended up in a confrontation with the new bride.

"He family daughter-in-law, you are a junior, after all. How can you speak to an elder like that? We are all from the same village; you have to pass by our front door to leave the village. Shouldn't you be more polite?"

Sister Chen didn't like the new bride either; she felt the girl was restless and didn't look like a typical villager at all.

She looked like a pampered young lady.

"Junior? What kind of elder is she to my family? Is she a member of the He family?" Mei Xue stepped forward. "From what you're saying, if I don't admit fault today, you don't plan on letting me pass through the main road when I leave the village?"

Hah, did they really think she was a little white rabbit? "Since when did the village roads belong to whoever lives in front of them? If that's the case, fine—if you're so capable, try stopping me and see what happens."

Seeing Mei Xue's formidable aura, Sister Chen and her neighbor felt their hearts sink, realizing this girl was not to be trifled with.

"How dare you speak like that?" Even though she felt a bit intimidated, the neighbor tried to save face. "Even if your husband met us, he'd have to call us 'Auntie.' What, do you think you can turn the world upside down just because you married in?"

Seeing their words becoming increasingly out of line, Xilian rushed forward to stand between them and Mei Xue. "Alright, alright, it's no big deal. Why are you arguing? Can't you see Xiao Xue has things to do? Let her get back to work."

Aunt Xilian was family, after all, and would certainly support her niece-in-law. Even when mediating, she naturally sided with her own.

"What do you mean 'no big deal'? What kind of woman is fit to marry into our He Village? Truly, she has a mother but no father to teach her," the neighbor spat.

"Everyone knows she has a fierce fate. She just finished causing the death of her own parents, and I don't know where she gets the nerve to marry."

As soon as the neighbor said this, she felt triumphant, but she had struck Mei Xue's most sensitive spot. While the original owner's consciousness had vanished, her obsession remained.

Usually, Mei Xue kept it suppressed, but hearing these words, the obsession surged into her heart.

Mei Xue dropped her umbrella, pushed the basket into Aunt Xilian's arms, and stepped forward to grab the woman who was spewing filth.

"No father to teach me, is it? Today, I'll show you exactly what it means to have no father to teach you." *Slap!* A palm struck that dark, sallow face.

One slap was not enough; Mei Xue delivered another to the other cheek. Now, they were symmetrical.

Because Mei Xue was gripping her hair, the auntie's focus was entirely on her aching head, and she hadn't even realized her face had been hit.

After the two slaps, she let out a scream like a pig. "Ah! You filthy wench! I'll beat you to death today!" She cursed while lunging at Mei Xue.

But Mei Xue was no pushover. Seeing her coming, she immediately began swatting her hands away, the rhythmic *slap-slap* of her hitting the woman's knuckles sounding particularly satisfying.

"Come on then! Do you think I'm afraid of you? Do you really think I, Mei Xue, am a pushover?"

Seeing her neighbor being beaten, Sister Chen immediately rushed in to break it up. Of course, her "mediation" was biased. In her struggle, she caused Mei Xue to loosen her grip on the woman's hair.

Of course, Mei Xue had loosened it intentionally. The hair was so greasy, likely unwashed for days; up close, she could even smell the sour stench.

"Why are you hitting people?" Sister Chen said with a long face. "You're a junior, yet you dare to lay hands on an elder. You probably don't want to live in this village anymore!"

"You little slut, I'm not done with you!" The neighbor, having regained her senses, lunged at Mei Xue again.

By now, the onlookers had reacted, and they weren't about to let the fight continue.

Especially Aunt Xilian, who knew the temperament of the third aunt. If she found out Xiao Xue was being beaten at her doorstep, her family's peace would be gone.

"Have you all had enough? Mei Xue, come here. Why are you fighting?" Aunt Xilian pulled Mei Xue behind her and glared at the madwoman in front of them.

However, that woman's mouth was truly infuriating. It wasn't that people in the village didn't gossip, but they usually whispered about people's pain. To poke at someone's wound to their face was simply asking for a beating.

In Mei Xue's opinion, she deserved it.