Li Qingmu was blocked by her and a hint of surprise flashed across his deep eyes.
The two of them stepped out, one after the other. When she saw the door being slammed, Longyue pursed her lips in disdain.
She stepped forward but did not walk towards the front. Instead, she walked to the side of the door and pretended to pull the bar.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Li Qingmu nimbly stepping to the side.
"This… This man is very crafty!" she thought.
"Cut!"
"Bang!"
A figure charged straight in.
"Ouch!"
Auntie Liu was bashing the door when she staggered in and rolled on the floor twice before coming to a stop. She held her forehead, which hurt from the fall, and was about to get up and swear when Longyue spoke first.
"Yo! Are these wild boars from the mountains running around the village? Look at how you have damaged my door. It's almost smashed. You're not allowed to leave until you pay up!"
"Pfft!"
A slight sneer sounded in her ears. Li Qingmu reached out and picked up his fourth brother, who was hiding among the straw. He narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, "Are you in trouble again?"
"Wuwuwu…"
The little fellow covered his mouth and shook his head. Li Qingmu nodded. "It has to be you."
"… Third Brother, I was wronged. I caught a wild rabbit with much effort. When I passed by her house, her son, Fat Tiger, tried to snatch it from me. We started fighting over it, and I injured him…"
He muttered under his breath, but his voice was quickly drowned out by Auntie Liu's noise.
"Compensate my foot! I need you to compensate me. Little bitch, you're quite bold. You even dare to hit me?!"
Auntie Liu had come here to look for the Li family to compensate them. It turned out that, before she could say anything, Longyue requested compensation for the door instead. She was so angry that she cursed and conveniently distorted the truth.
At this moment, Madam Li Zhou, came out cautiously and asked timidly, "Younger Sister Liu, what happened to you? If there's anything, let's talk nicely…"
"What else is there to say? Your fourth son beat up my Little Tiger, and just now, your little hussy beat me up. Do you still want me to speak properly? Cut the crap. Pay up immediately! The scratch on my son's arm and the wound on my forehead—that's a total of three taels of silver. Not a single copper coin less!"
Li Zhou's heart trembled when she heard that. "Three… Three taels… Sister Liu, you're asking too much…"
"What? Are you going back on your word? Are you forcing your old mom to use a kitchen knife to reason with you?"
Hearing Auntie Liu refer to herself as an 'old mom' and being called a 'hussy,' Longyue could no longer tolerate her arrogance. She rushed over, grabbed her by the hair, and slammed her into the wall.
"Three taels of silver? I think you and your son will pay at most 30 copper coins for going to a medical center with such minor injuries! Come, let me help you. I'll smash your head and face until they crack. When I'm done, I'll give you three taels!"
Longyue was exceptionally strong. Auntie Liu was caught off guard and thrown against the limestone wall. She was scared out of her wits.
"Ah, ah——Don't, don't! Li Zhou, you have to take care of your third daughter-in-law. Aiyo, this little shrew, the wicked woman of the Li family, the bully of Qingshui Village! Help—"
"Ha, you already know that I'm the wicked woman of the Li family, yet you still dare to come to me shamelessly. If I don't hit you, who should I hit?"
Auntie Liu wailed miserably. Longyue sneered as she pressed her head against the wall. The force was so strong that her head hurt. It was so painful that she felt like dying.
"Who are you trying to scare by brandishing your claws? To put it bluntly, you're just a paper tiger!"
In her previous life, she had been called the 'wicked woman of the Li family', but her only fault was that she had a bad temper. She did not deserve to be called wicked. Now that she was reborn, Longyue felt that it was necessary to live up to this nickname.
Auntie Liu was so scared that her whole body was trembling. She looked at the wall that was just inches away from her and cried out to Madam Li Zhou, "Madam Li, don't you control your daughter-in-law? She's trying to kill someone. Save me, villagers, save me…"
"Third branch, release her quickly. Don't go too far…"
Madam Li Zhou looked left and right. When she saw that the neighbors were already approaching, she was so scared that her face turned pale. She hurriedly urged Longyue to stop.
Longyue did not really intend to hurt Auntie Liu. She just wanted to scare her. "Who knows that this person is so easily scared?" she thought.
She let go of her and said coldly, "Get lost! If you dare to behave atrociously at my house again, you can forget about getting your head back!"
"You…" Auntie Liu held her head that was hurting so much that she thought she was about to die. She was so angry that she pointed at Longyue and scolded," Little hussy, you're ruthless. I'm not playing this game. Sooner or later, I'll make you suffer!"
After scolding her, she was afraid that Longyue would hit her, so she quickly slipped away.
The moment she left, Li Zhou panicked and was close to crying. "This… What should we do? The Liu family has many family members. If we really get into a fight…"
Longyue frowned. Seeing her mother-in-law pull the corner of her blouse and twisting it made her feel frustrated and angry. "The law of the jungle prevails in this world. If you aren't tough, others will oppress you until you can't take charge of your own life," she thought.
"Mom, Auntie Liu was looking for trouble on purpose. It was Fat Tiger who was in the wrong first."
Her younger brother-in-law, Ah Qiu, poked his head out from behind Li Qingmu and said. She asked him,"Why didn't you speak up just now?"
Li Qingqiu said weakly, "Auntie Liu is strong, and I'm not as strong as Longyue."
"Okay, then eat more. When you're strong in the future, you can challenge her."
"Third Brother, we don't have that much food at home."
Longyue knew that Li Qingmu said that to lighten the atmosphere and to calm Li Zhou's nerves. However, her younger brother-in-law did not give her face by telling the truth. This was awkward.
Li Zhou was still anxiously twisting the corner of her blouse. Li Qingmu said, "Mom, don't be afraid. They can look for me later."
Longyue looked at him and knew that he was supporting her. She was touched. She saw him enter the house and followed him.
Inside, Li Qingmu laid out the Four Treasures of the Study—the brush, ink, paper, and ink stone.
His usual source of income was painting and writing. He either sold them at an ornamental store or copied books for others.
His paintings and writings were good. But because of his lowly status, the price he sold them for was not very high, but it was enough for this family to eke out a living.
However, it was a little difficult to support his annual tuition and other fees for the imperial examination.
Old Master Li had leg injuries. They would hurt during winter and when he was working in the field. His medical expenses were substantial.
The eldest and second brothers did not own any land, so they could only be tenant farmers earning meager incomes. However, the second brother's wife, Madam Zhang, was a disloyal person who liked to channel the Li family's money to her maternal family.
Madam Zhang had an older sister. In order to carry on the family line, she specially found a man who was willing to marry into her family. Two years ago, she gave birth to a big, fat kid and became the darling of the Zhang family. Madam Zhang visited her maternal home often and every time, she would bring along a lot of food items and a few taels.
These expenses were all paid for through selling calligraphy and paintings by Longyue's husband.
Longyue felt that she had to discuss this matter with her husband. He should hold on to his hard-earned money.
She remembered that Li Qingmu participated in the county examination this year in her previous life. However, because he did not have enough money, he stumbled along, doing odd jobs for people and satiating his hunger with cold water.
The day after the examination, the weather had become cold. He made it home in his thin clothes and after that, he fell seriously ill and almost lost his life. Even after he recovered, the damage to his health was done and he often coughed at night. In the words of the doctor, it was the cold air that seeped into his lungs. There was no cure, only nourishment, for him.
At that time, Madam Zhang was obviously rich, but she refused to help out. To put it bluntly, she did not care about the Li family!
When she thought about this, Longyue felt a sense of disgust for her second sister-in-law.
Longyue watched the man painting conscientiously as she thought about how to earn money.
The Li family lacked money!
"I'm going to the county city to buy some fabric tomorrow."
Li Qingmu looked up and was stunned. "Wife, what do you want it for?"
"Hmph, what else can we do? We can sell embroidery work for some money." Longyue glared at him with dissatisfaction. "Don't tell me you think your wife is just waiting to die?"
…
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