Qiao Mai cried as she rolled her sleeves, revealing her bruised arms.
"Chief, look. This is all from my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law."
The village chief didn't dare to look at her directly as he was a man, but many villagers saw it.
Qiao Mai was afraid they wouldn't believe her, so she rolled up her pants again.
"Look, this is all because of them. I don't dare to go back to such a home. I beg the village chief to give justice to this woman!"
The Tian family didn't expect Qiao Mai to do this. Usually, no matter how they bullied her, she wouldn't even make a sound. Did she explode because she lost her child?
The village chief glanced at Old Tian. "Brother Tian, your family is doing well. Why are you treating your Sanzhuang's wife like this? She's capable!"
Old Tian's face turned red. "We men never interfere in family matters. I don't even know about this. Perhaps there's some misunderstanding?"
Madam Tian Li was so angry that she pointed at Qiao Mai. "What misunderstanding? She's just a piece of trash. She was pregnant right after Sanzhuang left. That child definitely isn't my Sanzhuang's."
Qiao Mai naturally wouldn't let her slander her.
"Mother, I was married to Sanzhuang for two months before he went to serve in the military. I got pregnant half a month after he left. No matter how you count the days, it's still his child."
"You keep saying that I cheated. Let me ask you, who am I cheating on? You tormented me until I'm only left with a handful of bones. Who dares to want me? I could scare people to death when I came out at night."
"Today, everyone heard Mother said I was cheating. Mother, please tell me, who exactly did I cheat on? If you can't tell me, I'll report you to the mayor."
"I'll risk my life to sue you for framing me. Also, you tortured your daughter-in-law and deliberately kicked my stomach, causing my child to be born prematurely."
"It's all your fault. You're a murderer. Chief, if you don't care, I'll go to the mayor's house. If not, I'll go to the county government. I don't believe it. Their family isn't poor, and there's even a scholar. Why are they so vicious?"
The village chief was helpless. He looked at the Tian family. "What do you think we should do?"
Old Tian gave Madam Tian Li a look, and Madam Tian Li gestured to her eldest daughter-in-law and second daughter-in-law a look. The three of them wanted to drag Qiao Mai back.
"I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving! Chief, it's unfair for you to be the village chief. You don't care about the lives of the people. Tian family, you're vicious and merciless. You killed my child. If I don't die, I'll sue your family at the county government! Even if I die, I will haunt you to the end of the world!"
Qiao Mai fought the three women with all her might. She didn't touch the other women and only focused on Madam Tian Li. Qiao Mai grabbed her hair and pulled it fiercely, refusing to let go.
It was so painful that Madam Tian Li could not help but scream, "Ah, you b * tch, let go, let go!"
This time, the village chief could no longer smooth things over. He shouted.
"Madam Tian Li, stop! Everyone stop!"
When Madam Tian Li and her daughters-in-law heard that the village chief was angry, they stopped. Qiao Mai also hurriedly let go of her hand.
He walked up to Qiao Mai and said helplessly,
"Madam Qiao, don't make a fuss. As long as you don't go to the town or the county office, you can do whatever you want. Uncle will decide for you."
Old Tian went over and tugged at his sleeve. "Chief, this is against the rules."
The village chief glared at him. "If you want to make this matter known to the entire town, you can continue. When the time comes, it's hard to say whether your grandson can continue studying."
"I just don't understand why your family is so ruthless and kept tormenting her. Did she offend your family or something? Can't you just live a peaceful life? Why did you have to force her to her death?"
"This is great now. She wants to leave and will sue you if you don't let her. No matter what you say, it doesn't matter. You have to know that you don't have her slave contract. If you kill someone, you will be sued, regardless of whether she is your daughter-in-law."
Old Tian fell silent when he heard these words. He retreated to the side and no longer asked about this matter.
The village chief looked at Qiao Mai. "Tell me, what do you want?"
"I don't want to go back to the Tian family. I want to split up!"
"What? Our parents are still alive, and Sanzhuang is serving in the military. How dare you talk about splitting up? You little slut, you want to split up because you want no one to care about you so you can continue cheating." Madam Tian Li was anxious when she heard this.
"Do I need you to continue tormenting me to death?"
"You jinx! If you continue to cause trouble, we'll divorce you!"
Qiao Mai cursed in her heart. After a big ruckus, they finally relented.
"If you dare to divorce me, I'll go to the county and sue you for killing my child. I'll sue your entire family for being reincarnated from animals. You're all demons!"
"You, you!"
Although the villagers were pointing fingers in secret, they did not criticize the Tian family in person.
Even so, Old Tian couldn't take it. The Tian family had to provide for a scholar. They could be considered a family that cultivated and studied.
If today's matter were to be spread out, they would be shameless, but their eldest grandson still had to study!
Even if Qiao Mai did not succeed in suing them, the news of them abusing their pregnant daughter-in-law and causing her to give birth prematurely would affect the village. The village chief would not let their family off, and it would be difficult to explain to his eldest grandson.
If the teachers in his school heard this, as well as his classmates and friends, how could he still stay there? His grandson was good at studying, and the Tian family was counting on him to bring glory to the family. They could not let this matter affect him.
Thinking of this, he suppressed his anger and said, "Sanzhuang's wife, it's impossible for us to split up. What else do you want?"
"Then write a letter to release me. I can't stay in your house. I want to live."
Old Tian gritted his teeth." You have to know that your maternal family won't let you go back. If you leave the Tian family, you will die."
"So what if I die? I'm begging outside. I don't have to work, and people won't beat or scold me. Good-hearted people will even give me a bite to eat. But at your house, you abused me and only gave me work without food."
"And the villagers? Don't even mention leftovers. If I didn't eat wild vegetables and grassroots, I wouldn't have lived until now. I must leave your Tian family! Leave this village!"
The villagers blushed at Qiao Mai's words. Many of them lowered their heads. No family could say they couldn't go on. They all had food reserves. They knew Qiao Mai didn't have enough to eat every day and was as hungry as a bamboo pole, but they didn't give her any help. Their conscience was a little...
"Alright, I'll give you the letter on behalf of Sanzhuang, but you have to promise me one thing."
"Speak!"
"After leaving this door, you can't badmouth the Tian family in the future. Do you agree?"
Qiao Mai thought they were really naive. Who didn't know about this? How could those gossipy women not tell their relatives? Sooner or later, the news would spread.
"Alright, I promise you. After I get the letter of release, I will keep my mouth shut."
"Swear it!"
"After the separation, as long as your family doesn't find trouble with me, I, Qiao Mai, won't say anything bad about the Tian family. Otherwise, I'll die a horrible death."
"Good! Remember what you said."
Old Tian looked at the village chief. "Can you ask your second son to write two letters of release? My grandson isn't home."
The village chief looked at Qiao Mai. This girl was diligent and didn't like to talk. If the Tian family didn't torture her too harshly and caused her child to die, things wouldn't have turned out like this.
"Madam Qiao, you really don't regret it?"
"Haha, I even want to sing and dance for a few days to be able to leave the Tian family. I won't regret it even if I die!"
It seemed she was really determined to leave. The village chief turned around and said to his second son behind him,
"Son, go and write two letters of release."
"Yes, Father!"
The village chief's surname was Liu, and he had three sons and two daughters. The eldest son used an ox cart to pull the horses in the village. The second son was a scholar and happened to be on break today. The third son was learning craftsmanship from someone in town. His two daughters were not married yet. His family was leading the best life in the village.
Just as the village chief's son returned to his room to write the letter of release, Madam Tian Li pointed at Qiao Mai and cursed.
"Pah, you're a cursed jinx. You stinky slut. I was really blind. When I let Sanzhuang marry you, I wasted our food. B*tch, b*tch, b*tch!"