281 Self-harm
Yue Jiaojiao pulled a chair over and sat at the side.
For a moment, the workshop was so quiet that only the women’s rustling could be heard.
The ground seemed colder than before.
The lady that was on the floor and could not take it anymore.
“You!” She opened her mouth and shouted, “You must let my eldest daughter-in-law work here, or else, I’ll keep coming back to cause trouble for you in the future.”
Yue Jiaojiao lowered her head to look at her nails nonchalantly.
If only Zhao Zhan was here, he would definitely be able to take out a book to relieve her boredom.
Gu Xiaoyu stole a glance at Yue Jiaojiao.
She had originally thought that Zhao Zhan’s wife was a pampered young lady who stayed at home all day and did not come out. Now, she realized that she was even more intimidating than Zhao Zhan when she was serious.
After all, everyone knew Zhao Zhan’s background. They knew that he was easy to talk to, so they would not be nervous talking to him.
The lady felt as if her bones were freezing and was in extreme pain while she was on the floor.
After all, she was old. When she was young, she was one of the few wives in the village who could ride on her mother-in-law’s head and do whatever she wanted. She had been proud of it for so many years.
“You little…”
Yue Jiaojiao turned her head to look at the other party.
Gu Xiaoyu thought of the consequences of her scolding last time and subconsciously swallowed back her words. “Why are you ignoring me? You have a tofu workshop and a pickled vegetable workshop, what’s wrong with hiring my eldest daughter-in-law?”
Yue Jiaojiao’s head started to ache from all the fuss.
She hated trouble.
“You know that I have a doctor at home, right?”
Yue Jiaojiao said in a soft voice, “I remember that back then, you even went to Sun Jiyan to cause trouble.”
Sun Jiyan didn’t charge a fee for his consultation in Willow Village. If it wasn’t a precious medicinal herb, he would even give it away for free.
However, this old woman was insatiable. She caused a scene and made Sun Jiyan give her a few more sets of medicinal herbs than usual.
Gu Xiaoyu did not know what Yue Jiaojiao was up to, so she cast a sidelong glance at her without saying a word.
Article 73 of the Dayong law states that anyone who disturbs a merchant’s business without reason can be flogged 30 times. If they cause property loss of more than 50 silvers, they can be sentenced to a year in prison and be flogged as well as a punishment!
“The longer you stay there.. Well… When I estimate that I have about fifty silver, I will ask Lizheng to send you back to the county government. I will pay for the copper for Lizheng’s ox cart for you.”
50?!!
Even if she sold her bones, she would never get that many pieces of silver!
Gu Xiaoyu rolled to her feet and spat on the ground. “You’re such a heartless and vicious person. It’s no wonder that you can’t give birth!”
It was as if not having children was a great sin for women.
If she was born infertile, it would be a capital crime.
Yue Jiaojiao’s face was originally expressionless, but at this moment, she snorted coldly.
“You’ve given birth to a good son. At his age, in order to help fund his family, he should be the one in your place.”
“My son is a man! How dare he do such a thing?”
“So you actually realize that what you’re doing now is embarrassing?”
“Jiaojiao!”
Zhao Zhan only heard Yue Jiaojiao’s voice from the workshop when he reached the door. He rushed in and stood beside her, his face full of worry. “Is someone bothering you?”
Yue Jiaojiao, who had a frosty expression on her pretty face just a moment ago, pouted. The grievance on his lover’s face was so real that even her voice made people’s hearts clench. “She’s being unreasonable. I spoke to her nicely, but she scolded me again! She even scolded me for not having children!”
“What?!” When the old lady saw Zhao Zhan enter, she placed her hands on her hips and said, “Zhao Zhan, you used to be an honest child in the village. Don’t be fooled by her! I just wanted to find a job for my daughter-in-law, but your wife has different plans! She wants me arrested!!”
Zhao Zhan put his arm around Yue Jiaojiao’s shoulder and lowered his head to look at her eyes.
“Tomorrow, I’ll get someone to put up a fence around this area so that no one can come in.”
“Zhao Zhan, she said mean things to me too…”
For some reason, Gu Xiaoyu was a little flustered by the action.
“Don’t worry.” Zhao Zhan said in a deep voice without even looking at the other party, “I’ll put a guard at the workshop’s entrance next time. If you really can’t take it, you can just lock it from the inside. I’ll go and report the case now.”
“What did you say? You want to report me to the police?!”
Gu Xiaoyu was in a good mood and was already standing by the door when she heard the order.
“You just said that my wife wanted to send you to see the officials. Since she said it, then I will make it a fact.”
Zhao Zhan’s eyes never left Yue Jiaojiao’s face. “Does your ear hurt? Are you disturbed? Let’s go back first and wait for Doctor Sun to come back so he can check on you.”
He walked out with Yue Jiaojiao in his arms. Gu Xiaoyu’s face was full of joy as she felt that she had learned something new.
No wonder Zhao Zhan doted on her so much. She doesn’t have the capability to even stand up for herself!
“I’m not going!”
Although Gu Xiaoyu was old, she was naturally in good health since she was able to make a name for herself in Willow Village through verbal battles.
The people were afraid of meeting the officials.
Especially when that little vixen spoke with so much truth.
If she was really beaten 30 times, she was sure that she would not be able to survive.
It seemed that Zhao Zhan was really possessed. He used to be such a good child, how did he become like this?
Even the most unreasonable person was afraid of death.
Gu Xiaoyu ran towards the door in a hurry, wanting to go home. Gu Xiaoyu subconsciously wanted to lock the door from the inside, but then she heard a heavy bang, followed by Gu Xiaoyu’s ghostly wails and wolf howls that spread far away.
She tripped on her right foot and fell.
Yue Jiaojiao had already been brought to the door by Zhao Zhan.
She turned her head to take a look.
Gu Xiaoyu was facing down, and the few remaining teeth in her mouth were spat out.
“My teeth!
“My arm!”
She lay on the ground, unable to move.
The people who were busy in the workshop peeked at her. Some of them wanted to laugh at this bad woman’s bad luck, but they were afraid of being scolded.
Gu Xiaoyu groaned in pain.
“Dear me…” Yue Jiaojiao said in a gentle voice, “We’ll just have to trouble Jianji and ask his son and daughter-in-law to remove the door and carry her back. It’s best if you can find a doctor to check if her fall was serious. Doctor Sun isn’t here. They’ll have to spend more money to find a doctor in town. That’s so pitiful.”
After Yue Jiaojiao finished speaking, she left with Zhao Zhan.
She wouldn’t have much sympathy for this kind of woman who was clearly a scammer.
The two of them bumped into Madam Qin halfway. “What happened? I heard a lot of noise coming from here.”
Madam Qin was anxious, so she put on a hat to cover her face and ran out in a hurry.
“Jiaojiao has been wronged.” Zhao Zhan’s face was serious, and the sternness in his eyes had not dissipated. “I was stuck on the mountain for a long time. I should have come down earlier.”
Madam Qin looked at Yue Jiaojiao’s expression.
She thought to herself that perhaps only Zhao Zhan truly felt that her lady had been wronged.
Zhao Zhan brought Yue Jiaojiao back to the bedroom with a dark expression on his face. Then, he asked, “So… Do you want kids?”