If you can't speak properly with that mouth, then you don't need it anymore. Ye Yunniang, ignoring the injury on her hand, slapped Wang Cuicui's face again and again with force.
Old Mrs. Wang, seeing her daughter being beaten, rushed to help.
Liang Maimiao couldn't just watch her good sister get hit, so she charged forward and blocked Old Mrs. Wang.
Old Mrs. Wang was no match for Liang Maimiao and shouted at Huandi,
"Come and help!"
Huandi harbored deep resentment towards Old Mrs. Wang, who made her life miserable every day, and Wang Cuicui, who always scolded her for only giving birth to worthless girls.
She was delighted to see them getting beaten; why would she be willing to help?
But with Old Mrs. Wang's shout, Huandi couldn't just stand by. Hesitantly, she took a step forward, then stopped.
Li An held a dagger in his hand, his gaze fierce like a wolf cub, fixed on Huandi.
Huandi was terrified. She pulled her daughter back, not daring to step forward.
Wang Cuicui was pinned down and beaten by Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang poured all her hatred for Wang Daxing into the blows she landed on Wang Cuicui.
Once Wang Cuicui was beaten to the point of being unable to fight back, Ye Yunniang stopped. She grabbed Li Pan and Liang Maimiao, signaled to Li An with her eyes, and retreated to their doorstep.
Ye Yunniang stood on the threshold. "What happened that night, I don't need to say more. The neighbors all saw it and know the reason.
All I want to say now is that I, Ye Yunniang, walk straight and sit upright. My conscience is clear.
For those who think that because I'm a widow, you can use some handkerchief, or some story about taking off clothes to spread rumors and force me to submit, so you can do whatever you want to me.
Hmph, you've miscalculated." Ye Yunniang's words were not only for the Wang family but also for those in the crowd with ulterior motives. No matter who it was, anyone daring to smear her name, she, Ye Yunniang, would absolutely stand her ground to the end.
"Well said, Yunniang, I support you." Qiufang, who had been swallowing her anger because of the affair between Zhang Er and Xiumei, suddenly spoke up.
If it's someone else's fault, why blame oneself? Having figured this out, Qiufang no longer seemed lifeless.
"I support you too. From now on, if anyone brings this up against you, I'll slap them hard." Granny Zhang, also a woman and a widow, understood Ye Yunniang's difficulties all too well.
Most of the other women also voiced their support.
In the crowd, Niu Dajiao and Old Mrs. Wang, who had wanted to say something, didn't dare to speak.
"Ye Yunniang is impressive." Watching the events unfold from a distance, Tong Tiemei's impression of Ye Yunniang greatly improved.
"Mother, don't stop me." Seeing Ye Yunniang being bullied, Tong Mo wanted to rush over and stand up for her, but was held back by Tong Tiemei.
"Have you no brains? Your going over wouldn't be standing up for Ye Yunniang; it would be
embarrassing her and confirming the evidence that she's been fooling around." Tong Tiemei was utterly disdainful of Tong Mo; he hadn't inherited any of her shrewdness, only his father's foolishness.
"How could that be?" Tong Mo didn't believe it.
"Xiao Mo, if you really want to help Ye Yunniang, go urge your uncle to wrap up the case sooner." Zhou Wenbo chimed in from the side.
"I don't dare." Tong Mo thought of Bao Min's instructions: he was not to disturb him before Cai Damei gave birth.
"Look at your spinelessness. Can your uncle eat you?" Tong Tiemei could hardly bear to look at Tong Mo.
"Uncle won't eat me, but he can make me wish I were dead." The person Tong Mo feared most was Bao Min, who ranked first, with no one even coming close for second place.
"Your uncle will definitely handle this matter." Ye Yunniang and Li Pan were the people Cai Damei cared about most. If something happened to them, Bao Min would definitely not stand idly by.
Tong Mo thought about it and agreed. He got up to find Bao Min.
After sending her son away, Tong Tiemei and Zhou Wenbo got up and walked towards the Li house. A man followed behind them.
They arrived at the Li house and knocked.
Li An opened the door. "Who are you looking for?"
"You."
"Me?" Li An was puzzled.
"An'an, who are you talking to?" Ye Yunniang, having re-bandaged her hand, came out.
Seeing Tong Tiemei, Zhou Wenbo, and the man beside them, her face changed. She quickly stepped forward, shielding Li An behind her, and reached out to close the door.
Tong Tiemei reached out to block it. "You recognize who he is?"
"I don't know him. Please leave." Ye Yunniang tried to close the door with force, but her strength was no match for Tong Tiemei's.
"Mother, are they from the Jin family?" Li An reacted quickly. The only ones who could make his mother afraid and unwilling to see them were either the Jiang family or the Jin family.
He had met all of the Jiang family members.
"You're as smart as your mother." The man looked at Li An, his eyes full of nostalgia.
"Don't mention her." Li An reacted strongly. He still remembered Jin Huifang's disgust and beatings.
"An'an, don't think about it. Come inside with mother." Ye Yunniang hugged Li An and led him into the house.
As for the three people at the door, she paid them no mind.
"Jin Lanxuan, so you've come to this day too." Zhou Wenbo mocked.
Jin Lanxuan didn't speak, just kept looking at Li An.
Tong Tiemei elbowed Zhou Wenbo, reminding him to be careful not to rub salt in the wound.
Zhou Wenbo rubbed his arm, his eyes pleading that he wouldn't say more.
The three of them surveyed the small courtyard. It was tiny but clean and tidy.
Tong Tiemei's gaze fell on the darkened marks on the wing-room door. Before coming, they had already learned about the incident where Ye Yunniang and the three children encountered thieves at night.
"As you can see, Jun'er is with her. Not to mention suffering hardships, even his safety can't be guaranteed." Upon arriving, Jin Lanxuan had stated his position: he wanted to take Li An away.
Tong Tiemei had told Jin Lanxuan to first obtain the consent of the child and his foster mother before discussing taking Li An away.
"It would be good for the child to be under Lanxuan's care." Zhou Wenbo joined in, trying to persuade Tong Tiemei.
"Raising a child isn't just about saying you'll raise him. You, Jin Lanxuan, can say you'll be good to him. But can your wife, your children, all be good to him?"
"They can." Jin Lanxuan's answer was very definite.
"That's easy to say now. When the time comes, it might not be like that." Tong Tiemei didn't believe it.
"Mei-jie, I believe Lanxuan wouldn't do that." Zhou Wenbo still had faith in his friend's character.
"Stay out of this. Before we married, you said you'd treat Mo'er as your own son. Did you really do it?" At Tong Tiemei's words, Zhou Wenbo lowered his head.
Zhou Wenbo's attitude towards a stepson and a biological son was different.
If his own son did something wrong, Zhou Wenbo would hit or scold as he pleased, and he naturally thought of leaving everything to his son.
But with Tong Mo, Zhou Wenbo indulged him. As long as it wasn't an unforgivable crime like murder or arson, Zhou Wenbo let him have his way.
Regarding Tong Mo wanting to marry Ye Yunniang, Zhou Wenbo's thought was that Tong Mo really took after his father. Then he worried that Tong Tiemei would be angry, nothing more.
It was also seeing Zhou Wenbo's attitude clearly that Tong Tiemei had agreed back then to let Tong Mo go with Bao Min.
As the younger uncle, Bao Min's discipline and care for Tong Mo were greater and better than that of Bao Shao or Zhou Wenbo.
Zhou Wenbo, lacking a good argument, said no more.
Just as Jin Lanxuan was about to speak again, Ye Yunniang opened the main room door.
"You three, please come in and talk."
They entered the central room and sat down. Ye Yunniang poured water for the three of them.
"We have no tea at home, only plain water."
"Plain water is just fine." Tong Tiemei didn't like the bitter taste of tea broth.
"You are all Huifang's maternal family?"
"We two are Tong Mo's parents." Tong Tiemei introduced herself and Zhou Wenbo.
"I am Fang'er's third brother, Jun'er's third maternal uncle." Jin Lanxuan introduced himself.
Ye Yunniang gave a faint acknowledgment, then began to talk about the last time she met Jin Huifang.
"She handed the child over to me. At first, I hesitated. But when I heard him call me 'Mother,' my heart softened."
