Page 969

"Troublesome woman! You cheap whore!" Lin Jiaxiao cursed as he hopped off the wall and rolled up his sleeves, heading back to the house to settle the score with Li Feng’e. It wasn’t long before the noises of a man’s loud scolding and a woman’s shrill wails emanated from the third courtyard.

The onlookers, enjoying the gossip, listened in, and soon found themselves amused.

No wonder Lin Jiaxiao hadn’t discovered Li Feng’e’s affair with the village’s old bachelor for so long; it turned out he also had a lover in the city.

Moreover, from Li Feng’e’s cursing, it was clear that Lin Jiaxiao’s lover was a brothel woman.

He had sold two parcels of the family’s land to buy her freedom and even rented a small courtyard in the city to live a cozy life with her.

Lin Yuan had seen that village head’s old bachelor more than a few times before. Given his family’s poverty, he hadn’t married even after turning thirty, and he wasn’t particularly attractive either. It was baffling what Li Feng’e saw in him to get involved with such a man.

Compared to attraction, Lin Yuan was more inclined to believe it was for revenge.

Back in the day, Lin Jiaxiao used to be so obedient to Li Feng’e that saying he wouldn’t let her suffer even the slightest harm wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Discovering that Lin Jiaxiao had another woman must have broken her heart more than it angered her.

Lin Yuan shook her head in pity. Lin Jiaxiao was never up to any good, and now he had even learned to keep a mistress, ruining a perfectly good household!

Turning her head, Lin Yuan caught sight of Lady Yang, her face grim as she stood among the crowd, obviously infuriated by the disgraceful behavior of the third child’s couple. Poor woman, at her age, she still had to bear the whispering directed at her children.

The third child’s family was disappointing, but the eldest child’s family was even more heart-wrenching.

Lady Ma scolded Lin Jiaxiao, thinking she had successfully diverted her husband’s attention. However, before she could enjoy her relief, Lin Jiazhong’s heavy slap hit her face, the furious shouts causing her body to tremble violently.

"You family-wrecking woman! You still gave him Five Stones Powder? Huh? You want to kill him, don’t you? Don’t you? My son, it’s all because of you, you vicious woman! Today, I’m going to beat you to death, beat you, beat him, we might as well all die, all die!"

As he spoke, Lin Jiazhong really picked up the iron shovel handle that Lady Ma had discarded, beating her with it. Lady Ma, in agony, howled and rolled on the ground, continuously begging for mercy.

"Boss, it’s not, it’s not that I want to harm him, he begged me, I really couldn’t bear to see my son suffer, ah, stop hitting me, Boss, I was wrong, I was wrong."

With Lady Ma’s cries, Lin Jiazhong’s rage only intensified.

When he had tried to rid Lin Yongcheng of his addiction to Five Stones Powder, it was Lady Ma who, out of pity, had deceived him along with their son.

Now as his son’s life hung by a thread, she obstinately continued offering that poison to their son.

Didn’t she understand that stuff could kill her son?

Watching Lin Jiazhong beat and scold Lady Ma, Lin Yuan felt not a shred of sympathy, only helplessness towards Lady Ma’s ignorance and pity for Lin Jiazhong.

As head of the family, Lin Jiazhong had taken risks and committed theft for the sake of his son and the household.

Yet, he ended up betrayed by the very person closest to him, his sacrifices all for naught.

Perhaps what truly enraged him was himself.

Of course, the onlookers couldn’t just stand by and watch Lin Jiazhong beat Lady Ma to death. Someone immediately stepped forward to pull him away, and the old village chief had been summoned as well.

After greeting Butler Qi with a bow, the old village chief spoke up for Lin Jiazhong. But Butler Qi, serving the Boss, could not let things slide even if he wanted to—Old Master Huang would never allow it.

Understanding Butler Qi’s dilemma, the village chief sighed and said to Lin Jiazhong, "Boss, why don’t you give them the house? Your mother still has a small courtyard, doesn’t she? It’s not big, but it’s enough for you all to live in."

Stripped of the iron shovel handle, Lin Jiazhong sat on the ground gasping for air.

Upon hearing the village chief’s words, he stood up abruptly and said defiantly, "No way! So what if I have to go to jail? Let’s do it!

My son is nearly killed by this damned woman anyway, why should I bother living?

Better to be in jail where there’s food and drink! Go, I’ll go with you!"