I Became the Mother of His Child

"The Xu family you speak of is my wife's maiden home," Song Yuanhuan said coldly as he glanced at Feng Laidi and walked towards the entrance of the village.

"You heartless man, are you and your family bullying an old woman like me!" Feng Laidi yelled through gritted teeth. Unable to stop Song Yuanhuan, she suddenly felt panicked and a bit scared as she looked at Xu Xiuxiu, "Don't try to scare me. How could the Police Station care about your family squabbles? Let me tell you, even if someone from the Police Station comes today, it won't make a difference. I, Feng Laidi, am not afraid." Feng Laidi stood with her hands on her hips, clutching a wooden stick, her demeanor bold and defiant.

"Didn't my second sister just tell you? Now, slandering and defaming women bears legal responsibility, you could end up in prison," Xu Xiuxiu said seriously, "Plus, you've injured my elder sister, something everyone here saw. Deliberate assault can result in fines or detention. Combine the two offenses, and you'll have enough to get you some free meals in jail. I see your son won't be out in a while, and it's not easy for an old lady like you. I'll ask my husband and his comrades to put in a word or two, so that you can enjoy a few more free meals." Xu Xiuxiu threatened after her scare tactic: "You don't have to thank me too much; it's just a small effort on my part, a mere word is all it takes."

"You... you wouldn't dare!" Feng Laidi panicked, no longer able to maintain her composure, "It was Xu Fangfang who ran into the bottom of my stick on her own. I didn't intentionally hurt anyone." Her defense lacked confidence.

"Everyone present saw you assault someone on purpose..." Xu Xiuxiu silently surveyed the crowd of onlookers. Feng Laidi had originally intended to make a scene, tarnish the Xu family's reputation, and vent her son's anger. Unexpectedly, her loud behavior to draw an audience now provided witnesses who could identify her as the assailant. "But whether or not you assaulted anyone, that's not for us to say. Let's wait for the Police Station to investigate. Surely all the aunts and ladies present would be willing to cooperate with the police officers, wouldn't they?"

Seeing Xu Xiuxiu's forthright and intimidating approach, Feng Laidi lost her nerve even more: "I didn't harm her, everybody here saw what really happened, didn't you? It was Xu Fangfang who ran into the bottom of my stick!" Feng Laidi appealed to the people around her, looking up.

Although there were plenty of gossipy old ladies and people who enjoyed watching the drama without worrying about the consequences, none of them entertained the idea of lying for Feng Laidi. If the Police Station officials came asking, they would tell the truth. After all, Mr. Xu from the Xu family is also a village cadre in Xu Village. Eventually, the villagers would need his favor, and it wasn't the norm in Xu Village to collude with outsiders against their own. Besides, the reputations of Feng Laidi and her son Wenshu were known to be troublesome in all the surrounding villages—a widowed troublemaker and her thieving son.

Who would be foolish enough to side with Feng Laidi in a thankless task? They were not out of their minds.

"Let's not argue about whether or not you lied and if you hurt someone. We can discuss it when the Police Station officers arrive. I'm confident they will give you justice. And, I'll also mention the marriage proposal between our two families. I want to see, in this day and age where love marriages are advocated, even if it's arranged by parents and matchmakers, if our Xu family disagrees with this marriage, could you still force it through?" Xu Xiuxiu scoffed her words not as sharp as Xu Qingqing's but still hitting Feng Laidi right in the chest with every statement.

These villagers, least afraid of verbal battles, are most terrified of facing the Police. Xu Xiuxiu was clearly serious, would Feng Laidi not panic? Her son was still in the hospital, strictly guarded by the Police, not even letting her take a glance. If she were to be taken in as well, what would happen to her son Wenshu? After her death, how could she face the ancestors of the Song family with dignity.

"You're trying to bend the law for personal gain! Oh my God! The Old Xu Family, wiped out, now bullying others because of some connection in the Police Station, planning to ruin the Song Family! Lord Almighty! How can you stand to watch this, smite them with a bolt of lightning!" Feng Laidi began to bawl and create a scene, "And let me tell you, don't even think I covet your doomed family's daughter! Our Song Family doesn't care at all! Whoever wants to marry her can go ahead, who's afraid of not being able to marry off a daughter when they have money?" Feng Laidi shouted frantically, bending over to pick up the stick she had thrown on the ground.

"I'm telling you, I'm not going to let it go about what you did to my Wenshu, and Xu Fangfang, you better return the money you owe my family soon, or else I'll report you to the police and have you arrested. If you don't repay the debt, surely I'll be able to get it back!" Feng Laidi was quite annoyed, but since she couldn't get on Xu Xiuxiu's good side, she could only turn her anger towards Xu Fangfang.

"Why the hell! My Si Ya has been by you..." Xu Fangfang was covering her bleeding head, about to speak indignantly. Knowing that Jingjing had been ruined by Song Wenshu, how could she swallow such an insult? Wouldn't that just be letting Wenshu off for free? In the end, she would gain nothing and still be tainted by the debauchery.

"Xu Fangfang." Xu Xiuxiu probably guessed what Xu Fangfang was about to say and immediately cut her off with a dark expression on her face; she couldn't let Xu Fangfang just blurt out Jingjing's affair: "Don't embarrass me any further." Xu Xiuxiu's tone was rather cold.

Xu Fangfang suddenly felt a guilty conscience under Xu Xiuxiu's gaze.

Seeing this, Feng Laidi let out a smug snort, "Xu Fangfang, I'm giving you three days. If you don't return the one hundred and thirty-two yuan within three days, I'll bring people to knock down your family's wall." Feng Laidi was no pushover, having suffered a big loss today, she had to find a way to regain some face one way or another.

"You dare!" Xu Fangfang glared.

"Just watch if I dare! You, the debtor, still have the nerve to yell at me. What, are debtors the big bosses now?" Feng Laidi, holding the stick, jabbed it into the ground.

"Nowadays, the debtor is the boss, right? You claim to have lent more than 100 yuan to my big sister Xu Fangfang, but do you have a promissory note, or a witness? Without those, why should we repay? You say there's a debt, well, I can also say you owe me five hundred yuan! Return that to me! Even if you're not satisfied and knock down her wall, I'm going to leave you with these words: whatever way the wall is knocked down, I have means to have you build a new one just as it was before." Xu Xiuxiu had no intention of helping Xu Fangfang, but Xu Fangfang betrayed Jingjing for that more than 100 yuan, and now she has to swallow her pride and cough up that money. Given Xu Fangfang's current dire straits, she might do something desperate over the money again.

It wasn't that Xu Xiuxiu was being paranoid; it's just that Xu Fangfang was indeed that kind of unreliable person.