Chapter 10: Blatant Lies
The village chief looked her up and down, then shook his head. "I don’t see any injuries on you. How can you say you were beaten half to death? Bai Zhi, on the other hand, is covered in them. I wonder who did that. Going to the government office might be a good idea. We can get everything out in the open."
Hearing this, Liu’s face went pale. She quickly grabbed her mother-in-law’s sleeve and shook her head vigorously.
Old Mrs. Bai glanced at Bai Zhi’s blood-stained clothes and the purple and blue bruises on her otherwise delicate face. ’This is all evidence,’ she thought. ’And while that brat did hit us, she didn’t leave a single mark. If we really go to the government office, we’ll be the ones to lose out.’
Old Mrs. Bai shouted, "We don’t have to go to the government office! You’re the village chief of our Huangtuo Village, you can be the judge. You saw what happened just now! Make them pay me four taels of silver too!"
The village chief shook his head. "I didn’t see anything." He turned to the villagers outside and asked, "Did any of you see it?"
Everyone shook their heads. "Didn’t see it. Didn’t see a thing."
"Hey—! That’s just a bald-faced lie! This—" Old Mrs. Bai grew anxious.
Bai Zhi was amused. ’These villagers are really something else,’ she thought.
The village chief waved his hand dismissively. "Enough of this nonsense. Here are the newly written documents for the family separation and the severing of ties. Take a look. If there are no problems, you can affix your handprints."
Neither Old Mrs. Bai nor Liu could read, and they didn’t trust the village chief, feeling he was always siding with Mrs. Zhao and her daughter. So, they went into the inner room to wake up Bai Xiaofeng.
Bai Xiaofeng had attended school for two years and could recognize some characters, so they had him read it aloud.
The moment Bai Xiaofeng took the separation document, his face darkened. When he was at school, several of his classmates had servants to serve them tea and water.
His family couldn’t afford servants, so he had always treated Bai Zhi like a maid and himself like a young master.
Now what was he supposed to do? If Bai Zhi left, who would he have to order around?
Furious, he immediately tore the document to pieces and glared at Old Mrs. Bai. "Grandma, have you lost your mind? If the family splits, who’s going to serve me while I study? I’m going to be the top scholar! What kind of top scholar studies without anyone to wait on them?"
Although Old Mrs. Bai was a shrew, she treasured her grandson, Bai Xiaofeng. He was her family’s future top scholar!
"Alright, alright. If Xiao Feng says we’re not splitting, then we’re not splitting! You hurry back to your studies..." Old Mrs. Bai coaxed Bai Xiaofeng back to his room. When she returned, she saw that jinx, Mrs. Zhao, trembling with anger.
Disregarding the villagers present, she went back on her word without a second thought. "Split the family? In your dreams! Don’t you just want to split up so you can go find some wild man? Do you take the Bai Family for fools? You, Zhao Lan, married into the Bai Family, so you live as a person of the Bai Family and die as a ghost of the Bai Family. Split up? Dream on!"
"Village chief, we’re not splitting the family anymore. You can go home now!" After saying this, Old Mrs. Bai was about to leave when she felt a cold gaze fixed on her. She stopped, turned around, and looked at Bai Zhi standing next to Zhao Lan. Rolling her eyes dramatically, she said, "And you, you little slut. You’ve eaten the Bai Family’s food for twelve years. You think you can just leave whenever you want?"
’What a bunch of insufferable people,’ Bai Zhi thought, hardening her resolve. ’I have to separate from this family. We have to draw a clear line sooner or later!’
She sneered inwardly but shrugged nonchalantly on the outside. "There’s food, drink, and a place to sleep here. If you don’t want us to leave, we won’t! But you’d better not start complaining later that we eat too much and work too little, then try to kick us out again."
Old Mrs. Bai didn’t want to deal with her. Ignoring the gawking villagers, she turned, called Liu, and left the courtyard, returning to the main house where they lived.