Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Of course, Uncle Lin said he hadn’t closed the door. He’d seen Qingmu go in, so why would he? Xiaonian’s wife also vehemently insisted that she had left right after using the latrine and hadn’t been the one to do it. However, neither of them could find a witness to back up their story.

Qingmu said nothing, his expression grim as he stared at Xiaonian’s wife.

His stare made her flustered. She was both shocked and terrified. ’I thought I’d gotten away with it,’ she thought, ’but in just a few words, all the blame has shifted to me!’ She couldn’t possibly admit to it now; all she could do was deny it to the bitter end. She shrieked at Qingmu, "What are you staring at me for? Are you going to pin this on me without any proof? Even the magistrates at the government office need witnesses to pass judgment! Besides, couldn’t two people have done this? What if *they* planned it together?"

Sister-in-law Qiang and the others flew into a rage at her words. Li Changliang, in particular, looked apoplectic—he was already short-tempered, and losing his wages had only made him angrier. He sneered, "Fine. Let’s all swear an oath. Let’s swear on our sons."

As soon as he said this, a strange look passed over everyone’s faces.

Everyone in the village had heard about Big Mouth Zhao swearing an oath on her son at the Zhou family’s home. It had become a running joke, though no one dared mention it openly for fear of angering the Zhous. Now that Li Changliang had brought it up again, all eyes turned to Xiaonian’s wife to see if she would dare to swear.

Xiaonian’s wife’s face turned ashen. ’How could I have forgotten about that?’ A wave of regret, fear, and desperation washed over her. Just as she was about to recklessly swear the oath, a loud roar came from the doorway. "No swearing! I’d like to see who dares swear on a grandson of my Zhou family!"

As he spoke, a crowd of people streamed in: Zhou Baozhu, Shorty Zhou, Li Gengtian, Zheng Changhe, Li Mingtang, and Li Mingrui. Even young girls like Juhua, Liu Xiaomei, and Jinxiang had come along.

So, why had they all arrived together?

It all started with Li Mingtang. After returning home last night, he’d mulled it over and decided he couldn’t just let Zheng Qingmu off the hook. He couldn’t let him get away with it so easily. So, despite his son Li Gongniu’s objections, he had gone to confront Zheng Changhe right after breakfast this morning.

Meanwhile, his older brother, Li Mingrui, was having breakfast when he heard about the previous night’s events from his son, Li Gengtian. Li Gengtian said that his Third Uncle was making a disgraceful scene and ruining his cousin Jinling’s reputation. "Isn’t he just shooting himself in the foot?!"

Li Mingrui was too angry to finish his breakfast. ’My brother is getting more muddled with age,’ he thought. ’Is this how a human being acts? To treat his own granddaughter’s future so flippantly, just to throw a tantrum at someone else?’

He immediately went to find Li Mingtang after the meal, determined to stop him from doing something so foolish.

But when he arrived at Li Mingtang’s house, he discovered his brother had already gone to the Zheng Family to cause a scene. His nephew, Li Gongniu, pleaded with him, "Uncle, you have to talk some sense into my dad! This is just going to hurt Jinling, isn’t it? Jinling already told me nothing happened last night. She was locked in the workshop, sure, but Qingmu just shouted for a bit before Changliang and the others came and opened the door. The Zhengs haven’t even said a word, and our own family is the one making a scene! How is Jinling supposed to find a husband after this? My dad is hoping Qingmu will break off his engagement and marry Jinling. You tell me, is that even possible?"

Li Mingrui was so furious he trembled from head to toe. He staggered off, rushing toward the Zheng Family’s home.

Seeing how enraged his uncle was, Li Gongniu worried something might happen to him, so he hurried over to support him and went along.

The village chief, Li Gengtian, had been on his way to the workshop, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how all this trouble was caused by Xiaonian’s wife. He cursed, "That damn woman! She’s only been married into the village for a few years, and she’s already constantly stirring up trouble. Things were going so well, and now there’s all this nonsense. Does she think I’m just a pushover?!"

’This incident isn’t just a private feud between the Zhou and Zheng families anymore,’ he thought. ’It’s dragged my cousin into it and, worse, it’s undermining my authority as village chief. Things in Qingnan Village were going so well, and I was enjoying my respectable position. Now this ruckus has made a mess of everything. Does that Xiaonian’s wife even see me as the village chief?’

’Besides, it’s embarrassing to even talk about. It’s all just petty, underhanded schemes and trivial squabbles. What does it accomplish, other than giving everyone something to laugh about? What an ignorant village woman!’

And so, with a grim expression, he went to the Zhou family’s home to find Zhou Baozhu. Before he left, he made a point of getting Shorty Zhou. Shorty Zhou was a formidable man; even though he and his brother now lived apart, he could still make decisions for half of their family’s household.

When Zhou Baozhu heard what Li Gengtian had to say, he was so angry he nearly fainted. He was filled with a regret he couldn’t put into words. ’I knew what kind of person my daughter-in-law was,’ he thought. ’Why was I so greedy for those wages that I let her work at the workshop? It’s only been a few days, and she’s already caused trouble again!’

He saw his older brother, Shorty Zhou, staring at him with a grim expression and could only nod helplessly. ’If we don’t divorce this woman, life for the Zhou family is going to become very difficult,’ he thought. ’The village chief said Li Mingtang has already gone to confront the Zheng Family. And the Zhengs are connected to the Liu Family from the next village... this is roping in all sorts of people!’