Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 726: Chapter 729: Rights and Wrongs

Yang Chen had never seen such behavior from a shrew before. The mannerisms of a streetwise commoner left him momentarily stunned, almost unable to react.

"You're asking for trouble..."

Just as Yang Chen was about to make a move, Ma Guifang quickly shouted at him from behind.

"Yang Chen! Stay back!"

Ma Guifang angrily pushed Yang Chen aside and scolded him, "This isn't something you should be involved in! Go back! Since when did I become your mother-in-law? We have nothing to do with each other!"

Yang Chen felt stifled. How could she be mad at him when someone had come to their door to humiliate them?

"Mom, she's gone too far, and you're still stopping me?!" Yang Chen's voice trembled with anger.

The fierce woman snorted coldly, "So you're just a wannabe son-in-law who hasn't even married into the family yet? Chasing after someone else's daughter like that? Well, it makes sense. The mother is a fox spirit, so the daughter must be just as seductive."

Seeing that Yang Chen was about to confront her, Ma Guifang hurriedly blocked his way. Turning back, she solemnly said, "Aunt Zhou, I think you've misunderstood something, but you can't talk about my daughter like that, slandering us."

Yang Chen was left standing behind, feeling utterly helpless. Truth be told, Ma Guifang wasn't someone he couldn't easily overpower, but the situation was different. He couldn't act too aggressively or cause a scene, so he had to endure for now, waiting to see how things would unfold.

"That's right, dear. It's not what you think," the old man tried to persuade her.

"Shut up!" Aunt Zhou's face twisted with anger. "You say nothing's going on?! Ever since that fox spirit started working here, you've been running over there every few days, bringing her vegetables or tofu. If there's a day when that fox spirit doesn't come to our shop to borrow something, you worry that she's not feeling well. I've been your wife for decades, and have you ever cared if I was feeling well?!"

The old man's face flushed with embarrassment as he stammered, "Dear, it's not what you think... I just saw that Guifang was here alone, far from Sichuan, without a husband to take care of her, so I thought I'd help out a bit. I had no other intentions..."

"Doesn't she have a daughter to take care of her? Why do you need to get involved?!" Aunt Zhou sneered. "She's a widow, no man around, and she's a lot better looking than an old lady like me. Do you think I can't guess what's going on in your mind? You usually bring her small things, and I pretended not to notice. But today, when I came back, you gave her a whole plate of meat bones for free! Do you think I'm dead?!"

"I... I just thought the weather's been bad lately, and Guifang seemed a bit weak. I wanted her to make some soup to nourish herself... I really didn't..." The old man's face turned red with embarrassment, and he began to stammer. Aunt Xiang quickly jumped in to help, "Aunt Zhou, please don't misunderstand. Guifang comes to borrow vegetables because we're short-staffed. How about this? Next time, I'll go myself, or I'll send my husband. Guifang isn't the type of person you think she is."

"A-Xiang, we've known each other for years, so don't lie to me," Aunt Zhou said angrily. "Ask yourself, since Ma Guifang started working on this street, how many of the old men in the nearby shops haven't had thoughts about her? The saying goes, 'A widow's doorstep is always troublesome.' Am I making this up? If she really had no ulterior motives, why do so many people talk about her behind her back? Even if you don't let her borrow vegetables, people from other shops will still come running to cozy up to her!"

Aunt Xiang was at a loss for words and turned her head awkwardly to look at Ma Guifang, who remained silent. It was clear that gossip about Ma Guifang had been circulating for a while, and recently, more and more people from nearby shops had been visiting, all with the same purpose in mind.

Ma Guifang's face turned pale and then flushed, but she held back her tears, her sadness growing more intense with her effort to remain composed.

Standing behind her, Yang Chen suddenly remembered something.

He recalled a previous visit when Ma Guifang had gone to borrow vegetables from a nearby shop and returned with a grim expression, though he hadn't asked her about it at the time.

That shop was, indeed, owned by the Zhou family.

It now seemed that Ma Guifang had already been enduring harsh treatment and unkind words from this Zhou family shrew, which explained her troubled expression back then.

But Ma Guifang was a resilient woman, cherishing the rare opportunity to work and not wanting to mention it, lest Mo Qianni forbid her from continuing to work in the shop.

Thinking it through, Ma Guifang, as Mo Qianni's biological mother, had been quite attractive in her youth. Now, in her late forties, although weathered and with some crow's feet, she still retained the charm of a mature woman. It was understandable that she would attract attention from middle-aged and elderly men, leading to such misunderstandings.

Taking a deep breath, Ma Guifang forced a smile and said, "Aunt Zhou, I'm not a person of high morals, but I would never do something to ruin someone else's marriage. I'm making it clear today that there's nothing between your husband and me. I've already used those meat bones to cook a dish for the guests. I'm just someone from out of town with little education, trying to earn some money so I don't burden my daughter. If you really don't want to see me, I'll find another job further away. How does that sound?"

Hearing Ma Guifang's humble tone, Aunt Zhou found it hard to stay angry. She gave Ma Guifang a cold look and said, "You said it, not me. I'll let today's incident slide, and whether you change jobs or not is up to you. I'm only not causing more trouble here because of A-Xiang. But, Ma Guifang, I'm warning you, a lot of the other shop owners' wives aren't happy with you either, so you'd better be careful. Try not to borrow vegetables or anything else from now on!"

Ma Guifang nodded gratefully, "I understand. Thank you, Aunt Zhou. I'll be careful."

Aunt Zhou, her anger mostly dissipated, grabbed her husband and left. The old man was so scared he didn't dare look at Ma Guifang, appearing utterly pitiful.

As the Zhou couple walked away, Aunt Xiang sighed with relief and affectionately said to Ma Guifang, "Guifang, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Don't take it to heart. Aunt Zhou has a blunt personality; she speaks her mind when she's upset and even hits out of pure anger. She's not malicious. She's much better than those who gossip behind your back."

Ma Guifang smiled and replied, "It's nothing. I'm not some young girl who can't handle a bit of hardship. I've survived worse over the years. Go back to your work."

Aunt Xiang sighed, shook her head, and then turned to resume her accounting.

Ma Guifang turned around and looked at Yang Chen, saying, "Follow me."

Yang Chen immediately followed, still fuming. He had been itching to go after that shrewish woman and slap her back, but he held back, fearing Ma Guifang's displeasure.

Once they reached a quiet spot outside the kitchen, Ma Guifang stopped and turned to Yang Chen, "Why do you look even more upset than I, the one who got slapped?"

Yang Chen gritted his teeth, avoiding her gaze. He found it hard to accept what had happened and was already planning to find a way to slap that Zhou woman back later. How dare she slap his future mother-in-law!

Ma Guifang gave a bitter smile, "I know what you're thinking, and I should thank you for caring so much about me. But, Yang Chen, do you think this is the first time I've been slapped because of something like this?"

Yang Chen's mouth dropped open, "You mean others have slapped you here?"

Ma Guifang let out a breath, seeming to find it amusing as she touched her slapped cheek, "Ever since my first husband, Nizi's father, died, I've been slapped many times by village women for things like this, even during the years I was married to Zhang Fugui. Slapping is mild; they've even pulled my hair before. Heh, Zhang Fugui was a gambling addict, always fooling around and rarely home. I was left alone in the village, and naturally, some people didn't like me interacting with their men. They never had many words to say, but they sure weren't shy about using their hands."

"How could they do that..." Yang Chen clenched his fists, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

To think that she could recount such a story with a smile—what kind of inner strength must that require?

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8