Su Xiaotian was stunned when she heard this.
What was going on? Was this woman Uncle’s wife?
Then what was Aunt?
No, that wasn’t right. She shouldn’t think like that. Aunt was Uncle’s lawfully wedded wife, that was beyond doubt.
They had gotten their marriage certificate and held a wedding. It couldn’t be fake, right?
As Su Xiaotian was pondering, she heard Chen Zi’an speak again.
“When we got married, we didn’t get a marriage certificate. Later, you thought I was dead and remarried, so our marital relationship was naturally dissolved!” Chen Zi’an said patiently.
“How can there be no relationship? We had a wedding ceremony,” Chunni cried out.
Clearly, Chunni didn’t think that way. In her mind, Chen Zi’an should have waited for her in the same place.
“But you had another wedding ceremony!” Chen Zi’an suppressed his anger, his voice incredibly cold, almost gritted out word by word.
He had never thought that this woman would appear before him again, nor had he ever imagined that he would be extorted by the woman in front of him.
At this moment, Chen Zi’an’s mind was in chaos. Manxiu had just cut her hand and run out crying. It must have been something unpleasant that Chunni had said.
He wanted to quickly go to the next room to find his wife and children, but this woman in front of him couldn’t be reasoned with no matter how he tried.
“Dad, Mom said that if we find Dad, we can eat! I’m hungry.”
A childish voice sounded in Chen Zi’an’s yard.
Su Xiaotian was startled. What was going on? How could there be a child?
At the first moment, Su Xiaotian thought about Chen Xiuyuan. What should she do?
Look at what a mess this had become. This wouldn’t do!
But what could she do? This was Aunt’s family matter. As a niece, it wasn’t appropriate for her to get involved and say too much.
Chen Zi’an looked at the child in front of him with disgust.
Although he knew deep down that the child was innocent, no matter how innocent a child was, once they were involved in the adult world, they would no longer be welcomed.
Su Xiaotian, outside, didn’t know what was happening inside, nor did she know what Chen Zi’an was thinking.
She just felt that she couldn’t do nothing.
After thinking for a moment, Su Xiaotian pretended to know nothing and rushed into the yard.
“Uncle, Uncle, it’s time to eat. Grandma sent me to call you for dumplings!”
This was true. They were going to eat dumplings anyway.
As she said this, she looked directly at Chen Zi’an, completely ignoring the woman and child in the yard, as if she hadn’t seen these sudden strangers.
She wanted to see what kind of expression Chen Zi’an would show.
Chen Zi’an’s face showed no panic, only a moment of surprise.
“Uncle, who is this?” Su Xiaotian asked with a cute smile, pretending to know nothing.
Chen Zi’an took a deep breath and then said, “Xiaotian, this is my ex-wife!”
This little niece was precocious.
Subconsciously, Chen Zi’an felt that he had to clarify some things in front of this child.
Su Xiaotian wasn’t surprised by Chen Zi’an’s words. A woman who had remarried was indeed an ex-wife.
What needed to be clarified now was who these two children belonged to.
If these two children belonged to Uncle, it would be really troublesome.
It wouldn’t be good for Aunt to become a ready-made stepmother.
“And there are two little children, they look younger than me. Uncle, who are they?”
Chen Zi’an looked at the two children, not knowing how to introduce them.
He didn’t even know who these two children were.
“These are the children of my ex-wife and her later husband,” Chen Zi’an finally said.
Su Xiaotian’s heart, which had been hanging, finally relaxed completely.
So that was the case. Then there was nothing to worry about.
No, wait. If things were this simple, why was Aunt crying so hard?
She cast a scrutinizing gaze at Chen Zi’an, who looked at her, puzzled.
What did Su Xiaotian mean by this?
Could it be…
Chen Zi’an dared not think further.
“I’ll settle you in first, and send you back tomorrow!” Chen Zi’an said with a cold face.
“I’m not going back, I want to live with you!”
Chunni spoke directly, her voice small but with an undeniable tone.
Chen Zi’an was almost amused to anger. Coming here at this time and asking to live with him, what was she thinking?
“I’m already married, I have a wife!” Chen Zi’an said patiently.
But Chunni clearly didn’t think so. She immediately burst into tears, which even made Su Xiaotian stunned.
She started crying just like that?
Although she wasn’t very beautiful, her delicate and weak appearance was quite endearing.
She was too good at acting!
If this were decades later, the Oscars would owe her a little golden statue!
“Zi’an, you can’t abandon us, the three of us. We had no other choice but to come to you for help.”
Even though she was crying, it didn’t stop this woman named Chunni from continuing her act.
Su Xiaotian frowned.
With Aunt’s personality, she was really no match for the woman in front of her. With such acting skills, ten aunts wouldn’t be her match.
No wonder she had fled in disarray.
She looked directly at Chen Zi’an. Ultimately, this problem had to be solved by Chen Zi’an, the person involved. Others were useless.
Chen Zi’an understood Su Xiaotian’s meaning.
He also felt that his anger had nowhere to vent.
What was all this?
This woman had remarried for so many years, why was she still showing up at his door?
If she had just come to freeload, he could have given her some money and grain and sent her away like a fellow villager.
But what did this woman say?
She said she wanted to live with him?
How much confidence did she have to think that she could rekindle their relationship and live together?
Chen Zi’an’s anger had nowhere to go.
Looking at the crying Chunni, Chen Zi’an felt all sorts of discomfort.
“Yan Chunni, take your children and leave. It’s inconvenient for me to have you here when I have a wife and children!”
Su Xiaotian felt a little relieved when she heard Chen Zi’an speak so resolutely.
Since Uncle could speak so resolutely, it proved that there were no lingering feelings, and this matter could be resolved easily.
Su Xiaotian never believed that a woman pestering a man would be effective.
In her opinion, unless the man was willing to give the woman a chance, no matter how troublesome the woman was, it would be useless.
Yan Chunni, however, cried even more sadly, her voice gradually growing louder.
“Chen Zi’an, you want to be Chen Shimei. No one in your Chen family is good. I am like Qin Xianglian, a woman with a bitter fate, who met a heartless man!…”
Yan Chunni’s performance stunned Su Xiaotian.
What was going on?
How did she become Qin Xianglian?
Qin Xianglian back then had not remarried.
Su Xiaotian wanted to laugh, but given the situation, it was really not appropriate to laugh out loud.
However, these words from this woman were very manipulative.
If people who didn’t know heard this, they would probably believe that this woman was truly an abandoned pitiful original wife.
She could only cast her gaze at Chen Zi’an again.
The meaning was clear: solve your own problems.
Chen Zi’an was also very troubled. Why was this woman so stubborn?
“Yan Chunni, don’t slander me!”
At this moment, quite a few people had gathered at the entrance of the Chen family’s house.
It was just after work, and there were many people coming and going. Hearing the crying sounds from the yard naturally attracted them.
In this era, there were no entertainment activities. These trivial matters of family gossip were what people liked to see.
“You’re yelling at me for a vixen. My life is so bitter, I should have just died in my hometown…”
Yan Chunni, perhaps seeing the people outside, cried even more strenuously.
Su Xiaotian really couldn’t listen anymore.
She felt that she had to say something.
“I’ve heard the story of Qin Xianglian,” Su Xiaotian said, feigning ignorance and approaching with a loud, clear voice.
Upon hearing this, Yan Chunni’s face flashed with panic, but then she quickly recovered.
She was not wrong. She just wanted a better life.
This yard was so nice!
The furnishings in this house were so bright!
How many years of hardship had she endured in the countryside? She no longer wanted to repeat those hopeless days.
She wanted to live this good life, she didn’t want to go back, she didn’t want to continue being a bitter person.
Yan Chunni naturally understood from Su Xiaotian’s words that Su Xiaotian was the niece of that woman.
However, from the moment she decided to stay, she had no intention of backing down.
That woman appeared later; she was the former wife.
No matter what, she was the main wife.
Who are you? Why are you talking nonsense? I’m bringing my two children to find my man. What business is it of yours?” Yan Chunni said this with a lack of confidence, but her words were firm.
In Su Xiaotian’s ears, it was just a bluff.
Su Xiaotian was speechless. She had seen shameless people, but she had never seen anyone so shameless.
However, some things still had to be said, otherwise, Aunt might bear the stigma of breaking up someone else’s family for her entire life.
“This is my Uncle. I am his niece.”
Su Xiaotian introduced herself calmly and leisurely.
She had lived here for more than half a year and had gotten along well with the neighbors.
She believed that the neighbors around her would not have much ill will towards her.
Yan Chunni did not expect a young girl to speak to her so boldly.
“You are that vixen’s niece? How can I live my life? The vixen’s niece dares to bully me.”
The weeping sound annoyed Su Xiaotian.
She was already this old, yet she was a whiner.
Su Xiaotian understood that her intention was to attract more onlookers, and then, under pressure, Uncle would keep her.
But did she think that this was a rural place where crying and making a scene could solve problems?
No!
People should be reasonable!
Let’s talk reason today!
Before Su Xiaotian could start reasoning, she suddenly heard Yan Chunni speak first.
“Comrades, you tell me, is there any place for reason in this world? My man was stolen, and I am still being bullied!”
Chen Zi’an, who was a man of action rather than words, had his face flushed red with anger by Yan Chunni.
Relying on Chen Zi’an might only result in him throwing people out, not explaining.
However, throwing people out was too simple and crude, and it might attract more sympathy for Yan Chunni.
At that time, Aunt’s situation would become even more difficult.
She imitated Yan Chunni’s manner and looked at the people outside.
“I heard before that in ancient times, there was a woman named Qin Xianglian. Her husband went to the battlefield, and when she heard that her husband was dead, she remarried someone else and even had two children. Later, her husband, oh, no, it should be her ex-husband, did not die on the battlefield and returned. This woman named Qin Xianglian then went to his door. Uncles and aunts, I am young and don’t know if the story I heard is correct?”
When Su Xiaotian said this, the surrounding people burst into laughter.
Some people who knew Su Xiaotian said to her, “Little girl, I heard you study well. Why do you listen to stories so muddled?”
“Is it wrong?” Su Xiaotian asked, looking at Yan Chunni deliberately.
Yan Chunni was clearly flustered, and her crying became louder, trying to draw everyone’s attention back to herself.
However, that person was clearly a storyteller.
“Little girl, let me tell you, your story is wrong. In the Song Dynasty, there was a man named Chen Shimei who married his wife Qin Xianglian and had a son and a daughter. Later, Chen Shimei went to the capital to take the imperial examination, achieved the top position, and married a princess. Qin Xianglian stayed at home to serve her in-laws and take care of her children. Later, her in-laws died. Hearing that her husband was in the capital, she took her children to his door. Who knew that Chen Shimei had become a prince consort and did not acknowledge his wife and children. Did you hear it wrong? Qin Xianglian did not remarry.”
When these two stories were compared, the surrounding people suddenly felt that something was not quite right.
They had all lived here for many years. Chen Zi’an had lived here for several years. What kind of person was Chen Zi’an?
He shouldn’t be someone who would abandon his wife and children.
“This aunt said she is the unfortunate Qin Xianglian. But she remarried and had two children. How should we count this?”
The little girl put on a distressed look, which made the surrounding people stunned.
But soon, the surrounding people understood. The little girl meant this.
Wait, what the little girl meant was that this woman was once Chen Zi’an’s wife.
Later, Chen Zi’an went to war, and she thought he was dead, so she remarried.
Now, seeing that Chen Zi’an was fine, she came back again.
And she brought two children born to her later husband.
Are there such shameless people in this world?
And she dared to call herself Qin Xianglian?
Was Qin Xianglian like this?
Was Qin Xianglian so shameless?
The way the surrounding people looked at Yan Chunni instantly changed. Most of them were contemptuous, and only a few were speculative.
Seeing that she had guided them enough, Su Xiaotian asked, “Uncle, I remember it was like this, right?”
Chen Zi’an was not someone who couldn’t tell good from bad. He immediately understood Su Xiaotian’s meaning.
He looked at Su Xiaotian gratefully, then said loudly, “I got married when I was seventeen. The year I got married, I went to join the army. The next year, I went to the battlefield and was seriously injured. Somehow, the news reached home that I had died on the battlefield.
Two years later, when I returned home, I saw that my wife, oh, that is, the woman in front of me named Yan Chunni, had already remarried and was pregnant.
As a man, although I was unwilling, I still wished them a long and happy life together.
Later, I returned to the army and settled down here with the troops.
A few years later, I met my wife, as you all know, Su Manxiu, and then I started a family. Who knew that after so many years, Yan Chunni would come to my door, saying that her husband was dead and she wanted to live with me!”
These simple words explained the whole story from beginning to end.
When the surrounding people heard this, there was an uproar. How could such a thing happen?
What was all this?
A woman who remarried, whose husband died, came back to her ex-husband and asked to live together,
The problem was that this woman also brought children from her later husband to recognize their father.
No man could tolerate this, right?
It was just that Chen Zi’an was relatively steady. If he were hot-tempered, he would probably have thrown the mother and children out.
“You woman, with you like this, how dare you call yourself Qin Xianglian?” an aunt spat at Yan Chunni contemptuously.
With one person taking the lead, the others immediately followed suit.
“Yes, you woman, how could you do this? Your husband went to the battlefield to defend the country. Even if he died, shouldn’t you have kept vigil for him for a few years?”
“You are hurting people’s hearts!”
“You woman, bringing someone else’s child to my door, how can you have such nerve?”
The chattering voices entered Yan Chunni’s ears. Yan Chunni was so ashamed that her face turned red.
She looked at Chen Zi’an in surprise, clearly not expecting Chen Zi’an to say all this without giving her any face.
She mumbled a few times, but ultimately, she was still unwilling to give up.
“Zi’an, I know I made a mistake by remarrying. But why didn’t you send any news when you left?
At that time, everyone said you were dead, and there was no one in your family. How could I, a woman, live after losing my husband?”
The more she spoke, the more Yan Chunni felt that she was the most wronged person.
If Chen Zi’an had sent a letter home, letting everyone around know that he was alive, her life would not have been so difficult, and she would not have remarried.
Therefore, she blamed Chen Zi’an, not herself.
Remarrying back then was a desperate measure.
Yan Chunni spoke, looking at Chen Zi’an.
“Is that so?” Chen Zi’an sneered. This woman, when she had no reason, would make up three reasons. He had never realized before that she was such a glib-tongued person.
“Zi’an, the mistake in the past was my mistake, but now I want to correct it, right?” Yan Chunni said, reaching out to grab Chen Zi’an’s sleeve.
What others said was not important; what was important was the man in front of her.
As long as he was willing to have her, other problems were not problems.
“Some things, once they pass, cannot be changed!” Chen Zi’an refused firmly.
“Why not? My man is dead, and I’ve come back to find you, haven’t I? Zi’an, can we live a peaceful life together from now on? You can’t abandon me!”
Yan Chunni’s shameless words had refreshed everyone’s three views.
She had seen many bizarre people, but she had never seen anyone so shameless before!
Su Xiaotian was also stunned. In her two lifetimes combined, she had met many people, but she had never seen anyone so shameless before!
“Minister Chen, you can’t hurt your wife and children for such a woman!” a nearby aunt quickly advised.
Why hadn’t she seen Minister Chen’s wife?
Even without anyone pointing it out, Chen Zi’an could not accept Yan Chunni. Therefore, he looked at Yan Chunni with disgust. If looks could kill, Yan Chunni would have died three or four times already.
“Get out! You are not welcome in my house!”
Chen Zi’an had completely lost his patience by now.
[Author’s Note]
Uploaded early today. If I’m not busy tonight, I’ll update another chapter. If I’m busy, then probably not. My work schedule is not regular lately, with a lot of overtime and it’s not fixed. Mwah, my dears. Votes, today’s votes are starting to drop, I’m sad…