Chapter 391: Chapter 84: I’m Just a Face-Lover 26
Young Master Zheng’s cries of pain were so loud that they eventually startled Mrs. Zheng as well.
She hurried over with a group of maids and old women to Young Master Zheng’s quarters, only to see him writhing in agony on the ground, his clothes torn in places, and blood all over his face, hands, and any exposed skin, presenting a frightening sight.
Mrs. Zheng was taken aback and immediately scolded the maids who had rushed over: "What are you staring at? Help the young master up at once."
While she scolded them, she herself didn’t dare take a single step forward.
The maids were also too scared to approach.
Mrs. Zheng scolded them for a while, but since no one dared to step forward, she had no choice but to go and call for a few strong house servants.
However, before the house servants could arrive, Young Master Zheng got up and ran out.
Mrs. Zheng went to stop him: "My child, what are you doing?"
But she was pushed to the ground by Young Master Zheng.
Young Master Zheng ran out like a madman, all the way to the door.
The location of the Zheng family was quite good, situated near the center of the county. There was a busy street right in front of their house, with a steady stream of passersby.
And just across another road lay a bustling commercial street.
Young Master Zheng came out and knelt on the street, crying out: "I am guilty, I have harmed people, I am guilty, I..."
As he wailed, he continuously kowtowed until his forehead bled.
Mrs. Zheng ordered the house servants to stop him, trying to pull him back, but somehow Young Master Zheng had become incredibly strong, and several house servants couldn’t hold him back, instead getting pushed away by him.
"I’ve contracted venereal disease, an incurable filthy disease. I’ve fooled around with the maids in my room and caused the death of several people."
Young Master Zheng shouted frantically, spilling every secret: "I am guilty; I have harmed people. Afflicted with such a disease, I still wanted to take a wife, to bring disaster upon a good family’s daughter. I am a sinner of the worst kind, deserving of being struck by lightning, deserving of death, I should die."
After kowtowing, he began slapping his face frenetically: "I should die, I should die."
This time of the day was the busiest for business; many people were out shopping. Some passersby who were coming from the Zheng family gathered around, and upon hearing Young Master Zheng’s confessions, some were frightened, while others began to curse: "What a scoundrel, your Zheng family isn’t afraid of cutting off its lineage, how ruthless."
Others clamored: "Report this to the authorities, you must report this; aren’t maids human too? You can’t harm them like this."
And others said: "Who would marry their daughter off to him? That would be like pushing her into a fire pit!"
There were even those familiar with the Zheng family who commented: "No wonder The Wus annulled their marriage with them. So that’s what happened. Miss Wu from The Wus is fortunate to have avoided calamity at the hands of such a person."
Inside the courtyard, Mrs. Zheng had already collapsed to the ground upon hearing Young Master Zheng’s words.
She knew that her family was done for, everything was over.
Anning and Xiao Yuan were also watching this scene from not far from the Zheng family.
Xiao Yuan whispered in Anning’s ear: "He must be possessed by a ghost."
Anning chuckled lightly: "How can one not repay for the sins they’ve committed? This is justice being sought by those girls whose lives he’s ruined."
"Indeed."
Xiao Yuan clapped his hands: "Heaven’s wrath might be tolerable, but one’s own sins are inescapable."
Anning smiled and was about to say something to Xiao Yuan when she sensed a person not far from them radiating with anger. The fury was so obvious and intense, it was as if it could set people on fire.
Anning glanced at that person.
Xiao Yuan asked Anning, "What’s wrong?"
Anning pointed at the middle-aged man not far away, "That man is seething with anger; could he be a relative of the maid who was harmed by Young Master Zheng?"
Xiao Yuan looked a few times and said, "Probably not."
Anning took another look at the middle-aged man’s features and realized, "That’s the father of the girl who was engaged to Young Master Zheng. But something is wrong here. Her family doesn’t value her, right? I heard that the girl was practically sold to the Zheng family."
Anning’s voice grew louder as she said this.
The middle-aged man, who was closer to Anning, heard this statement very clearly.
He stepped forward and greeted Xiao Yuan with a fist and palm salute, "I am Wu Ping. I just heard this Lady mention that my daughter was sold to the Zheng family. What exactly is this all about?"
Anning frowned and tugged at Xiao Yuan’s sleeve. Xiao Yuan explained, "People in Qingyuan City and those acquainted with the Zheng family all know about this matter. It is said that reputable families are unwilling to marry their daughters into the Zheng family. With no other choice, the Zhengs found a girl from the countryside who was neglected by her family, thinking that even if she died, no one would care. Therefore, they arranged the engagement and reportedly paid a lot of money to her family, who agreed not to intervene regardless of how their daughter was treated after marrying into the Zheng family."
Upon hearing this, Wu Ping’s face changed color with anger.
Initially sallow, his face now turned red with rage upon hearing Xiao Yuan’s words, "That’s outrageous! I am giving my daughter away in marriage, not selling her. I have been away on business, and only a few days ago did my family send word that they had arranged an engagement for my daughter. I rushed back, hoping to arrange her wedding, but instead, I encountered this. If I hadn’t..."
He glanced back at Young Master Zheng, who was persistently spilling the beans, "If I hadn’t stumbled upon this, I wouldn’t have known that the family my daughter is engaged to are such scoundrels."
He was seething with fury: "This marriage is absolutely not happening."
Anning looked at Xiao Yuan and then asked Wu Ping, "Since you were not at home, who arranged the marriage for your daughter? Surely it wasn’t she who arranged it herself."
Wu Ping furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment before exclaiming, "Damnation."
He again greeted Anning and Xiao Yuan with a fist and palm salute, "In light of this, I must hurry home to see what has happened. I take my leave."
After Wu Ping left, Anning sighed, "Ah, the sister-in-law is truly unbearable."
"What do you mean?"
Xiao Yuan did not understand the meaning of ’sister-in-law’.
As Anning had seen enough of the commotion, she pulled Xiao Yuan to walk back, explaining as they went, "A sister-in-law is a woman who only cares about her brothers from her maternal home. Even after she is married, even if she has children, she still obsesses over her brothers, constantly moving things from her in-laws’ house to her maternal home just to support her brothers in building houses, marrying wives, and raising children, which ends up spoiling her family with greed."
Xiao Yuan listened in astonishment, "There are such people?"
"Plenty."
Anning let out a wry smile, "There’s a saying that you should neither marry a sister-in-law nor take a Mama’s boy as a husband; this truly makes perfect sense."
"What does Mama’s boy mean?"
Xiao Yuan was even more puzzled.
Just as a robust woman happened to pass by Anning and overheard the phrase, she stopped and asked Anning, "The sentence you just said is quite interesting, but I don’t quite understand what a Mama’s boy is?"
Anning couldn’t help but laugh out loud when she saw this woman.
What a coincidence, she had actually run into her.