Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

Because of Liu Xu's sharp cry, the news that Xu Ruolan was hit and gave birth prematurely quickly spread throughout Liujia Village.

Liu Dashan's family once again became the focus of everyone's attention.

"I heard that he was knocked to the ground. I just went to check and there was blood in the yard. I'm afraid he's in grave danger!"

"I don't know who in his family is so vicious. If anything happens to Ruolan and the child, what if Donglai... wouldn't it be..."

The villagers were talking about it, some were worried, and some were just watching the fun.

"When I went there just now, I happened to see them arguing. I overheard and it seemed like it was Chengcai, the boy from the eldest branch of his family, who almost beat Xu to death last time, and this time... Do you think this was intentional?" someone whispered.

"Hiss, really? They are brothers from the same mother..."

……

The sun was setting, and under the big tree at the entrance of the village, a few gossipy women were sitting there chatting and enjoying the cool air. The topic was, of course, the gossip about Liu Dashan's family. At this time, Xing'er's family drove a bullock cart and approached the village entrance. The family made some money this month, and the demand for fresh mushrooms at Zuiyunxuan happened to be low recently. Liu Changshun took his wife and children to visit his father-in-law's family early this morning.

"Hey, Shunzi and his family are back? Alan, how are your parents?" a woman greeted enthusiastically.

"Thank you Aunt Guo for your concern. Both of you are doing well!" Chen Lan replied cheerfully.

"Hey, Shunzi's family, I've seen your man pulling a basket and running to town every few days, and today he went to your parents' house with a lot of bags. What big business is going on?" Without even looking, one could tell from the voice that it was the gossipy widow Liu.

"Why should I tell you about my family's affairs?" Xing'er said without waiting for Chen Lan to speak. Who let the widow Liu always make up stories about Xu Ruolan? Xing'er was Liu Xu's good sister, so she naturally disliked her.

"Hey, girl, I am your elder after all, why are you talking so unpleasantly?"

"Haha, sister-in-law, don't be angry. This child is very irritable in the hot weather. Don't bother with her!" Chen Lan stopped Xing'er who was about to retort and said with a smile, but she did not answer what Widow Liu had just said.

Widow Liu curled her lips, then rolled her eyes and changed into a worried (gloating) look:

"Hey, you guys just came back and you don't know yet? Xu'er's mother was hit and gave birth prematurely. I heard she bled a lot. I don't know if she's still alive."

"What? Damn it, who is so vicious! His father, take the child back first, I'll go check on Ruolan."

Upon hearing this, Chen Lan jumped off the ox cart and ran towards Liu Xu's house.

"Mom, wait a minute, I'm going too!" Liu Xing'er hurriedly followed.

……

At the same time, after much effort, Xu Ruolan finally gave birth to twins safely.

News has also spread in the village: Liu Dashan's eldest son's family cannot tolerate his younger son's family, and instigated his five-year-old child to persecute Xu Ruolan and her daughter.

As soon as the rumor came out, it quickly reached the ears of the village chief Liu Dahai.

Liu Dahai immediately rushed to Liu Dashan's house angrily.

After all, Xing'er and her daughter were young, so they arrived at Liu Dashan's house before him, entered the yard and went straight to Liu Xu's house.

When he passed by Old Lady Zhang and Chen Shuman, he didn't even look at them and went straight into the house.

When he saw the weak Xu Ruolan in the room and the two children beside her, he breathed a sigh of relief. He walked slowly to the bed, held Xu Ruolan's hand, and said softly:

"It's a good thing you're okay. I was terrified when I heard the news."

The two families already had a good relationship, and with Liu Xu taking Xing'er's family to pick and sell mushrooms, their relationship is now even better, like that of a family.

"I'm sorry to have worried you! I was also scared at the time, but fortunately, I had the help of Mrs. Zhuang and Granny Lin, so I was able to escape unharmed."

Xu Ruolan replied in a gentle voice.

"Why are you being so polite? We are sisters-in-law of the same clan. We are neighbors. Can't we lend a hand if there is anything we can do?"

Liu Zhuang smiled.

Although Xu Ruolan was a little tired, she was in good spirits. So, the adults started chatting about the children and some taboos during the confinement period.

Xing Er also pulled Liu Xu to ask about the matter. When she heard that it was Liu Chengcai who knocked Xu Ruolan down, she immediately exclaimed:

"What? How can he be so vicious at such a young age?"

At the same time, the village chief Liu Dahai also arrived, and as expected, he was followed by a group of enthusiastic villagers (who came to watch the fun).

As soon as he stepped into the yard, he angrily questioned Liu Dashan: "Dashan, it's spread all over the village. It's said that your eldest son's family can't tolerate Donglai's family, and he instructed your youngest son to knock down Donglai's wife! Tell me, what's going on!"

Liu Dashan looked bewildered. Before he could say anything, Zhang started yelling:

"Who is gossiping? Xu Ruolan fell down by herself, how come the Dongcheng family can't tolerate them? If I know who said that, I will tear her mouth apart!"

When Liu Xu in the room heard this, she was moved and ran out crying:

"Grandpa Village Chief, Xu'er, please make the decision for us!" Liu Xu knelt on the ground, looked at the village chief and sobbed:

"Xu'er doesn't know what my mother and I did to displease grandma and my uncle's family.

Since Daddy left, my mother and I have worked from dawn to dusk every day without a single complaint. Even though we eat the least and wear the most worn-out clothes in the family, we can ignore these small matters. But why does my uncle's family always want to kill us?"

Liu Xu's words caused the crowd to start talking. But she ignored them and continued to cry:

"The reason why grandma beat me like that was because I accidentally found out that Chengcai from my uncle's family stole eggs, and he bit me back. Grandma didn't know right from wrong and just smashed my head. If Grandpa Meng hadn't come in time, I would have died."

"On weekdays, Liu Juan always instigated grandma, asking her to punish me by not allowing me to eat. I was so hungry that I could only drink water to fill my stomach."

"Today, Liu Chengcai hit my mother again, and she almost lost three lives. Xuer wants to ask, if it was an accident once, can it still be an accident twice or three times? My uncle and my father are both my grandparents' sons, born from the same roots, why can't they tolerate us? Since they can't tolerate us, then separate us. Xuer only asks for a way for me, my mother and my brothers to survive! I beg the village chief and grandfather to help us!"

After Liu Xu finished speaking, the discussion in the crowd became louder.

"Xu girl, what nonsense are you talking about! We are all family, it's normal to have some bumps and bruises, but how can it be said that there is no room for you! Hurry up and get up and take care of your mother, stop talking nonsense!" Liu Dashan glared at Liu Xu and said with a look of unquestionable determination.

He knew that Liu Xu and her daughter had suffered a lot of grievances at home, but family disgrace should not be made public. If he admitted it, his family would be scolded by the villagers in the future.

Seeing her father-in-law protecting her family, Chen Shuman pretended to press her eyes with a handkerchief and choked up, "Girl, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! You can't frame him just because you're jealous of your grandma loving Cai'er. Your grandma usually gives him an egg every other day. Does he need to steal it? Besides, your mother obviously fell down today because she didn't stand firmly. We were all watching in the yard. How could it be Cai'er who hit her?"

"Hehe, I said that my grandparents are honest and decent people. Where did Liu Chengcai and Liu Juan get the ability to confuse right and wrong? It turned out to be you! You know very well whether I have framed him or not! Liu Chengcai, you almost caused me to be beaten to death by grandma, and today you almost caused my mother to die three times. Aren't you afraid that our family will become evil spirits after we die and come to seek revenge on you?" Liu Xu looked at Liu Chengcai fiercely and asked in a cold voice, and the tone of her voice was like an evil spirit demanding her life.

After all, Liu Chengcai was only five years old. Frightened by Liu Xu, he started to cry, "Wow, I didn't mean to hurt you... I... I was afraid that grandma would beat me, so I told grandma that you ate it... I didn't mean to hit Second Aunt, it was Cuju who ran away... Wow, don't seek revenge on me, I know I was wrong!"

The people around were still arguing about who was telling the truth between Liu Xu and Chen Shuman, but Liu Chengcai's shout immediately silenced everyone and all eyes turned to him.