Chapter 6

“Mom, I don’t want to,” Sun Yi said stubbornly.

“I don’t want to either.” Sun Xiu followed her closely behind.

Even Little Sun Ke ran over and clung to Han Qiao’s leg. Shaking, she said, “Mom, I’ll help you close the door.”

The three children were all very afraid.

However, they were willing to follow their mother in this great act. They were prepared to be chased out by Sun Yiming and shunned by the world for being unfilial vixens.

Han Qiao was deeply moved at the sight of her three children. They were willing to risk it all and yet showed no fear.

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She was willing to let them join in. If worse came to worst, she would take care of it alone.

Drawing a deep breath, she said, “Alright, you guys stay here and help me.”

The four hurriedly got ready.

Han Qiao went over to the door.

She flung it open. Sun Yiming fell into the courtyard and ate dirt.

His mouth hung open in fear. “Han Qiao, you slut, you wench, bitch! Do you want me to fall to my death?”

Han Qiao didn’t respond.

She reached out and pulled the courtyard door shut.

Sun Xiu and Sun Yi pretended to come help Sun Yiming up, then they held him to the ground. Sun Ke handed the hemp rope to Han Qiao, who quickly tied him up.

“Oh!”

Sun Yiming was throbbing in pain.

He sobered up in an instant. But before he could speak, a piece of rag was stuffed into his mouth.

“Wu Wu Wu.”

As he whimpered, the strokes rained down onto his butt.

“Wu Wu Wu.”

Pain.

It hurt so much that tears streamed down from his eyes.

If it weren’t for the cloth in his mouth, his screams would have probably struck fear and foreboding into the neighbors’ hearts.

He struggled to force another threat out of his throat, but couldn’t make a sound. Nor could he beg for mercy.

All he could see was the shadow of Han Qiao’s three daughters standing on the side and watching him as she mercilessly swung her stick at his ass under the moonlight.

He was no fool.

In his heart, he knew what they were trying to do.

They were going to beat him to death.

Tears and mucus flowed from his eyes, and he squirmed on the ground like a maggot.

In the middle of a peaceful night, other than the chirping of birds, the croaking of frogs and calls of crickets, there was only the sound of club hitting flesh.

Sun Yiming had soon fainted from the pain, but but they woke him up by splashing water on his face and continued to beat him.

Han Qiao was growing tired. With one hand she was holding up her waste and with the other she was gripping the club. However, she soon glimpsed a shadow dancing across the courtyard wall. Shining dully, its eyes were like wild beasts.

Someone had seen her beating Sun Yiming.

Her heart leapt out of her chest and she quickly calmed down.

The Hengs lived next door. Thus the owner of that shadow was most likely one of the Hengs.

Someone had seen her beating Sun Yiming, yet didn’t make a sound. Who could it be?

“Mother.”

Sun Xiu, Sun Yi, and Sun Ke called to her in unison.

“Drag him into the study,” Han Qiao said.

When she again looked up at the wall, she saw that the black shadow had disappeared without a trace.

Was it just her imagination?

She didn’t think so.

But tonight, the only thing she cared about was beating Sun Yiming, so naturally she might let her guard down.

The four of them dragged Sun Yiming into the study like he was a dead dog. Only then did Han Qiao let Sun Xiu light an oil lamp.

Under the lamp light, Sun Yiming was in a sorry state: tears and snot covered his face.

“Does it hurt?” Han Qiao asked.

Sun Yiming nodded hard and begged her to stop.

“When you hit us, we also hurt. We were just as helpless as you are now. We also begged bitterly, but you were indifferent.” Han Qiao’s voice was soft yet formidable.

Sun Yiming looked at her face under the dim oil lamp. That cold look in her eyes made him extremely uncomfortable.

He wanted to divorce this rotten woman as soon as he could.

“Since you never hit my face, I never hit yours. I return all the dignity you showed me.”

“But from now on, you’re not taking one step out of this courtyard. You are to obediently read and write for me at home. If you dare to step out of the courtyard, I’ll break your legs.”

Han Qiao stood up.

She kicked the chair over, the sound of which was somewhat ear-piercing. It scared Sun Yiming so much that it set his body trembling. He looked at Han Qiao in fear and trepidation, with nothing to say.

Han Qiao looked at his cowardly appearance. She was so angry that she wanted to let it all out on him. She also wanted to humiliate him and destroy any last shred of dignity he had. She raised her foot and stepped on his face. The tip of her foot pressed down slightly, and her voice was deep and cold, “Just lie on the ground like this. You can also feel the helplessness, pain, and apathy that I felt when I was curled up in the corner after your beatings. When the pain that you inflicted on others is returned to you, I think you will be able to understand it more intimately.”

It wasn’t just painful, Sun Yiming even wanted to die.

The four joined hands to tie him up and beat him again. It was so shocking that even the heavens couldn’t stand the sight.

Han Qiao didn’t care about the grief and indignation that Sun Yiming felt. She stomped out of the study with her three daughters.

“You guys go to sleep.”

“Mother…” Sun Xiu whispered to her.

She nervously peeked into the study.

In the darkness, she could still see Sun Yiming lying on the ground, twitching and cowering.

“He’s okay, he won’t die.” Han Qiao patted Sun Xiu’s shoulder. “Go to sleep.”

She was sure the knot she had tied was tight enough. Sun Yiming shouldn’t be able to untie it.

Sun Xiu wanted to say something else, but Sun Yi pulled her back into the house. Sun Ke immediately followed.

Han Qiao shook her sore hand and was about to go back in to sleep.

As for Sun Yiming, she didn’t care if he lived or died.

Before she stepped into the house, Han Qiao looked at the courtyard wall. Under the moonlight, the courtyard wall was very hard to make out.

Han Qiao pressed her tongue against her teeth. She decided to ignore it for now.

Human or ghost, it would rear its head sooner or later.

But after entering the house, she was met with a musty smell that was very hard to tolerate. Lying on the bed, Han Qiao let out a sigh.

The pain in her exhausted body made it all the more difficult for her to fall asleep.

She thought about her life. It may have been colorful, but she never thought that she would have a chance to do it over again after she died.

Since Heaven had given her another chance, she was determined not to let her youth go to waste. She was going to live a wonderful life.

She knew how harsh the world could be to women, but she also believed that Heaven would always have the back of those whose wills were strong. If there was a will, there was a way.

As long as she persevered and worked hard enough, she would be able to enjoy the rest of her life as a person..

She would have to be careful so as not to leak her intentions to others. Teaching Sun Yiming a lesson was one way to avoid that.

With this in mind, Han Qiao gradually fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile in the Heng house next door, Heng Yi was tossing and turning in his sleep.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to hear noise coming from next door. He was curious that he even climbed over the wall to see what was going on, and he walked in on that scene.

Those four had actually ganged up on Sun Yiming, tying him up and beating him.

It was all too crazy to believe.

Heng Yi turned over and peered out the window. The moonlight coated his room in a layer of silver dust. He warned himself that it was other people’s business, that he shouldn’t even care.

He closed his eyes and fell into a forced sleep.

Sun Xiu and Sun Yi woke up to the crow of roosters. The two sisters had a nightmare that night, so they hadn’t slept well.

They got up quietly and walked out of the room.

Since it was already fairly bright outside, they could see one another clearly.

They entered the center room and pressed up against the door of the study to hear what was happening inside.

Sun Yi gently pushed Sun Xiu.

Sun Xiu shook her head, indicating that she didn’t hear anything.

Sun Yi pulled her elder sister away and leaned against the door to listen. The study was dead silent. No signs of movement.

She quickly looked at Sun Xiu. Fear raced through her heart.

Was he dead?

Sun Xiu had the same fear.

Sun Yi mustered some courage and pushed open the wooden door. It let out a faint creak as it opened. Sun Yiming, in a daze, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the door.

His eyes met Sun Yi’s.

They shot up with anger and intimidation. Sun Yi was so frightened that she snapped the door shut. She pulled Sun Xiu out of the hall, panting heavily under the eaves.

Relieved, she said, “He’s not dead.”

Sun Xiu patted her chest and rejoiced. “I’m glad he’s not dead.”