Chapter 84: Return the Money

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Return the Money

She was just wondering whether to say Bai Zhi was not home when she saw Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan emerge from the wooden hut.

’They could have come out at any time, but they chose now. They’re clearly trying to make me look bad.’

Old Mrs. Bai’s hatred for Bai Zhi grew even more venomous.

Seeing Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan, the village chief said to Doctor Lu, "Why don’t you take a look at Zhi? See if the rumors are true—that she won’t be able to have children."

Doctor Lu replied, "The last time I examined Zhi, I diagnosed her with internal damage that would make it difficult for her to conceive. It wasn’t too severe at the time, and I thought with proper care, there might be a chance of recovery. I’ll examine her again now to see if her condition has changed."

When Old Mrs. Bai heard this, a chill shot through her heart...

Doctor Lu stepped forward, took Zhi’s wrist, and went through the motions of checking her pulse for a moment. Then, his brow furrowed. "What’s going on? Zhi’s internal injuries haven’t healed at all. In fact, they’re worse than before." He turned to Old Mrs. Bai. "Didn’t I tell you she needed to be properly cared for?"

Bai Zhi sighed, her eyes filled with sorrow and resentment. "Proper care? I could never hope for that. I’d be lucky just to get a mouthful of food. To be honest with you all, in the three days since my mother was beaten again, the two of us have had only two meals: one bowl of watery porridge and one bowl of wild vegetables. Both were their leftovers."

Old Mrs. Bai roared, "What nonsense are you talking about? You missed mealtime because of your work! Who is there to blame but yourself?"

Bai Zhi flinched, putting on a frightened expression, and didn’t dare to say another word.

Seeing this, the village chief became furious. "So she deserves to starve just because she missed mealtime? Don’t you know to save food for people who are out working? Just look at yourselves! Even now, you show no remorse. Look at what you’ve done to this poor mother and daughter!"

Yang Sigeng cut in, "I’m not interested in your family drama. The engagement is off. Give me my deposit back."

Normally, at this stage, the deposit should have been returned. But how could Old Mrs. Bai agree? ’This Yang Sigeng has already wrecked my house, and now he wants his money back? Not a chance!’

"That’s right, our Bai Family did accept your deposit of ten taels of silver. But you came here today and smashed our home to pieces! I’m afraid those ten taels won’t even be enough to cover the damages you’ve caused!"

Hearing this, Yang Sigeng’s expression turned vicious. He snarled, "Smashing your things was me going easy on you. Otherwise, these clubs would have landed on your backs, and you wouldn’t be looking so comfortable right now."

Old Mrs. Bai couldn’t help but take a step back. Though she was terrified, she kept up her tough facade. "Assaulting people for no reason is against the law! If you dare to touch us, I’ll go to the government office in town and report you!"

Yang Sigeng snorted. "You’ve just reminded me. What you’ve committed is the serious crime of marriage fraud. Fine, at worst, I’ll consider the ten taels of silver payment for your broken furniture. I don’t want it back! I’ll go to the government office in town right now and file a complaint. I’ll have every last Bai family member thrown in the cells!"

Hearing this, Liu was so panicked she was on the verge of tears. "Mother, why don’t we just give the money back to him? We can’t go to jail! And what about Xiao Feng? He’s supposed to become an official in the future. How can his family have a record like that? We absolutely can’t let that happen!"

Old Mrs. Bai was panicking inside, her mind racing with calculations. ’If I could just make Liu take the fall for the marriage fraud alone, a few days in jail for her wouldn’t be so bad. But if they arrest me too, there’s no way I’ll be able to keep the ten taels of silver!’