The Fierce Farm Girl Has A Secret Space

Yang Anshi opened her mouth, feeling somewhat guilty, but she didn't want to be cornered by the other party. All of a sudden, she slapped the straw mat on the kang, instantly raising a cloud of dust: "Yang Peili, what do you mean by this? I've been with you for half my life, bore you children, and now you come here to interrogate me? Oh Heavens, I don't want to live anymore…"

Her voice was a bit slurred, not as clear as it used to be before her stroke, but it was still audible, and carried enough force to be deafening.

"Are you sure you want to keep wailing?" Yang Peili didn't react as he normally would, where a single outburst from his wife would make him back down. Instead, his face darkened as he looked at her, his tone, though not loud, was chillingly calm: "It's fine. I can even gather the entire village to watch you wail."

"You…" Yang Anshi's voice became stuck, unable to complete her sentence.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Either tell the truth, or… get out!" Yang Peili's face twisted into a grim scowl.

"I…" Yang Anshi finally realized that Yang Peili wasn't the same as he used to be today. She nervously swallowed. "I… I'll say it."

Only then did Yang Peili exhale, turned around, and sat down on the chair near the kang. He took out his tobacco pouch, packed his pipe, and lit it without hesitation: "Go ahead and speak."

In truth, the reason Yang Peili interrogated his wife was because he'd heard too much gossip from the outside world. At first, he could brush it off, but as the rumors piled up and he saw more and more, how could he not start to harbor doubts?

The bigger issue was how their family's fortunes had gone downhill. Once envied by others, his family had become the butt of jokes.

In stark contrast, the separated Yang Ruxin's household was thriving. Nowadays, they practically acted as the leaders of the whole village.

Whenever he wandered outside, the things he heard most were the villagers' pointed or veiled mockery of him. It was all about how, despite having a granddaughter so outstanding—one who could live in a big house and eat meat every day—he had sent her away, all while doting on Yang Baihe, who couldn't do anything right, like she was a treasure...

Yang Peili wasn't foolish. In the past, conflicts had not yet come to the surface, the housework was done, and his word was law—he couldn't be bothered to interfere much. But then the eldest branch rebelled, followed by the fourth branch's troubles. Even his youngest and most obedient son would rather become a bonded servant than stay in this house. As for the second branch that still lived with them—well, they didn't even regard this place as their home. Feng Caie practically spent every day at her family's house. At this rate, even if his eldest grandson became a scholar, he might not even be able to afford the silver needed to continue his studies… The villagers who once admired him now looked at him like he was a fool. Even the members of the Yang Family clan were avoiding him...

And as for the youngest daughter who was supposedly going to bring the Yang Family prosperity, she continued to indulge herself, being lazy and gluttonous. Not to mention marrying into a wealthy family—even the prospect of her getting married at all seemed uncertain. So he felt the need to uncover the truth; otherwise, the Yang Family wouldn't just lose its dreams of fortune, it might soon crumble entirely.

Yang Anshi nervously swallowed a lump in her throat: "Well… back then… it was… it was when Baihe had just turned one. That day, you were all out working in the fields, so… so it was just me and Xun Hui, that wretched…" She paused, "It was just me and Xun Hui at home. A monk came by asking for alms. You know, back then we had so many mouths to feed, food was so scarce… I refused him… But Xun Hui went and gave a piece of bread to that shabby monk…"