The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 234 A Mess
Ms. Yu got up from the ground, her hair disheveled, and rushed out the door in shame and indignation.

"Stop her!" Tong Huaqiong shouted.

Although Tong Huaqiong disliked the Yu family, she hated Xu Zaohua even more.

But she couldn't stand Xu Yong hitting Yu Shi, and even more so, she couldn't stand Yu Shi causing someone's death.

The crowd snapped out of their daze at Tong Huaqiong's calls, forgetting all about eating melons. Zhao and several sturdy wives pulled Yu aside.

"Waaah, don't pull me. I have no face to live anymore," Yu cried uncontrollably.

She has been married to Qinghewan for so many years, and because her husband can earn money, her status in the village has been elevated. Which young woman or married woman in the village doesn't envy her clothes and appearance?

Her brother-in-law's slap shattered her self-esteem.

This was done in front of everyone.

Yu's first thought was not to fight back, but to feel ashamed.

She was so ashamed and indignant that she didn't want to live anymore.

Fearing someone might die, the crowd held onto Madam Yu and kept trying to persuade her to stop.

Even if people dislike the Yu family, Xu Yong's actions have angered the public.

In this era where brothers are united as one, Xu Yong slapping his sister-in-law across the face is no different from openly severing their brotherly relationship.

This constitutes disloyalty, filial impiety, and disregard for human ethics.

Xu Yong, however, had no psychological barriers.

He felt that since his sister-in-law was a member of the Xu family, it was okay for her to be beaten by the men of the Xu family; he could just consider it as her beating on behalf of her own brother.

Yu cried and threatened to kill herself.

The villagers from other villages had been persuaded by Liu Tielian to go to the ancestral hall at the village entrance, but now things are in complete chaos again.

“There’s a well and a river at the door, you can jump if you want; there’s a rope inside, you can hang yourself if you want. Dying is so easy! If I were you, I wouldn’t die, I would take revenge on the people who humiliated me. Even if I were to die, I would take them down with me before I die,” Tong Huaqiong said, standing next to Madam Yu.

After hearing Tong Huaqiong's words, Yu was stunned for a long time.

"Widow Tong, what do you mean?" With her husband's support, Madam Tian spoke to Tong Huaqiong with full confidence.

Tong Huaqiong looked Tian up and down and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, a man who only knows how to beat women, and you still treat him like a treasure. He has no morals. I've never seen anyone in the whole village beat their sister-in-law. You're proud that your man beats your sister-in-law for you now, but tomorrow you won't be afraid that he'll beat you."

Tong Huaqiong simply couldn't believe that someone who would slap his sister-in-law wouldn't abuse his wife.

Tian felt her secret had been exposed.

Even before the dawn, Xu Yong had been beating her from time to time ever since they got married.

But she didn't think Tong Huaqiong's words made sense, nor did she think Xu Yong was wrong to hit Yu Shi.

At this moment, she was moved by Xu Yong's protection of her.

“Your husband died, you’re just jealous that I have a man on my side,” Tian said to Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong almost laughed.

Is it such an honorable thing to be favored by a man?

Especially men like Xu Yong.

Tong Huaqiong retorted without hesitation: "You're the only one who treats a rotten cucumber that hits women like a treasure. If I were you, I'd rather become a widow than spend a single day with a man like that."

"What are you saying, Widow Tong?" Xu Yong jumped out.

“You’re a rotten cucumber with no seeds, don’t you understand?” Tong Huaqiong said.

Xu Yong wanted to go up and hit Tong Huaqiong, just like he would hit his sister-in-law.

Seeing Gu Dahan carrying a hunting rifle behind Tong Huaqiong, and remembering how difficult Tong Huaqiong was, he reluctantly backed down.

"I'll show you what hitting me means, I'll show you what hitting me means."

At this moment, Yu let out a howl and charged towards Xu Yong.

"Ouch."

Xu Yong let out a scream, then squatted down and covered his head.

It was only then that everyone noticed that Ms. Yu was carrying a stone.

Xu Yong was hit on the head by Yu. Fortunately, there was no bleeding, only a large bruise on his head.

Unwilling to give up, Yu gripped the stone and continued charging towards Xu Yong.

"You bitch. You dare hit me."

Xu Yong didn't dare to hit Tong Huaqiong, but hitting Yu Shi was no problem at all. He had already slapped her once, so hitting her again was just a matter of course.

The onlookers couldn't stand it anymore and rushed forward to stop Xu Yong.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yu hit Xu Yong hard again. She didn't hit Xu Yong's head, but hit his feet instead.

Xu Yong had already twisted his ankle, and the stone hit him, causing him to gasp in pain.

When Tian saw that her husband had been hit, she was furious and rolled up her sleeves to hit Yu.

The two started fighting again.

It took everyone a lot of effort to pull them apart.

Both of them were injured and looked extremely disheveled, so they started hurling insults at each other.

The farce continued until noon, fading into silence after news broke that Gu Dashu had brought Magistrate Liu to the village.

When Xu Yong heard that Magistrate Liu had arrived, he panicked and wanted to flee.

This time he had no way to escape. Liu Tielian sent people to keep an eye on him so closely that not even a fly could fly out of the Xu family's courtyard.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that her son was quite fast.

Little did they know that Magistrate Liu was not invited by Gu Dashu from the county government, but rather they met him on the way.

Magistrate Liu came here this time also because of Xu Yong's fake medicine.

As luck would have it, Tong Dajiao's in-laws, the Lu family, owned a piece of fertile land and a manor in Pingchuan County in her previous life.

The news that Xu Yong had formulated a pesticide that could eliminate corn ear rot and cotton aphids reached the ears of the steward of this fertile field, who then bought Xu Yong's pesticide.

The Lu family was wealthy and powerful. The steward bought fifty acres of medicine in one go, but luckily he was careful and took ten acres to test the effect first.

The pesticide worked on the same day it was applied. Before the housekeeper could even arrange for the pesticide to be sprayed on all fifty acres of cornfields, the corn on ten acres of corn wilted the very next day.

The housekeeper initially thought it was a problem with his own land, but it turned out that in the Yanguan Town area, all the cornfields that had bought Xu Yong's medicine had experienced the phenomenon of withered stalks and blackened ears.

He realized he had encountered someone selling counterfeit medicine.

He originally intended to lead his men to Qinghe Bay to settle accounts with Xu Yong, but when the eldest son, Lu Zhaoyang, heard about this, he thought they should report it to the authorities.

Lu Zhaoyang believed that this matter was of great importance and far more complex than simply selling counterfeit medicine.

The Lu family is large and wealthy. Even if ten acres of cornfields are destroyed, they still have other land. The fake medicine will not have a significant impact on the Lu family.

But those small, poor farming families who were cheated suffered greatly.

Compared to settling a personal score, Lu Zhaoyang would rather Xu Yong be convicted by the government.

So the steward took Lu Zhaoyang's invitation to see Magistrate Liu. Magistrate Liu was furious when he heard that Xu Yong from Qinghe Bay was selling fake medicine.

Well, you're a former village chief who's been dismissed, and instead of reflecting on your actions, your destructive power has spread from Qinghewan to the entire Pingchuan County.

And it's the crops that get destroyed.

For Magistrate Liu, who prioritizes a bountiful harvest in his jurisdiction and is known for his diligence, love for the people, and dedication to working in the fields, how could he tolerate the destruction of crops?
That must not be possible!

Magistrate Liu rushed from Pingchuan County to Qinghewan that very day to arrest Xu Yong.

After Gu Dashu met Magistrate Liu, he specially led Magistrate Liu along various small paths towards Qinghe Bay.

The path was flanked by cornfields, and when the road became difficult to traverse, Magistrate Liu had no choice but to dismount his carriage and walk.

As soon as Magistrate Liu stepped off the carriage, he saw with his own eyes the cornfield that had been ravaged by Xu Yong's fake medicine.

Magistrate Liu's heart trembled a few times amidst the yellowing corn leaves.

His heart was bleeding as the nearly bountiful corn harvest was destroyed.

Fortunately, his cousin from the Lu family wrote him a letter, and fortunately, his son's godmother sent her son to pick him up. If he hadn't come to Qinghe Bay, Xu Yong might have escaped.

If that happens, the entire corn harvest in Yanguan Town will be ruined and there will be no corn at all, and the responsibility will fall on him, the local official.