Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Xianglian took a deep breath, forcing herself not to fall, "Speak plainly, don't beat around the bush."

"Oh, still playing dumb?" Aunt Zhou curled her lip, her face full of disdain. "Who in the whole village doesn't know now? Qin Lao Er climbed over your wall last night! Secretary Chunhua saw it with her own eyes. Qin Lao Er came out of your house, his clothes weren't even properly arranged!"

"I heard they even hugged at the window!"

Another woman chimed in, "You can never truly know a person's heart. Gangzi works himself to the bone outside to earn money, and you're at home cheating on him—wearing a worthless, unwanted hat!"

"Nonsense! You're all talking nonsense!"

Xianglian trembled with anger, tears welling in her eyes. "Brother Qin and I are completely innocent! He only saved me because he saw I was trying to kill myself..."

"Trying to die?" Aunt Zhou scoffed, her eyes looking at him as if he were something filthy. "Why would you want to die for no reason? Perhaps you've done something wrong and are too ashamed to show your face? Besides, what can that eunuch Qin Lao Er do to save you? Save you from this hellhole?"

"Exactly, don't you think it's unlucky?"

Those gazes were like countless tiny knives, stripping Xianglian of her clothes, leaving her naked and exposed to torture in front of everyone.

It's hard to explain.

Once rumors open their mouths, they become man-eating beasts.

Xianglian gritted her teeth and stopped arguing. She knew that whatever she said at this moment would only become more sensational fodder for these people's mouths.

She lowered her head and walked quickly through the crowd.

Behind him, the malicious gossip clung to him like a persistent ailment, impossible to shake off.

Back in the Zhao family courtyard, before she could even catch her breath, a large bowl flew out of the main room.

"Snapped!"

Porcelain shards shattered all over the floor, almost splashing onto Xianglian's legs.

Aunt Zhao sat on the threshold, her hair disheveled, and like a madwoman, she pointed at Xianglian's nose and began to wail.

"You shameless slut! You've completely disgraced the Zhao family!"

Aunt Zhao was so angry that her fat jiggled, and her triangular eyes were filled with resentment. "I asked you to go and find a surrogate son so that the Zhao family could have an heir! That was a serious matter! And what did you do? You actually went and seduced that childless man next door! Are you trying to kill our whole family?!"

This logic is ridiculously absurd.

Forcing his wife to sleep with a mentally challenged man was considered a "proper matter," but being saved by a neighbor turned into "bringing death to the whole family."

Looking at the hysterical old woman in front of her, Xianglian felt a chill run to her very bones.

"Mother, I told you, I didn't." Xianglian's voice was hoarse, so tired she could barely lift her eyelids. "It was Liu Chunhua who spread rumors..."

"Flies don't land on eggs without cracks!"

Aunt Zhao wouldn't listen at all. She grabbed a broom and started hitting Xianglian with it. "If you were upright and honest, would people talk about you like that? Now the whole village is gossiping about me behind my back! They're saying I married a slut!"

The broom hit my shoulder, and it hurt terribly.

Xianglian neither hid nor cried.

She just stared at Aunt Zhao quietly, her eyes eerily empty.

"Go ahead and hit him," she said. "Killing him is just as good, it'll make room for Zhao Gang."

Aunt Zhao froze, looking at Xianglian's nonchalant attitude, and felt a strange chill run down her spine.

How did this pushover suddenly change her personality?

"You...you get back to the woodshed! Don't get in my way!" Aunt Zhao reluctantly withdrew her hand, still cursing under her breath, "No food tonight! I'll let you starve, you jinx!"

Xianglian silently turned around and walked into the dark and damp woodshed.

The moment the door closed, the sunlight outside was completely blocked.

The world is finally quiet.

She slid down against the corner of the wall, hugged her knees, and buried her face in her arms.

The tears that had been held back all the way finally burst forth.

Why?

Why treat her like this?

She just wanted to live a peaceful life and have a home.

But why does this world leave her no way to survive?

As night fell, the woodshed was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

The day's fatigue, coupled with the mental pressure, caused Xianglian to drift off to sleep.

Even in my dreams I cannot find peace.

"Kill this slut!"

"Drown her in a pig cage!"

In her dream, she was tied up under a big locust tree at the village entrance. There were people all around her: Aunt Zhou, Aunt Zhao, Liu Chunhua... They were throwing rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, and stones at her indiscriminately.

Zhao Gang stood at the back of the crowd, his arm around the pregnant woman, watching her coldly.

"Xianglian, you have disappointed me greatly."

"No... I didn't..."

Xianglian struggled desperately in her dream, but her throat felt like it was blocked with cotton, and she couldn't make a sound.

A sharp stone flew towards her, striking her squarely on the forehead—

"what!"

Xianglian suddenly woke up, drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath.

In the darkness, my heart pounded like a drum.

Just then, a large, warm hand suddenly covered the top of her head.

It was a completely unfamiliar touch, rough like a callus, yet unexpectedly gentle.

Xianglian was terrified and was about to scream when her mouth was covered by another hand.

The familiar smell of earth, mixed with a faint tobacco scent.

"Don't shout."

A deep, husky voice sounded in my ear, carrying a reassuring calmness, "It's me."

Qin Rushan!

Xianglian's body stiffened instantly, then went limp again.

By the moonlight streaming in through the window, she saw the tall man squatting in front of her. Those eyes, which were usually fierce and menacing, were now staring intently at her.

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked, gently wiping away the tear stains at the corner of her eye with his thumb.

The roughness of my fingertips made my skin itch a little, yet strangely soothing.

Xianglian's tears flowed even more fiercely in an instant.

Feeling wronged, fearful, and helpless, they found an outlet at this moment.

"They...they all said I..." Xianglian sobbed, her voice broken, "They said I was shameless...they said you were a eunuch...they said we..."

She couldn't bring herself to utter those foul words.

Qin Rushan's eyes darkened, a hint of ferocity flashing in them.

Of course he heard it.

While those gossipy women were babbling by the well, he stood in the nearby woods. If he weren't afraid of causing the woman more trouble, he would have gone out and torn those foul mouths to shreds long ago.

"Don't be afraid."

Qin Rushan stretched out his long arm and pulled the woman, who was curled up in a ball, into his arms.

His embrace was hard and solid, like a wall, blocking out the wind and rain from outside.

"They can spew whatever they want, let them spew whatever they want." Qin Rushan patted her back, his movements a little clumsy but full of ruthlessness. "As long as I'm here, no one in the Red Star Brigade can lay a finger on you."

Xianglian leaned against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, and miraculously stopped trembling.

"But... my reputation is ruined..." Xianglian choked out, "How am I supposed to face people now..."

"What's the value of reputation? Can it put food on the table?"

Qin Rushan sneered, his tone arrogant and disdainful, "I've lived for so many years with the title of 'Lone Star of Calamity,' and I haven't lost a single piece of flesh."

He lowered his head, looking at the tear-streaked face of the woman in his arms, his eyes darkening.

"As for those who gossip."

Qin Rushan paused, a cruel smile curving his lips—the expression of a wolf before its hunt.

"Don't worry, in less than three days, I'll shut them all up."

Qin Rushan has been out there for so many years, and he has relied on more than just brute strength.

Since he dares to play tricks behind people's backs, he shouldn't blame them for not showing any tenderness towards women.

Xianglian stared blankly at him; in the darkness, the man's silhouette was as resolute as iron.

"Really...really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Qin Rushan squeezed her thin, fleshy hand, his palm burning hot. "Go to sleep. I'll stay here and watch over you tonight. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

That night, there were no more nightmares in the woodshed.