Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 827 - 817: Arson

"What happened after that?" Now was not the time to watch the eldest sister-in-law discipline the eldest brother; Li Hongjun wanted to know the entire story.

"Later, our dad and all the onlookers went over there, and you know how our dad is. That Xue character can really put on an act. In the end, our dad got angry and hit the old lady." As Wang Dan recalled the scene, she felt even wiser for having chosen to live separately from her in-laws. If she had still been mixed up with them, her own husband, Li Hongxing, might have followed their example, flirting with other women and then coming home to beat his wife without the ability to do anything else. She couldn’t have endured such a life.

Li Hongjun furrowed his brows upon hearing his sister-in-law’s words.

Back when the old man and the old lady were young, they would fight; of course, the old lady could never beat the old man. But later, as their children grew up and became sensible, the old man had basically stopped hitting her. Unexpectedly, after so many years of not being hit, the old lady was struck again over such an incident in her old age. No wonder she couldn’t help but set someone’s firewood stack ablaze.

Wang Dan, unaware of what was going through Li Hongjun’s mind, repeated the subsequent events.

At that time, when Li’s father saw Madam Xue being chased and beaten by his own wife, crying so pitifully, followed by a crowd of people who were there just for the spectacle, he acted impulsively, pulled the old lady away, and slapped her across the face.

Qiu Shuping never imagined that while trying to beat a homewrecker she would actually get hit by her husband. She was heartbroken. It was one thing to be hit, but another to be hit in front of so many people, losing face. She let out a wail and clawed back at the old man.

Madam Xue seemed oblivious to how she was complicating matters. As she saw Qiu Shuping and Li’s father fighting, she hurriedly straightened her hair and carefully tugged at Qiu Shuping, repeatedly saying things like, "Sister, you’ve misunderstood. There’s really nothing between me and Brother Li," "Sister, you can’t hit Brother Li. He’s innocent."

Had Madam Xue just honestly stayed out of it, the Li parents probably would have stopped after a couple of blows. But with her fanning the flames, Qiu Shuping’s anger only grew.

What, she needed your help to instruct her own man, making you look good? Qiu Shuping turned and aimed for Madam Xue’s face.

Madam Xue, terrified, quickly hid behind Li’s father, and then the three of them were caught up in a scenario reminiscent of an eagle catching a chick. Seeing Li’s father protecting an outsider, Qiu Shuping clawed at him desperately.

As Madam Xue stepped in to defend Li’s father, it turned into two against one—Li’s father and Madam Xue teamed up, one hitting, one pulling, and together they took care of Qiu Shuping.

Finally, it was the spectators who couldn’t stand to watch anymore. They couldn’t just watch an adulterer and his accomplice beat up an old lady.

Qiu Shuping returned home covered in bruises, first to be mocked by the mother and daughter of the Zheng Family, then without any comfort from Li’s father. She stifled her tears at home for several days, making a scene when Li’s father returned.

Sometime later, seemingly out of nowhere, the old lady perked up. She ignored everyone at home, neither cooking nor speaking to anyone. Li’s father didn’t know what to do with such a wife and could only keep explaining earnestly to her that there really was nothing between him and Madam Xue, and that the money was advance payment for work. He hoped the old lady would stop making a fuss and that they could live their lives peacefully. He even promised to let the old lady manage all the money the children gave them, asking if it would be acceptable if he simply didn’t handle the money anymore.

It seemed the old lady took his words to heart, and slowly, things seemed to blow over. Life at the Li Family continued on.

But who would have known that a few nights ago, Li Lao-Tou got dragged out to drink and forgot to tell his wife at home? As a result, Qiu Shuping, seeing that the old man hadn’t come home for dinner, assumed he had gone to see that old vixen from the Xue Family again.

She held back her anger until it was dark outside and the old man still hadn’t returned home, leaving Qiu Shuping’s eyes red with fury. The thought that she just couldn’t accept this made her storm out the door.

Just as she stepped out, Li Lao-Tou staggered home, only to find his wife missing, and Mother Zheng told him that the old lady had started causing trouble again at home and had just left.

Li Lao-Tou sobered up instantly, remembered his wife’s temperament, and felt a surge of anxiety as he turned around and ran out the door.

Seeing the commotion, Mother Zheng, intrigued, also followed Li Lao-Tou’s footsteps and chased after him.

It’s often said that the person who knows you best is the one who’s slept by your side for decades. As soon as Li Lao-Tou left his house, he headed straight for Dame Xue’s, confident that the old woman had gone to stir up trouble at Xue Mei’s place.

Indeed, Qiu Shuping had gone to Xue Suqin’s house. From the doorstep, she could hear laughter inside, which made her blood boil and her eyes burn red with rage. In moments of extreme anger, people lose all reason, and Qiu Shuping was single-mindedly focused on not letting this pair of adulterers get away with it.

She fumbled in her pocket and found a match – without a second thought, she struck one and threw it onto the Xue Family’s firewood pile.

What Li Lao-Tou and Mother Zheng saw when they arrived was just this scene: the firewood pile was ablaze, the flames leaping more than a person’s height, and Qiu Shuping was standing beside it, clutching the matchbox with a bizarre grin, watching the fire burn.

After witnessing this, Mother Zheng let out a terrified yell, which startled countless idle villagers in the quiet countryside night. By the time people gathered to watch the commotion, Li Lao-Tou was desperately trying to put out the fire. Seeing the seriousness of the situation, no one was in the mood to spectate any longer; they all sprang into action to help extinguish the fire. After all, if the fire were allowed to burn unchecked, it could easily spread to the neighboring homes.

Dame Xue herself had been alarmed by the noise outside and only then realized that someone had set her firewood pile alight. She nearly went weak at the knees from the shock. It was fortunate that she had heard the noise and came out to investigate – otherwise, the fire could have reached her house while she and the children were still inside, completely oblivious.

What happened next was predictable. After everyone had clumsily but successfully extinguished the flames, Dame Xue immediately grabbed Qiu Shuping and started to wail, inconsolable and determined not to let off the culprit who had tried to burn her and her daughter to death.

The village head was present at the time and, of course, there were efforts from both sides to calm the situation down – to make a big issue small, a small issue disappear. After all, they were all from the same village, and it wouldn’t look good for anyone to be detained.

The bystanders who had come for the spectacle took turns speaking up for Qiu Shuping. They had been neighbors with Qiu Shuping for decades, and besides, everyone was well aware of the situation between Dame Xue and Li Lao-Tou. Sympathy for Qiu Shuping came naturally.

Unexpectedly, Dame Xue’s younger son had taken advantage of the fire-fighting chaos and had sneaked off to call the police. So, while a group of people were persuading each other in front of the Xue family’s house, two police cars were already pulling up at the entrance of the village.

Qiu Shuping had come to her senses while everyone was frantically trying to put out the fire and realized what she had done. She was filled with regret. But seeing everyone siding with her, she had a sneaking feeling that maybe everything would be okay. After all, Xue Suqin couldn’t possibly contend with the entire village, right? But while Xue Suqin didn’t do much, her son had already called the police.

When Qiu Shuping saw several Dagaimaos approaching, she collapsed to the ground in fear.