Chapter 159: The Little Fool in the Group Favorite Story – Part 2

“Xie Hui, you scoundrel! What did you do to Lili?!”

Old Madam had just stepped through the door when she saw the scratches on her granddaughter’s face. Looking at Xie Hui, who was sitting in the courtyard with his silly son in his arms, she immediately flew into a rage.

She didn’t care if Xie Hui was actually responsible; as long as he was home, in Old Madam’s eyes, he was inextricably linked to her granddaughter’s injury.

She tugged her granddaughter over to Xie Hui, pointing at the scratches on her face caused by pebbles, her eyes red with distress.

“Look at you! Is this how you act as a second uncle? Look at her face!”

Xie Hui put his son down and actually leaned in to take a very serious look.

Just as Old Madam was trembling with anger, he raised his hand and, before Old Madam could react, swiftly slapped Xie Kangli again. The crisp, loud sound of the slap left many people stunned.

“Mother, please take another look. Is this slap mark clear enough now?”

Xie Kangli was so shocked by the sudden slap that she couldn’t react. It took her a while before she squatted down and began to wail.

“Xie Hui, you’ve truly gone too far!”

“Yes, I’ve gone too far. So what? Mother, why don’t you ask what your precious granddaughter did?”

“Bah! No matter what Lili did, you shouldn’t have hit her like that! Even if she made a mistake, she’s still just a small child!”

Xie Hui once thought there was some truth to the idea that young children were blameless, but now hearing it, he found it utterly exasperating. To overlook all the evil she committed simply because she was young was completely unreasonable.

“What if she bullied a child younger than her? What does Ning Ning understand?”

As soon as she heard it was related to that idiot, Old Madam, who was already heartbroken over her granddaughter, became even more furious. Without thinking, she cursed,

“Even if your silly son died, it would save us grain!”

The usually calm Xie Hui was uncharacteristically angered to the point of losing control, especially when he heard Xie Kangli, hiding behind Old Madam, softly echoing her words. He clenched his fist, yanked Old Madam, who was trying to shield Xie Kangli, aside, and then punched and kicked Xie Kangli.

“Xie Hui, now you dare to lay hands on your mother? You unfilial son! I, I will go to the yamen today and ask the County Magistrate to preside over justice!”

“Mother, are you getting senile? What do you mean I laid hands on you? You clearly walked right into my hand.”

The County Magistrate handled matters based on evidence. With Xie Hui flatly denying it, Old Madam truly had no recourse. Especially just now, if she hadn’t leaned in, Xie Hui wouldn’t have touched her at all.

In reality, Old Madam said that purely to threaten Xie Hui. She was just an ordinary peasant woman who felt intimidated even by the village chief; how could she dare to seek out the County Magistrate?

After a moment, remembering his usual filial and obedient demeanor, she gritted her teeth and said,

“Xie Hui! If you don’t apologize properly to your niece today, we can’t live like this anymore!”

“Separate the family! We must separate the family!”

Xie Hui had been waiting for precisely these words. To this Old Madam, who had lost all reason, Xie Kangli was her lifeblood.

It would be strange if she didn’t go crazy enough to demand a family separation after he had messed with her lifeblood like this today.

“I think you’ve truly been muddled by your silly son. Have you forgotten that when your wife was still alive, she said Lili was too delicate, and that’s why she didn’t survive childbirth?”

The client’s wife was a fiery woman. If Old Madam wanted to leave everything only to her granddaughter, then she would cause a scene, making everyone lose face.

That child, Xie Kangli, was already a bit mysterious; those who treated her well had good luck, and those who treated her poorly would suffer misfortune.

When the client’s wife was alive, she often said she wasn’t afraid. She wanted to see how unlucky she could get, and if she truly died of misfortune for that reason, she would accept it.

In Xie Hui’s view, the client’s wife died due to difficult labor during childbirth and the lack of a professional present. Even in modern times, without a professional doctor, it might not be safe.

Not to mention in such an ancient era with a generally backward medical environment, such situations were incredibly common.

To attribute it to offending Xie Kangli was utterly absurd.

“Mother, since you’ve said it to this extent, rest assured, even if I die, I will absolutely not forget to drag your most beloved eldest son and eldest granddaughter down with me.”

Xie Hui’s tone when he said this was very calm, so calm it was as if he were merely discussing what to eat for dinner.

It was this nonchalant attitude that made Old Madam feel a chill in her heart.

Such a fearless person was truly hard not to be afraid of. One couldn’t constantly guard against him making a move.

“You, you unfilial son!”

Xie Hui calmly listened to Old Madam curse him. As long as he achieved his goal, what did a few curses matter?

Xie Kangli, who had been hiding behind her grandmother, listening to her scold, now had a fleeting look of panic on her face. She tugged at her grandmother’s clothes and whispered,

“Grandma, maybe Second Uncle is just unhappy because Ning Ning is silly. After some time, Second Uncle will return to normal.”

Old Madam listened to her precious granddaughter’s words, her anger slightly abating, but her expression remained cold. She glared at the unfilial son and said coldly,

“Why aren’t you hurrying over to thank your niece? If it weren’t for your niece, this matter wouldn’t be so easily resolved today.”

Before, Xie Hui had always thought that this child was inherently bad, and that she herself was completely unaware of her ability to absorb others’ qi luck.

However, seeing her plead with Old Madam not to separate the family after he had severely dealt with her, his previous conjecture inexplicably became uncertain.

Perhaps… Xie Kangli was not entirely unaware of the strangeness about herself.

Under her second uncle’s scrutinizing gaze, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Xie Kangli’s forehead. She forced a stiff smile and said,

“Second Uncle, why are you looking at me like that?”

Prompted by Xie Kangli, the gazes of everyone else in the courtyard also fell on him. Xie Hui, like the original host, showed them a simple, honest smile.

“Second Uncle is looking at you because he wants to thank you.”

Although the current Second Uncle seemed somewhat familiar to Xie Kangli, she couldn’t easily relax her guard. The unease in her heart grew stronger.

“Second Uncle, I, we are all family. There’s no need to say thank you; it’s too formal…”

By this point, Xie Kangli’s palms were already covered in a layer of cold sweat from nervousness.

“How can I not say thank you? Lili, if it weren’t for you, how could Second Uncle have the chance to stay?”

“After all, we’re all family. My hand might tremble when I buy some poison… Oh, if it weren’t for Lili, where would I get this opportunity?”

When Xie Hui said this, a faint smile played on his lips. He even distracted himself to tidy his son’s messy hair.

In this era, there was no concept of haircuts. Ning Ning had no mother since childhood, his grandmother didn’t care for him, and his older sister often bullied him.

Even his father neglected him to the extreme. If he occasionally noticed something amiss, Old Madam would simply brush it off by saying that children in their village were just like that.

The weather today was actually quite pleasant. Most people were busy in spring, and the warm sunlight fell on Xie Hui. The scene of him tidying his child’s hair looked quite heartwarming on its own.

The more heartwarming this scene was, combined with the words he had just spoken, the more unsettling it became.

Especially Eldest Brother Xie, who at this moment no longer cared about his distressed daughter, only thinking that this madman might actually poison them.

“If you dare to poison us, I’ll send you to the yamen.”

“Eldest Brother, if I really poisoned you, then your spirit would have to float over to the County Magistrate to complain, to see if the County Magistrate can see you and grant you a ghostly trial?”

“I’m going to the county now!”

After hearing this, Eldest Brother Xie turned and intended to leave.

Xie Hui showed no trace of panic on his face. He simply used a dirty strip of cloth to casually tie up Ning Ning’s hair.

He thought to himself that after the family separated, he would definitely give this boy a good hair wash.

“Eldest Brother, look at you, why is your temper still so impetuous? I was just joking with you, Eldest Brother. If you want to take this matter to the County Magistrate, I can’t stop you.”

Eldest Brother Xie hadn’t even managed to step out of the courtyard before he heard Xie Hui’s words, and he was so infuriated that he didn’t know whether to leave or return.

The little fellow Ning Ning, whose hair had been tidied, seemed a bit slow to react. He earnestly shook his head, found that it wasn’t as bothersome as before, and happily hugged his father’s leg.

Xie Hui had indeed said those words, but if he insisted he was just joking,

Even if Eldest Brother Xie went to the yamen, there would ultimately be nothing they could do to Xie Hui.

The Emperor was wise, and local officials dared not act recklessly. The County Magistrate handled matters with an emphasis on evidence. If it was a false accusation, Eldest Brother Xie would have to endure dozens of heavy bamboo strikes before returning.

They had returned because the farm work in the fields was mostly done, and they were back for lunch.

By now, other villagers had already eaten and were rushing back to their fields.

Some people, passing by the Xie Family’s gate, saw so many people gathered there and curiously peered in.

Grandpa Xie, who had been silent since returning, now personally went and pulled his eldest son back, then firmly locked the door from the inside.

He was old and valued his reputation, most afraid of becoming a laughingstock.

He turned his head to look at his second son standing there. Even at his age, after hearing what Xie Hui had said, he no longer dared to stay under the same roof with him.

Previously, most people in their village adhered to the principle of not separating the family, but things had escalated to this point. Grandpa Xie, as the head of the family, decisively declared,

“No matter what, this family must be separated today!”