My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 27 Part 2

After hearing Huo Shu’s reason for coming, he silently prayed his mother hadn’t been the one spreading rumors.  

Huo Shu had no patience for games, so he tied the man up and waited for Wang niangzi.  

Seeing her son humiliated, Wang niangzi’s maternal instincts flared. She stammered angrily, "The man from Yuan Huiru’s family, what are you doing? We’re from the same village, don’t go too far!"  

Huo Shu ignored her. He simply pressed his foot down harder on the overturned chair, eliciting another scream.  

"Ah! Ah! Mother, stop yelling!"  

Wang niangzi froze. Her son was a bully who tormented others, when had he ever cried out like this?  

She shut her mouth instantly.  

Li Jinhu gasped, "Mother, did you tell people in the village that the village head’s ger and You Lingxiao were having an affair?!"  

"Th-they were engaged, what affair?!"  

Wang niangzi’s heart sank, but she didn’t dare admit it.  

Yet the moment she spoke, her son’s agonized wails filled the room again.  

Li Jinhu, pinned to the ground, felt like his spine was being torn apart. "Mother, just tell him!"  

"Stop, stop!"  

Seeing her son in pain, Wang niangzi rushed forward, trying to shove Huo Shu’s foot away. "Fine, it was me! I’ve got a foul mouth, hit me if you want, but leave my son alone!"  

Huo Shu watched her coldly, unmoved by her theatrics.  

"Why spread rumors about the two families?"  

"The Ji and You families are rich, we’re poor. I was jealous, so I talked nonsense to vent!"  

Huo Shu glanced at Li Jinhu. "I came to talk nicely. But if your mother insists on lying, I won’t waste words."  

He stood abruptly, as if to stomp on Li Jinhu, who wailed in terror.  

"Mother, he’ll really kill me! Do you want me dead? Just tell him the truth! Who’ll take care of you if I die?!"  

Wang niangzi collapsed on the ground, shielding her son. "I’ll talk! It was You Juren! He paid me ten taels to ruin the Ji family’s ger’s reputation! Today, he gave me another ten taels to spread it further!"  

"The money’s still in my pocket, I just came from the You family!"  

Huo Shu lifted his foot, and the pair of mother and son exhaled in relief.  

Wang niangzi tentatively untied her son.  

"Brother Huo, my mother didn’t mean it! The Ji and You families are powerful, we couldn’t refuse! If not for You Lingxiao forcing her, she’d never dare!"  

Li Jinhu scrambled up, trying to shift blame.  

"Exactly! I gossip, but I wouldn’t dare target them!"  

Huo Shu cut off their excuses. "I don’t care if you were coerced or greedy. Go out and clear this up."  

Wang niangzi recoiled. "You want me to tell the village You Lingxiao made me say those things?!"  

"I can’t! The You family is powerful, and You Lingxiao’s a juren now! If this gets out, they’ll skin me alive!"  

She shook her head frantically. "No, no..."  

Huo Shu slightly lowered his gaze and looked at the two: "If we don’t clarify this, whether the You family dares to skin people alive is uncertain, but skinning people is a common affair for me. Old woman, I see you’re already halfway into the grave, hardly worth the effort, but your son is young and strong. That might be different."  

Li Jinhu quickly begged for mercy: "Brother Huo, my mother is just a country woman. My father died early, and as a widow, she can’t grasp the situation clearly. When the You family came knocking, she couldn’t refuse. But if she exposes them now, how’s a widow like her supposed to survive afterward?"

Huo Shu responded, "I can also point you to a way out, but it depends on whether you cooperate."  

"Brother Huo, just say it, just say it."  

Huo Shu said, "Clarify the truth and restore the Ji family’s ger’s reputation. I’ll discuss with the Ji family to give you and your mother some money to lay low elsewhere. With the You family’s character, they won’t last long. Once the storm passes, you can return. The Ji family will remember your kindness and won’t make trouble for you. Life will go on as usual."  

Seeing the mother and son hesitating, Huo Shu coldly added:  

"Or, if you insist on keeping silent for the You family, that’s fine too. I’ll inform the Ji family that you were the ones behind this, and I’ll tell the You family that you couldn’t keep your mouths shut. That way, you’ll offend both major families in the village and have no way to survive."  

"Offend one side or offend everyone, the choice is yours."  

Any sensible person would know what to choose. Wang niangzi glanced at Li Jinhu: "We’ll listen to you, but… the money…"  

Huo Shu pulled out twenty taels of silver from his pocket, initially intending to toss it to Wang niangzi. But then he remembered a certain ger’s earnest admonitions and the You family’s methods, so he swapped the twenty taels for ten.  

"This is the deposit. The Ji family will give you the rest once the matter is settled."  

Li Jinhu immediately assured him, "Brother Huo, don’t worry. We’ll do exactly as you say."  

"Better stick to it. If you back out halfway or try anything sneaky…"  

Huo Shu cast a glance at Li Jinhu. "My patience is very limited."  

"Yes, yes, we won’t make the same mistake again."  

Huo Shu said nothing more and turned to leave.  

Only when the tall figure had walked far away did Wang niangzi's heart finally settle back in her chest.  

Her back ached from all the bowing: "That brute is terrifying, always talking about killing and skinning people. I don’t even see any connection between him and the Ji family, so why is he willing to run errands for them and come here to threaten us?"  

As she grumbled, Wang niangzi suddenly had an epiphany, her eyes lighting up: "Could it be that he’s also taken a fancy to the village head’s ger?"  

Li Jinhu was both angry and exasperated: "Mother, stop your wild guesses and nonsense! You blabber without thinking, and I end up beaten black and blue. His fists are like iron, how can my flesh withstand his blows?"  

Wang niangzi patted her son’s back sympathetically and tilted her head: "Then… do we really listen to him and expose the You family?"  

Li Jinhu stared at her in disbelief: "Wasn’t Huo Shu’s warning clear enough? Mother, you’re truly muddle-headed. Getting involved in this mess for the You family is a sure way to end up hated by both sides. Even I know to pick on the weak, but you? You jumped right into the feud between the You and Ji families!"  

"We’ll do as he says first, then get out of here and lay low."  

Seeing her usually boastful son so fearful, Wang niangzi shrank her neck: "I understand now."  

The atmosphere in the Ji household was stifling. The usually harmonious family of three was now weighed down by their own worries.