My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 28 Part 3

"It was you, Ji Yangzong and your wife, who demanded to break off the engagement in the first place! Now you’re blaming our You family? There’s no logic in this world like yours!"  

You's mother, driven to madness, lashed out without thinking: "Who knows if your own ger even knows how to behave properly!"  

"Sun niangzi, how dare you still act righteous at a time like this! You know exactly why our Ji family called off the engagement, your family climbed up to a higher social tier and wanted to kick us aside! Before the exams, you made all sorts of promises, saying the wedding would happen once your son passed. But after he became a juren, you acted all high and mighty, never mentioning the marriage again!"  

Huang Manjing snapped: "If our ger had truly behaved improperly, he would’ve begged to marry into your family instead of standing firm and calling off the engagement himself!"  

"You’ve taken every advantage, and now you’re trampling on the Ji family! Even if there’s no old affection left, how could you go so far as to ruin the reputation of our entire family? Your intentions are truly vile!"  

The villagers also brought up old grievances: "Back then, Sun niangzi was already fawning over the powerful and kicking down the weak. She broke off a perfectly good engagement with the Yu family without a second thought, then used underhanded means to marry into the You family. Now she’s raised You Lingxiao to be the same. What cursed luck brought the Ji family into contact with such people?"  

The two main families in the courtyard were now in a full-blown shouting match, with the villagers chiming in. The scene was like a boiling pot of stew that had finally burst from too much heat.  

Amid the chaos, You Lingxiao stood dazed. At this point, he couldn’t even muster a single word of rebuttal, he was on the verge of fainting.  

In his daze, his gaze drifted through the crowd and landed on the ger standing far under the eaves, watching the spectacle unfold.  

Their eyes met. You Lingxiao saw, in those once-charming peach-blossom eyes, an unprecedented coldness and disgust. He didn’t know how to describe the feeling in his heart, only that his mind was still foggy, unable to comprehend how things had escalated to this point.  

That ger who used to wait for him on the road back from the academy during breaks, just to catch a glimpse of him - even if they never spoke, he’d always been so happy, felt like a memory from just yesterday. How had those eyes turned so cold?  

You Lingxiao’s hands trembled. His eyes reddened, and two lines of tears silently rolled down his cheeks.  

You's mother, amidst the villagers’ curses of "bastard" and "scum," lunged at Huang Manjing, trying to claw at her. But a gleaming cleaver suddenly blocked her path.  

The crowd flinched at the sight of the blade, and the courtyard fell silent.  

"Ji Taoyu, I just… I just didn’t want to lose you."  

You Lingxiao’s voice was choked with tears, his tone pitiful. The villagers stared in stunned silence.  

Seeing this, the eldest branch of the You family quickly stepped forward to apologize: "Village Head, Lingxiao only made this mistake because he was too devoted. You’ve watched him grow up, you know his character. Young people don’t always think things through, and this backfired."  

"Spare me!"  

Ji Yangzong spat: "Playing the good guy now? Ruining someone’s reputation and still acting righteous? Don’t you dare insult the words ‘devotion’!"  

"Uncle Ji, Ji Taoyu and I grew up together, why would I harm him? After the engagement was called off, I couldn’t bear it, so I made a poor decision. I never meant to ruin his reputation, I don’t know how the rumors got so twisted."  

"Enough!"  

Ji Taoyu, standing to the side, felt nothing but nausea at You Lingxiao’s tearful display.  

"To save face, you’ll spin any lie. When you were praising others, whispering sweet words, did you ever remember you were already engaged?"  

Ji Taoyu sneered: "You couldn’t bear to break off the engagement, yet you wanted to have your cake and eat it too. How utterly greedy!"  

You Lingxiao froze. Clearly, Ji Taoyu knew everything.  

For a moment, guilt flashed across his face, and his cheeks flushed red.  

The villagers erupted in scorn, their disdain for You Lingxiao growing even stronger.  

The You family’s eldest branch wanted to argue but had no ground to stand on. They didn’t dare speak recklessly, who knew what other shameful things this mother and son had done? If more came to light, they’d be laughed at too.  

"Ah, they’ve lost their minds. Your aunt and cousin have truly gone mad."  

Yu's mother felt embarrassed for her older sister and nephew as she watched their humiliation.

"Now you finally see what kind of people your aunt and cousin are."  

Yu Xia, standing beside Yu's mother, took a deep breath, his emotions in turmoil.  

"The Ji family doesn’t know what’s good for them. My foolish son, how could you still care for him?"  

You's mother raged: "It’s normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines! A sickly ger like you, did you really expect Lingxiao to stay devoted to you alone?"  

"I know my place. I don’t have the fortune to enjoy a juren's blessings . But the You family shouldn’t resort to such underhanded tactics."  

"Now that the truth is out, let me make this clear, from today on, bridges go back to bridges, roads go back to roads, You Lingxiao and I are strangers. Our ties are severed. Don’t ever harass me again!"  

[桥归桥，路归路 (qiáo guī qiáo, lù guī lù): lit. bridges go back to bridges, roads go back to roads; fig. to go separate ways and sever ties completely.] 

With that, Ji Taoyu turned and left.  

You Lingxiao stood dumbfounded.  

This farce finally came to a temporary end with Ji Taoyu’s decisive words and You Lingxiao’s crumbling composure.  

The Ji family didn’t expect an apology from the You mother and son, receiving one would only disgust them further. Their goal had been to expose You Lingxiao’s actions and clear Ji Taoyu’s name. Now that it was done, nothing else mattered.  

But after this incident, the You family’s reputation in the village was utterly destroyed. They became the subject of every tea-time conversation, with villagers shaking their heads in disbelief.