CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31: PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY?

EDITOR: ATLAS STUDIOS

"Hahaha, that kid looks so weak. I was just saying he couldn’t handle it..."

"Who are you saying can’t handle it?"

"Gah!"

A boisterous and teasing laughter burst out from beneath the big pagoda tree, followed by a cold question, and then the laughter abruptly stopped.

Everyone turned in unison to see Li Qingmu walking over with a dark expression, his eyes coldly fixed on Aunt Liu and the middle-aged man beside her who were spouting nonsense.

"Ha, a wife singing in chorus with her husband?" His sharp gaze turned to Aunt Liu. "Can Aunt Liu’s man handle it?"

"Uh..."

The people under the big pagoda tree were momentarily silent. No man can tolerate being said to be incapable. They had been laughing so loudly, and to top it off, they were caught red-handed.

How embarrassing!

Serves this Li Laosan right for getting angry!

Aunt Liu’s mouth twitched hard. In Dazhou, insulting a man was serious enough for a case, and she got carried away, not noticing Li Qingmu was right there, leaving her temporarily flustered.

She instinctively replied, "He can!"

"Since your man can handle it, why are you flirting with this guy?"

Li Qingmu suddenly pointed at the middle-aged man angrily, and Aunt Liu immediately retorted, "Who’s flirting with him? Don’t you slander people with empty words!"

"Really? If not flirting, then why was he agreeing with you?"

"This..." Aunt Liu was stumped again and blurted, "What’s the big deal? Neighbors talking to each other is now a crime?"

"Then why was my wife merely sitting in Chai Tieniu’s ox cart to pick me up from the county, and you accused her of having an affair? Aunt Liu, with such slander, do you want to go to the court for a face-off?"

Li Qingmu’s words were precise and aggressive, and Aunt Liu looked dumbfounded at Long Yue approaching in the distance with an angry Chai Tieniu, her mind in turmoil.

So... this little girl was just going to pick up her husband?

She had previously told everyone that Long Yue had an affair with Chai Tieniu, but now it seemed like she was slapping herself in the face.

How could this happen?

She knew she was in the wrong, but she couldn’t admit it in public. Her reputation would be ruined, so she steeled herself and said, "How is that my fault? Your wife has a history; anyone would think that way!"

"So Aunt Liu likes to give final verdicts on people?"

Uh? What does giving final verdicts mean? Aunt Liu wasn’t sure, but her face changed with what came next.

Li Qingmu continued, "I saw Aunt Liu with a man, arms wrapped around each other, entering a house in the county. What should we say about that? Or is it that Aunt Liu likes to run a half-shut-door business, and even pays for it?"

"Pfft!"

Someone among the villagers let out a mocking laugh, and their gaze toward Aunt Liu was now laden with contemplation.

A half-shut-door business is where some women work at home, often within certain time frames, unlike brothels which operate anytime.

Li Qingmu’s words were devastating, and Aunt Liu’s face turned entirely purple.

It was last year, the man was drunk, yelling for a woman, and said he would pay ten taels of silver. Aunt Liu happened to be passing by, heard it, and agreed.

She thought it was well hidden and wouldn’t be discovered, especially since it was just one time but earned her ten taels of silver. Why not do it?

But Li Qingmu had seen it. How could she explain this?

"You... you are making it up!"

Aunt Liu’s voice shrilled, revealing her guilty conscience.

Li Qingmu watched her frantic demeanor and suddenly smiled, lightly saying, "Since Aunt Liu doesn’t admit it, why don’t we visit the place again? I remember the address perfectly, it’s just north of the Wang Family in the county..."

"Ah ah ah, Li Laosan, you little bastard, shut up, shut up! If you dare slander me, I’ll tear you apart, I’ll strangle you!"

Li Qingmu hadn’t finished speaking before Aunt Liu suddenly went mad and rushed towards him, looking as if she wanted to swallow him whole!

"Quick, stop her, she’s trying to assault him in public!"

Long Yue, not afraid of causing a scene, shouted immediately, and villagers swiftly came forward to hold her by the arms.

This made it clear, with all this ruckus, everyone knew there was something wrong with Aunt Liu.

Tsk, secretly seeing other men while married, yet constantly slandering Long Yue. This person is truly... despicable!

Long Yue pouted slightly and said discontentedly, "Husband, no wonder this person always thinks of others that way, it’s because she herself isn’t any good! As Buddhists say, one’s appearance reflects their heart; she sees others the same way she sees herself! Hmph, shameless!"

"Yes, shameless!"

Someone muttered under their breath, it was a woman’s voice, perhaps one who had also been slandered by Aunt Liu, now seizing the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.

"Husband, let’s not concern ourselves with such vulgar people, let’s go home!"

Long Yue wrapped her arm around Li Qingmu’s, playfully scolding him, openly displaying affection in front of the villagers of Qingshui Village.

"These two sure are affectionate. Wasn’t it said earlier that she got involved with someone else before being married off to the poor Li Laosan who couldn’t find a wife?"

"Hard to say. On the wedding night, if there was no red stain, which man would love her like this? Otherwise, he’d really be a coward! Li Laosan, he..."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. They had just witnessed Li Qingmu’s assertive side, silencing Aunt Liu directly, which wasn’t the behavior of a coward!

Adding to it, the fact that Li Qingmu handled all the affairs of the Li family, thus the rumors about Long Yue being unchaste fell apart on their own.

Long Yue walked arm in arm with Li Qingmu, and as they stepped out of sight of the villagers, she let go.

Li Qingmu, touching the place she had scratched, felt a tickle inside and said, "Wife, just like that was nice."

"You’re happy but I’m not!" Long Yue glared at him and said, "An old woman, yet you followed her into that man’s house, tell me, do you have some unspeakable fetish? Like being a stalker?"

"..." Li Qingmu looked like he wanted to die. "Wife, you’re mistaken! That day I just happened to pass by and saw them entering that house..."

"Then how do you remember the address so clearly? Still claiming you had no other thoughts?"

Long Yue huffed angrily, and Li Qingmu felt life was bleak. He said gloomily, "Wife, you may not know, but I have a photographic memory."

Hmm... She knew this man’s memory was good in her past life, but photographic memory... if he himself hadn’t said it, she couldn’t imagine it!

"Wife, if you don’t believe, you can test me later?" The man said quietly, in a tone that sounded full of grievance.