Punishing May Parker with Pig Cage Drowning
“What are you all yelling about now!” Grandma Evans, her head throbbing from the commotion, stepped outside only to be hit by the stench, pinching her nose and glaring at Susan Evans. “Third daughter-in-law, just what are you trying to do here!? Do you even respect me as your mother anymore!”
Susan Evans was truly furious this time. She kicked the filthy chamber pot right to Grandma Evans’s feet and shouted, “Mother, you’re still playing favorites! May Parker did that shameless thing, so why isn’t she being drowned in the pig cage? Now everyone in Greenfield City knows the eldest daughter of the Evans family is worse than a brothel girl! Because of that little hussy, no one wants to marry my son Shirong. Whenever his name comes up, people say he’s May Parker’s brother, so he must be no good! It wasn’t Shirong who brought shame on our family, so why does he have to take the blame?”
As she spoke, Susan Evans burst into tears. “If you don’t drown May Parker in the pig cage, none of us will ever be able to hold our heads up again! Mother, think about Shimao! He’s May Parker’s own brother—how good can his reputation be with a sister like that?”
The mention of Simon Evans made Grandma Evans jump. “You’re right, what about Shimao’s reputation!” Then she turned to shout at Helen Parker’s house, “You shameless old woman, still hiding? How did you raise your daughter to be so disgraceful? If you’re so capable, keep hiding! Don’t come out! Third daughter-in-law, come on, let’s go tie up May Parker and drown her in the pig cage!”
Grandma Evans grabbed Susan Evans and marched toward the door. This time, Helen Parker was truly panicked. May Parker was the child she’d cherished since birth—flawed as she was, she was still her own flesh and blood! Helen had nearly cracked her head open to save May Parker’s life, so how could she just stand by and watch her family drag May off to be drowned in a pig cage?
“Mother, don’t go!” Helen Parker rushed out, her head still wrapped in cloth, the wound on her forehead not yet healed.
Helen Parker clung to Grandma Evans’s waist, crying and pleading, “Mother, May was just confused for a moment. The villagers have let it go—how can our own family push her to her death? May is your own granddaughter, the one you’ve watched grow up since she was little!”
Grandma Evans grew even angrier at the sight of Helen Parker and slapped her hard. “You’ve got some nerve! That little hussy is no Evans, she’s got nothing to do with our family!”
Helen Parker clung desperately to Grandma Evans’s waist, refusing to let go. “Mother, May knows she was wrong. She’s living alone now in that rundown hut at the edge of the village, suffering enough as it is. Please, give the child a chance! Mother, May is my own flesh and blood. If you drive her to death, I won’t be able to go on either!”
Grandma Evans tried to pry Helen Parker’s hands off her, kicking and struggling while shouting viciously, “You’re so biased, always thinking about your shameless daughter! What about your son, the one studying for the exams? If May Parker doesn’t die, what will become of Shimao? Will he ever get his degree?”
At the mention of her son, Helen Parker froze for a moment. Grandma Evans grabbed her and shoved her out of the way.
"Mother, let's go!" Susan Evans took Grandma Evans by the arm, and the two of them walked out of the courtyard.
Helen Parker snapped back to her senses, rushed forward, knelt before Grandma Evans, and hugged her leg, crying so hard her tears and snot ran together: "Mother, Simon is my son—how could I not care about his future? But May is my daughter too, the one I struggled to give birth to and raise from a tiny thing! Both my children are flesh and blood—how can I just watch May die? Mother, I beg you, please spare May, let her live!"
Still crying, Helen Parker turned to Susan Evans and pleaded, "Third daughter-in-law, I beg you, please show mercy and spare my May! If you let her go, I’ll listen to you in everything from now on, I won’t go against you! You’re a mother too—you love your Lana, and I love my May! May did something shameful and made our family lose face, but you watched her grow up, she calls you Aunt Susan, can you really bear to see her drowned in the pig cage?"