Scolding Helen Parker for Her Wickedness
After being beaten by Lily and then publicly slapped by her mother-in-law, Helen Parker was filled with resentment.
Lily couldn’t help but gloat, smiling at Helen: “You still haven’t told the village chief why you just happened to ‘pass by’ my house, have you?”
Helen and Grandma Evans both felt a chill in their hearts. Their original plan was to quietly tie up Lily and send her to Master Zhang’s house. Once the deed was done, Lily wouldn’t be able to stir up any trouble. As for Margaret, a widow with a ruined reputation, no one would care about her fate.
This way, they could get fifty taels of betrothal money without worrying about ruining the Evans family’s reputation.
The village chief, having lived so many years, immediately sensed something was off. He asked Helen, “Since Lily’s husband matter is clear now, tell us—why did you suddenly run over to Lily’s house?”
“N-nothing…” Helen shrank back, guilty. “I told you, I was just wandering around. It’s not like her house is the emperor’s private garden—why can’t people look?”
“Oh? So you know what you did is shameful and don’t dare say it?” Lily wasn’t about to give the Evans family any face and laid things out directly: “Village chief, you have to stand up for me! Helen tried to sell me to Master Zhang from the neighboring village for fifty taels to be his concubine. She even brought two thugs to my house to tie me up. If it weren’t for my husband Lucky protecting me, they would have succeeded. Otherwise, I would’ve already…”
As she spoke, Lily pretended to cry again: “Isn’t it pitiful enough that we’re just a widow and orphan? I have nothing to do with the Evans family anymore—how can you sell someone else’s child? Doesn’t every family have children? Just for fifty taels, you’d blacken your heart that much!?”
Selling a daughter is shameful enough, but Lily wasn’t even Helen’s child! Even if someone were to sell her, it should be Margaret’s decision, not Helen’s, who was just a distant relative.
Everyone in Clearwater Village knew each other. A villager immediately said, “I knew something was up when Helen brought two unfamiliar men to our village. So she was here to kidnap Lily! Helen, how shameless can you be? If you want to sell someone, sell your own daughter! What kind of person sells someone else’s child?”
“Exactly! How lawless can you be? Living in the same village as Helen makes it hard to sleep at night! Everyone, keep an eye on your children—who knows if Helen will steal someone else’s kid to sell if she’s short on money!” Aunt Zhang hugged her son tightly, glaring at Helen as if she might secretly sell her own child.
Since it involved children, the villagers were all frightened. If Helen dared to kidnap Lily to sell today, what if she stole someone else’s child tomorrow? Clearwater Village was honest and simple—no one would ever sell their children, no matter how hard life was. Helen’s actions were especially despised.
Lucky didn’t understand what was happening. He gripped Lily’s hand tightly, looking at her nervously: “Don’t be afraid, wife. I’m here. If bad people come, I’ll beat them and chase them away. I won’t let anyone sell you.”
Lily felt a warmth in her heart and squeezed Lucky’s hand in return. “Deal. From now on, you have to protect me.”
“Protect! I’ll protect both you and Mother!” Lucky didn’t forget about Margaret.
Margaret couldn’t help but smile through her tears. This silly son-in-law was certainly protective.
The villagers Helen had gathered to ‘catch the adulterer’ all turned against her, one after another, calling her out for being heartless.
Helen, unable to handle the scolding, decided to deny everything. “What do you mean, selling children? Nonsense! I was matchmaking, not selling anyone. If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll tear your mouths apart! Lily, how could you be so ungrateful? I did this for your own good, and you blame me?”