“You’re okay, right?” Wei Qingshan patted Lin Yu’s back to comfort him. He had clearly seen that Zhao Dazhi had tried to grab his husband’s hand just now.

Hearing the commotion, Cai Chunhua rushed out from the kitchen. “Oh my, my son!”

Cai Chunhua quickly helped Zhao Dazhi up. Zhao Dazhi clutched his waist, groaning, while Cai Chunhua, used to scolding Lin Yu, immediately pointed at him and scolded, “What are you doing? You come back and mess up the house, making it impossible to have peace!”

Seeing her son being bullied, Cai Chunhua assumed that Lin Yu had been trying to seduce her son again. He was truly a little slut.

Wei Qingshan snorted coldly. “That is something you should ask him—what was he doing just now!”

Zhao Dazhi was not the least bit guilty. “What could I have done? I saw Yu-ger holding the water and wanted to help. But as soon as Yu-ger picked up the basin, he splashed water in my face. Yu-ger, tell me, wasn’t it like that?”

Zhao Dazhi was sure that Lin Yu wouldn’t dare tell the truth. Even if nothing had happened between them, if Wei Qingshan became suspicious, it would be Lin Yu’s life that would be ruined.

Lin Yu trembled, his head lowered, not speaking.

Zhao Dazhi grew bolder. “See? I told you! But it’s Wei Qingshan who came and hit me first, a barbarian, shameless!”

Cai Chunhua also scolded Lin Yu. “You come back and disturb Dazhi while he’s studying. What are you up to? Little slut!”

As they continued their harsh words, Wei Qingshan’s face grew darker, and he snapped, “Enough!”

Both of them were startled by his sudden outburst. Lin Yu, still looking down, hid his expression and quietly clenched his fists, speaking in a low voice. “It was Zhao Dazhi who wanted to hold my hand. I only splashed water on him because of that.”

Seeing that Wei Qingshan was also getting scolded, Lin Yu felt awful. He knew how important a gentleman’s reputation was, but since Wei Qingshan had been kind to him, even if Wei Qingshan stopped liking him in the future, he couldn’t let Wei Qingshan suffer this injustice.

Cai Chunhua was enraged upon hearing this. “Nonsense! Why would Dazhi look at a little slut like you? When you’re home, you’re always showing off in front of your cousin, disturbing Dazhi’s studies. And now you’ve come back and seduced your cousin again, little slut, and now you’re slandering people!”

Every word Cai Chunhua said made Lin Yu’s face grow paler. He bit his lip, and tears began to fall. “No, no, it’s not like that.”

Lin Yu seemed to return to the days when he was beaten and scolded by the Zhao family. He was terribly scared and didn’t dare look up, afraid of seeing Wei Qingshan’s disgusted gaze.

Wei Qingshan pulled his husband into his arms and comforted him. “I believe you. Don’t be scared.”

Seeing how Lin Yu let himself be bullied, Zhao Dazhi became even prouder. This little slut had dared to splash him with cold water—he really was living on borrowed time.

His eyes darted around, and a thought came to him. If Lin Yu could be cast aside, then wouldn’t he have to go back to his own family? No one would dare want a ruined gentleman like him. At that point, he could do whatever he wanted with him.

Zhao Dazhi raised his head, looking quite pleased with himself. “Poor hunter, do you know why my mother hurriedly married this little slut off to you?”

“Big Brother! Don’t say anymore!” Zhao Yueniang hurriedly pulled at Zhao Dazhi’s sleeve, looking at him pleadingly. “Don’t say anymore.”

Lin Yu suddenly looked up, his eyes full of fear. He tightly grabbed Wei Qingshan’s sleeve. “I… I want to go home.”

“Alright, we’ll go home right now.”

Wei Qingshan didn’t act immediately, considering that these people were Lin Yu’s relatives. He decided that if Lin Yu didn’t want to stay, he wouldn’t have to, and these relatives weren’t worth keeping. He clenched his fists and suppressed his anger. He couldn’t act out, or else he might scare his timid husband.

“Hey, where are you going? I’m telling you, it’s because this little slut seduced me that my mother hurriedly sent him away. You, poor hunter, really thought you found treasure, ha ha ha!”

Hearing this, Lin Yu’s legs went weak, and he almost fell over. Wei Qingshan quickly supported his waist to prevent him from collapsing onto the ground. Lin Yu’s tears dripped down onto Wei Qingshan’s clothes as he looked up at him. “I didn’t.”

“I know. Wait for me here. We’ll go home soon.”

Wei Qingshan’s anger was burning so hot it almost exploded in his chest. He quickly walked over, grabbed Zhao Dazhi’s clothes with one hand, and lifted him, slapping him hard across the face a few times. “I told you to stop talking!”

Wei Qingshan’s strength was so great that after several slaps, two of Zhao Dazhi’s teeth fell out, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Zhao Dazhi howled in pain, no longer resembling a scholar in the slightest.

Zhao Jiazhhu and Cai Chunhua saw their precious son being beaten, and they immediately rushed to attack Wei Qingshan. “Let go of our son!”

Wei Qingshan pushed them both to the ground, then took Zhao Dazhi and pressed him into the water trough. Zhao Dazhi struggled like a chick in the water, with no strength to fight back.

Cai Chunhua crawled over, trying to scratch him, but Wei Qingshan kicked her away. This old woman was no easy target either—she had beaten Lin Yu’s body into bruises and made him sleep in the wood shed!

Lin Yu, fearing that Wei Qingshan might be too rough, hurriedly ran over and grabbed his arm. “Qingshan, Qingshan, I want to go home, home.”

Wei Qingshan tossed Zhao Dazhi into the water trough. When he turned around, Zhao Jiazhhu was hiding behind a tree, shrinking his neck and not daring to say a word.

The Zhao family—Zhao Dazhi was still thrashing in the water trough, Cai Chunhua was clutching her chest on the ground, groaning, and Zhao Jiazhhu was crouching like a turtle behind the tree. The only person clean and neat was Zhao Yueniang.

Neighbors who were nearby began to peek over the courtyard walls. Aunt Li saw the miserable state of the three of them and burst into laughter. Serves them right, acting all high and mighty, but now they’ve finally been taught a lesson.

“Wait for me here. I’ll grab my things and leave.”

Wei Qingshan went into the main hall and grabbed the fruits he had brought with him, then went into the kitchen to take the meat. Cai Chunhua, seeing him take both the meat and fruit, screamed immediately, “Put that down! Put it down!”

Wei Qingshan was about to leave when he heard the sound of chickens clucking from the backyard. Sure enough, he saw the two wild chickens he had brought for the wedding. He took both the chickens and the cage.

Cai Chunhua, seeing that the chickens were also gone, crawled over, trying to grab them. “Give them back! Give them back!”

“Yu-ger, let’s go.”

Lin Yu followed behind Wei Qingshan, ready to leave, when Zhao Yueniang quickly ran over. “Wait!”

Zhao Yueniang gathered her courage and looked at Wei Qingshan. “I… My brother was lying. Yu-ger and I have been working together every day.”

Wei Qingshan nodded. “I know.”

Wei Qingshan walked out of the courtyard with Lin Yu. Cai Chunhua, writhing on the ground, didn’t catch up. Furious, she kept pounding the ground. “You thief! Give me back my chickens! My meat!”

Cai Chunhua’s reaction was even bigger than when she saw Zhao Dazhi get beaten. The anger hit her heart, and she fainted.

The onlookers at the gate quickly ran off as soon as they saw Wei Qingshan coming out. Aunt Li didn’t leave, though, and called out to Lin Yu. “Yu-ger, are you alright?”

Lin Yu silently shook his head. Seeing how pitiful he looked, Aunt Li couldn’t help but speak up. “He’s a good, honest boy. Don’t listen to Cai Chunhua’s nonsense.”

Aunt Li was worried that Wei Qingshan might misunderstand, so she spoke up, hoping he wouldn’t treat Lin Yu poorly when they got back.

Wei Qingshan nodded. “He’s my husband. Of course, I trust him.”

“Well, that’s good. That’s good.”

The two of them walked along the mountain path. Lin Yu kept his head down, following Wei Qingshan’s footsteps. He had already prepared for the worst—that if Wei Qingshan didn’t trust him, he would just leave.

His heart was a mess. He bumped into Wei Qingshan’s back, and Wei Qingshan stopped. “Look up. Watch where you’re going.”

Lin Yu obediently raised his head. When he saw his little husband’s face, tears were streaming down it. Wei Qingshan felt a sharp pain in his heart. “Let’s go, we’ll beat up Zhao Dazhi again!”

Wei Qingshan said this as if he were about to turn back. He hadn’t walked far, and he was already thinking of going back to teach Zhao Dazhi another lesson for bullying his husband.

Lin Yu grabbed his sleeve tightly, his voice choked. “Why didn’t you ask me first?”

Wei Qingshan’s heart ached. He was holding the chicken cage with one hand, and the meat and fruit with the other. He had no time for anything else. He placed all the things down, embraced his fragile husband, and comforted him. “I believe you.”

Wei Qingshan knew Lin Yu had been through a lot, and his nature was sensitive. He was afraid that Lin Yu wouldn’t believe his words for a while.

Lin Yu held onto Wei Qingshan’s clothes tightly, his head resting on his chest as he cried. “I didn’t hang around Zhao Dazhi all the time, and I didn’t seduce him. That day, that day, Zhao Dazhi called me into his room to get him hot water. He then grabbed my clothes and tried… tried…”

Wei Qingshan’s heart twisted painfully as he heard his little husband cry. “Stop crying, stop crying. I know, I know. Zhao Dazhi’s eyes tell me everything. He’s a vile person. I only blame myself for not meeting you sooner, for letting you suffer.”

Lin Yu continued to sob, his voice broken. “Cai Chunhua beat me and accused me of seducing Zhao Dazhi, saying I was greedy for their money. That’s why she hurriedly sent me away.”

Lin Yu’s body trembled as he lay on Wei Qingshan’s chest, still too afraid to look up. He couldn’t even hear Wei Qingshan’s comforting words clearly, only fearing that Wei Qingshan would despise him because of it.

Wei Qingshan wasn’t one to speak sweetly. The tough man could only hold his husband close, comforting him with gentle pats on his back. “I believe you. I believe you.”

But Lin Yu seemed not to hear, still crying loudly, and Wei Qingshan could feel the warm tears on his chest.

Wei Qingshan grew anxious. He couldn’t let him cry like this. It was harming his health.

He gently lifted Lin Yu’s chin, his tone a bit stern. “Lin Yu, listen to me.”

Seeing Lin Yu like this only made Wei Qingshan’s heart ache more. His little husband’s eyes were swollen from crying, red all around, and the strands of hair around his face were sticking to his cheeks. His tears fell like a broken dam, dripping onto Wei Qingshan’s hands.

Wei Qingshan thought he hadn’t been harsh enough today. He really should’ve used a bamboo stick on the three of them.