I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Pui!

Wu Ya kept repeating the same two phrases over and over: “Want wife to change! Want Qiaoqiao to change! No one else! No!”

As he shouted, he stared stubbornly at Zhang Jinhua with eyes that appeared exceptionally innocent, maintaining a posture that suggested, “If you don’t agree, I’ll keep making a scene.”

Looking at her son’s lips, which were turning blue from the cold, and seeing his foolishly stubborn insistence on only wanting his wife, Zhang Jinhua felt both heartache and irritation.

She tried several times to forcibly pry her son’s hand away, but Wu Tieniu erupted with surprising strength, leaving her with no way to handle him.

Ultimately, Zhang Jinhua couldn’t win against her son and feared he would truly fall ill from the cold.

She shot a vicious glare at the “bewildered” Li Qiaoqiao and squeezed an order through her gritted teeth:

“What are you standing there for? Didn’t you hear Tieniu calling you? Hurry up and dry your hands, then get your husband into some dry clothes! If you’re too slow and he catches a cold, see how I deal with you!”

Li Qiaoqiao felt as if she had received a grand pardon. Inside, her inner self flashed a victory sign, but her face remained full of trepidation and grievance as she hurriedly responded: “Yes, Mother! I’ll dry my hands right away! I’ll change him now!”

She forcefully rescued her sleeve from the “silly husband’s” iron-like grip and turned quickly toward the water vat by the kitchen door. Taking advantage of the moment her back was turned to the crowd, the corners of her mouth finally hitched upward in a fleeting smirk.

This splash of cold water was worth it! This fool’s act was even more worth it!

Wu Ya was hustled by several hands onto the hard earthen kang bed, tucked under a thin, faded coarse-cloth quilt.

He looked like a puppet that had truly lost its soul, letting himself be handled. His eyelids drooped, a bit of saliva hung from the corner of his mouth, and his gaze was fixed blankly on the ceiling, yellowed by oil smoke.

Only that large, bony hand remained active, clutching Li Qiaoqiao’s wrist like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood. The strength was staggering, as if he might crush her bones.

“Wife stay… don’t go…” A hoarse, mumbled voice rumbled from his throat, carrying a streak of tyrannical childishness.

Right then, Wei-shi’s sharp, piercing voice stabbed in like an awl: “Tsk, tsk, look at that! Look at this! This silliness of Tieniu’s… I’m afraid there’s no hope for him to get better in this lifetime! Qiaoqiao, it’s not that I, your second sister-in-law, am being nosy, but even if a man is a fool, he’s still your man and the pillar of this house!”

“Have you even bothered to teach him how to act like a human being lately? Shouting for his wife at everyone he sees, grabbing people… if word gets out, where will our Wu family’s reputation go? Those who know will say he’s a fool, but those who don’t will point at our backs and curse the Wu family for having no rules and you, the wife, for not providing any guidance!”

Every word was like a rusted needle, toxic and heavy, pricking directly at Li Qiaoqiao.

The meaning was clear: The fool doesn’t know better because you, the wife, are useless and haven’t put in the heart or effort to fulfill your duty!

The other sisters-in-law helping out instinctively paused their movements, their eyes darting between Wei-shi and Li Qiaoqiao.

Zhang Jinhua stood by with her arms crossed, her weathered face so dark it looked like it could drip ink. Her cloudy yet sharp eyes were fixed firmly on Li Qiaoqiao.

On the kang, the “fool” Wu Tieniu, who had seemed oblivious to the world, suddenly moved.

He whipped his head around. His previously dull face seemed to be suddenly activated by something, instantly filling with rage and hostility.

His eyes glared death at Wei-shi, and a series of meaningless “he-he” sounds issued from his throat, like a provoked little beast.

Then—”Pui!”

Wu Tieniu’s cheeks bulged, his neck jerked forward, and a glob of thick saliva flew out like a bullet from a barrel, tracing a perfectly precise arc.

Wei-shi’s spiteful eyes went wide as her pupils clearly reflected the incoming “projectile.”

She instinctively tried to tilt her head and shut her mouth, but it was too late.

Plop!

That spit landed, without a hair’s breadth of error, right into Wei-shi’s open mouth!

“Ugh… Gag—!”

Wei-shi jerked backward as if struck by lightning. Her eyes bulged out, and her spiteful, sallow complexion instantly turned a bruised purple.

She clutched her mouth with one hand and clawed the air wildly with the other. Dry heaves erupted from her throat, and her body convulsed violently as if she were trying to vomit out her very soul.

Unable to even stand straight, she stumbled back and slammed into a long bench behind her with a loud clatter.

“Bad person! Bad person!” Wu Tieniu wasn’t satisfied yet. He waved his free hand and screamed at Wei-shi with all his might.

“Pfft…”

An incredibly faint, stifled laugh forced its way out from deep within Li Qiaoqiao’s throat.

She immediately bit her lower lip hard, forced her head down, and her shoulders began to shake violently.

She sucked in air desperately, trying to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out. She held it in so hard her vision blurred and tears of effort filled her eyes.

“Rebellion! This is total rebellion!” Wei-shi finally managed to vomit out the spit along with some stomach acid. Supporting herself against the bench, her face was covered in tears and snot.

Like a provoked beast, she let out a shrill howl and lunged toward the culprit on the bed with her claws out. “You blighted fool! You rotten-hearted creature! I’m going to tear your mouth off today!”

“Enough!”

A low, angry roar rang out.

Zhang Jinhua had stepped forward at some point, blocking Wei-shi’s path.

Her face was as dark as a leaden cloud before a storm. Her eyes shot out two icy glares that sliced into Wei-shi like knives.

Without many words, just that one look made the furious Wei-shi feel like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her. She froze in her tracks.

Wei-shi panted heavily, her eyes filled with venom and resentment.

“Getting worked up over a foolish child? Has your brain turned to water too?” Zhang Jinhua’s words were like shards of ice hitting the ground. “If he understood human decency, would he be called a fool? Spitting on you is light! Everyone knows this is how Tieniu is. You walked right into it yourself, so who are you going to blame? Just consider yourself unlucky!”

Wei-shi trembled. Her face turned from red to white, and her lips quivered, but she didn’t dare utter another word.

She clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. Having no place to vent her massive resentment, she could only turn her malicious gaze toward Li Qiaoqiao—it was all the bad luck brought by this jinx!

“Mother is right…” Wei-shi squeezed the words through her teeth, each one sounding as if it were soaked in blood. “I shouldn’t lower myself to his level… But Mother!”

She suddenly raised her voice, sounding on the verge of tears. “Tieniu’s foolishness is getting weirder by the day! Spitting at everyone, scolding everyone—what will happen later? In the end, isn’t it because Qiaoqiao, as his wife, hasn’t taught him well? Haven’t you put in the heart? If she truly treated this fool as her man and took care to discipline him, how could he act this crazy? If word gets out, it’s the reputation of eight generations of the Wu ancestors that will be lost!”