Chapter 27.2

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Her voice cut through the air like a winter storm, silencing Granny Kang in an instant.

Granny Kang had thrown that basin of rice water in the morning, and when Fan Changyu said nothing, she assumed she’d be easy to bully. Now, being roared at so suddenly, she froze for a moment before screeching even louder. “Where’s the justice in this? Everyone, look! The Fan family thinks they can do whatever they want! My grandson’s hurt, and she’s acting like she’s the victim!”

Up in the attic, Xie Zheng rubbed his temples, thoroughly irritated by the shrill racket.

Do all market women scream this much?

Just as he was losing patience, he heard a cold, razor-sharp voice cut through the noise.

“Keep yapping, and we’ll see if I don’t dunk you headfirst into the slop bucket.”

Fan Changyu’s entire demeanor radiated ice. She had held back this morning because she truly felt guilty about the trouble brought upon the Zhao family. But now, Granny Kang was pushing her luck—she had no intention of tolerating it.

Granny Kang flinched under Changyu’s glare, a sudden unease creeping into her chest. She quickly turned toward the crowd, as if hoping to rally their support, mouth opening to stir more trouble.

But Changyu had already seen through her tricks.

“You think I don’t know how you and that old hag from the Song family spend your days spinning stories about me?” Her voice was calm, but each word struck like a blade. “My reputation’s already been dragged through the mud—you really think I care what anyone else thinks now? If I actually lay a hand on you, tell me, how many of these people do you think would step forward to stop me?”

Granny Kang’s last bit of bravado vanished. She swallowed hard, her usually tireless mouth—capable of hurling insults from sunrise to sunset—clamping shut as if it had been sewn with a needle. Not a single word came out.

Only then did Fan Changyu crouch down and ask her sister, “Earlier, when I asked if you pushed Hu Tou, why did you nod first and then shake your head?”

Changning’s round, dark eyes were already brimming with tears. Her small, pale fingers twisted the hem of her clothes as she whispered, “I did push him… but he’s too fat. I couldn’t move him. He ran after me, slipped on his own, and fell down the steps—that’s how he broke his tooth.”

Granny Kang immediately tried to start up again. “My Hu Tou says you pushed him—”

But one cold glance from Fan Changyu shut her up just as quickly.

Changyu turned back to her sister. “Why did you push him in the first place?”

Changning lowered her head. The moment she spoke, fat teardrops rolled down her cheeks. “He pulled my hair, stole my pine nut candy, and poured water on me. He said his grandma already splashed you with rice water this morning to ward off bad luck, so since I’m your sister, I needed to be doused too…”

A frigid silence followed.

Fan Changyu’s face turned so cold it was terrifying.

Aunt Zhao’s eyes burned red with anger. So that’s why Changyu had come back this morning with wet shoes and skirt—because this wretched old hag had thrown rice water at her.

That rice water was meant for warding off evil when breaking ground—it was a ritual to drive out misfortune. For Granny Kang to deliberately throw it after Fan Changyu walked by, how cruel could she be?

Aunt Zhao’s face twisted with fury. “You vile old wretch! If you won’t do yourself a favor and hold your tongue, at least spare some virtue for your descendants! Aren’t you afraid of meeting King Yama one day and having your tongue ripped out?”

Granny Kang wavered at first, a flicker of guilt flashing across her face. But decades of running her mouth made it impossible for her to back down. She lifted her chin and snapped, “How am I not virtuous? Did I kill her parents? Did I murder those people at her house? The whole town knows she’s a curse! Only you and that old fool of yours would take in this walking disaster—aren’t you afraid she’ll bring death to your doorstep too? If you ask me, the Fan family should have been driven out of this alley long ago. Who knows when their enemies will come knocking again?”

“You—” Aunt Zhao trembled with rage.

Fan Changyu wiped the tears from her sister’s face with her thumb and rose to her feet, her gaze as sharp as a blade. “If I were really a curse, I’d make sure to take you down first.”

She sneered. “You want me to leave? And what, because of your filthy gossip? If you’re so scared, why don’t you move out?”

Granny Kang opened her mouth, ready to snap back, but before she could, Fan Changyu’s voice cut in, cold and sharp.

“And one more thing—keep your grandson in line. If he dares lay a finger on my sister again, whichever hand he uses, I’ll chop it off.”

The boy met Changyu’s ruthless gaze and immediately burst into wails, his face scrunching up in terror as snot and tears streamed down his cheeks.

Granny Kang yanked him behind her, her bravado faltering. “Threatening a child—what kind of person does that?”

Changyu’s lips curled into an icy smirk. “Threat? That wasn’t a threat.”

Her gaze flicked to the boy’s arm. “I can split a pig’s knuckle with one strike—an arm’s even easier.”

The boy let out a strangled sob, clutching his arm as he tugged desperately at Granny Kang’s sleeve. “Grandma, let’s go home… I wanna go home…”

Granny Kang, caught between fury and fear, knew she couldn’t win this fight. Huffing and cursing under her breath, she grabbed her grandson and turned to leave.

But just as she stepped off the Zhao family’s doorstep, her knee buckled. With a sharp yelp, she tumbled down the steps, landing chin-first on the bottom one. A sickening crack sounded as her teeth clacked together, and she lay sprawled on the ground, blood pooling in her mouth.

The gathered onlookers exchanged glances, unsure whether to laugh or pretend they hadn’t seen anything.

Fan Changyu froze for a brief moment before instinctively glancing up toward the attic. As expected, she caught a fleeting glimpse of dark blue fabric disappearing from sight.

Aunt Zhao, momentarily stunned, quickly recovered and clapped her hands together. “Retribution! Everyone saw it—I didn’t touch her, and neither did Changyu! That wretched old hag tripped on her own! This is divine punishment!”

Granny Kang, already up in years, had taken a hard fall, knocking out several teeth. She sat up, wailing, tears and blood mixing as she jabbed a trembling finger at Changyu. “It was her! That cursed star kicked me!”

But the crowd, who had been watching the drama unfold for quite some time, had seen the whole thing. Not one of them had witnessed Changyu make a move. Seeing Granny Kang twisting the truth, someone finally spoke up.

“Enough, Granny Kang. We all saw it—Changyu never moved. You just slipped and fell.”

Granny Kang still wanted to argue, but before she could, Changyu let out a low chuckle. “You’ve done too many vile things—maybe a ghost pushed you.”

The older one gets, the more they start believing in superstition.

Granny Kang shuddered. She had felt something slam into the back of her knee before she fell, and with Fan Changyu’s reputation as a lone star of calamity, a cold fear crept into her bones. Her lips trembled as she screeched, “It’s you! You cursed me!”

Changyu folded her arms across her chest, her expression unreadable. “If you don’t hurry up and leave, who knows? You might not survive the next one.”

Granny Kang was truly shaken now. Clutching her bloodied chin, she hurriedly dragged her grandson away from the Zhao residence, her earlier arrogance nowhere to be seen.

“She brought this on herself!”

“Who in this alley hasn’t been slandered by that mouth of hers? This is karma.”

The onlookers chuckled, exchanging a few idle remarks before shaking their heads and dispersing.

Once the courtyard gate was shut, Fan Changyu crouched down to meet her sister’s gaze, her tone firm but gentle. “From now on, if anyone bullies you outside, you tell me immediately. Understand?”

Changning nodded obediently.

Aunt Zhao, remembering Granny Kang’s cruel words, couldn’t help but slip away to cry in secret.

Changyu comforted her briefly before her gaze landed on a single piece of tangerine peel candy near the gate. Finding an excuse, she made her way upstairs.

Pushing open the door, she wasn’t surprised to find the bed empty. Xie Zheng sat by the window in a bamboo chair, his face still somewhat pale but far better than it had been the past two days.

Before she could speak, his gaze swept over her coolly. “You told me all that this morning… just because of a few words from others?”