Chapter Sixteen: The Biological Daughter Is About to Kill Her Own Father

"Let go, let go, hurry up and let go of me!"

Gu Dacai struggled with all his might, trying to break free from her grasp.

But Gu Xiaoyao's strength seemed inexhaustible—no matter how he fought, it was useless.

Madam Yang watched her granddaughter drag her eldest son out toward the courtyard gate. Villagers passing by had already gathered to witness the commotion, and her heart was filled with worry.

"Xiaoyao, what do you think you're doing!" she called out anxiously.

Gu Xiaoyao responded naturally, as if nothing were amiss. "Of course I'm going to teach him a lesson. I know, Grandma, you can't bear to be harsh with him, but I'm already a married daughter now. As the saying goes, a married daughter is like water thrown out—I'm already part of another family. Surely I'm entitled to discipline him now!"

This twisted logic left Madam Yang utterly bewildered. The words made sense on the surface, but in this village, no daughter had ever struck her own father!

Though the child was now married, reputation still mattered.

"Xiaoyao, he's your father. I know he's a scoundrel, but you mustn't lay a finger on him!" Mrs. Li echoed Madam Yang's worry. If her daughter truly hit Gu Dacai, rumors would surely spread like wildfire in the village.

And if the people of the Chu family heard, they might even send her daughter back. After all, no one wanted a woman with a tarnished name.

"Xiaoyao, be a good child, pay him no mind. Hurry back to the Chu family, return to Lotus Village. Mother is fine, truly, nothing is wrong," Mrs. Li cried out, her eyes swollen and red, desperate to rise to her feet.

Madam Yang, her own eyes rimmed with tears at the sight of her daughter-in-law, hurried over to help her up.

"I'm taking you and my brother away today, so I must teach him a proper lesson. Since he thinks might makes right, then if my fists are stronger, I must be right too," Gu Xiaoyao declared.

She believed they had indulged Gu Dacai for far too long. If only he'd been thoroughly beaten the first time he gambled, perhaps none of this would be happening now.

"Let go of me, you unfilial wretch! I am your father—how dare you hit me! Just wait, the Chu family is sure to send you back!"

"You'll be crawling home like a dog—today you act so high and mighty, but tomorrow you'll be on your knees, begging for mercy!"

Gu Dacai couldn't stop running his mouth. Seeing the villagers crowding around for the spectacle, he felt his pride trampled into the mud.

Some men who often accompanied Gu Dacai to the city, upon witnessing his pathetic state, folded their arms and snickered.

"Dacai, what's wrong with you? You can't even handle your own daughter?"

"Hah! Pathetic, really—look at yourself! Is this what a man is supposed to look like, being dragged away by his own daughter?"

Some women, unable to bear it, glared at the jeering men and retorted sharply, "Shut your foul mouths! Stop making such snide remarks. Xiaoyao is a pitiful child! You lot are nothing but heartless stones."

"Exactly! I say Gu Dacai deserves a beating. He needs someone strong to put him in his place. It's good Xiaoyao is standing up—maybe now her mother won't always have to suffer."

These soft-hearted women, having witnessed Mrs. Li's bruises time and again, always felt a pang of sorrow.

They had tried to persuade Gu Dacai before, but he was a thoroughly rotten man, deaf to any counsel.

The more others tried to intervene, the harsher he became. If Mrs. Li even so much as protested, Gu Dacai would go mad and beat her all the more.