Chapter 11 I Will Fight You With My Life
I looked up at Old Master Pei. "Where is the evidence?"
"Where is the body?"
Old Master Pei sat down on the grand chair.
Second Aunt muttered, "Can someone fake their own death?"
I stood up. "So you have no evidence at all, yet you use family punishment to beat someone?"
"The person is already dead. How can you talk about evidence in such a matter?"
Second Uncle pulled Second Aunt back, signaling her to stop talking.
Old Master Pei's face was gloomy and silent.
This ancestral hall felt like a court of punishment.
The people in front of me were not family.
In the days since I married into the Pei family, I knew Old Master Pei did not like this son.
But I never expected him to care so little about Pei Zhao's innocence.
Even less about Pei Zhao's body.
My eyes turned red with anger. "Didn't they say eight months?"
"Then report it to the authorities!"
"Cut open the belly and verify the child!"
"I refuse to believe they can turn black into white!"
Old Master Pei slammed the table. "Shut up!"
"How can such family shame be made public!"
"You, a mere woman—"
I cut him off. "What about a woman?"
"Your own mother was a woman too. Her tablet is right here in this ancestral hall!"
Everyone was stunned by my words.
They whispered among themselves. "Has Suizhi's wife gone mad?"
"How dare she defy her elders."
"With such a fierce temper, how can she ever be worthy of being the Pei family's matriarch..."
I spat. "Pah!"
"Who cares about that bullshit matriarch position."
"I only know that no one can bully my husband in front of me!"
"Even if this matter reaches the heavens, I will demand justice!"
"You!"
Old Master Pei was so angry he could barely breathe. He raised his hand as if to strike me.
Pei Zhao stood up and stepped in front of me.
In a deep voice, he said, "If you dare touch her, I will fight you with my life today!"
Old Master Pei froze.
The raised hand slowly lowered.
In the end, he ordered that Pei Zhao and I be confined in the ancestral hall to reflect on our mistakes.
Before leaving, he had the door of the ancestral hall locked.