Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"..."

Jang Un-chu was left speechless.

It was almost impressive.

In the end, she could only say,

"Fine. Keep pretending you know nothing."

She looked at Jang Un-mo coldly.

"I just hope you can keep acting like that in front of everyone after those explicit love letters you exchanged with Yang Ze become known throughout the village."

"I'm sure everyone will understand you perfectly."

After saying that, Jang Un-chu turned and headed straight home.

Behind her, Jang Un-mo's expression changed drastically.

Panic filled her eyes.

That single sentence struck her like a bomb and left her frozen in place.

Every hair on her body stood on end.

For a long moment, she couldn't even think properly.

Jang Un-mo had always acted innocent, but she wasn't stupid.

There was no way the love letters Yang Ze kept contained only harmless words.

If the villagers really learned what was written in them, how could she ever show her face again?

Everyone would point fingers at her...

The moment she imagined even people from the neighboring villages gossiping about her, it felt as though the sky were collapsing.

And more than anything else...

What would Zhao Yongchang think if he learned about it?

Her mind was in complete chaos.

But when she saw Jang Un-chu walking away, Jang Un-mo finally snapped back to reality.

This absolutely couldn't become public.

She couldn't let Jang Un-chu leave like this.

Jang Un-mo hurried forward and grabbed her.

Her voice trembled.

"Sister, th-that... Is it true?"

"No. You're lying to me, aren't you?"

"I got all the love letters back then..."

At the time, after a long struggle with Yang Ze, she had managed to force him to hand over two letters he had secretly hidden.

And now Jang Un-chu was saying there had been more?

At that moment, Jang Un-mo desperately hoped her assumption had been right all along.

She wanted to believe those two letters were the only ones Yang Ze had hidden.

But her reason was telling her otherwise.

Yang Ze had approached her with ulterior motives from the very beginning.

He had deliberately encouraged her to write love letters so he could use them against her.

A man like that...

How could he possibly have let her go so easily?

In her previous life, Jang Un-mo had been married to Yang Ze for many years.

She knew better than anyone that she had never been capable of outmaneuvering such a calculating man.

Sure enough, Jang Un-chu replied,

"Think whatever you want."

She had no interest in wasting more words on Jang Un-mo.

When it came to the love letters themselves, Jang Un-mo had also been one of Yang Ze's victims.

But after Jang Un-chu had been dragged into the mess and forced to marry him in her place, Jang Un-mo could no longer be called merely a victim.

There was no way for Jang Un-chu to prove to everyone that Jang Un-mo had been reborn, knew exactly what kind of man Yang Ze was, and still allowed Jang Un-chu to take her place.

But at the very least, she refused to let Jang Un-mo keep living while pretending to be completely innocent.

That appearance was simply too disgusting to watch.

Jang Un-chu tried to leave again, but Jang Un-mo clung to her and refused to let go.

Jang Un-chu yanked at her arm and snapped,

"Let go of me."

"No."

Jang Un-mo was so frightened and panicked that tears had already begun falling.

"Sister, you can't let anyone know about those letters."

"If you do that, you'll ruin my life."

Jang Un-chu smiled.

Seeing Jang Un-mo looking so pitiful gave her an almost vicious sense of satisfaction.

"That sounds wonderful."

"You ruined my life."

"If I ruin yours too, then we'll finally be even."

"How can that possibly be the same?!"

Jang Un-mo shouted sharply.

"You're living well now!"

"The Gang family all treat you well!"

"You're clearly living a good life now!"

But the moment she finished speaking, a trace of guilt flashed through her eyes.

Jang Un-chu had remarried a man who walked with a limp.

She had also given birth to a child so weak that it wouldn't be strange if his health suddenly failed at any moment.

How could that really be called a good life?

Even now, whenever the villagers talked about Jang Un-chu, they usually said she was pitiful.

The only genuinely fortunate thing in her life was that the Gang family were all decent people.

Old Master Gang and Old Madam Gang weren't difficult in-laws, and they never deliberately made things hard for her.

Jang Un-chu noticed the guilt in Jang Un-mo's eyes and let out a cold laugh.

Jang Un-mo had always been like this.

She knew perfectly well how other people viewed Jang Un-chu's life.

But Jang Un-chu herself was actually very satisfied with having married into the Gang family.

The family got along well.

Her husband was kind.

The only thing that truly worried her was Gang Gye's fragile health and the care he constantly needed.

The moment she thought of her son, Jang Un-chu hated Jang Un-mo even more.

If not for Jang Un-mo, she would never have married Yang Ze.

She wouldn't have spent every day being beaten and going hungry.

And perhaps then her child wouldn't have been born so weak.

Jang Un-mo understood how serious the matter had become.

More importantly, she was now the one begging for help.

She could no longer afford to act proud.

Her tone softened.

"Sister, I was wrong about what happened back then."

"I'm truly sorry."

"Sister, whatever you want, can't we discuss it properly?"

"We're both grown women now."

"And I've already had children."

"Can't you let me off just this once?"

Jang Un-chu sneered.

"Then can you tell everyone else the truth?"

"Can you tell them that you already knew Yang Ze was a gambler, a drunk, and a man who beat people?"

"Can you tell them that you were afraid he would keep clinging to you after you suddenly broke off the marriage, so you pushed me forward as a sacrifice instead?"

"That..."

Jang Un-mo lowered her eyes.

How could she possibly say something like that?

And truthfully, she was beginning to feel angry too.

It seemed as though Jang Un-chu was deliberately tormenting her.

"Sister..."

"Enough."

Jang Un-chu looked at her coldly.

"I know you won't say it."

"There isn't any evidence anyway, so naturally you don't have to."

"But since you ruined my life, I won't simply stand by and let you live comfortably."

She forcibly shook off Jang Un-mo's hand.

When Jang Un-mo tried to grab her again, Jang Un-chu moved first and stomped hard on her foot.

Jang Un-mo cried out and began hopping on one leg.

Jang Un-chu then stepped on the other foot twice as well.

After that, she walked away at a leisurely pace.

Jang Un-mo screamed from the pain.

Both feet had been stomped so hard that she couldn't even decide which one to use for balance.

In the end, while hopping awkwardly, she tripped over her own feet and fell.

Watching Jang Un-chu disappear into the distance, Jang Un-mo had no time to worry about the pain.

She struggled to her feet and chased after her for two steps.

Then she suddenly changed direction.

Hopping awkwardly on one foot, she hurried toward the Zhao household.

This wasn't something she could stop through her own strength.

And continuing to cling to Jang Un-chu and delay her wouldn't solve anything either.

She needed another plan.

After running for a short while, she saw her children playing near the house.

She quickly waved them over.

"Xiaoyang! Xiaoshan! Come here!"

The two children saw their mother's disheveled appearance and immediately ran over.

"Mother, what happened?"

"Did you fall?"

"Listen carefully to Mother."

Jang Un-mo was breathing heavily.

She bent down, placed her hands on the children's shoulders, and spoke urgently.

"I'm going to ask you to do something very important."

"If you don't do it properly, the consequences will be very serious."

"Mother might even die."

"You can help Mother, right?"

The two children were frightened by her words.

They stared at her blankly and nodded repeatedly.

Jang Un-mo quickly gave them instructions.

"Sneak into the Gang household and search your aunt's room."

"Look for something like letters."

"If you find them, bring them straight to Mother."

"Be careful not to let anyone in your aunt's family catch you."

"If your aunt really has those letters, then no matter what it takes, either bring them back or stop your aunt."

"You absolutely cannot let her leave the house. Understand?"

"We understand."

The two children answered quietly.

They had no idea what had happened.

But seeing their mother's condition, they couldn't help becoming nervous.

"Good. Hurry and go."

After saying that, Jang Un-mo turned and started running toward the Jang household.

The reason she had returned home first and entrusted this matter to the children was because the place where she had spoken with Jang Un-chu was close to the Zhao residence.

She needed someone's help if she wanted to stop her cousin.

But this involved a woman's chastity and reputation.

She couldn't ask her husband's family for help.

The only people she could trust completely were the children she had given birth to herself.

She didn't know whether they would actually be useful.

But she had no other choice.

And her husband wasn't home anyway.

Zhao Yongchang was in town studying.

Jang Un-mo also believed she needed to bring her parents and grandmother over.

In a situation like this, her grandmother was probably the only person capable of suppressing Jang Un-chu.

The problem was that the Jang household was some distance away.

If she didn't first delay Jang Un-chu, then the matter of the letters might explode before she could return.

So after sending the two children to stop Jang Un-chu, Jang Un-mo ran toward her maiden family with all her strength.

Before speaking with Jang Un-chu, Jang Un-mo had already visited the Jang household.

The basket she had been carrying contained cloth she had received there.

She had planned to use it to make herself new clothes.

But now she had no idea where she had dropped that basket, nor did she have the slightest attention to spare for it.

When she reached the Jang household, the family members were still at home.

Jang Un-mo's mother was shocked when she saw her daughter return in such a panic.

"What happened?"

"Didn't you just say you were going home?"

"Did you forget something?"

"Mother."

Jang Un-mo gasped for breath.

"Where's Grandmother?"

Without even waiting for an answer, she began shouting,

"Grandmother! Grandmother!"

Seeing her condition, Jang Un-mo's mother immediately realized something serious had happened.

"Your grandmother is inside."

As she spoke, Old Madam Jang came out of the room.

"What is all this noise about?"

The moment Jang Un-mo saw someone she could rely on, she let out a breath of relief.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she began speaking incoherently.

"Grandmother, Sister has letters."

"The letters between Yang Ze and me."

"Back then, Yang Ze didn't return all of them."

"Sister has them now."

"She threatened me and said she'd let everyone know what was written in them."

"Grandmother, please help me."

Old Madam Jang's expression immediately darkened.

Of course she remembered those love letters between her granddaughter and Yang Ze.

The family had spent a considerable amount of silver to get them back.

For an ordinary farming household to spend that much silver on Jang Un-mo alone clearly showed just how much Old Madam Jang favored her.

Jang Un-mo's mother was also unable to hide her worry after hearing the story.

Old Madam Jang understood that the situation was urgent.

With a dark expression, she immediately started walking.

"Let's go."

"We need to see what's going on."

Then she added,

"First Daughter-in-law, go call Second Son and his wife."

The Jang family had an eldest branch and a second branch.

Jang Un-chu was the daughter of the second branch.

Since something like this had happened, her parents naturally had to be called back.

Jang Un-mo knew very well how obedient the second branch was toward Old Madam Jang.

The moment she heard that her grandmother was calling them over, some of the tension left her body.

As long as Grandmother was there, that girl Jang Un-chu wouldn't be able to cause too much trouble.

"Yes, Mother. I'll go call them."

The second son and his wife were currently working in the fields.

Jang Un-mo's mother hurried off to bring them back.