In her previous life, her younger aunt had divorced, but not now.
She had done so after the eighties.
By that time, the Gu family had been rehabilitated and all her uncles and older cousins were doing well. Only then did Younger Aunt insist on a divorce.
Now it looked as if the Li family was trying to get rid of Younger Aunt because the Gu family were still landlords. Her grandparents were still undergoing reformation through labor, so her younger aunt had continued to bear with her situation and did not dare to ask for a divorce.
Gu Qingyao looked at her younger aunt who lay on the ground. She was clearly bloated, not because she was fat, but because she was starving.
After starving for a long time, one became bloated. None of the other Li family members was bloated. She looked about the courtyard. The other members of the Li family were thin and pale, but none of them was bloated.
Gu Qingyao looked at her younger aunt and her terrified-looking younger cousin. She thought she might as well get her younger aunt divorced and bring her home.
Gu Qingyao narrowed her eyes and looked at the Li family. No one had stepped forward to speak up for her younger aunt. The Li family had four sons, and they all lived together.
Three of the sons and their wives watched the show. Li Dahai did not help his wife at all when she was beaten.
Gu Qingyao bellowed, “d.a.m.n old lady, don't even think about it. My younger aunt has suffered for years without complaint after marrying into the Li family. It's bad enough that you beat her, how dare you try to chase her away? What reasons do you have?
“Younger aunt is a woman. How will she survive after a divorce? And then there's Fangting. She's so young. What will happen to her in the future? You want a divorce? Forget it.”
Old Madam Li glared at Gu Qingyao. This girl was just in her teens and still a child. Old Madam Li was used to her shrewish ways and now that a young girl dared to scold her, she immediately glared at her and said, “How dare you scold me?”
Gu Qingyao raised her chin and turned up her nose. “Did I say anything wrong? Look at how poor your family is. There are so many people squeezed together, and you don't even have enough rooms. If a family like that can marry my younger aunt, shouldn't you give her a better life?”
“You don't give her a good life, yet you still beat her. Now everyone is equal. Even if you're our elder, we younger ones can still criticize you if you make a mistake. On what basis do you despise my younger aunt for not being able to bear a son?
“Men and women are equal and women hold up half the sky. My younger cousin is equal to the other grandchildren in your family. How dare you despise her?”
The Gu family were landlords. As the granddaughter of a landlord family, Gu Qingyao knew she could not behave aggressively in public, but there was one thing she could do, which was to use slogans to berate others.
As long as she insisted that she was upholding these policies, she would be fine.
Old Madam Li did not know about these. She was illiterate and was used to throwing her weight around in the family. Now this brat from a landlord family, which she had always despised, was pointing at her and scolding her. Old Madam Li was immediately enraged.
“d.a.m.n girl, I'll beat you to death!”
Old Madam Li rushed forward to beat Gu Qingyao.
Gu Yunshuang was frightened. How could she allow Gu Qingyao to be beaten?
She hurriedly clambered up to s.h.i.+eld Gu Qingyao. “Mother, Yao Yao is just a child. This has nothing to do with her. You can't beat her. Please don't…”
At that moment, Gu Yunshuang had not yet realized that she was bleeding. Bloodstains were beginning to appear on her trousers.
Old Madam Li was used to beating Gu Yunshuang and Li Fangting for years, and was especially brutal. When Gu Yunshuang saw her stance, she was frightened and she hurriedly pulled Gu Qingyao aside to s.h.i.+eld her.
In her panic, she pushed Old Madam Li.
It was not a hard push and this Old Madam Li was well-built. She just retreated a few steps and was fine.