Chapter 42: Tit for Tat, She Weaves Humiliation into the Ancestral Genealogy

What they relied on was not rules or reason, but a fierce, desperate grit to risk it all.

Three days later, just as day was breaking, the peace of Shen Family Village was shattered by a few shrill shrieks.

Li Cuihua wore a dark expression, followed by five gossipy neighborhood women, aggressively blocking the doorway of the clan elder Sun.

"Clan Elder! You must deliver justice for us!" Li Cuihua began with a weeping note, feigning a look of utter grievance. "That widow from the Shen family, Shen Guilan! She is talking nonsense, flirting with men from other villages, running off to the back mountain every day, and ruining our village's reputation! A woman who doesn't behave properly like this should be drowned in a pig cage! At the very least, she must be driven out of the clan!"

The women behind her immediately chimed in, "That's right, Clan Elder, we all saw it! She brings food and clothes to that hunter, making eyes at him—truly shameless!"

"All the other widows in the village are being corrupted by her, their hearts are getting restless. Can we just let this go on?"

Clan Elder Sun felt his head throbbing with a headache.

He had no desire to meddle in the petty disputes among these women and was trying to figure out how to send them away when a calm voice drifted from outside the door.

"Clan Elder, Guilan requests an audience."

Everyone turned to look. Shen Guilan stood alone in the morning light, dressed in plain, unadorned attire.

There was not a trace of panic on her face; her eyes were as calm as deep water.

Before the elder could speak, she had already stepped into the courtyard, gently placing a cloth-wrapped bundle onto the Eight Immortals table.

"Li Cuihua claims I colluded with an outside man and ruined the village's reputation. Here lies the 'evidence of my guilt'."

Slowly and deliberately, she untied the cloth.

The first item was a ledger.

"This is the night-patrol record of the hunter Gu Changshan for the past half-month. From midnight until dawn, every movement and every wild beast sighting in the back mountain is clearly documented. If not for them keeping watch, the fire the other day wouldn't have just burned a pile of firewood—it would have consumed half the village."

The second item was a drawing.

It depicted a man with a thief's countenance and a rodent's eyes—the exact arsonist Xiao Liuzi had sketched from memory.

"This is the portrait of the arsonist, which was handed over to the village magistrate to investigate long ago. Li Cuihua, do you dare claim you don't know this Zhao Daya who delivered messages for you?"

Li Cuihua's face turned pale as she shrieked, "You're spouting nonsense! How could I possibly know such a person!"

Without even glancing at her, Shen Guilan produced the third item.

It was a long strip of hemp paper, densely covered in blood-red thumbprints.

"Madam Liu, Sister-in-law Zhang, Younger Sister Wang... A total of seven widow households have jointly pressed their seals on this 'Village Protection Certificate'. We asked the hunter to guard the village, and offering some food or making a pair of shoes to show our gratitude was something we all discussed and agreed upon. If we speak of collusion, I am allied with righteous men who protect the village; if we speak of corruption, those who sow discord are the ones destroying the peace of the entire village!"

With every sentence, her voice grew heavier, until the final word fell like a heavy blow, startling the accusing women into taking half a step back.

Clan Elder Sun stared at the items before him, the veins on his forehead throbbing violently.

On the day of the ancestral hall trial, every mobile resident of Shen Family Village had turned out.

Inside the ancestral hall, incense smoke curled through the air, casting a heavy atmosphere.

Shen Guilan wore the same plain garments, devoid of mourning cloth, with only a brightly polished silver hairpin adorning her hair—a keepsake left behind by her deceased husband.

This hairpin silently told everyone: I have not remarried, nor will I ever bow my head.

She walked to the center of the ancestral hall. Under everyone's gaze, she drew a hand-copied volume of the *Shen Family Code* from her sleeve, opened it to the page concerning "A Widow's Chastity," and spoke in a clear voice that resonated throughout the grand hall:

"Chapter Three, Article Seven of the *Family Code* states: 'A woman's chastity lies in her heart, not in shutting her doors.' It further states: 'Whoever acts to preserve the clan and shield the villagers, regardless of male or female, shall be deemed meritorious and honored.'"

Her gaze swept over Li Cuihua like a blade: "I, Shen Guilan, engaged a hunter to guard the village and ensure its safety, which aligns with the rule of 'honoring those who protect the clan.' My sisters and I offering food and clothing to encourage the village guards is only natural human emotion. I ask the Clan Elder, where have I done wrong?"

Without waiting for a reply, she shifted her tone, pointing directly at the pale-faced Li Cuihua:

"On the other hand, Li Cuihua instigated trouble behind the scenes, attempting to burn down my embroidery workshop, destroy public property, provoke the villagers, and frame an honest man who guarded the village. According to Article Nineteen of the *Family Code*, 'Those who frame kinsmen and undermine the foundation of the village' shall be punished with sweeping the ancestral hall for three months and a fine of one qian of silver!"

"You're shifting blame with malicious lies! I did nothing of the sort!" Li Cuihua shrieked, desperately denying the charges. "Do you have proof?"

As the words left her mouth, a thin, scrawny figure squeezed out from the crowd—it was Zhao Daya.

Clutching a crumpled piece of paper, he flung it onto the ground, his voice dripping with resentment: "Proof? Here it is! Li Cuihua, you still owe me eight qian in gambling debts! Back then you said, 'That little widow of the Shen family is about to fall; help me pass a word and set a fire to scare her. Once it succeeds, three-tenths of the compensation she pays will be yours!' Now you want to renege on the debt?"

A single IOU and a few spoken words exploded like a thunderclap!

An uproar swept through the crowd!

So the arson was born of jealousy and gambling debts!

So this entire affair was a trap set by Li Cuihua!

Cold sweat beaded on Clan Elder Sun's forehead. The villagers' fury was already ignited, and if he failed to handle this properly, a riot would ensue.

Striking the gavel with a sharp crack, he sternly announced: "Enough! The truth is clear! Li Cuihua has spread rumors, framed the innocent, and harbored malicious intent. She is sentenced to sweep the ancestral hall for three months and barred from entering the cloth market for one month as a warning! The Shen woman has rendered meritorious service in protecting the village; let it be recorded in the clan archives and publicly commended!"

When the judgment fell, Li Cuihua collapsed limply to the ground.

Just as everyone thought the matter was concluded, Shen Guilan did not step back.

She took a step forward and withdrew yet another item from her sleeve.

It was a newly embroidered piece of cloth, which she slowly unfurled to a length of three full chi.

As the onlookers stared, a collective gasp echoed through the room.

It was a *Painting of a Hundred Women Farming and Weaving*, exquisitely embroidered in vibrant colors.

The artwork depicted twenty village women—some spinning yarn, others weaving cloth, and some laboring in the fields, each with a focused expression and brimming with strength.

At the center of the painting sat a woman with her back to the viewers before an embroidery frame. Though only her silhouette could be seen, the steadfastness and concentration were unmistakable to all—it was Shen Guilan herself.

"I dedicate this painting to the clan," Shen Guilan's voice echoed in the quiet ancestral hall, carrying an irresistible strength. "Entitled 'Women's Strength Also Inherits Ancestral Virtue,' it declares that the women of our Shen Family Village do more than merely manage household gossip; we can weave cloth and farm the land, holding up half the sky. Here I make a vow: henceforth, any woman of my embroidery workshop who earns her living by her craft and contributes to the clan shall have her name embroidered by my own hands right along the border of this painting!"

The moment these words were spoken, the entire assembly was stunned!

To hang the names and portraits of women inside an ancestral hall dedicated solely to male ancestral tablets?

This was something no one had ever dared to imagine!

"Outrageous! Preposterous!" Clan Elder Sun blurted out. "The ancestral hall is a place to honor our ancestors; how can a painting of women be hung here!"

Before he could finish, a loud roar erupted from the crowd.

Blacksmith Liu's face turned beet red as he swung his massive arm, his voice booming like thunder: "Hang it! Why shouldn't it be hung! Master Shen is right! We men forge iron and hunt in the mountains outside, while our wives weave cloth and provide for the family at home—how are they any less than us? This painting must be hung today! If anyone forbids it, we men who live by our wives' craftsmanship will pool our money and build a separate Women's Ancestral Hall at the east end of the village!"

"That's right! Build a women's ancestral hall!" several men chimed in.

Clan Elder Sun was left dumbfounded.

He looked at the exquisite embroidery, at Shen Guilan's unyielding gaze, and finally at the stirred villagers, unable to utter a single word.

That night, the moonlight was cool and clear.

Gu Changshan stood upon the high cliff of the back mountain, the bonfire crackling behind him.

He gazed down at the warm lamp glowing from the Shen family courtyard. Through the paper window, a slender silhouette remained bent over, drawing tirelessly without a hint of fatigue.

He tightened the animal pelt draped over his shoulders, his throat moving as he murmured, "You aren't embroidering a picture; you're carving a path."

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind him.

He turned to see the hunter Ma from the neighboring village approaching with two sturdy hunters, all holding weapons.

Ma cupped his fists with a smile and said, "Brother Gu, I heard your manpower was running short, so the brothers came to help keep watch for the night."

Gu Changshan glanced at them, his gaze eventually returning to the distant lamp down in the valley.

That lamplight shone brighter than any star in the sky.

After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his hand and, in the direction of that window, solemnly and gently cupped his fists in salute.

Beneath the lamp, the needle and thread in Shen Guilan's hand paused slightly, as if she felt it in her heart.

She looked up toward the pitch-black mountain shadows outside the window, the corners of her lips curving upward ever so slightly and softly.

That night, the winds were calm, and all creation was plunged into profound tranquility.

The first ray of dawn pierced the darkness, gilding the small Shen courtyard in gold. The village still slumbered, save for a few crowing roosters cutting through the morning mist.