During the Qing Dynasty, there was a widow named Gantang in Yulin . She was born with beautiful appearance and graceful figure. She raised her daughter alone and lived a very miserable life. On this day, the matchmaker Zhang from the village came to the house and arranged a marriage for Gan Tang.
The man’s name was Ma Chongyang, a carpenter from a neighboring village. According to his statement, he had never forgotten Gantang since he came to work in the village and glanced at her from a distance. With the help of matchmaker Zhang, Gantang met Ma Chongyang. She had a very good impression of Ma Chongyang and thought he was an honest and steady man, so she decided to marry Ma Chongyang with her nine-year-old daughter Xiao Su.
Ma Chongyang's family was well off. After Gantang married him, he lived a leisurely life without worrying about food and drink. But not long after, Gantang discovered that something was not right with his daughter Xiao Su.
Xiao Su’s personality has always been lively, and people in the village said she looked like a tomboy. But in recent days, Xiao Su's temper suddenly cooled down. She became taciturn and stayed in the house all day without going out. Moreover, she looked at Ma Chongyang with fear in her eyes. Gan Tang also noticed that whenever Ma Chongyang talked with Xiao Su, Xiao Su would tremble all over, as if he had encountered something extremely terrifying. These behaviors of his daughter made Gan Tang very confused.
In Gantang's eyes, Ma Chongyang is a very good father. He cares very much about Xiao Su. Every time he goes out to work and sees something delicious and interesting, he will always bring a piece to Xiao Su. Gantang really couldn't understand why Xiao Su was so afraid of Ma Chongyang. That night, with doubts, Gan Tang opened the door of Xiao Su's room and wanted to have a good talk with his daughter.
Seeing her mother enter the house, Xiao Su looked very flustered. She hurriedly hid the things in her hands under the quilt, but it was still a step too late. Gan Tang noticed her little move. Gan Tang stepped forward, lifted Xiao Su's quilt, and froze when he saw what she was wearing.
Xiao Su wore eight pairs of pants, which made her figure look very bloated. Upon seeing this, Gantang asked his daughter puzzledly, but the next moment, Xiao Su cried amidst her questioning.
"Mom, I'm scared, I can't tell you. I don't dare to sleep without wearing these pants." Listening to her daughter's cries, Gan Tang's heart felt like a knife. She thought of her daughter's unusual reaction when she faced Ma Chongyang, and she had a bad guess in her heart.
That night, after putting his daughter to sleep, Gan Tang remembered that her husband had said before he went out to work that he would be home late, and he made up his mind. She blew out the candle and hid under her daughter's bed, intending to see what was going on.
In the middle of the night, the door to Xiao Su's room opened with a creak. Gan Tang quietly poked his head out and found her husband, Ma Chongyang, walking into the room expressionlessly. He walked to the bed, lifted Xiao Su's quilt, and reached out to her.
Gantang couldn't bear it anymore when she saw her husband doing such a beastly behavior. She gave Ma Chongyang a hard kick from under the bed and kicked him to the ground. Then, she got out from under the bed, pointed at Ma Chongyang's nose and cursed angrily.
Ma Chongyang seemed to be irritated by Gan Tang's scolding. Without saying a word, he stepped forward and grabbed Gan Tang's neck, intending to strangle her to death. Xiao Su woke up with a shock. Seeing this scene, she threw herself on Ma Chongyang, crying and trying to open his hand. In the chaos, a figure hurried into the room. After seeing the scene in the room, he shouted loudly, picked up a stool and hit Ma Chongyang on the head. Ma Chongyang rolled his eyes and fainted.
The figure dropped the stool and ran to Gantang who kept coughing, anxiously checking the injury on Gantang's neck. After Gan Tang calmed down, he was stunned when he saw the man, because that figure was also Ma Chongyang.
The candles in the room were relit. Ma Chongyang supported Gan Tang and asked her to sit down at the table. He looked at Xiao Su, who looked frightened, and then at Gan Tang, who was staring at him warily, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.He pointed at the man who fainted on the ground and said: "I am Ma Chongyang, and the man on the ground is my twin brother, Ma Mengqi. He was supposed to be in prison waiting for Qiu Hou to be punished, but unexpectedly he escaped and found my house for revenge."
"You have a brother? Why have I never heard you talk about it?" Gantang asked suspiciously.
"Your husband passed away a year ago. He was a detective during his lifetime. While chasing a vicious gangster, he was accidentally killed by the gangster. But thanks to the clues he left before his death, the Yamen finally arrested the gangster." Ma Chongyang did not answer Gan Tang's question, but instead talked about Gan Tang's deceased husband.
"How do you know? Who are you?" Gantang stood up warily and held Xiao Su behind him. After her ex-husband passed away, in order to prevent his enemies from retaliating, Gantang concealed his identity and moved back to his hometown with Xiao Su from the town. Ordinarily, these things should not be known to Ma Chongyang.
"Because that gangster is my brother, and your husband was killed by my brother." Ma Chongyang lowered his head and said in shame, "I have been looking for him since I knew about it. Regarding the whereabouts of your mother and daughter, I want to atone for my brother's sins and take good care of you."
Hearing this, Gan Tang was stunned. She looked back at Ma Mengqi, who fell to the ground, and then at Ma Chongyang, and for a moment she didn't know how to react.
"That night, when I came back, I heard a noise in Xiao Su's room. I rushed to her room and saw Ma Mengqi grabbing her feet and saying that he was going to cut off her legs. I hurriedly stepped forward to stop her, but when Ma Mengqi saw me, she ran away. I was worried that he would come back for revenge, so I told Xiao Su to stay at home on weekdays." Ma Chongyang said to Gan Tang.
Gan Tang heard this explanation and looked at his daughter. Xiao Su also nodded, "Uncle Chongyang saved me, but I was still scared. He looks the same as that man, so I always feel scared when I see him. When I sleep at night, I am afraid that bad guys will come and chop my legs, so I wear a few more layers of pants. I think, in this way, he You can't cut off my legs at once, I can hold on until Uncle Chongyang comes to save me. "
Speaking of this, Xiao Su hugged Gantang and said, "Uncle Chongyang made an appointment with me. We were afraid that you would worry, so we agreed not to tell you about this matter. "
Gantang touched his daughter's head and sighed deeply. Ma Chongyang took the opportunity and said, "I have said hello to the Yamen a few days ago. As soon as it gets light, I will send Ma Mengqi to the prison. Don't worry, he can't hurt you anymore." Gantang nodded with tears in his eyes after hearing this.
The next day, Ma Mengqi was imprisoned again. A few days later, the Yamen beheaded him in public, completely eradicating this scourge.
After the incident was settled, Ma Chongyang and Gan Tang moved Xiao Su to an isolated mountain village, and the family lived a stable life.
