Chapter 327: Could It Be You?

He may have just been a common nouveau riche, but the air of authority in his voice was more than enough to intimidate a country woman.

The woman was completely cowed, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.

“Yes… I understand. I’m sorry, brother. I just have a big mouth. It was a slip of the tongue, just a slip of the tongue. Please don’t hold it against me.”

The skinny man beside them grabbed a water pipe and struck the woman hard with it several times.

“You useless wench, what nonsense are you spouting?! On such a happy day, you had to go and bring bad luck!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean it, I’m sorry…”

The woman was knocked onto the sofa, where she skillfully covered her head and begged for mercy.

The stout man made a token gesture to stop him and scolded,

“Milo! How many times have I told you? What kind of man hits a woman? Besides, today is a happy day for my son. If you two have problems, go home and solve them behind closed doors!”

Milo quickly stopped and said with an obsequious smile,

“Sorry about that, brother. This damn woman just needs to be taught a lesson.”

After speaking, he shot a vicious glare at the woman across from him.

The stout man glanced at the woman beside him, who poured him a cup of tea.

“Not to lecture you, but can’t you change that foul temper of yours? Only our sister-in-law would put up with you and follow you so devotedly.”

“I’ll change, I swear I’ll change,” Milo said with an embarrassed laugh.

Although he wasn’t close to this older brother, he had been afraid of him since childhood. Now that Stark was a big boss, his intimidating presence scared him even more.

The woman helped the beaten woman up, handed her a tissue from the table, and said with a concerned tone,

“Sister-in-law, do you have any medicine at home? You should have Walter bring some over to put on those wounds. We came back in such a hurry, we didn’t prepare a first-aid kit.”

The woman shot her a grateful look, then casually wiped her face with the tissue and said with a smile,

“It’s nothing, it doesn’t hurt. We’ve been like this for years. I guess you could call it what you city folks call ‘spicing things up.’ If he didn’t beat me, I’d be worried he was seeing someone else.”

The other woman took a sip of tea to hide the disdain on her lips.

After putting down her cup, her usual smile returned.

“You’re just too easy on him. We women need to treat ourselves better, doll ourselves up a bit. Speaking of which…”

The woman glanced down at herself, then took off the cheapest pearl ring she was wearing and slipped it onto the other woman’s hand.

“A woman can’t go without a few accessories. When you make yourself look pretty, your mood improves. And then your man’s attention will be more focused on you, right? I didn’t bring any gifts for you all this time, but this ring really suits you, and it’s a perfect fit. It’s yours now. I hope you don’t mind.”

‘What a brainless lunatic. Has she gotten addicted to being beaten?’

‘Why would you stick with a man who’s useless, ugly, and only knows how to hit women? Are you keeping him around for New Year’s?’

‘But that was none of their business. If her parents-in-law hadn’t died, and if her husband didn’t feel the need to put on airs as the “big brother” in front of this couple, she wouldn’t waste a single breath on these poor country hicks.’

The country woman’s eyes lit up, the greed in them practically overflowing.

But she still made a show of refusing, “Oh, sister-in-law, I couldn’t possibly…”

“Nonsense, we’re family. Why be so formal? Besides, look, it’s a perfect fit. Now that it’s on, don’t you take it off.”

The woman patted her hand reassuringly.

‘Now that you’ve worn it, I wouldn’t want it back even if you tried to return it.’

“Oh, this is so embarrassing… Alright then, thank you, sister-in-law!”

The woman was grinning from ear to ear, admiring the large pearl on her hand again and again. She simply couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Why would you be so formal with me?”

Although the woman was reluctant to sit next to her, afraid of catching her “poverty stench,”

she endured it, remembering the real reason she was here.

She glanced warily toward the staircase before asking in a low voice,

“What did you mean earlier, when you said you saw someone online who looks like that girl?”

“Oh, I saw it on our Walter’s phone. On that… what’s it called… ‘We-something’ app…?”

The woman said after a moment of thought.

“Weibo?” the other woman interjected.

“Yes, that’s it! Weibo!” The woman slapped her thigh.

“It was on Weibo. It said some young lady from a rich family in Kingsland was celebrating her birthday, and a princess from some country or other was there to wish her well. I saw a photo with four or five little kids in it. And one of them… she looked just like your… just like that girl from back then. Like she was the spitting image of her. From the background, it looked like a real foreign palace, you know? My, was it ever glamorous! And those kids were dressed so well. How can some people be so lucky? To even know a princess, and that young lady…”

Having been beaten and then bribed with a gift, the woman had lost her earlier desire to gloat. She answered whatever she was asked. Besides, she didn’t believe for a second that this elegant young lady could be the Bridget Walsh from their past.

The other woman resisted the urge to pull out her phone and search for it, maintaining a smile as she listened to the woman ramble on, spittle flying.

Once they had gathered enough information, the stout man cut her off.

“That’s enough. Stop spreading baseless rumors! Do you have any idea that if an outsider heard you, it would be considered slander? That’s against the law!”

The woman was just getting into her story, and his words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head.

She quickly covered her mouth. “No way! That’s illegal too?!”

‘Back in their village, when they were bored, they’d gossip about this family’s chickens or that family’s dog, or who saw which man holding hands with which wife in the woods.’

‘All I’m doing now is talking about some online gossip. What law am I breaking?!’

The man shot her a sideways glance.

“Hmph, what do you think? Those powerful families could crush us without a sound, with just the blink of an eye!”

“Stark, don’t scare our sister-in-law!”

His wife chided him with a look, then turned to comfort the other woman.

“Don’t be scared. It’s just family in this room, we won’t say a word. But you really do need to watch that mouth of yours. We can’t afford to provoke people that powerful. Remember, loose lips sink ships.”

“Yes, yes, I absolutely won’t say anything outside! Once I leave this room, I won’t know a thing!”

The woman nodded repeatedly, completely forgetting who had brought up the topic in the first place.

Unbeknownst to them, their entire conversation had been overheard by a figure standing in a corner on the second floor.

The person stared at the photo on their screen, an inexplicable sense of familiarity washing over them.

They unconsciously tightened their grip on the phone and murmured softly,

“Could it be you?”