The old woman gasped, surprised at the new rule. When did they have this?
Still, if she went away now, that was acknowledging that she was indeed doing harassment! She was NOT! She was simply trying to be part of her granddaughter’s wedding!
How could that be so wrong?
These people were blind. Eric and the others agreed with her—she had the right to take full control over this! This was injustice! They must’ve been threatened by her influence!
"How could this be harassment!?" she yelled, making an even bigger scene. She looked around, and it so happened that there were a few people in that area of the park at the time. "Unfair! Abuse!!"
"This isn’t right! These people are stopping me from attending my own granddaughter’s wedding!"
While a few did feel a little pity for the old woman, most were still lucid enough to know who was wrong.
In the end, the old woman was sentenced to 48 hours in the old prison (the manual one) which was reserved for minor crimes that didn’t warrant losing lifespan.
By the time she got out, the wedding would’ve already been completed.
And so, the wedding planning had finally removed its biggest bug.
…
Later that night, this imprisonment would be the topic of discussion in many households. It was really a pretty big scandal. Although Winona was not an elder, she was pretty high up—not to mention Ansel was an Elder himself.
Those who had been jealous of the ’young’ elders began running their mouths at this time. ’Unfilial and ungrateful’ were the most common adjectives that were heard among these circles.
It did not help that Eric and his family were making sure that everyone in the neighborhood—or in their part of the village, at least—knew of the ’injustice’.
After all, if they let it be like this, grandma’s power over Winona—and therefore a portion of the leading team—would be diminished! And they would be affected, too!
Maybe Winona would even take back the house somehow! How could they live elsewhere like poor people?!
In one park, the women would gasp and cry, feeling ’sad’ about the fate of the old woman. They would wail in despair. Obviously, she simply wanted to be part of the most important event in her granddaughter’s life!
So sad,
so sad~
And what if the old woman
died
in prison?
Inside a bar, the men would get drunk and ’spill’ some dirty secrets that would put Winona and Ansel to ’shame’. For example, how they’d kiss in public. They even implied that the two were having relations when Eric and Winona were still technically together!
Eric would appear in pain, even crying a bit, revealing how he got the love of his life stolen by someone who had money and power.
There were other more traditional people who naturally felt uncomfortable, especially those who did not know the whole story. After all, no matter how annoying, a parent was still a parent.
Fortunately, the vast majority still believed in the Elder group, and those who did not know much reserved their judgment until they did.
Some even knew of the inside story, and when they found out someone was slandering the elders, they went there in groups to defend the honor.
An example of this was the group led by Letty, the seamstress aborigine, and Cathia, Cassie’s grandmother.
Many of the tailor women were eating together when they heard someone was trying to dirty the names of their precious elders.
For the most part, they were puzzled. What kind of idiots would do that? Anyone with eyes could tell that their comfortable lives were due to the Elders and the leading team!
Anyway, all their warfreakishness was released when they overheard the drama themselves.
"I can’t believe it… Winona is such a shame for a woman and a person," Frida, Eric’s mother, would mumble as she shook her head. It appeared like she was a concerned elder disappointed at a child.
"So… whose house are you living in right now?" Cathia asked, continuing before Frida could continue. "It’s Winona’s right? What a way to bite the hand that feeds you!"
"She does not feed me!"
"Then can you get out of her house?!" Cathia said. "You think someone who owns the house would let a parasite badmouth her without repercussions?"
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