Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 106: Chapter 107: Won’t Let Go Easily_1 Chapter 106: Chapter 107: Won’t Let Go Easily_1 Mrs. Liang, however, turned shameless, “Why should I just go because you say so? I behave properly and work honestly, and yet you put a cap on my head with a few words. That time I took Muniang’s carriage to town, I could see that you simply disliked me, all ganged up to go against me. And now, with this happening, you all collectively blame me. Oh my, is there no justice left? I will go to the Mr. Village Head to seek fairness and see what you all have to say then!”

As she spoke, she pretended to run out of the house. Muniang, of course, was not going to let her go so easily and grabbed her wrist with a cold look in her eyes, “There’s no need to hurry to the Village Head. Let’s go to Chatu Town’s Golden Silk Embroidery House first to identify the person. Then, we can go together, and it will be clear who is bullying whom!”

Mrs. Liang had originally planned to muddle through the situation and sprint away, but she didn’t expect Muniang to have such a strong grip. She cursed in her heart—this wretched girl looked so slender, how could her strength be so great? Yet, her face still wore a look of grievance.

“Then why do you believe Xiangcai with just a few words, asserting that it was I who did this? Even if I am not to your liking, it’s not your place to bully me like this. Have you decided to ruin my reputation now for sure? I’m telling you, I’m not that easy to bully—don’t think you can treat me so unfairly!”

Xiangcai sneered coldly, “That’s right, we can all go to the town to see. If it really was me who did such shameful deeds, then let lightning strike me dead immediately!”

This oath was not to be taken lightly. Ancient people were most superstitious, and such oaths, once made, were a definite sign of clear conscience. Dabao’s Mother then said, “If you, Mrs. Liang, really feel wronged, why not make an oath like Xiangcai to see. If you dare to swear, we’ll believe you didn’t do it!”

Mrs. Liang would not dare to swear and started shouting, “Why should I make a terrible oath? How can your heart be so vicious, just wishing for my death? How can you speak such inauspicious oaths? Normally you appear so well-behaved—is it all just an act?”

Xiangcai said, “If you really didn’t do this thing, what does this oath have to do with you? You must be feeling guilty now, right?”

Mrs. Liang’s face turned white, but she still refused to admit anything. Muniang did not drag things out any further and said directly, “Then let’s just go find the servant from the Golden Silk Embroidery House to see if it was you. One way or another, you are adamant in your denial. I am not so easily fooled. If worse comes to worst, I’ll go with you to make a scene, hoping to get the whole Chatu Town to know, so when you’re in the County Government Office having your pants taken down for a beating, everyone will be watching!”

Muniang spoke ruthlessly, not leaving any room for leniency, and everyone was taken aback, not expecting the previously kind Muniang to have such a severe side. But they did not delay and hurriedly grabbed Mrs. Liang, pretending to drag her outside to go to the town, forcibly pulling her to the front gate of the courtyard.

Upon hearing Muniang’s words, Mrs. Liang was so scared her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. If this truly became a town-wide spectacle, she wouldn’t be able to live it down. She quickly started to plead tearfully, “Muniang, you can’t be so heartless! All I did was sell a couple of patterns and made a mere two pieces of silver. How can you be so cruel over just two pieces of silver? We’re all from the same township!”

Hearing this, Muniang couldn’t help but find it funny. Two pieces of silver—did Mrs. Liang’s shortsighted brain get kicked by a bull to sell such patterns for mere two pieces of silver?

Seeing that Mrs. Liang had finally confessed, everyone stopped moving and stared straight at Muniang, waiting for her to deal with the situation.

Muniang sneered, “Why are you all staring at me? The contract states explicitly, in black and white, that if anyone dares to leak the designs, they’ll be sent straight to the County Government Office and get at least thirty beatings on the board, which is actually letting them off easy. We need everyone in Chatu Town to recognize that we have a thief among us!”

Muniang had intended to make an example of someone, and if she were lenient now, others would take her for soft-spoken from then on, and confidentiality of the designs would be compromised. At this moment, there could be no quarter given.

Sure enough, as soon as Muniang made her position clear, everyone gasped, their realization that Muniang was not to be trifled with deepening. They resolved never to do what Mrs. Liang had done, or they would be the next to suffer!

Mrs. Liang’s face turned pale as she begged for mercy, “Muniang, I know I was wrong. I’ll give you the two silvers, just please don’t send me to the government office. If I end up there, not only is my life over, but my son’s future will be ruined too. I only did it for my child, thinking of ways to provide for him. Please have pity on me and spare me this time!”

The crowd murmured sympathetically; every parent’s heart is indeed filled with love for their children. No matter how poorly Mrs. Liang behaved, her care for her son was beyond reproach. She had plans for her son to study and aim for a title, and if a stain were cast upon her, her son’s chance for honor would be dashed. It was no wonder she was so preoccupied with her son’s future.

Not only did the helpers’ and daughters-in-law’s feelings of compassion arise, but even Muniang felt moved. The pure love of this mother for her son made Muniang think of Mrs. Lin, a woman who had shouldered half the heavens with her frail frame for her sake.

However, if Muniang made concessions this time, her authority might be undermined. If she didn’t, she truly felt reluctant at heart. It would be bearable if only Mrs. Liang were punished, but it might destroy her son’s fate—an innocent dragged into this, gambling his entire future, and moreover, he was a student.

Just as Muniang was struggling with the decision, the crowd parted to create a pathway, and she looked up to see the old village chief had arrived.

“Mr. Village Head, what brings you here?” Muniang asked.

“I heard there was a commotion, so I hurried over,” the Village Head wiped the sweat from his brow and said.

Muniang frowned, puzzled. It was common for households in the village to have their disagreements. If the village head had to intervene in everything, he would be overwhelmed. This was just an argument—they had many of those; why would it disturb the village head enough to come personally?

In truth, the old Village Head hadn’t intended to get involved. Mrs. Liang was often a nuisance, and he thought this incident could serve to suppress her a bit, which suited him well. But when he heard that Muniang was considering taking the matter to the County Government Office, he couldn’t stay seated. Matters involving the government office were serious—if someone from the village got dragged into there, the whole village’s reputation could be sullied. The village always tried to resolve things internally to prevent bad news from spreading outside, less their entire community be smeared by gossip.

Moreover, the crime Mrs. Liang had implicated herself in today was theft, which, if word got out, would lead others to claim tomorrow that Tupo Village was full of thieves.