Chapter 47

Li SanYe, who arrived upon hearing the fight, turned black-faced when he heard that it involved Wu Guihua: "Tell me, what is this fight about again?"

"Yeah, why did she hit my daughter Chunxi for no reason!" Aunt Liu, a fierce woman, took advantage of Wu Guihua's injured state and scratched her face, leaving bloody fingerprints.

Wu Guihua hesitated, "She accused me of stealing money… But the money I found was clearly mine!"

When it came to the topic of "stealing," Wu Guihua naturally lost her momentum. She dared to make a scene in front of Aunt Wang and Aunt Liu, but she didn't dare to deny it in front of Li SanYe. Because of the previous incident of stealing, her husband almost divorced her and sent her back to her mother's house.

Wu Guihua couldn't explain clearly, but Aunt Wang was a gossipy person and vividly recounted what happened just now, looking gleeful.

Aunt Liu felt a bit embarrassed but quickly said, "Our Chunxi is just straightforward with her words. Wu Guihua, at your age, why bother arguing with an immature girl? The older you get, the more childish you become!"

She pushed the responsibility back onto Wu Guihua while glaring at her own daughter-in-law in secret. Chunxi had been in the family for more than a year and hadn't brought any good news. She always caused trouble!

The young daughter-in-law, Chunxi, with an expression of defiance, said, "I was just trying to help. Who knew she would hit someone? If I knew, I wouldn't have helped!"

The Liu family originally felt a bit embarrassed, but after hearing the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law speak, they instantly felt justified. After all, Wu Guihua had hit someone, and it wasn't their fault. It was impossible for Wu Guihua to blame them!

"But what about my husband and Changsheng? Why did you hit them?" Wu Guihua asked.

"We were just trying to help because we couldn't stand seeing you hit my daughter-in-law…" the younger son of the Liu family explained.

Wu Guihua was taken aback, "So you think it's acceptable to hit my husband and Changsheng?"

"We only helped because you hit my daughter-in-law first…"

Both sides started arguing again, each refusing to back down.

Li SanYe's head was spinning from listening to the arguments and realizing that both sides were at fault. He compromised and said, "Wu Guihua, you were wrong to hit someone first; Xiangzi's wife, you can't accuse someone of stealing money without evidence…"

Li SanYe suddenly reacted, "Wu Guihua, you said you went into the hole to find money? How could you find money in such a place?"

"That's right, who would leave money in such a place!" Chunxi, seeing that Li SanYe seemed to agree with her, quickly echoed.

She had unexpectedly come into some money, and her head got hot. But now she had calmed down a bit and thought about what she had said. Suddenly, she felt a chill down her spine. "I told you… that devil intentionally placed the copper coins in my yard to lure me into that hole and embarrass me! SanYe, you don't know, there was a nest of scorpions in that hole. I almost got bitten!"

"Oh, is that so?"

"Who would simply give money to others for no reason?"

Wu Guihua's words were not believed by the people present. Eleven wen was a significant amount of money for them, and who would deliberately give someone copper coins just to play a trick on them?

If drilling a dog hole could result in money, they would be willing to do it too!

While others didn't believe her, Wu Guihua became more convinced that it was true. Just as she was about to continue arguing, Feng Ge, her eldest son, pushed through the crowd and rushed in, anxiously saying, "Mother, something bad happened! One of our hens is missing!"

But when he got a clear look at Wu Guihua's appearance, Feng Ge was taken aback. "Mother, did you get into a fight with someone?"

Then he turned his gaze toward his father and older brother, who had swollen faces and bruised noses, and exclaimed, "Father, elder brother, what happened to you both?"

Li ManCang had no time to explain and hurriedly approached Feng Ge, asking, "What? You said one of our hens is missing? How did it happen? Is the chicken coop damaged?"

Feng Ge opened his mouth in a daze and said, "No, the chicken coop is fine. When I opened the door to let the chickens out, I realized one was missing…"

They only had these five chickens left, and they relied on them for eggs. So, the first thing Feng Ge did upon waking up in the morning was to go to the chicken coop and let the chickens out, then collect the eggs.

Since their house was located in the middle of the village, it was unlikely for rats, wild cats, or dogs to come and steal from them. Therefore, their chickens and ducks had never gone missing before.

"Alright, I know who did it. It must be that little devil from the Li Wang family! Not only did he steal our chickens, but he also put copper coins to lure me into drilling that dog hole!" Wu Guihua slapped her thigh and without hesitation placed the blame on Yong Ge, Li Wang's son.

This was quite understandable. Although Wu Guihua lacked morality and liked taking advantage of others, Yong Ge was the only one who had recently caused trouble with their family for the past three days.

She was so focused on confronting the Liu family that she didn't care anymore and dragged Li SanYe to Li Wang's house to find their missing chickens.

Li SanYe was unwilling, but Wu Guihua reminded him of Yong Ge's previous mischief and demanded that he search their house, stating that it would be unfair if he didn't.

Li SanYe was cornered by her persistence and the encouragement of the onlookers, so he reluctantly agreed to take a look.

Meanwhile, the porridge had just been cooked at Yong Ge's house. Cheng Duo quickly put away things that shouldn't be seen in his home and instructed Yong Ge, "Just say you haven't left the house and don't know anything. Don't be afraid."

It wasn't that Cheng Duo didn't want to stay and help, but it wasn't appropriate for him to be at Yong Ge's house at that moment. He left first, and if he found that Yong Ge couldn't handle the situation later, he would return and pretend to be passing by.

"I'm not afraid…" Yong Ge felt puzzled as he looked at Cheng Duo's long legs striding over the low earthen wall and quickly disappearing into the trees behind the house.

Yong Ge knew something must have happened, so he gathered himself and, in no time, saw Li SanYe leading a large group of people into their yard.

"Uncle SanYe, what's going on?" Why were there so many people?

"Little devil, don't pretend you don't know. Return the chickens you stole from our house!" Wu Guihua tried to pounce on Yong Ge, but Li SanYe and the men from the village stopped her.

Even Liu ShuSheng was among them, his face flushed as he glanced at Yong Ge, then turned to Wu Guihua and said, "Capturing a thief and recovering stolen goods. You don't have any evidence, so how can you accuse someone recklessly?"

Yong Ge found Liu ShuSheng's words incomprehensible. What did he mean by capturing a thief and recovering stolen goods? He didn't understand a single word!

But since he never liked Liu ShuSheng, he shifted slightly to the side and looked at Li SanYe, saying, "Uncle SanYe, I didn't steal their chickens!"

In fact, Yong Ge found it a bit amusing. When Wu Guihua spoke earlier, he saw her missing a piece of her front tooth and her face scratched. If the timing had been right, he couldn't help but want to gloat.

Li SanYe explained the situation and then said, "Wu Shi insists that you stole their chickens, Yong Ge. What do you think we should do?"

Yong Ge felt a bit conflicted. If he didn't allow them to search, it might seem like he had something to hide. But if he allowed them to search, with so many people present, wouldn't they all have to enter his house and look around?

Initially, Yong Ge didn't care, but when he saw many single men staring at him intently, he felt it wasn't appropriate.

Yong Ge didn't care initially, but with so many single men staring at him intently, he felt uncomfortable.

"What's the matter? Are you afraid to let us search?" Feng Ge, seeing Yong Ge's alluring face, became angry and sneered, "You fox spirit, always seducing men everywhere! I think you're actually a fox spirit in disguise. Don't foxes like to eat chickens?"

"Feng Ge, that's enough!" Yong Ge felt that he couldn't remain silent anymore. Since the incident three days ago, many people had already started thinking that he changed too quickly. If he didn't explain now, it might further solidify the accusation of him being a fox spirit.

Yong Ge no longer concealed the truth and explained how his father taught him to apply the herbal potion to change his skin color. He even took out the unused herbs and applied them on his hands to show everyone.

"Look, when this potion is applied, it turns black. I suddenly turned white because I didn't apply it… Now Auntie and Feng Ge, you can't call me a fox spirit anymore, right?"

Li SanYe and the others were surprised to see this, but considering how Li Wang had been running up the mountain before his incident, they found it understandable.

"Why did your father…" Liu ShuSheng asked, but halfway through the sentence, he already understood. Yong Ge was so good-looking, and if his father didn't keep him hidden, his two useless older brothers might have already sold him!

Once Liu ShuSheng had this thought, his gaze toward Yong Ge became even more pitying. Scholars couldn't help this flaw – when they saw a beautiful person, they naturally believed in their innocence. At this moment, Liu ShuSheng had completely forgotten how he had lectured Yong Ge when he was unattractive.

Yong Ge continued to ignore him. "Uncle SanYe, I don't want to make it difficult for you. If Auntie wants to search, she can, but if she doesn't find anything, she not only has to compensate me with a chicken but also apologize to me. And Auntie and Feng Ge can't call me a fox spirit anymore! I am born of my mother and raised by my father. If they call me a fox spirit, it means they are also insulting my parents."

Although he didn't know who his fickle-hearted father was, he couldn't let anyone insult the father who raised him!

Liu ShuSheng interjected, "Yong Ge's words make sense. Insulting someone's parents is unacceptable…"

Before Liu ShuSheng could finish his sentence, Wu Guihua interrupted, "Compensate you with a chicken? You must be dreaming! You already stole a chicken from my house, and now you want me to give you one? No way!"

"Why are you in such a hurry, Auntie? I'll give it to you only if you can't find anything. If you accuse me of stealing your chicken, why are you afraid to agree?" Then, Yong Ge turned to Li SanYe. "Uncle SanYe, are my demands unreasonable?"

Li SanYe hadn't finished speaking, but the single men from the village had already started to join in, cheering Yong Ge on. "Not unreasonable at all! It's not at all excessive!"

"No evidence, why should they search for no reason?"

"Yong Ge's demands are reasonable!"

Yong Ge suddenly felt uneasy. One Liu ShuSheng was enough, but why were these men getting involved? What if Cheng Duo saw them?

"Mother, agree to him. I don't believe we won't find anything!" Feng Ge, feeling envious and jealous, now wanted to prove that Yong Ge stole the chicken. How could these clueless men speak up for him?

Wu Guihua glanced at her husband, Li ManCang, and saw him slightly nodding. She quickly agreed.

Considering that Yong Ge was an unmarried young man, Li SanYe only allowed Wu Guihua and Feng Ge's mother to enter the house for the search. He also had Wang Sheng and Da Zhuang's wives accompany them throughout the process.

As for Li ManCang and Li ChangSheng, they checked the woodshed, water tank, and even the water ditch behind the house.

Li ChangSheng didn't find anything and apologized to Yong Ge with a grumble. However, before he could finish speaking, Yong Ge interrupted, "Eldest brother ChangSheng, you don't need to apologize. It should be Auntie and Feng Ge who apologize. Did you ask them?"

Seeing that Li ChangSheng was about to speak, Yong Ge continued, "And even if they are willing, I don't agree!"

They had repeatedly slandered him as a monster. If the villagers started believing them, how would he face it? Since they were so ruthless, he didn't need to be polite either.

Li ManCang's family ultimately didn't find anything. Wu Guihua was still dissatisfied and shouted that she wanted to search the woods behind the house!

Yong Ge felt a tightness in his heart as Li SanYe scolded, "Enough! You haven't found a single chicken feather. You made a bet and lost. Come over here and apologize."

Wu Guihua retorted, "So, he caused me so much trouble with those copper coins, and we just let it go?"

Li SanYe became impatient, "If you can provide witnesses or evidence, I will mediate. If not, keep your mouth shut!"

Wu Guihua only had eleven copper coins, how could she have any evidence? She could only reluctantly, with a disgruntled expression, mumble and approach Yong Ge alongside Feng Ge.

As for Li ManCang, Li SanYe considered him Yong Ge's elder, and seeing him hide within the crowd with a thick-skinned face, he had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

Reluctantly, Wu Guihua and Feng Ge apologized, and Yong Ge didn't nitpick. He only said, "If you ever call me a fox spirit or monster again, I will come to your house and take a chicken, as promised."

To everyone's surprise, Li SanYe nodded, "Reasonable. Apology comes first, apology comes first. There's no logic in just opening your mouth without giving anything in return!"

With Li SanYe's support, Yong Ge openly went to Li ManCang's house, seized a chicken, and returned home with great excitement.