The crowd wasn't blind, and they naturally saw the expressions on the father and son's faces clearly.

Aside from the children, everyone—men, women, and children alike—was surprised, and their disdain for the Guo family only intensified.

Those women were all daughters-in-law or daughters of the Guo family. They had suffered such a tragedy, and the outsiders felt sorry for them and wished they could avenge them. They also regretted that they had been negligent and had not saved them.

As a result, Mr. Guo and Guo Qing, their two relatives, despised them for being violated by bandits and having their purity and chastity ruined. They showed no pity for their suicides; in fact, they felt...at ease!

No wonder those women hanged themselves so readily. Perhaps they knew better than anyone that even if they lived, they would never be able to go home.

Jiayin felt a chill in her heart and clung tightly to Old Lady Li's leg. Old Lady Li quickly hugged her granddaughter, gently patting her back and whispering comforting words, "Fu Niu, don't be afraid. You must live on no matter what. Only by living can you take revenge and live a better life."

Jiayin hugged her grandmother's neck without saying a word, feeling incredibly fortunate.

If she had suffered such a tragedy, her grandmother, parents, and family would not have reacted so heartlessly.

Grandpa Liu and his son exchanged a glance and gently shook their heads.

Liu Zhiheng understood; his family would no longer get too close to the Guo family in the future, maintaining a polite but distant relationship.

Such a family is so cold-hearted to its own members, valuing its reputation more than the lives of its daughter-in-law and daughter.

Who can expect to get sincerity from them?

The most righteous are often the lowly butchers, while the most ungrateful are often the scholars; today's events perfectly illustrate this.

The villagers, who came from humble backgrounds as migrants, are kind, brave, warm-hearted, and upright.

The Guo family, a family with a century-long tradition of scholarship, is so shameless and ruthless!

Perhaps sensing the disapproving gazes of the crowd, Mr. Guo coughed twice and pretended to wipe his eyes.

Guo Qing immediately shouted, "What about the books? What do you have to say about that? Those are the treasures of Taihua Academy. My elder brother and the others always carry them with them. How did they end up in your hands?"

Liu, the head镖师, gave him a cold glance and replied, "After killing the bandits and burying the Guo family, we were afraid that the bandits might have accomplices, so I took two boys and staked out the bandits' hideout for two days."

“Yes, Jiayi and I were walking around the neighborhood with Father. It’s only two mountains away from the main road outside the mountains, and we wanted to see what was going on outside and whether there were any barbarians.”

Liu Yang interrupted, perhaps because he was tired from work, or perhaps because he was growing taller, he had lost a lot of weight but had also grown taller. Standing next to Jia Yi, he looked very annoyed.

After all, they had fought desperately against the bandits that day and were even injured, but now they were being wronged, their good intentions were not rewarded.

Jiayi also said, "We climbed over a mountain and found several large book chests. Because my older brother likes to read, we opened the chests and took the books back to the cave. Those book chests were very heavy, which shows that the bandits thought they were worthless and threw them by the roadside. There were also some simple luggage thrown together with the book chests, but we didn't take them. They should still be where they are."

The two explained in detail and even showed Mr. Guo the scars on their bodies.

The villagers also stepped forward, pulling up their sleeves and outer garments to reveal the scars on their bodies.

Madam Cui and Old Lady Li quickly turned their faces away, prompting the village chief to tap his pipe, "Alright, put down your clothes, there are still women here."

The crowd finally calmed down, but their eyes were full of grievance and anger as they looked at the Guo father and son.

Mr. Guo already regrets it; he shouldn't have come today, nor should he have sought the truth.

Because these villagers didn't seem to be lying. One or two people could act, but it's impossible for a hundred or so people to be so consistent.

It's almost certain that he wronged these people.

He glared at his nephew, somewhat resentful that his nephew kept saying that his family members had died unjustly and that he wanted to seek justice.

Guo Qing felt guilty; this was truly beyond his calculations.

He thought they were just a bunch of peasants who would back down after a few threats, but he didn't expect them to be so tough.

He gritted his teeth and continued his shameless act, "You're all from the same village, so naturally you've coordinated your stories beforehand. Nobody's stupid enough to admit to murder and robbery, right? Do you think we'll stop asking for the truth just because you say the women of the Guo family have lost their reputation?"

"Hmph, dream on! It's a fact that you took the silver my elder brother and the others brought and built this hot spring valley. No matter what you say, you're just talking nonsense; there's absolutely no evidence to prove you didn't kill anyone!"

Everyone was so angry they gritted their teeth, but Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou knew the truth, so they all looked at Madam Cui.

Madam Cui sighed, feeling a pang of pity as she thought of the women who had hanged themselves, but she couldn't care less at the moment.

She turned to Mr. Guo and said, “Sir, the women in your family wrote their wills before they hanged themselves, and they’ve been kept here with me. I was afraid you’d be too heartbroken, so I planned to keep it a secret and also told the villagers not to say anything.”

"After all, they are already dead. It's not good to let their tragic fate become the subject of gossip and laughter. I didn't expect you to act so foolishly. In that case, I don't need to save face for the Guo family."

As she spoke, she gestured for Sister-in-law Qiong to take out a small box.

This was something Sister Qiong had specially gone back next door to get. Now that the box is open, the blood-written letter is revealed.

Mr. Wen took it from the middle of the journey, unfolded it himself, and presented it to Mr. Guo.

Mr. Guo immediately recognized the handwriting as that of the eldest daughter-in-law. The blood letter said that they had encountered bandits, their children and husbands had all died, and they did not intend to live anymore.

If this blood-written letter is ever delivered to the family, please ask them to thank the villagers who saved their lives, take good care of their youngest son Wenhao, and remember to bring their remains back when the opportunity arises.

Mr. Guo's eyes blurred with tears again. Although he valued the Guo family's reputation more, how could he forget the filial piety and thoughtfulness of his daughter-in-law and daughter?

He came to visit a friend and brought his grandson along for medical treatment. Little did he know that their separation would be a matter of life and death!

"Waaah! Our Guo family teaches and educates, and we never do evil. Why must we suffer such a terrible misfortune!"

The old man, nearing the end of his life, wept so bitterly that it broke one's heart.

But everyone present wore cold expressions and was no longer willing to offer any sympathy.

Guo Qing tried to take the blood-written letter, but Mr. Wen took it back.

Once Mr. Guo had calmed down, he asked loudly, "Sir, do you still suspect us of murder and robbery?"

When Mr. Guo heard that they no longer addressed him as "Headmaster," he knew that he had completely lost face.

Fortunately, he still had some sense of responsibility, so he stood up, knelt down, and kowtowed to everyone to admit his mistake.

"My dear benefactors, I was senile today and misunderstood you all. I will certainly come back in a few days with generous gifts to apologize. Please understand that I have been completely out of my mind because my whole family was murdered..."

The villagers all stepped aside, unwilling to accept an old man kowtowing, but none of them offered to forgive him.

Mr. Guo looked at Mr. Liu with a hint of pleading in his eyes, but Mr. Liu pretended not to see it.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became very awkward.

Guo Qing did not kneel down; instead, he glared angrily at Madam Cui and Mr. Wen.

He blamed them for favoring the villagers and ruining his path to wealth!