Gou Sheng's wife felt a little guilty, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she quickly backed away: "Madam Mo, don't talk nonsense, what does this have to do with me? Maybe someone is just jealous and envious, so they did something."

"Yes, so please explain, sister-in-law, who did you conspire with to harm my family's rice paddies? You should know that this is a capital offense." Mo Qingcheng glanced at Gou Sheng's wife with a half-smile.

Gou Sheng's wife rolled her eyes: "You...you're trying to scare me. It's just a little poison, there's no real loss, why are you beheading him?"

"Hehe, sister-in-law, you probably don't know, but this acre of rice happens to be what the governor wanted. So why isn't it a capital offense?" Mo Qingcheng raised an eyebrow with a wicked smile. "This lady doesn't have the ability to plead with the governor..."

"You...are you telling the truth?" Gou Sheng's wife was pale and her palms were sweaty.

Gou Sheng had no idea: "You bastard, hurry up and tell me what happened?"

Bang!

Gou Sheng's wife was kicked away and landed on the ground, coughing up some food: "It wasn't me... cough cough... it was Widow Li and Granny Liu..."

"You bitch!" Gou Sheng kicked her again: "If you hadn't brought her here, how would Old Qian have known this was Madam Mo's rice paddy?"

I'm so angry! Gousheng wanted to kick his stupid wife to the afterlife, but he still had his unmarried, dim-witted son at home.

"Why aren't you apologizing yet? Are you waiting to be sent to the yamen for a bowl of porridge?" Gou Sheng was still sensible enough to send his stupid wife to the yamen for fear that Mo Qingcheng would be angry.

Mo Qingcheng lowered her eyes indifferently: "Why don't you tell the truth?"

"Lady Mo, help me... I said I didn't want to do it, but they insisted I do it, boohoo... I had no choice..." Gou Sheng's wife recounted the whole story in fits and starts.

A collective sigh rippled through the crowd. One shouldn't harbor malicious intent; jealousy had blinded Gou Sheng's wife. What a heartless woman! Were the men in the village pushovers? Or did they think Madam Mo could be bullied so easily?

It turned out that Gou Sheng's wife was resentful because she failed to get a job at Mo Qingcheng's family, and she was constantly thinking about how to cause trouble for Mo Qingcheng.

That night, Gou Sheng's wife had diarrhea and went to relieve herself. Someone spotted her cloth, knocked her unconscious with a stick, and took her to a secluded place.

A basin of cold water was splashed on her face. Gou Sheng's wife gave a horn call, and when she opened her eyes, she saw two ferocious faces. Who else could it be but Widow Li and Granny Liu?

The two men exchanged a glance, suggesting that Gou Sheng's wife poison the ducks and fish in Mo Qingcheng's rice paddy. Gou Sheng's wife shook her head repeatedly. How could she dare to do such a heinous thing? If her husband found out, he would definitely slap her and divorce her.

Although Gou Sheng's wife hated Mo Qingcheng to death, she was too scared to do such a heinous thing. If she ruined Mo Qingcheng's plans, the whole village would be doomed.

Granny Liu held a silver needle and stabbed it hard into Gou Sheng's wife: "You little slut, will you listen to me? If you don't cooperate, believe me, tomorrow I'll feed your husband and child to the dogs?"

"Ah! Stop, stop... I... I promise..." After being tortured, Gou Sheng's wife had no choice but to agree, and was only allowed to go home half an hour later.

Gou Sheng mumbled in his sleep, "Stupid woman, why didn't you die outside?"

"Cough cough...Quickly...Go to sleep..." Gou Sheng's wife didn't dare to say more. She changed her clothes, lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and didn't dare to move.

"Sign and affix your fingerprint." As soon as Mo Qingcheng finished speaking, Old Man Bai handed over a piece of paper. Everyone trembled. Was this to be sent to the government office?

"I...I've told you everything...please don't send me there...ah..."

A howl pierced the sky. Gou Sheng, still furious, bit his foolish wife's finger, pressed his handprint onto the mark, and cautiously looked at Mo Qingcheng: "Madam Mo...look..."

"Take it back and keep a close eye on it. Don't let this happen again..."