"Ouch! What hit my foot!" Several middle-aged women who were being searched suddenly cried out in surprise when something hit their foot.

The shout startled everyone, and they quickly looked in that direction, but because something was blocking their view, they couldn't see what was going on inside.

The moment Zhang Lingling saw her purse fall, she quickly bent down and snatched it back, holding it tightly in her hand to prevent them from seeing it.

These middle-aged women weren't so easily fooled; they immediately tried to snatch the purse from his hand.

But Zhang Lingling was holding on too tightly, and the older women couldn't snatch it away in time, so someone started shouting.

"Found it, it's in his daughter-in-law's hands..."

Those who were searching for other ginseng immediately stopped upon hearing this, as they had found nothing, not even a copper coin. However, they all turned their attention to Zhang Lingling.

Zhang Lingling felt the gazes coming from all directions, and he suddenly became a little anxious.

"What are you yelling about? This is my own money, don't try to steal it from me, or I'll report you for robbery..."

"If you haven't done anything wrong, how can ghosts knock on your door? If you didn't steal anyone's money, why are you so nervous? Just take it out and let everyone see, then we'll know."

"That's right. You didn't take their money, so why don't you take it out and let everyone see what's inside? It can't just be exactly 50 taels, are you afraid people will misunderstand you?"

The older women weren't pushovers either; having worked hard for years, they were incredibly strong. Zhang Lingling was no match for them, and in no time at all, the women had taken her purse piece by piece.

She looked very nervous and anxious as she tried to grab her purse, but the older woman didn't give her a chance. She rushed out with the purse, wanting to empty it out so everyone could see what was inside.

Zhang Lingling didn't bother to straighten her clothes and rushed over with them, reaching out to snatch her purse. But the moment she appeared, all the men's eyes were on her.

Although the second daughter-in-law of the Su family was not as beautiful as the eldest son's wife, she was still a girl from a modest family, and given her disheveled appearance, the men naturally didn't want to miss her.

When Su Jingxing saw his wife come out like this, her face immediately darkened, and she quickly went over to block the men's view.

"Honey, don't worry. We didn't take his money, so why are you so concerned? It's just a purse. Let him take a look at it, and he'll bring it back in a bit!"

"No..." Zhang Lingling was very nervous, her brows furrowed so tightly they could almost trap a fly, staring intently at her purse, her heart filled with anxiety, for there really were 50 taels of silver inside.

Besides, that was her private savings. Even Su Jingxing didn't know. Now that it's been taken out, if he can't explain why, he might mistake you for a thief.

But she couldn't tell Su Jingxing openly that the money inside was her private savings; if she did, their relationship might break down.

The women were very helpful; they quickly brought their purses to the village chief, opened them, and emptied out all the contents. They counted the loose change and found it was indeed 50 taels of silver.

"Village chief, there are exactly 50 taels of silver here, no more, no less!"

Upon hearing this, everyone around was surprised and turned their attention to Zhang Lingling, who was standing next to Su Jingxing.

Upon hearing this, Madam Su's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at her youngest daughter-in-law. She couldn't believe that her son had actually stolen something, and that he had stolen 50 taels of silver, and had been caught red-handed.

Su Ruyi's face was very ugly. Although he still had that swollen face, the way he looked at Zhang Lingling was different.

Because he's now starting to suspect that his pig-headed appearance is because Zhang Lingling stumbled upon him while he was stealing money and hit him.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it becomes a dangerous thing.

Zhang Lingling became anxious.

Su Jingxing had just finished tidying his clothes when she rushed in and out impatiently: "That's my money! I didn't invest it! My father gave it to me! Give me back my money!"

As Zhang Lingling spoke, she stepped forward to snatch all her money, but how could those older women let her have her way? They easily dodged her attack.

“Jingxuan’s wife, they just said they lost 50 taels of silver and then we found it on you. They said they lost loose silver, but all 50 taels of silver you lost were loose silver. You can’t explain this at all. You stole it, and you’re so dishonest that you won’t admit it. You’re just morally corrupt.”

After saying this, the old woman stuffed the money bag into the village chief's hand. When the village chief saw the loose silver, his face turned extremely ugly, because he had seen the pile of loose silver that Luo Yunhe had taken out before. Looking at these 50 swallows and then at Zhang Lingling's behavior, he also felt very uncomfortable.

Luo Yunhe was just bluffing. He hadn't expected to be searched, but he never imagined they would actually find 50 taels of silver on them, and in such a round number! It was as if even God was helping him.

“Village chief, since my wife says this is money her father prepared for her, it might really be money her father prepared for her, after all, her family isn’t short of money…” Su Chenshi said.

It would be best if he could get those 50 taels of silver back, after all, he didn't want to let that damned little bitch Luo Yunhe get it for free.

“That’s my secret stash of money, give it back to me! If you don’t give it back, I’ll report you to the authorities…” Zhang Lingling said anxiously.

"Hmph! I doubt this 50 taels of silver is yours. What a coincidence! Someone else lost 50 taels of silver, and then 50 taels of silver were found on you. Do you think they have eyes?"

"That's right, they've already been caught red-handed, how can they still have the nerve to say they didn't steal it?"

"Now that the money has been found, it should be returned to the owner. After all, they're not having an easy time right now, and one of them is injured and has many other expenses. How could you bear to steal their money?"

The villagers were all cursing and swearing. If this got out, their children would be ashamed and would have to leave the village. It might even affect the whole village.

No matter how much Zhang Lingling pleaded or begged, the village chief showed no intention of giving it to her.