Sun Miao'er keenly caught a subtle change in her expression. She seemed so confident because she thought she had done everything perfectly; otherwise, she would never have invited the village chief.
There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Sun Miao absolutely did not believe that Jin Shi could do something without leaving a trace. Anyway, there were only a few people in the village who were on good terms with her. If she couldn't find out, she would keep an eye on them one by one. There would always be a time when a flaw was revealed.
Moreover, it may not have been Jin's own idea; it could have been a collaboration between several people.
“The village chief is getting old, and it will be a hassle for him to come all this way. Why don’t we go instead? What do you think, Aunt Liang?” Sun Miao’er narrowed her beautiful eyes, her gaze fixed on Jin Shi.
Invite the village chief over? More like he's sending someone to tip him off!
Liang Lao Er's family nodded.
Those who had work to do dispersed and went home to attend to their own tasks, while those who had no work to do followed the group to the village chief's house.
When they arrived at Village Chief Li's house, the gate was wide open, and the cries of a baby mixed with voices could be heard coming from inside. Sun Miao'er went up to the door and called out, "Village Chief Li, are you home?"
After calling out a few times, Madam Zhang came out from the inner room. Seeing Sun Miao'er leading a large group of people over, the smile on her face vanished instantly. "What are you doing here?"
"Aunt Liang has lost something and would like to ask the village chief to investigate."
Xiao Zhang didn't open the door and replied, "If something's lost, report it to the authorities. Go to the yamen. Doesn't her cousin work there? What's the use of going to the village chief?"
A woman followed them out from the inner room. She had her hair in a bun, and her features were rugged and sculpted, especially her hooked nose, which was exactly the same as Village Chief Li's. She asked in a loud voice, "Mother, what happened outside?"
Sun Miao'er immediately recognized her as Village Chief Li's daughter. She looked to be only a few years older than Xiao Zhangshi, yet she still had to openly call her "Mother." Wasn't she afraid of being laughed at?
Ms. Zhang turned around and replied, "I've dealt with the troublemaker. You can go inside now."
Sun Miao'er was displeased and deliberately raised her voice, "What do you mean 'just send them away'? I came because the villagers told me that Village Chief Li is discerning and can distinguish right from wrong. I haven't even seen the village chief yet, and the village chief's wife is already sending me away? Does the village chief's wife run the household?"
As soon as these words were spoken, murmurs rose from below, and many villagers suppressed their laughter and remained silent.
The noise outside finally reached Old Man Li's ears. Village Chief Li stepped out and saw a large number of villagers gathered at his door. He stroked his goatee and said in a deep voice, "What's going on? This is noisy and disorderly!"
After saying that, she glared at Little Zhang and said, "What are you meddling in, you woman? Stand aside!"
With Old Man Li out, there was no room for Little Zhang to speak. She had no choice but to shut her mouth and stand aside. Old Man Li's daughter, Li Xiuxiu, also sensibly moved to the side.
"What's going on here? What a big fuss, making a scene here. Tell me about it," Old Man Li said quietly, pacing back and forth in the courtyard.
Liang Lao Er's wife chimed in, "Village Chief, I asked the Sun family's girl to buy me some fabric, but it was stolen in the Sun family's yard!"
"It's just some cloth..." Old Li frowned, quite impatiently.
Aunt Liang interrupted his rambling, "That's a tael of silver worth of silk, brought back from the city!"
"What?!" Old Man Li slipped, but quickly regained his balance. "Ahem, a tael of silver is no small matter. Tell me, what kind of cloth?"
The second son of the Liang family described it vividly, "It's a red piece, a deep red, about three feet long!"
When Sun Miao'er saw that Li Xiuxiu's face had turned pale, as if she had been frightened by Aunt Liang's words, she knew that things were not simple.
Village Chief Li slowed his pace, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Tell me, who has been to the Sun family's house?"
“Village chief, these people came up and said I took it. Liang Lao Er even broke into my room to search. Are they taking advantage of Yuan Hu’s absence to bully me like this?” Jin Shi pointed at Sun Miao’er and the others, naming them by name as she cried out.
Village Chief Li, looking old and frail, nodded and cleared his throat. "You lot, how can you slander others without evidence? And you, Liang Lao Er, how could you barge into a woman's room? What kind of behavior is this!"
Sun Miao'er couldn't discern any skill in Li Village Chief; she only thought he was a master at smoothing things over.
“Village Chief Li, this is not my Huai’an’s fault. It was my sister-in-law who said in front of me yesterday that she liked spinning satin and wanted me to save some for her to make long jackets. That’s when my Huai’an became suspicious.”
Village Chief Li's gaze sharpened, instantly landing on Jin Shi. He coldly questioned, "Sun Lao Er's wife, is this true or not, huh?!" He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, his tone becoming increasingly forceful.
“Village chief, it’s true that this happened.” Jin hesitated, her confidence weakening. “But even if I had my eye on that fabric, I would never dare to give up the idea of stealing it. A piece of goods worth one or two taels of silver would be sent to the yamen and I would be beaten dozens of times. I’m not stupid, it’s not worth it!”
She couldn't swallow Liang Lao Er's insult, and her series of explanations were impeccable. She continued, "And didn't Liang Lao Er search my house? Village Chief, you have to deal with them for me, otherwise how can I face anyone in Fushui Village after this!"
"Alright! Let me sort this out!" Old Man Li snapped, interrupting Jin's attempt to continue her unreasonable argument.
Just then, Xiaoman's voice suddenly came from behind the crowd, "Sister, I'm here!"
Xiaoman pushed through the crowd with difficulty, his small body full of strength. His sister had told him to go out and find out information that morning, and had given him a handful of dried fruit. He ran halfway through the village before he finally got the information.
Liang Lao Er's family was confused for a while that morning. Xiao Man usually liked to hang around the neighborhood, so why did he disappear without a trace today when such a big thing happened in their house?
So that's what they were planning!
Xiaoman ran up to Sun Miao'er, panting, "Sister, I've been looking for you everywhere. If Brother Fudan hadn't informed me, I wouldn't have known you were at the village chief's house."
Sun Miao'er patted her younger brother's head and asked gently, "Xiaoman, how did the questioning go?"
Xiaoman beckoned to Sun Miao'er to squat down, then tiptoed and whispered in her sister's ear, "Sister, a kid in the village told me that he saw a man carrying a cloth walking along the edge of the field just after dawn!"
"Did you see who it was?" Sun Miao'er pressed. It was a man. Could it be that Madam Jin had an affair?
Xiaoman shook her head. "No, Shuanzi doesn't know that man. I brought Shuanzi with me."
After saying that, Xiaoman called out to the back of the crowd, "Shuanzi, come here!"
The crowd spontaneously made way for the boy named Shuanzi, who was still holding a piece of dried fruit in his hand. As he entered, he sized up the crowd.
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