In a moment of desperation, Liu Ge had a sudden inspiration: "I went out for a walk at noon and overheard someone talking about it."
Xiao Yunying didn't ask who told him that; it was pointless. He would definitely say that he overheard it by chance while passing by and didn't pay attention to who said it.
"Alright, we'll talk about He Hua later. In front of the village chief, tell everyone the truth: why have you been bothering me?"
For money? Everyone in the village knew that she used to be so poor that she had to eat wild vegetables to survive.
It's impossible to do it for someone else, that would be too blatant. Shouldn't this kind of thing be done behind someone's back?
There must be a purpose, she just couldn't guess it.
How could Liu Ge admit it? "It was just a chance encounter. How can you say it was an entanglement? We're from the same village. As long as we go out, we're bound to run into each other."
"So you're not admitting you pulled my collar just now?"
“I cannot admit to something I did not do. If Miss Xiao continues to slander me, then I will have no choice but to go to the city to find the county magistrate to defend my innocence.”
In Liu Ge's mind, the villagers were all ignorant and easily frightened by the thought of going to the yamen. He wanted to scare Xiao Yunying by threatening to report to the authorities.
This was exactly what Xiao Yunying wanted to hear: "Sure, let's go now."
Mu Lianrong worried that her daughter would be mistreated if she entered the yamen: "Yunyun, the yamen is not easy to enter. You might get a beating."
Seeing that Mu Lianrong was afraid, Liu Ge's mother said, "My son is a scholar. He doesn't need to kneel before the county magistrate. Just wait and see, you fat pig daughter, get a beating."
Xiao Yunying patted Mu Lianrong's hand: "Mother, don't worry, I believe the magistrate will give me justice."
Xiao Changxing also advised, "Yun Ying, you are young and don't know how powerful the government is. Today's matter is not a big deal. Let's settle it privately."
It was said that Liu Xiucai tried to grab her collar, but now no one else saw it except for a little girl. On the contrary, he was beaten and his face was covered in blood. On the surface, Xiao Yunying was in the wrong.
Since ancient times, the imperial court has always treated scholars with more favor, and he was worried that his cousin would suffer a loss.
“Village chief, don’t worry. I have evidence, and I’m confident I can go to the yamen to fight for justice for myself.”
Liu Ge felt guilty. He hadn't expected Xiao Yunying to not only be unafraid but also confidently claim to have evidence: "Nonsense, what evidence could you possibly have?"
Xiao Changxing was also curious: "What evidence?"
Xiao Yunying stretched out her right hand, palm facing up: "Village chief, look at my palm and fingers. You won't find two people in the whole world with the same lines. If you don't believe me, you can compare them."
Everyone around was curious and compared the hands of others, and found that they really were different.
Xiao Yunying rubbed her fingers together: "Hands secrete sweat and oil, and fingerprints and palm prints are left on the places they touch. I heard that the yamen uses a white powder to solve cases. With a light brush, the fingerprints are immediately visible. Since Liu Xiucai said he didn't grab my collar, I just need to present this outfit as evidence and let the magistrate compare Liu Xiucai's fingerprints. I believe the magistrate will be able to judge who is lying."
Liu Ge nervously turned his hands behind his back and pinched his fingers with his nails, hoping to change the lines on his fingers in this way.
Xiao Changxing said, "In that case, Scholar Liu, let's go."
Xiao Yunying said softly, "I've heard that scholars with official titles face much harsher punishments than ordinary people if they are found guilty. While harassing a woman may not be a major crime, it's not a pleasant thing to say. For the sake of the reputation of all scholars in the world, do you think the county magistrate might revoke your academic title? Are you prepared, sir?"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Liu Ge's forehead. He wanted to slap himself for saying he had to go to the yamen.
With a determined look, he said, "I may have accidentally pulled your collar just now, but I didn't mean to. You and my cousin were fighting fiercely, and I just wanted to separate you two."
Raindrops had begun to fall from the sky. Xiao Yunying lost her patience: "Let's not talk about this for now. Just tell me why you keep bothering me."
She didn't like the idea of guarding against thieves for a thousand days; she preferred to solve the problem once and for all and eliminate future troubles.
"I already said I wasn't bothering you, it was just a chance encounter."
Luo Yang, who hadn't spoken until now, finally spoke up: "I know. Yesterday, my stepmother went up the mountain and brought back a basket of snow fungus. My older brother said that he saw Liu Xiucai trying to snatch my stepmother's basket at the foot of the mountain."
Xiao Yunying suddenly realized that she had forgotten about the snow fungus. Could it be that he saw the snow fungus in her basket and was tempted by the money, which is why he had been bothering her?
Fortunately, she wasn't so narcissistic as to actually believe that Liu Ge was interested in her.
"So you were after snow fungus, huh? You were trying to seduce me by touching me inappropriately?"
You're underestimating her. Does she really look that indiscriminate?
Luo Chen hurriedly said, "It happened at noon today too. He stood in the middle of the road and deliberately blocked my stepmother's way. My stepmother tried to go around him, but he suddenly reached out. I thought he was trying to steal my clothes, so I hit him in a moment of panic."
The two children are exhausted. Their stepmother doesn't care about her reputation at all and dares to say anything to outsiders. They'll try to make amends as much as they can.
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