The villagers who were watching the commotion outside initially thought it was wrong for Xiao Yunying to smash up the Liu family's house, but after hearing what the officials said, they began to suspect something was amiss.
"Did Liu Ge hire someone to abduct young children?"
"He wouldn't have had the Luo family's children kidnapped, would he?"
"I estimate that's about right. Otherwise, why would Yun Ying come and smash up his house for no reason?"
"No wonder Yun Ying is so angry. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to swallow this anger either."
"This...this..."
The village chief stood by, unsure how to react.
When I suddenly saw the officials, I thought someone had reported me to the authorities.
Looking back now, the county town wasn't exactly close to their village. If they had reported this to the authorities, how could the officials have arrived so quickly?
After the matter was explained, the official said to Liu's mother, "Liu Ge's mother, come with us."
"No, I'm not going to the county government office."
The official glared at him: "Do you think you can just refuse to go? Or is this all Liu Ge's doing? He's a scholar with official rank, he should be well-versed in the laws of this dynasty. Now he's knowingly breaking the law, his crime is doubled!"
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Liu immediately abandoned her plan to throw a tantrum.
Her son can't be harmed; he's a scholar, and her reputation can't be ruined because of this.
“This has nothing to do with my son. I’ll go with you.”
"Whether it's related or not isn't up to you to decide. Let's go."
Xiao Yunying remained silent until the village chief saw the two officials off.
Since it concerned Zheng Yunwan's innocence, she couldn't speak rashly. The official must have been instructed by Chen Yuancheng to say such a thing.
Using child trafficking as a pretext is fine, as it is a serious crime and can also protect Zheng Yunwan's reputation.
An elder from the Xiao family asked with concern, "Yun Ying, did Liu Xiucai really have someone kidnap your child?"
Xiao Yunying nodded: "Yes, because he held a grudge over what happened last time. He hired some thugs in the city to try to kidnap Xin'er. Fortunately, they found out in time, and the thugs confessed that Liu Ge paid twenty taels of silver to hire them to get revenge on me."
The villagers were shocked by these words.
"Oh my god, Liu Ge is a real scoundrel."
"He really spared no expense, spending twenty taels of silver to cause trouble."
"Trafficking other people's children is a crime punishable by lightning."
"He was also up to no good last time. Why does he only hold a grudge against Yun Ying and not reflect on his own actions? He's supposed to be a scholar."
Mu Lianrong said from the side, "Alright, Yunyun, let's go back. Xin'er is still waiting for you at home."
Xiao Yunying responded, and Mu Lianrong then said to Xiao Shanhai, "Husband, you should go back first."
Xiao Shanhai didn't follow. He went out of the courtyard and called to the onlookers, "Go back, it's nothing."
The mother and daughter hadn't gone far when they saw Luo Sheng standing at the corner.
Xiao Yunying glanced at him only once before continuing to walk home.
Luo Sheng silently followed behind the mother and daughter, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
The villagers who had not yet dispersed spotted Luo Sheng's figure not far away.
"Huh? Who is that man?"
Which one?
"That person behind Yun Ying, why does she look so familiar?"
A woman exclaimed, "Why does he look like that Luo Sheng to me?"
"What? You mean Luo Sheng, who hasn't been back for almost two years?"
"It looks like him to me too. Has he come back?"
Xiao Yunying couldn't hear the whispers behind her; she was preoccupied with how to get Liu Ge and his mother to be sentenced more severely, even more severely.
Mu Lianrong finally couldn't hold back any longer. Before entering the house, she grabbed her daughter and asked, "Yunyun, what exactly happened? That girl... is she...?"
Xiao Yunying stopped and lowered her eyes, saying, "Liu Ge wanted to find someone to smear my innocence, but those people only recognized the carriage and didn't know what I looked like."
Today, while I was in town, I stayed at Huiweilou to discuss matters with Yuancheng, leaving Yunwan to take Xin'er shopping. In the alley leading to the market, they attacked. She and Dai Jincai fought desperately to stop them, allowing Xin'er to escape. By the time I found out, it was too late. When I found Yunwan, she had already been…bullied…”
Mu Lianrong felt extremely upset. Just as she had guessed, that Miss Zheng had been bullied.
But what was unexpected was that she suffered all of this on behalf of her own daughter.
Xiao Yunying felt extremely guilty: "Mother, Yunwan suffered this undeserved disaster because of me."
Mu Lianrong comforted her, "This is something our Xiao family owes Yunwan. Don't blame yourself too much. Now that the bad guys have been caught and Yunwan is back, we should treat her well. I can't say anything else, but we can take good care of her and make sure she has enough to eat and wear for the rest of her life."
"I know."
"Go inside quickly, Xin'er is still waiting for you at home."
Xiao Yunying calmed herself down before entering the room, completely forgetting that Luo Sheng was still following behind.
Mu Lianrong had also forgotten about this, and without looking closely, she simply closed the door.
Luo Sheng stood at the closed door for a while, and after confirming that no one would come to open it for him, he had no choice but to climb over the wall to get in.
Realizing that no one could care about him at that moment, he went back to his house alone.
Xiao Yunying composed herself, took the calming medicine and asked her sister-in-law to help her brew it, while she prepared warm bath water for Zheng Yunwan.
Xiao Yunying led Zheng Yunwan to the washroom and introduced her to the bathing supplies.
Zheng Yunwan touched the inscription on the bathtub: "Sister Yunying, is this your personal bathtub?"
Xiao Yunying explained, "Your bathtub isn't ready yet, so I'm letting you use mine first."
She observed Zheng Yunwan's expression and continued, "If you don't want to use mine, I'll have someone buy you a new one right now."
"Sister Yunying, don't you think I'm dirty?"
Xiao Yunying felt a pang of sadness: "How could that be, Yunwan? Don't overthink it. The water temperature is just right now, hurry up and take a bath, otherwise the water will get cold. I've put your new clothes here, remember to change into them after you're done."
"I understand, thank you, Sister Yunying."
Xiao Yunying closed the door and left the washroom.
She felt that Zheng Yunwan's condition was not right.
This kind of thing, no matter when or where, is a grief that no woman can easily let go of.
Moreover, this was in an ancient feudal society where female chastity was valued more than life itself.
Zheng Yunwan's transition from collapse to calmly accepting reality was too short, and she felt uneasy no matter how she thought about it.
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