Xiao Yunying found Liu Ge's house based on her memory. After confirming that she hadn't gone to the wrong place, she pounded on the door.
Liu Ge's mother's voice came from inside: "Who is it? Why are you in such a hurry? Can't you be gentle? What if you break my front door?"
Xiao Yunying was seething with anger, and she didn't care that her hands were numb from banging on the door. The noise attracted the attention of many passersby.
Several villagers huddled together and discussed:
"Isn't this the youngest daughter of the Shan Hai family?"
"What's going on now? Has the Liu family offended her again?"
"This old woman Liu and scholar Liu lost two taels of silver a while ago. They never learn their lesson."
Xiao Yunying only remembered that she had forgotten to take out her axe when she heard the sound of the bolt being pulled.
Liu Ge's mother opened the door and saw Xiao Yunying. She blurted out, "Why are you back?"
This sentence convinced Xiao Yunying that the old woman must know what her dog son was up to.
"What, shouldn't I have come back? Or do you think I'm never coming back!"
Liu Ge's mother guiltily avoided Xiao Yunying's gaze and stubbornly said, "Whether you come back or not is none of my business. What are you doing at my house?"
Xiao Yunying didn't want to waste time talking to this old woman: "Where's Liu Ge?"
"My son... has gone out."
"Where did you go? When are you coming back?"
Liu Ge's mother shouted, "My son can go wherever he wants and come back whenever he wants. What's it to you?"
Xiao Yunying lost her patience, pushed aside Old Lady Liu who was blocking the gate, entered the yard, picked up their firewood axe, and randomly chose a room to go inside.
Liu Ge's mother was jumping up and down anxiously behind him: "Hey you brat, who let you in? I told you my son isn't home, come out right now!"
She wanted to go inside and pull Xiao Yunying out, but as soon as she reached the door, she heard a loud bang, which startled her.
The room Xiao Yunying entered was empty, and she didn't know whose room it was. Instead of leaving immediately, she picked up an axe and chopped it down on the kang cabinet.
"Hey, you brat, what are you doing!"
Xiao Yunying ignored her, pulled out the axe and chopped at the kang cabinet again and again, and after chopping the kang cabinet, she went to chop at the window.
After smashing up the house, she turned around and pointed the axe at Liu Ge's mother: "Get out of the way!"
Liu Ge's mother, seeing the sharp axe pointed at her, dared not speak and stepped aside.
Xiao Yunying took the axe and went to another room, which was the kitchen. She smashed everything she could see, including the water vat and the large iron pot.
She vented all her anger by smashing things in room after room.
Liu Ge's mother was so frightened by his mad appearance that she dared not approach him and could only sit in the yard, wailing loudly.
"You damned scoundrel! How could a young woman like you be so vicious? Taking advantage of my son's absence, you bullied an old widow like me. You've wrecked my house like this. How am I supposed to live? You're trying to force this old woman to her death!"
Seeing that things were not going well, the villagers who were gathered outside split into several groups to call for help.
Mu Lianrong was the first to arrive. When the onlookers saw her, they started talking all at once about the current situation.
"Sister Mu, come quickly and look at your Yunying, what's wrong?"
"I don't know where they got such a big temper; they've wrecked the Liu family's place."
The onlookers spontaneously made way, and Mu Lianrong followed the sound and went inside.
"Yunyun, what's wrong with you?"
Xiao Yunying stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her mother.
Seeing her daughter's resentful expression and red eyes, Mu Lianrong thought to herself that this matter would not be easily resolved.
Xiao Yunying exhaled, composed herself, and brushed her stray hair behind her ear: "Mother, I'm fine, let's go out."
She looked around and, making sure everything was smashed, chopped open the last window with an axe before leaving.
The village chief arrived just then and saw Xiao Yunying using an axe to chop open the window.
"Yun Ying, what are you doing?"
When Liu Ge's mother saw the village chief, it was as if she had seen her pillar of support, and she cried even louder.
Xiao Yunying was annoyed by what she heard, so she went up and slapped her.
"Shut up, you're so noisy."
Everyone around was shocked. No matter what, Granny Liu was an elder. How could Xiao Yunying slap her like that?
Liu Ge's mother was stunned by the beating. She covered her face and stared blankly at her for a while before she came to her senses.
"You...you actually dared to hit me."
Suddenly, someone in the crowd outside the gate shouted, "Make way, make way! Officials are here!"
As the two constables entered, the village chief hurriedly went to greet them, saying cautiously, "Sirs, this is just a small matter between villagers. How could we trouble you two?"
Upon seeing the officials arrive, Liu Ge's mother jumped up from the ground, wanting to go and file a complaint.
“Sirs, it’s this crazy woman who came in and smashed up our house without saying a word! The Xiao family is bullying us, a widow and her son, and so many people are watching! My son is a scholar, how can we let them bully us like this? Arrest her immediately and behead her!”
The two officers surveyed the scene in the courtyard, their gaze lingering on Xiao Yunying, who was holding an axe, for a moment before saying to the village chief, "We don't concern ourselves with the petty squabbles in your village; we've come on another business."
When Liu Ge's mother heard what the official said, she became agitated: "How can we not care? This is no small matter. She smashed up my house. She's trying to force me to my death!"
Xiao Yunying, impatient with Granny Liu's wailing, threw the axe at her feet, startling Granny Liu so much that she jumped up.
"Look, look, she dares to act like this right in front of you, she's completely lawless."
Xiao Shanhai, who had been watching from behind the crowd for a while, came in and stood in front of his wife and daughter.
"May I ask what business you two officers have with our village?"
“We’re here on other business. You can leave this small matter to the village chief; we don’t need to help you.”
The two officers asked Granny Liu, "Are you Liu Ge's mother?"
Old Mrs. Liu, not understanding why the official was asking this, replied somewhat bewilderedly, "Yes, that's me."
"Then that's the right one. Come with us."
She asked, puzzled, "Why?"
"Liu Ge hired someone to abduct children, which violated the laws of this dynasty. He is now imprisoned. He said it was your idea, so we came to take you to the county government."
"What did you say?!"
Old Mrs. Liu couldn't believe what she was hearing.
She knew about what her son had done, including the twenty taels of silver he gave her to hire thugs.
She didn't want to give the money; twenty taels of silver was no small sum.
But Liu Ge said that Xiao Yunying had ruined his reputation as a scholar, and that the thought of it made him so angry that he couldn't concentrate on his studies. He said he would never be able to swallow this anger if he didn't find a way to get revenge.
Unable to bear her son's constant nagging, and wanting to vent her anger, she gritted her teeth and gave him the money.
But Old Mrs. Liu never imagined that this matter would be exposed, let alone that her son would push all the blame onto her.
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