"This rabbit is so plump! Did Xiao Jiang give it to you?"
“Li Dahua, what are you saying? Er Ya caught this rabbit herself,” Aunt Liu explained.
Jiang Hua extracted information about this person from the original owner's memories: she was Li Dahua, the wife of Village Chief Xu.
She was a notorious gossip in the village, and she often stirred up trouble and formed cliques in the village by taking advantage of Xu Wanli's position as the village chief.
On the day the original owner was dragged off the bed by Xu Dagui, her clothes were intact, but she was accused of being disheveled and seducing Jiang Xingzhou.
Right now, Jiang Hua doesn't want to pay attention to Li Dahua and the others, but Li Dahua and the others don't want to let them go so easily either.
"Aunt Liu, do you think I've never been to Black Wind Mountain? Where would I be so lucky as to run into a rabbit? I bet it was Xiao Jiang who gave it to me. I knew it."
"How could such a nice girl hook up with a man with a child and an unknown background? So she's got her eye on him. Does he eat meat every day?" Li Dahua said in a sarcastic tone, her eyes never leaving the rabbit in Jiang Hua's hand.
"What's wrong? Judging from your tone, are you jealous that I hooked up with a man who can make me eat meat every day?" Jiang Hua asked, following Li Dahua's words.
“There seem to be quite a few widowed hunters in the village. Why don’t you give it a try? It might be better than following your current man and only being able to eat meat once every ten days or half a month.”
"You shameless bastard! How could a young lady say such a thing? Aren't you ashamed?" Li Dahua immediately shouted angrily, hands on her hips.
"Hey, Xiao Jiang, where are you coming from?" Aunt Liu spotted Jiang Xingzhou walking back from the direction of the village entrance, leading a child.
"Just got back from town." Jiang Xingzhou was about to walk away, but when he saw Jiang Hua in the crowd, he paused and stopped to reply.
"Xiao Jiang, you're back just in time. Is this rabbit the one you gave to Er Ya?" Li Dahua's eyes darted around as she quickly walked towards Jiang Xingzhou.
Upon seeing Jiang Xingzhou's suddenly cold expression, Li Dahua immediately stopped in her tracks, not daring to continue forward.
"Xiao Jiang, could it be that Xu Erya stole this rabbit from your house?" Li Dahua boldly guessed, seeing Jiang Xingzhou's cold expression.
"Li Dahua, what evidence do you have to prove that I stole it?" Jiang Hua weighed the rabbit in her hand and looked at Li Dahua.
"I just came back from town, and I didn't give any rabbits to anyone." After saying that, Jiang Xingzhou took the little child beside him and left.
"Dahua, why don't we just let it go? Maybe Erya really did find this rabbit." The woman who had been following Li Dahua stepped forward and tugged at Li Dahua, signaling her to stop talking.
"What do you mean 'forget it'? My husband said that this girl is not valued by the Xu family at home. Even Lin Shuyan, who is not their biological daughter, lives a better life than her." Li Dahua rolled up her sleeves and walked towards Jiang Hua, as if she wanted to snatch the rabbit from Jiang Hua's hands.
As expected, Li Dahua really did try to snatch it, but Jiang Hua stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Li Dahua had long lost her previous momentum and felt as if Jiang Hua was about to crush her hand.
"What were you trying to do just now?" Jiang Hua asked with a light laugh, looking at her face contorted in pain.
"I just wanted to keep it for you, and when your grandma comes back, I'll give it to her for you, so you won't be fooled." Li Dahua was in so much pain that she was about to cry.
Jiang Hua showed no intention of letting her go, and Aunt Liu's expression darkened after hearing Li Dahua's words.
"Li Dahua, what do you mean by that?" Aunt Liu looked at Li Dahua angrily.
"Don't think that just because your husband is the village chief, you can smear people at will. You're the kind of person who's greedy for small gains, so don't assume that others are the same way!"
As Aunt Liu spoke, Jiang Hua tightened her grip even more.
"Er Ya, what are you doing? Quickly take your aunt's hand off!" Xu Wanli's voice rang out behind Jiang Hua.
As if she had seen a savior, Li Dahua struggled to her feet, crying out, "Husband, please save me! This wretched girl is about to break my hand!"
Jiang Hua released her grip on Li Dahua. Li Dahua, who was still struggling, lost her balance and fell on her bottom, clutching her waist and crying out in pain.
The two women who had been with her earlier had already scattered when they saw Xu Wanli approaching.
"Xu Erya, this is outrageous of you to treat your elders like this!" Xu Wanli strode over and helped his wife up from the ground. Looking at her disheveled appearance, there was a hint of disdain in his eyes.
“Village Chief Xu, you haven’t even figured out the source of the matter before you start blaming me. So, are you handling this as the village chief or as an ordinary elder in the village?” Jiang Hua asked methodically.
"Of course I'm the village chief!" Xu Wanli replied without hesitation.
“Since the village chief is handling this, things are much easier. The aunties say you’re the fairest village chief in Xujia Village,” Jiang Hua said slowly.
"Village chief, I was lucky enough to catch a rabbit on the mountain today, and your wife Liu Dahua came up to me without saying a word and accused me of stealing the rabbit."
"Aunt Liu came up the mountain with me, and she can testify for me that I caught the rabbit myself."
Aunt Liu, who was standing nearby, also spoke up to testify and explained the situation to Xu Wanli.
"Since it's all a misunderstanding, let's clear it up. Er Ya, you shouldn't treat your elders like that. Look, your aunt's hands are all red from being pinched!" Xu Wanli said with a laugh.
A flash of mockery crossed Jiang Hua's lowered eyes; it seemed the village chief was planning to smooth things over again.
"Village Chief Xu, I was just trying to protect myself. Li Dahua inexplicably tried to snatch the rabbit from my hand. Was I just supposed to stand there and let her take it?"
"Or is it that Li Dahua can take advantage of your position as village chief to arbitrarily rob villagers of their belongings? Village Chief Xu, am I right?" Jiang Hua asked, looking at Village Chief Xu.
Xu Wan's expression hardened as he met Jiang Hua's eyes. A sense of fear crept into his heart. He then looked at Li Dahua, noticing her rubbing her hands.
He wasn't unaware of the character of the people around him, but in the past, no one dared to point it out because of his status as the village chief. He also turned a blind eye to his troublesome wife.
Unexpectedly, he had met his match today. Xu Wanli took another deep look at Jiang Hua, wondering to himself: This Xu Erya seems different from before?
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