This scene drew disdain from Zhao Shan and the villagers.
Zhao Zheng never expected that Qiu Dayong and his wife would do such a despicable thing.
He felt somewhat guilty; if it weren't for him, the two of them wouldn't have come to Qiu Yan's house to steal.
He is responsible for half of the loss of Qiu Yan's herbs.
At the same time, it also made him realize that Qiu Dayong and his wife were not good people.
“We bought these herbs ourselves. You know your grandmother has always been in poor health.” Madam Qian looked at the herbs with heartache, refusing to admit it.
She figured that all herbs looked pretty much the same anyway.
Qiu Yan carefully examined the fallen herbs; these were all herbs she had kept for future use.
"Really? Then tell me, what kind of herbs did you buy, and how much did you buy?"
"I bought it..." Qian felt flustered, unsure how to answer. She wondered how much to say.
Zhao Shan's stern voice, "Speak!" sent a shiver down Qian's spine.
Her eyes flickered slightly as she thought of an excuse, "I'm just a country woman, not very bright, I've long forgotten."
Zhao Shan looked at Qian Shi with disapproval. He used to think she was a good person, unlike Yang Shi, who was so cunning and vicious. Now it seemed that neither of the mother-in-law nor the daughter-in-law was a kind person.
Qiu Yan: "You may not remember the name of the medicine or the weight, but you should at least know how much it cost, right?"
“…Five hundred coins…no…one tael…” Madam Qian was filled with regret. She hadn’t expected that Qiu Yan’s few words would leave her speechless.
When Zhao Shan saw Qian's expression, he knew she was lying.
"You two are a disgrace to the village!" In his eyes, Qiu Dayong was no match for Qiu Dafu.
Qiu Yan looked at Zhao Shan: "Uncle Village Chief, these two stole so many things from my house. What do you think we should do?"
After seeking help from all sides, Qian felt her face burning with embarrassment and pain when she saw the disgusted looks in the villagers' eyes.
That's it. Her beautiful image in the eyes of the villagers is ruined. How can she face people now?
Ling Qi grinned mischievously: "Report it to the authorities directly!"
Ling Ba curled his lips and slowly shook his head: "The magistrate is too busy with his own affairs to have time to deal with such trivial matters. In my opinion, we should just drive these two thieves out of the village to prevent them from harming other villagers."
Zhao Shan remained silent, but the surrounding villagers began to chatter amongst themselves.
"It seems that everyone should keep a close eye on their belongings from now on, lest these two have their eyes on them."
"Village chief, please do us justice! We can't just let them go like this."
"How about we do as Xiaoyan's cousin suggested and drive them out of the village to prevent them from harming our villagers again?"
"..."
Qiu Dayong and his wife became anxious when they heard the villagers' harsh words towards them.
"Village chief, we've already returned everything, you can't punish us. Please, let us go!" Qian was so frightened that she lay on the ground, trying to grab Zhao Shan's trouser leg to beg for forgiveness. Zhao Shan looked at her with disdain and quickly moved away.
"These herbs are all on the ground, is this what you call returning them?"
Qiu Dayong: "Village Chief, please spare us this time for the sake of my second brother."
Qiu Dayong's mention of his second brother only made Zhao Shan angrier. "If you want to be indebted to your second brother, you'll have to ask him yourself if he agrees."
He usually wouldn't bother with these kinds of things. He looked at Qiu Yan, wanting to ask for her opinion.
"Xiaoyan, what do you want to do?" After all the changes that had happened recently, Zhao Shan knew that Qiu Yan was a person with her own opinions.
After Zhao Shan asked him this, Qiu Dayong and his wife began to beg Qiu Yan for mercy. "Xiao Yan, please forgive us, we're too kind to hold a grudge."
After Qiu Dayong finished speaking, Qian pointed to Zhao Zheng, who seemed inconspicuous in the corner, and said, "It was him. He said there were thieves at your house, so we came. He was the one who instigated us..."
Zhao Zheng's face flushed red, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell. "You're talking nonsense! I only told you to come and catch thieves, not to steal!"
He hadn't expected that his good intentions would backfire. Now it seems he has completely offended Qiu Dayong and his wife.
So that's how it is! Ling Qi and Ling Ba's lips twitched slightly. Looking at the villagers in the courtyard, they didn't seem to have offended the man in front of them, did they? How did he know they were thieves?
For a moment, another uproar ensued.
Qiu Yan waved her hand, silencing everyone.
She glanced at the herbs on the ground again, and then said to Qiu Dayong and his wife, "These herbs of mine have all been dirtied by you. They are worth at least ten taels of silver."
"What? Ten taels of silver?" Madam Qian almost fainted on the spot. It had snowed, Qiu Dayong had no income, and they couldn't even afford one tael of silver in their current situation.
Qiu Dayong: "Qiu Yan, we're all family..."
"Shut up! If you can't pay, we'll use the land deed to pay off the debt." Qiu Yan hated hearing the words "family" from the third branch of the family.
She remembered that her second uncle's land had not yet been reclaimed, and today was the perfect opportunity to ask for it back.
Although she had plenty of money and land, she just couldn't let the couple go easily.
"You...you're obsessed with money, aren't you?" Qiu Dayong almost vomited blood.
Zhao Shan nodded. "Alright, as Xiaoyan said, two acres of land. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you might steal again in the future."
After Zhao Shan finished speaking, the people around him nodded in agreement.
Then, they dispersed one by one.
In the end, Qiu Dayong had no choice but to go home and retrieve the deed to his two mu of land.
That was the end of the matter.
"Xiaoyan." A gentle voice came from the doorway after the village chief and the others left.
Qiu Yan turned her head and saw Zhao Zheng. Why hadn't he left yet?
She looked calmly at Zhao Zheng. "Is there something you need?"
Ling Qi and Ling Ba were tending the stove in their room when they saw what was happening outside the courtyard, their faces filled with curiosity.
Zhao Zheng thought for a moment and asked, "When did you get back?"
He tried to ignore what had just happened.
Qiu Yan replied, "I just got back not long ago."
Zhao Zheng wanted to go back to the way things were before, but the woman in front of him no longer had the same gentleness she once had.
He stepped forward and took out some candied fruit from his hand. "You used to love eating this the most."
Qiu Yan didn't answer. The 'Qiu Yan' of the past wasn't her. "I've changed my tastes now."
Seeing Qiu Yan's decisive words, Zhao Zheng had no choice but to take back the candied fruit in his hand.
"I heard that you learned some medical skills from Doctor Zhao. I haven't been feeling well lately and would like to ask you for a prescription."
"I am not a doctor and I do not know how to treat illnesses. If you have nothing else to say, please leave."
After Qiu Yan finished speaking, she turned around and went back to her room.
Zhao Zheng wanted to say a few more words, but was blocked at the door by Ling Qi and Ling Ba, and could only leave dejectedly.
He had thought that once he had spoken frankly that day, Qiu Yan would no longer treat him coldly, and in that way, he could advance by retreating.
But now it seems that it won't work.
On the other side, Qiu Dafu and his two companions stayed overnight at an inn last night, intending to continue their journey today. However, the weather turned bad, and seeing that it was still snowing, they stayed until now.
At noon, the three of them had lunch together on the first floor.
Cuizhu picked up a bite of food and asked, "Miss, when shall we depart?"
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