Chapter 4: Zhang Xiucai suffers a loss and comes to ask for money
Chang Xixi staggered back and familiarized herself with the village. At least next time she encountered a dog while doing things at night, she wouldn't panic and be at a loss.
An aunt saw Chang Xixi looking around and wandering around, and couldn't help but remind her, "Chang's girl, something big happened in your family, why don't you go back quickly?"
Chang Xixi's heart tightened, and she thought, could it be that Zhu Youcai is back again?
I didn't dare to stay any longer and hurried home.
When I got home, I saw a lot of people crowded in the yard. The only one who looked familiar was Mr. Zhang.
Mr. Zhang stood in the middle of the crowd. The other men standing on his left and right looked somewhat like him and were probably his relatives.
I saw that each of them was holding a farm tool in his hand, with a ferocious look on his face, as if he was going to start a fight.
Chang Xixi walked around to the front and looked at Mr. Zhang, whose face was bruised and swollen. She thought to herself that she didn't hit him in the face last night, so how come he looked like a pig?
"Mr. Zhang, what are you doing?"
Chang Xixi was not panicked at all. If she could beat Zhang Xiucai once, she could beat him a second time. Even if the other party was outnumbered and powerful, it didn't matter. To catch a thief, one must catch the leader first. As long as she could capture Zhang Xiucai, would she still be afraid of not being able to subdue these monsters?
"You bitch, how dare you ask? The mistress told us everything that happened last night. You, a woman, actually broke into the house with a kitchen knife in the middle of the night to rob her, and even injured her like this!" A middle-aged man with sunken eyes pointed at Chang Xixi and cursed.
"You said I robbed last night, so what did I steal?"
"What else could it be? Money, of course."
"Besides money, is there anything else?" Chang Xixi asked Zhang Xiucai.
Zhang Xiucai was worried that if he only talked about money, Chang Xixi would swallow the jewelry, so he said, "There are also jewelry."
"Oh wow!" Chang Xixi asked calmly, "I wonder how a man like Zhang Xiucai could have jewelry?"
"I..." Mr. Zhang blushed and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
The sunken-eyed man rushed in and said, "Of course I bought it as a gift for a woman. Don't worry about why the mistress got it. Anyway, if you stole it, you must return it!"
"Then please tell me what jewelry you have and where you bought it. Is there anyone who can testify?"
After three questions were asked in a row, Zhang Xiucai became even more panicked. He had cheated all the jewels from Chang Xixi, and he had no way of answering these three questions.
"Say it!" The sunken-eyed man was extremely anxious when he saw that Mr. Zhang couldn't say a word for a long time.
"Haha, it seems that these jewels were not bought. Could they be robbed or stolen?" Chang Xixi stared at Zhang Xiucai sarcastically.
Mr. Zhang's face flushed red. "You're talking nonsense! Anyway, you took all my things last night, and you must return them."
"You can't even explain what I stole from you, yet you dare to come here and slander me. Mr. Zhang, let's not even talk about whether you really have something worth stealing. Just say that you are a man and I am a weak woman. Even if I have a kitchen knife or a butcher knife, I can't beat you, right?"
"Besides, you were robbed late at night. Wouldn't you scream for help? After being robbed, wouldn't you report it to the police? I think you are just here to extort money!" Chang Xixi became more and more excited as she spoke, and her voice became louder and louder. The villagers watching outside the yard could hear every word clearly.
"Why are you arguing with her? Just go in and search. I'll dig three feet into the ground to find the thing." The sunken-eyed man lost his patience and was about to rush into the house with a hoe in hand.
Chang Xixi touched the hairpin hidden in her sleeve and calculated the best plan to capture Zhang Xiucai.
Just as the war was about to break out, a cold voice rang out from behind the crowd, "Instead of arguing endlessly, it's better to report it to the authorities."
Everyone looked over and saw Gu Rongyu holding a large bowl in his arms, standing there unsteadily, as if a stronger wind would blow him down.
He cursed with his eyes drooping: "When did a bastard like you get to interfere in my family's affairs?"
The word "bastard" made Gu Rongyu's face change drastically, and then he began to cough loudly.
Chang Xixi knew Gu Rongyu's life experience, and she felt inexplicably uncomfortable seeing him being bullied like this.
After all, he was her benefactor, how could she watch him being insulted?
Without caring too much at the moment, Chang Xixi kicked Zhang Xiucai in the crotch. Zhang Xiucai bent down suddenly in pain. Chang Xixi took the opportunity to grab Zhang Xiucai's hair with one hand and held the hairpin against Zhang Xiucai's neck with the other hand.
"Since you are unwilling to reason with me, then go to the authorities and file a complaint."
Mr. Zhang was already feeling guilty, and his mind was full of the questions Chang Xixi had just asked. He knew that when he got to the government office, the officials would also ask these questions. If the truth came out, he would be in trouble!
He immediately begged for mercy: "I remembered it wrongly. No one came to rob me last night. I was dreaming. Yes, it was a nightmare."
Chang Xixi was slightly satisfied: "Speak louder, I'm afraid some deaf and blind people won't be able to hear clearly."
With his life in Chang Xixi's grasp, how could Zhang Xiucai dare to resist? He immediately raised his voice and repeated it again.
"Uncles, please listen carefully and bear witness for me. I just asked Zhang Xiaosan a few questions, and he couldn't answer any of them. I wanted to take him to see the officials and let them determine the truth, but he refused."
After saying that, Chang Xixi winked playfully at Gu Rongyu, "Gu Xiucai, please be my witness too."
"Yeah." He responded softly.
Chang Xixi pushed Zhang Xiucai away with satisfaction and warned him again: "Everyone is watching this matter. If you ever regret it and want to come to our house to blackmail us, I will really arrest you and bring you to the authorities. Then I will see how you, Zhang Xiucai, can continue to participate in the imperial examination."
Sunken Eyes was somewhat unwilling: "Go to the authorities, don't think you can get away with this by forcing the mistress to change her story!"
Before Chang Xixi could refute, Zhang Xiucai hugged his sunken thigh and begged for mercy, "Uncle, no one came to rob last night. I had a nightmare, really."
The woman next to the sunken-eyed man warned him, "I think I'm just dreaming. Let's just forget about it. If we really bring this to the attention of the officials, we might get a beating."
The Zhang family left together. As soon as they left, the indifference on Chang Xixi's face instantly disappeared, and she looked at Gu Rongyu gently.
"Thank you."
Gu Rongyu coughed twice lightly and returned the empty bowl to Chang Xixi.
"I accept your thank you gift. We are even now. I hope Miss Chang will take care of herself." After saying that, he left without looking back.
Chang Xixi stared at the empty bowl in a daze, and it took her a long time to react. Was Gu Rongyu telling her not to bother him anymore?
"Tsk," Chang Xixi glared at the man's retreating back, "Who cares?"
She angrily put the bowl on the ground and sprinkled some corn kernels into it. The surrounding chickens were immediately attracted and scrambled to grab the corn kernels in the bowl.
In a small shabby house at the foot of the mountain, a black shadow released a carrier pigeon.
"Master, are everything ready? Shall we set off tonight?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw lightning and thunder outside, and a storm came down.
Gu Rongyu glanced at the table that had been wiped clean long ago, "Tomorrow."
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