After seeing off the five yamen runners, the village gate was closed again.
The women and men in the village were relieved, but the old village chief and other elders remained worried.
Master Fan frowned and snorted, "It seems they want to see the person alive or dead, and they are determined to have us hand over the body."
They need to hand over the living person; if the corpse is found, the five constables' rude attitude will surely lead to their punishment.
Zhang Hui said angrily, "Their words were far too biased!"
Fortunately, the case was solved last night. Otherwise, given the wickedness of those bandits and their collusion with officials, they would surely seek revenge after the people were handed over.
The old village chief said to the group of people, "We must not let our guard down. We must not stop our guard duty and patrols. Everyone must listen to Shuiqing and not act on their own!"
What I fear most is people who are stupid but unaware of their own cleverness. Such people are not only prone to making mistakes but also cause trouble for others. Shuiqing is already exhausted from managing a large village. If she were to be angered by the villagers, that would truly be disheartening!
"Don't worry, old village chief, we'll be obedient."
"Anyone who disobeys Sister Shuiqing will be the first to get a beating!"
"Yes, yes! It's not easy for our village to get to where it is today. Last night, we were dragged down by those two idiots, Fan Qian and Fan Dazhu. If a third one comes along, I'd be ready to kill him."
She wanted to wipe out all the lazy and stupid people in the village without anyone else lifting a finger!
Me too.
A chorus of agreement rose and fell, and the old village chief and several other elderly people were very satisfied.
If they were ten or so years younger, they could help with the work right now. But since they can't help, they can only try their best not to cause trouble.
The group reminded Shuiqing to rest well before they each went home, leaning on their canes and trembling.
Shuiqing was fortunate to have slept through the first half of the night, but she hadn't rested until noon and was quite tired.
After explaining the precautions to everyone, she didn't go straight home, but went to her brother-in-law's house instead.
When Fan Jin saw Shui Qing coming over, he went up to her and asked in a low voice, "Why don't you go home and get some sleep first? I can keep watch over things here."
The eldest brother's house was a mess, and there was blood everywhere. Shuiqing had been working hard here and didn't even have a place to rest.
"My mother-in-law's body is not cold yet. It's fine if I can't get away from the village ahead because of the many things that are going on, but I still have to come and keep vigil when I have some free time." After all, she was Fan Jin's own mother and the grandmother of his children. She will be buried tomorrow, so one night won't tire her out.
Fan Jin pursed his lips and softly instructed, "Then if you get sleepy later, lean on my shoulder and take a nap."
Shui Qing nodded.
The two entered the main room, where the two sides were clearly separated.
On one side is Yan Qiuxing returning to the late summer river and lake, and on the other side are Fan Dazhu, Erzhu, Sanzhu, and Fan Sizhu, who are whimpering and crying in pain, as well as Fan Sizhu with a blank look in his eyes.
Upon seeing Shui Qing enter, Fan Dazhu, who always considered himself the eldest grandson of the Fan family, instinctively wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but then he suddenly remembered the truth that Si Zhu had exposed earlier, and reluctantly shut his mouth.
The atmosphere in the main room was somber and oppressive.
Yan Qiu felt little affection for her grandmother when she was about to sell them; she was sad but not grief-stricken. As for Fan Dazhu and his grandsons, they were originally going to wail and cry as a show of respect, so as not to waste their grandmother's love for them. However, after Fan Sizhu exposed them, they simply stopped pretending, so the main room was unusually quiet.
Shui Qing thought it would be better to keep quiet—she still remembered how Fan Dazhu and the others cried their hearts out last night. Who would have thought that the one who cried the most would be the one who was most ruthless!
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