Chapter 12012 She is a Girl
"Either pay back the money or keep your life." Du Qingtang approached Zhu with a knife.
Zhu saw that she was serious and was so scared that she ran out crawling.
Oh my god, she was right last time. That damn girl would really chop people when she gets mad!
The footsteps behind her were getting closer and closer. Zhu was afraid that Du Qingtang would kill her on the spot with one knife, so she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Murder! Murder!"
"Help! Du Qingtang killed someone!"
The sound alarmed the villagers who were fishing by the Taoyuan River, and they all put down their nets and rushed over.
When they arrived at the door of the Du family, they saw Du Qingtang kicking Zhu in the butt, and Zhu fell to the ground.
"Hey, why did you use a knife?"
"Tang'er, put down the knife. Sheng'er's mother, don't cry. Tell us what's going on. Why did Tang'er..."
Zhu was terrified by Du Qingtang's red-eyed, frantic appearance. She was too fat to turn over, so she simply lay face down, crying and wailing, "I heard that Tang'er fell a while ago, so I specially asked Doctor Sun to come and see her. I didn't expect this little beast to suddenly go crazy and hack people, and even said he wanted to kill me!"
The villagers twitched their lips at the sight of Zhu's miserable appearance with her face covered in dirt, feeling both sympathy and amusement.
"What? Tang Ge'er went crazy and attacked people?"
"Tang'er has a good temper. I've never seen her get angry with anyone. Could it be that Sheng'er's mother did something bad to piss her off?"
Everyone looked at Du Qingtang. She had a blank expression on her face, and the knife in her hand shone with a cold light. She looked very tough, which was very different from her usual image.
"My aunt is right. I am just going crazy."
Everyone widened their eyes in surprise, thinking they had heard wrongly.
"I'm in good health, but she told Doctor Sun that I was seriously ill. Isn't that a curse on me?" Du Qingtang said in a cold tone, "It would be fine if she cursed me to death, but she still refuses to pay back the money."
"What's the money?"
Du Qingtang: "My father died young, and I didn't even get to see him for the last time. The Du family was left alone, with no one to support them. My mother was worried about not being able to keep the money, so she gave her hard-earned money to my uncle for safekeeping."
"I didn't expect them to misunderstand me and think that the money belonged to them. Every time my mother went to ask for money, she had to look at their faces. They even said that the tuition fee I received while studying was given to me by the Yuan family."
Zhu didn't expect Du Qingtang to say that. Her face changed slightly and she argued loudly: "I didn't say that!"
"Logically, you and uncle are my elders, and I should respect you two." Du Qingtang changed the subject, "But I really have no choice. Our family is so poor that we can't even afford to eat. We only have a few copper coins left, and the rice jar is empty. If this continues, my sister and I will starve to death."
"Aunt, you brought Doctor Sun to visit me today. I thought you were concerned about me. I thought my cousin had worked hard studying, and you and my uncle were old and needed to replenish your health. I also planned to give you half of the fish I caught today."
Du Qingtang paused briefly when he said this, turned his back and wiped his tears with his sleeve.
The villagers saw this and felt very sad and unbearable.
"I always thought Tang'er's mother gave money to Yuanping to support her family. I often complained to my wife behind her back about her being useless. I never thought the truth would be this."
"Tang'er is still young, and there's no man in the Du family to protect her. The eldest brother Du had a falling out with the second and third brothers Du because of the division of the family. They can only rely on their uncle Yuanping."
"Even a rabbit bites when it's cornered. Yuan Ping and his wife are so greedy. They even tell everyone that their family is supporting Tang Ge'er's education. How shameless!"
"Bullshit!" Zhu heard Du Qingtang's pity talk, and she herself was being criticized by the villagers. She was furious and swung her arm towards Du Qingtang's face. "I'll teach you a lesson!"
Du Qingtang turned the hilt of his knife and pointed the blade at Zhu: "If you are not afraid of death, come on."
She drew her sword so quickly that Zhu didn't dare to move forward even a step, for fear of bumping into her.
"What's going on?"
An old voice sounded, and everyone looked in the direction of the voice. An old man with white hair and beard walked over with a cane.
"Uncle Fang, you're here!"
Fang Honghai, village chief of Taoyuan Village.
"Fang" is not a common surname in Taoyuan Village, but Fang Honghai has been the village chief for nearly a decade because he is fair in his work and everyone is convinced of him.
Everyone told Fang Honghai about the affairs of the Du and Yuan families. It seemed that they were reporting objectively, but in fact, their words were biased towards Du Qingtang.
After hearing this, Fang Honghai's eyebrows furrowed so tightly that they could kill a fly. He looked at Zhu coldly and said, "It's only natural to pay back a debt. Don't say anything now. Return the money to the Du family immediately."
Zhu stiffened her neck, her voice unjustified but still strong: "The silver was sent to my house by Yuanping's sister. I didn't know she wanted me and Yuanping to keep it for her. I thought she was worried about Yuanping's poor health and wanted to help my family."
Someone on the side echoed, "I was there every time Tang'er's mother gave her the money, and I never heard her say anything about keeping it. She just said it was for Yuan Ping and Sheng'er to replenish their bodies."
"I can testify to this!" someone else stepped forward. "And I've heard the Du family cooking meat several times. The aroma can be smelled from ten miles away. It doesn't seem like they can't even open the pot."
The two people who were speaking were both members of the Yuan family. The former was Yuan Sheng’s cousin, and the latter was Yuan Wu’s uncle who lived next door to the Yuan family.
Uncle Yuan Wu did despise Yuan Sheng for having an affair without a matchmaker and for playing two-timing, but the Yuan clan should be united in facing the outside world. Moreover, Yuan Sheng was a promising child, so he could not just stand by and watch.
Du Qingtang responded fluently, "My family did buy meat, but that was a reward from Qingyuan Academy for my admission. What's wrong with buying half a pound of meat to celebrate? But...what does this have to do with me collecting a debt? My uncle and aunt embezzled my family's savings for over a decade, and it's only natural for me to ask them to pay it back!"
Fifth Uncle was speechless, while the others looked approving.
Zhu shouted loudly: "The Du family is a money-loser. How much money can they earn? Apart from the rent, we have already spent it all. It's all gone! We don't have money, and we have our lives!"
Once the money is in her pocket, it is hers, and no one can ask her to take it out and return it to the Du family.
As long as she insists that she has no money, it will be useless even if the king comes!
At this time, someone murmured: "Yuan Sheng had an affair with someone without a matchmaker, and his parents also did such a wicked thing. Even if he could pass the imperial examination, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to become an official."
"What do you mean?"
"More than a decade ago, a man in this county made it to the final stage of the imperial examination. Because his father committed adultery with his wife's younger sister, he was stripped of his title by the imperial court and banished back to Qingyuan County."
Yuan Sheng was Zhu's Achilles' heel. Upon hearing this, she immediately became furious and roared, "Du Qingtang is not a boy at all, she is a girl!"
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