The village head looked down at a bruised and swollen face and almost didn't realize that the thief was actually Chen Ping's wife.
Cheng Yue asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law? What are you doing in my kitchen in the middle of the night? Why are you going through my kitchen?"
With Li Yong present, Li Manying felt emboldened and gritted her teeth, saying:
"Stop pretending! You knew it was me all along, yet you still ordered these three brats to attack me!"
Before Cheng Yue could speak, the village head frowned. "Chen Ping's wife, don't make things up. Just tell me, why did you go to Chen An's house in the middle of the night?"
Zhao Xiangxiu scoffed and said, "What else could it be? Stealing, of course!"
Cui Miao suddenly realized, "Could it be that you're trying to steal Sister Cheng Yue's business secrets?!"
The villagers thought about it more and more and it made sense. What else could Li Manying be doing sneaking up the mountain in the middle of the night besides stealing the secret recipe?
He looked at Li Manying with utter contempt.
Everyone in the village knew that Cheng Yue was doing business, but no one had ever harbored any ill intentions. It was Li Manying, the eldest sister-in-law, who had her eye on it. Isn't she ashamed to say that?
Li Manying glanced at the crowd and said guiltily, "Stop spewing nonsense!"
I...I came here specifically to retrieve some things I'd lost during my move, but they took the opportunity to beat me up. Village head, you have to stand up for me!
"Do you even believe what you're saying? Chen Ping's wife, your two sons are scholars, don't you have to give them some face!"
The village head didn't even want to look at Li Manying. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Ever since Chen An's father passed away, the Chen family had become more and more unsightly.
It is said that a virtuous wife brings prosperity to three generations of a family. In his opinion, apart from Chen An's branch, it would be difficult for the Chen family to rise again.
The main reason is that Zhao, as the elder, is unkind, making the family a mess. She spoils the eldest son and is mean to the second son, never giving them a moment's peace.
Chen Ping's wife is also very cunning. If a family like this lives together, they will only scheme against each other. How can they truly live in harmony?
Li Manying glanced at the village head, knowing she was in the wrong, and could only throw a tantrum, saying, "Anyway, you won't believe anything I say, so I'm too lazy to say anything more."
But the fact that they injured me is real. Look at how badly they beat me; I'll be bedridden for days. They have to pay my medical bills!
Zhao Xiangxiu rolled her eyes. "Li Manying, you're the one who wanted to steal. Even if you got beaten to death, it wouldn't be unreasonable. How dare you ask for medical expenses?"
"Exactly! They're shameless. Stealing from their own family members, they get beaten up and have to pay for medical expenses. If they stole from someone else's house, they might get beaten to death!"
"How could you say that? You're really shameless!"
The villagers chimed in, each offering their own opinion, but Li Manying stubbornly refused to listen.
Chen An said coldly, "My sister-in-law was beaten up after stealing from my house, and now we have to pay for her medical expenses. We don't think we should pay for that. Since we can't explain it clearly, let's report it to the authorities!"
The village head was initially somewhat opposed to the report being submitted to the authorities. After all, this was a matter concerning the entire village and the whole family. If it went to the authorities, the reputation of Chen An's entire family would be affected.
However, Chen An and the others were the victims in this matter, and they had their own plans for what to do. He couldn't make decisions for them, so after thinking about it, he remained silent.
"No, no, no, we can't report this to the authorities!" Li Manying was dumbfounded. Why was she going to report this to the authorities?
Although she didn't steal anything, coming to someone's house in the middle of the night is something she can't explain herself.
Even setting aside the question of whether they will be convicted, if they were to meet with the authorities, their reputations would be affected, and how could they maintain their standing in the academy?
If that's the case, Chen Ping will definitely divorce her. She can't be divorced! Her family can't be relied on; if she's divorced, she'll have no way to survive!
"Second brother, sister-in-law, I was wrong! You can't report me to the authorities! I don't want the medical expenses anymore. I promise I'll never cause you any more trouble. Please let me go!"
Li Manying became increasingly terrified as she thought about it, and she cried with tears streaming down her face.
Cheng Yue and Chen An looked troubled, and Li Manying hardened her heart and continued to cry: "Second brother, sister-in-law, can I offer ten taels of silver to settle this?"
Please, for the sake of my mother and your two nephews, don't hold it against me, okay? I really won't dare to do it again!
Ten taels of silver was all the money she could muster. She would accept being beaten and scolded by Chen Ping, as long as she didn't have to go to the authorities.
The village head sighed and said, "If only we had known this would happen!"
After saying that, he looked at Chen An and Cheng Yue and asked, "These kinds of things can be settled privately. Do you insist on reporting it to the authorities?"
Cheng Yue glanced at Chen An, who nodded. Cheng Yue said, "Although my sister-in-law made a mistake, we are not heartless people. In the end, we are still family."
Since my sister-in-law is willing to reconcile and said she won't do it again, let's give her a chance.
Although Cheng Yue said this, she had other plans in mind.
Sending Li Manying to see the officials is far less interesting than leaving her at home to cause trouble for Zhao Shi.
As the saying goes, evil people will always be punished by other evil people.
After this experience, Li Manying should have learned her lesson. She might as well stay and teach Zhao Shi, that wicked mother-in-law, a lesson.
She placed high hopes on Li Manying, that heartless bastard.
Upon hearing this, Li Manying's body went limp, and she swore a solemn oath: "Thank you, sister-in-law, thank you, second brother. I promise I will never cause you any more trouble, or may I be struck by lightning!"
She finally understood what kind of person Cheng Yue was; even if someone held a knife to her neck, she wouldn't dare to cause trouble for Cheng Yue.
She's someone you really can't afford to mess with; it's best to stay far away from her in the future.
The village head glanced at Li Manying and thought it might be difficult for her to personally deliver the money. It would be best if Chen An and his wife didn't go to Old Chen's house, lest Zhao cause trouble again.
So he said, "Since we've agreed to a settlement, I'll go to your house first thing tomorrow morning. You give me the money, and I'll give it to Chen An and his wife."
"Okay, okay!" Li Manying nodded vigorously, ignoring the pain in her face. She would feel at ease as long as this matter was resolved.
"Then everyone, let's all go home and get some sleep."
The village head waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse; after all this commotion, his old bones were really starting to give out.
Zhao Xiangxiu and Cui Miao exchanged a few words with Cheng Yue, and then went home with the other villagers.
Li Manying slowly got up, still complaining of pain, but no one paid any attention to her, so she could only limp down the mountain by herself.
As he walked, he grew to hate Zhao Shi. No wonder she sent him; she had her own agenda!
That old hag, she always knows how to tell others to be the first to stick their neck out!
With so many people from the village here, she didn't believe that Zhao Shi hadn't heard the commotion and was just waiting to reap the benefits without putting in any effort.
If Zhao had just said a word, would she have been beaten so badly?
Li Manying cursed as she walked, and when she got home and saw that the lights were off in Zhao's room, she became even angrier.
Sleep, sleep, sleep! It would be best if you slept so soundly that you couldn't wake up!
The three siblings, Chen Lin and his sister, looked radiant with bright eyes. Cheng Yue smiled, knowing that the children had vented their anger and felt relieved.
I wanted to say something, but then I remembered that I had to set up a stall the next day and I was exhausted from all that work, so I urged the children to go to sleep.
Chen An was also helped into the bedroom by Cheng Yue, and said as they walked, "Sister-in-law is quite sensible."
Cheng Yue smiled faintly, "Being pragmatic is simply a matter of having no one to rely on."
If she had a powerful family and a husband to back her up, how could someone like Li Manying easily bow her head?
This is a case of "even the most hateful person has a pitiable side." However, she wouldn't pity these people, since they chose their own path and deserve to be hated.
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