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Chapter 76: Kneeling and Swearing an Oath

Chapter 76: Kneeling and Swearing an Oath

A woman's reputation is always precious, just like a piece of white cloth. Once it gets a little dirty, it will never be clean. Even if it is washed clean, if it is exposed to those suspicious people, they will think it is not clean and will despise it from then on. Women cannot tolerate such things. Liu Si Niang has encountered such a situation. Her eyes have long been red and swollen due to tears, and now they are full of red blood. She has changed from being weak to being miserable.

Dazhu's wife was so frightened that she took a step back. Then she thought how embarrassing it was for her to have scared Liu Siniang. She raised her head again and glared at Liu Siniang fiercely.

"Liu Si Niang, why are you glaring at me?! I am telling the truth. If I tell a lie, I will go out and get hit by a carriage and die!"

Mrs. Li said sarcastically, "Daughter-in-law Dazhu, we country folks, if we don't go to the town, we won't be close to a carriage more than a few times a year. If you hide two streets away from a carriage when you see one, you will never be hit by one in your life. What's the point of your swearing like this? Do you think we are fools listening to you?"

Some people watching the excitement echoed the sentiment, and some even asked Dazhu's wife to swear a real oath, saying that the chance of being struck by lightning was less than that of being hit by a carriage, and asked her to swear that if she told a lie, she would be covered in sores and stink to death!

"Go! Go! Go!"

Dazhu's wife waved her hands a few times at the people watching the excitement, as if to coax a fly. She wanted to close the door, but no one left.

Jinhua's mother stood at the door and said, "Now that this matter has been known to everyone, it concerns the reputation of a woman, so we must get to the bottom of it so that everyone can bear witness. Everyone, stay put! Dazhu's wife, you go stand over there! If what you said today is nonsense, you must pay compensation to Si Niang and apologize! This woman's reputation cannot be lied to! If you understand now, tell the truth, or swear an oath that will convince others!"

Seeing that the village head's wife was on Liu Si Niang's side, Da Zhu's wife felt a little embarrassed, but she thought that she was telling the truth. She stiffened her neck and said, "What I said is absolutely true, not a lie! Liu Si Niang was just arguing with Li Shi! Why did you ask me to swear an oath? If I lied, God would have to send a carriage!"

When everyone saw that Dazhu's wife refused to change her words, they all thought it couldn't be true, right?

Zhao Xiaohua held onto Old Lady Li's arm and looked at Liu Si Niang with contempt, saying, "She pretends to be weak all day long. People who don't know her will say that our family treats her badly. In fact, she is just a shameless person! If our family doesn't keep her under control, who knows what kind of trouble she will cause! Look, now she is pretending to be pitiful to get sympathy. Anyone who believes that she is pitiful is a fool! Brother Shitou is just too kind-hearted. He must have been entangled by her!"

Su Zhi was still thinking how sarcastic this girl was when she heard what Zhao Xiaohua said before. Her face was not looking good, but when she heard the latter part, she was really angry and amused. She thought that this girl said such a bad thing about her sister-in-law, but let outsiders get away with it. Did she not want to offend Li Shi, or did she have some feelings for Li Shi? Hearing that "Brother Shitou", it was probably the latter!

When Mrs. Li heard her daughter say this, she became even angrier. Her old face twisted again. She pointed at Liu Si Niang and cursed, "What else do you have to say? Your sister-in-law has sworn a solemn oath! Tell me! Was it you who seduced Li Shi, or was it Li Shi who seduced you? Why don't you tell me? You have brought disgrace to our Zhao family!"

Liu Si Niang felt as if her heart was stabbed by a knife. She wondered how it could turn out like this. She had clearly given all the money that Su Zhi had borrowed from her to her mother-in-law, and the matter could have been over. But why was this matter not only exposed, but something else happened? ! This was all the fault of Dazhu's wife. She glared at her and wanted to bite her. But now that this matter involved Li Shi, she had implicated others. Her anger was reduced, and she only felt that she had implicated Li Shi. The guilt made her eyes red.

"Si Niang, since they asked you to speak, just tell us what happened today!"

Su Zhi told Liu Si Niang that she believed that Liu Si Niang and Li Shi would not have any compromises. The two people, the man was upright and the woman was pure, and they would never be as entangled as Dazhu's wife said. If it was really as she said, Liu Si Niang had Li Shi's help, why would she be so worried about not having money to give back to her mother-in-law?

"I believe you are innocent, and Brother Shitou is even more innocent. If you really have something wrong, it would not be my turn to lend you money."

Liu Si Niang hadn't said anything yet, but after Su Zhi's words, everyone who listened felt that it made sense. They thought, if Liu Si Niang and Li Shi had anything to do with each other, Liu Si Niang would be worried about not having enough money. Although Li Shi lived on the east side of the river, he had been away from home for many years, so he might have some savings. Moreover, he was capable and a good hunter, so he must be a wealthy man!

When Dazhu's wife heard what others were saying, she just wanted to avoid taking responsibility today, so she had to ruin Liu Si Niang's reputation!

"I only said that she and Li Shi were flirting with each other, but I didn't say anything about what happened between Li Shi and her! Who knows, maybe she was pestering Li Shi, and then Li Shi ignored her, so she naturally didn't get any benefits, so wouldn't she have to play the role of a pitiful girl and ask you to lend it to her? Girl, everyone knows that you are cunning, you and Li Shi were both deceived by her, so don't talk to her anymore!"

Dazhu's wife had just pulled Li Shi out in a hurry, but suddenly realized that she couldn't mess with Li Shi, because he was not only capable, but also had a good relationship with Shen Zi'an's family. After hearing Zhao Xiaohua's excuses for Li Shi, she immediately followed suit and pulled Li Shi out of the mud pit, and also began to persuade Su Zhi.

Su Zhi frowned when she heard what Dazhu's wife said. She didn't believe her, but after hearing what those people were saying, she began to suspect Liu Si Niang again.

Liu Si Niang felt sad, but when she heard that Li Shi was chosen, she finally felt better. No one was implicated by her, and she felt relieved.

"Fourth Sister, don't be silly. Look, Aunt Jinhua and the others all believe in you! I believe in you too!"

When Su Zhi saw the relief that flashed across Liu Si Niang's face, she thought from the perspective of a kind, weak woman whose words were not listened to by anyone. She was really afraid that Liu Si Niang would admit in a hurry that it was she who went to entangle Li Shi. That would make Liu Si Niang too pitiful and pathetic!

Liu Si Niang looked at Su Zhi, her tears flowed down again. Just at that moment, she really wanted to just admit it. She was too tired, no one believed what she said, her reputation was almost ruined, and she heard that everyone outside the door believed those slanderous words about her. She wanted to die. She thought that as long as she didn't drag others down, she could do whatever she wanted. Anyway, this was how she lived now, and it couldn't get any worse!

Su Zhi's words brought her back to her senses. She looked at Su Zhi, and then at the Jinhua Auntie and the others who had been speaking for her. The thought just now disappeared, and she thought she was too stupid.

Zhao Xiaohua pointed at Liu Si Niang and shouted, "You bitch, stop pretending to be pitiful. It's as if we have wronged you. Say it was you who went to entangle Brother Shitou!"

Old Lady Li was also standing by and was about to hit Liu Si Niang with her cane, scolding her, "You have no shame! You only know how to act pitiful. You have ruined the reputation of my Zhao family!"

Su Zhi looked at Mrs. Li who was stopped by Li's wife, and then looked at Zhao Xiaomei, and a doubt arose in her heart. She thought that even if this family beat and scolded Liu Si Niang, they could find a reason, saying that Liu Si Niang was lazy and stupid, and there were many reasons, but how could they be so shameless to say that Liu Si Niang had a bad character? Wouldn't this be bad for their family's reputation? Which family would want to have a woman with a watery nature as a daughter-in-law? Is this family too shameless, or is there another reason? Su Zhi didn't know now, and the current situation didn't allow her to think too much.

With a "thump" sound, Liu Si Niang fell to her knees.

"My fellow villagers, I, Liu Si Niang, swear to heaven here that there is nothing between me and Brother Li Shi. This morning, I lost money from selling silk in the town, and I ran into Brother Li Shi when I was looking for it. Because I was looking for something with my head down, I bumped into Brother Li Shi. If there was any tug-of-war, I will never admit it. Brother Li Shi just helped me up and then let me go. That's it. If I told a lie, I will not die a good death. May God take me away quickly and let my intestines rupture before I die. I will not die a good death!"

Liu Si Niang swore to the sky, and then began to kowtow. The banging sound made everyone panic. She had an injury on her forehead, and after kowtowing like this, blood started to flow out again, and even the ground was covered with blood!

"Fourth Lady! What are you doing? Get up!"

Sister Shugen was originally supporting Liu Si Niang, but she let her kneel down without paying attention. She originally thought that Liu Si Niang just wanted to swear, but she didn't expect that she would kowtow so vigorously. She quickly pulled her up, and seeing the blood flowing down her face again, her eyes turned red, and she covered her mouth and cried.

Sister Li also came over and shouted, "Oh! It's bleeding again! Don't bully people like this! You forced an innocent daughter-in-law to swear a poisonous oath and kowtow with injuries! Do you want to let her live? Old lady Li, you Zhao family are too bullying! You just believed the words of your adopted son's wife and bullied your filial daughter-in-law like this. In the future, you will just lie in bed and let her serve you!"

Although most of the people in this country are biased, they are all simple people. Seeing Liu Si Niang's pitiful appearance, they already had a good impression of her and knew the character of her family members. Now they all sided with her.

Old Mrs. Li, Dazhu's wife, and Zhao Xiaohua felt ashamed when they heard everyone blaming them. Just as they were about to lose their temper again, they heard someone calling Li Shi.

When Su Zhi heard that he was finally here, she knew that if she wanted to clear Liu Si Niang's name, she needed him to testify!