Chapter 673: Treat others in their own way
The housekeeper beside Mrs. Guo was called out by Daohua. As soon as she came out, she was tightly grasped by Li Wang's eldest daughter-in-law.
"Come with me quickly to see our clan leader and tell him that it was you who asked our family to come to Ningmen Mansion to find the prefect's wife, and it was you who made us cause a scene at the prefect's house."
Seeing the people around stop and watch, the housekeeper was terrified and immediately denied it, "Where did this crazy person come from? Get her away! I don't even know her."
The Guo family's doorman immediately rushed over and tried to take away Li Wang's eldest daughter-in-law.
Seeing this, Li Wang's eldest daughter-in-law quickly sat on the ground, slapping her thigh and crying, "Everyone, please come and judge the situation. It was this woman who came to our village in September and instigated us to come to the prefect's wife."
"We don't dare to come!"
"Yes, my mother-in-law is the stepmother of the prefect's wife, but when the family was divided, she made it clear in front of the clan members that as long as the prefect's wife and her two brothers did not want the family property, they would not have any further contact in the future."
"But this old woman told me that the prefect's family is very wealthy and he cares about his reputation. If we make a big fuss, the prefect's wife will not ignore us."
"We were blinded by greed. As soon as we arrived, we caused a scene in front of the prefect's house. We then got into many wrongdoings, ruining the prefect's family's reputation."
After hearing this, several imperial censors from the Censorate all looked at Governor Guo who was standing beside them with a gloomy expression.
The housekeeper had been through a lot with Madam Guo, so she quickly calmed down from her panic. Looking at the master and the censor not far away, as well as the increasing number of pedestrians gathering around them, she knew in her heart that she could not allow the woman in front of her to continue talking about this matter.
Then, the housekeeper pointed at Li Wangshi's eldest daughter-in-law with an angry face and scolded her, "You are slandering me! When have I ever seen you before? Do you have any evidence?"
Li Wangshi's eldest daughter-in-law looked proud and said, "Of course I have evidence. Although I can't read a single word, I've heard in operas that wealthy families like yours are all extremely wicked."
"Before, you suddenly came to our village and asked us to look for the prefect's wife, whom we hadn't had any contact with for over twenty years. I was suspicious. Look, what is this?"
As he spoke, he took out an exquisite purse from his bosom.
The fabric and craftsmanship of the purse reveal that it was used by a wealthy family.
Li Wangshi's eldest daughter-in-law shouted, "We didn't want to come to see the prefect's wife at first. It was you who offered the banknotes to lure us in. That's why we came here."
Seeing the purse, the housekeeper's heart tightened. This purse was indeed given by her. She never thought that the stupid and greedy Li family would have kept such a trick.
Daohua, who was sitting in the carriage across the street, was also a little surprised. Seeing that Li Wangshi's eldest daughter-in-law could handle the Guo family's housekeeper, she did not ask the Li family member who had met the Guo family's housekeeper in Lijia Village before to come forward.
Looking at the people around him pointing and talking, Governor Guo suppressed his anger, glared at the housekeeper, and said in a deep voice: "Why don't you get out of here and go back to the mansion!"
The housekeeper also knew how shameless the Li Wang family was. It was impossible to reason with them. She nodded awkwardly and turned to go back home.
Li Wangshi's eldest daughter-in-law wouldn't let her go. She scrambled to her feet and then fiercely hugged the housekeeper's waist. "You can't leave! Our family caused such a scene at the prefect's house that it brought disgrace upon them. Now the prefect has invited our clan leader to come and exterminate us. You must go and explain to our clan leader that it was you who instigated us to come here, not us who came here to cause trouble."
The housekeeper was extremely anxious and tried to shake off Li Wang's eldest daughter-in-law, but unfortunately she couldn't.
Governor Guo saw that the situation had become too ugly, so he quickly glanced at his guards and signaled them to bring the person into the mansion.
Governor Guo's personal guards were all veterans of the battlefield, filled with rage. Seeing the guards approach, Li Wang's eldest daughter-in-law was startled and screamed almost sharply, "Help! Murder! The Guo family is so evil that they not only sent us to cause trouble at the prefect's house, but also let the beggars in the city spread the story that the prefect's wife was unfilial."
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd around them suddenly became noisy.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out for everyone to hear: "I heard that the Yan family, the governor, once provided high-yield grain seeds to help the Guo family."
"The Guo family is treating the Yan family this way. Isn't this repaying kindness with enmity?"
“I didn’t expect the Guo family to be such people!”
Hearing such remarks, Governor Guo's face turned pale. He suppressed his anger and came to Li Wang's eldest daughter-in-law and asked: "Do you know what crime it is to falsely accuse an official of the imperial court?"
Li Wang's eldest daughter-in-law looked frightened. She glanced at the carriage across the street and said in a trembling voice, "I didn't frame someone." Then she pointed at a steward who appeared at the gate of Guo's mansion.
"I saw with my own eyes that he took the silver and went to the beggars in the city. I also heard with my own ears that he asked the beggars to spread bad words about the magistrate's wife, saying that she was unfilial."
"Oh right, it's those beggars. If you don't believe me, ask them yourself."
Governor Guo looked up at the beggars who happened to appear outside the crowd, and then looked at the carriage across the street. At this moment, he knew that today's incident had been planned in advance, so he had no intention of asking those beggars at all.
He didn't ask, but someone asked for his help.
During the three years that Yan Zhigao served as the prefect of Ningmen Prefecture, he did a lot of practical things for the people and won them a lot of favor.
"Tell me, have you ever spread bad things about the prefect's wife?"
Several beggars had already lost their courage when they were controlled by Cao Chuan and others. Later, Daohua promised that as long as they dared to tell the Guo family's deeds in public, she would let them work in her farm.
In this case, the beggars would not help to conceal it. They started talking one by one and told everyone about the rumors about Madam Li being unfilial that the Guo family steward had told them to spread.
With the beggar's testimony, the onlookers were in an uproar. Although they were afraid of Governor Guo with a sullen face, they still pointed at the Guo Mansion from time to time.
Not long after, Yan Zhigao, who had received the news, hurried over and said, "What are you all doing here? Disperse immediately!"
"Sir, the rumors about your family that were circulating in the city some time ago were all spread by Madam Guo." Someone shouted.
After hearing this, Yan Zhigao quickly glanced at Governor Guo.
It just so happened that Governor Guo was also looking at Yan Zhigao.
Yan Zhigao retracted his gaze and said loudly, "Everyone, please stop talking nonsense. When my uncle took my wife away from home more than 20 years ago, he made a clear decision within the clan. He gave up the family property in exchange for not receiving salary and continuing to support her in her old age."
"Now that the Li clan leader has arrived, my wife, stepmother, and her family will be returning home soon. This matter has come to an end. Please don't mention it anymore and go back to prepare for the New Year."
"Okay, okay, everyone, let's go."
"It's so cold, why are you gathering outside? It's not cold, let's go back!"
Hearing the prefect's concerned words, the people around him burst into laughter, showing great respect and dispersed with smiles.
The censors of the Censorate watched this scene and exchanged quick glances.
Whether an official is popular among the people can actually be seen from some small things.
An official stepped forward to smooth things over: "There must be a misunderstanding about today's incident. Why don't Governor Guo and Prefect Yan sit down and have a good talk to clear up the misunderstanding?"
Governor Guo looked at Yan Zhigao and asked, "Would the prefect be so kind as to grant me the honor?"
Yan Zhigao immediately said, "It is my honor to be invited by the Governor."
Governor Guo led Yan Zhigao into the mansion. When he was about to enter the door, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the carriage across the street: "Does Governor Yan recognize that carriage?"
Yan Zhigao was stunned for a moment, looked at the carriage, and shook his head: "I don't know him."
Governor Guo saw that Yan Zhigao's expression did not seem to be false, and he looked at the carriage again before stepping into the mansion.
In the carriage across the street, Wang Maner asked, "Miss, are we going home now?"
Daohua: "Let's go for a walk on the street."
Wang Maner signaled to the driver that he could leave.
After walking around the main street and listening to the people talking about the Guo family framing the Yan family, Daohua felt relieved.
Mrs. Guo took great pains to find the Li Wang family to deal with the Yan family, and now she wants her to taste the backlash.
(End of this chapter)
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