Yang Cui's return caused an uproar throughout Anjia Village.
"Xiao Cui, you're back!"
"Xiao Cui, you...didn't you say you were kidnapped? How come..."
How come you still look so energetic? There's absolutely no sign of you having suffered or been in pain.
"Kidnapping? I'm not some rich woman, who would kidnap me? I'm going to Gaoxin County. The owner of the Star Gazing Tower invited me to teach their chefs how to cook. In a few days, their restaurant will be launching new dishes and holding a culinary competition."
Yang Cui will absolutely not admit that she has been kidnapped!
"What?"
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
"But everyone says you were put in a sack and carried away."
"Yes, your uncle has admitted it. He's been so worried these past few days that his hair has turned white."
"It's all over the neighborhood."
...
Yang Cui: "My departure was rather sudden. I didn't tell my family. I thought the Observatory would come to inform me, and then the Observatory thought I had told my family, which caused a misunderstanding. If I had been kidnapped, would I be acting like nothing happened? Do I look like I'm in trouble?"
"That's true. Those people were making it sound so real, we thought you'd really been kidnapped! It's good that you're alright."
“We all thought you had been kidnapped and sold by the Lin family. Your uncle almost went to fight Lin Shikang to the death.”
"It's good that no one is hurt. I wonder who was spreading these lies and ruining people's reputations."
"It was most likely done by the Lin family; there's no one else who did it."
The villagers were abuzz with discussion, and many condemned the Lin family.
Yang Cui was certainly not foolish enough to defend the Lin family, after all, Lin Shikang was also using her to clear his name.
Lin Shikang now has a large number of fans, and his reputation for being benevolent, kind, and compassionate has almost overshadowed all his negative influences. Thinking about this, Yang Cui felt very uncomfortable.
At this moment, Er Ya, San Ya, and Yuan Qiu rushed over, hugged Yang Cui, and cried their hearts out.
"Alright, alright, Mother's back now, isn't she?" Yang Cui comforted her. "Mother brought you gifts; they're in the carriage. Go and choose some."
With tears in their eyes, Er Ya and San Ya clung to Yang Cui, refusing to let go: "We don't want gifts, we want our mother."
Yuan Qiu watched them act coquettishly from the side, feeling extremely envious.
Yang Cui didn't show favoritism. Although her godson no longer had a leg to hug, she still reached out and patted his head with gentle eyes.
Yuan Qiu's envy vanished instantly.
Wen said, "You've been away from home these past few days, and the children haven't eaten much. They sit at the village entrance every day from dawn till dusk waiting for you to come back. It breaks my heart to see them like this."
"I'm sorry to have worried you these past few days, Uncle and Aunt. I brought you some gifts from Gaoxin County." After saying that, Yang Cui took out a white porcelain jar from the carriage. "This is lotus root starch, and this is candied tangerine peel. It's produced there, so it's a bit cheaper than in Wan'an County. I bought quite a lot."
The lotus root starch of this era is truly handmade, green and pollution-free.
"This isn't cheap. I heard from Xiaohe that a jar of lotus root starch costs three taels of silver." Wen Shi hugged the jar, her face crinkling with laughter.
Actually, candied tangerine peel is more expensive; in this day and age, anything related to sugar is expensive.
By this time, the villagers had already left, and An Dafu brought up the matter of Yang Cui being tied up: "Xiaocui, tell your uncle the truth, what exactly happened? I don't believe anything you said in front of outsiders."
"I was indeed kidnapped, but I did go to the Star Gazing Tower in Gaoxin County to cook."
"It must have been that bastard Lin Shikang who did it!" An Dafu jumped up and down in anger. "Pah! You son of a bitch!"
“Lin Shikang didn’t do it, but he’s somewhat involved.” Yang Cui didn’t explain much. “Lin Shikang wants to use me to clear his name, but he’ll have to see if I agree.”
Let him and Liang Xinrong be smug for now; hopefully they'll still be laughing in a few days.
"Xiao Cui, what are you going to do? Do you need your aunt's help?" Wen Shi got excited as soon as she heard Yang Cui's words. She knew that the Lin family had not gotten any good out of this niece. Whenever Yang Cui said something like that, the Lin family would suffer.
Yang Cui smiled faintly: "My uncle and aunt just need to go outside and chat with people, saying that someone deliberately framed me and ruined my reputation, and then deny that I was kidnapped."
Everyone knows about the conflict between Yang Cui and the Lin family. Once this news comes out, others will definitely think that it was the Lin family who did it.
"Never name names and say who did it. Don't agree with other people's guesses either. Don't deny it or admit it," Yang Cui advised.
Naming names can easily lead to legal trouble, but if you don't name names, no one can do anything about it.
The public has a rich imagination, and they will definitely think that this was the work of the Lin family. As long as Yang Cui and the An family neither deny nor admit it, they can sit back and watch the Lin family make a fool of themselves.
Of course, this is far from enough...
Isn't Lin Shih-kang trying to build his reputation?
Yang Cui wanted to see how he would try to clear his name after his affair with Liang Xinrong was exposed!
The news of Yang Cui's return quickly spread to several nearby villages.
When Lin Niu and Fan heard that Yang Cui had returned safely and in a luxurious carriage, she was in high spirits.
Enraged, the two old women cursed Yang Cui's ancestors for eighteen generations, facing the direction of Anjia Village, until they were exhausted and stopped.
When Luo Yanfen heard that Yang Cui had been kidnapped, she was overjoyed and secretly prayed that Yang Cui would be raped and killed and never come back.
These past few days, she's been going to Yang Cui's house every day, showering Yuan Qiu with attention, feeling that she'll soon be able to replace Yang Cui.
She believed that children were most easily bribed with food and toys, so she came to see Yuan Qiu every day for the past few days, bringing him delicious food. She used all the money she earned from selling earthworms to Yang Cui to please Yuan Qiu, even though he ignored her completely. She didn't care, thinking that sincerity could move mountains, and that Yuan Qiu would definitely like her more than Yang Cui!
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