Meanwhile, Qin Baiyi also received a report from his subordinates before dawn, but according to them, the village was peaceful and no one seemed to have been in any trouble.
Qin Baiyi went to rest alone, still puzzled.
Mo Qianshang returned late. She woke up briefly after dawn, yawned, cooked some eggs for the children, and then went back to sleep.
Having learned from the child that her mother forbade them to go to the riverbank, Qin Baiyi became even more certain that she must have done something in the village last night, but her men hadn't discovered it.
Just as Qin Baiyi was racking his brains trying to figure it out, Mo Qianshang slept for more than an hour before slowly opening her eyes and lying there in a daze.
The feeling of being able to slack off was still quite novel for her.
To ensure her skills don't deteriorate, she trains almost every day. Moreover, to adapt to various situations, she must continue learning throughout her life, constantly enriching herself and learning more and newer skills.
As a female mercenary, disguise is practically second nature to her. Skills are never a burden, and she naturally learns more and more as she goes on.
Reason told her she should continue to work on her current physique, but the truth was she wanted to slack off.
Mo Qianshang's idea was good, but she had only been lazy for a quarter of an hour when a commotion came from outside. She heard someone calling her name and was taken aback: Had she been exposed so quickly? But even if they discovered that the treasure was missing, they shouldn't have immediately thought of her.
She sat up and saw that the person who came in was Old Man Zhao from their village. As soon as he came in, several of his children came in from behind. Qianya still had tears on her face, obviously she had been crying.
Mo Qianshang's eyes sharpened as she looked at the old man, and she reached out her hand to Qianya, who immediately pounced on her like a swallow returning to its nest.
Holding the little girl in his arms, the old man spoke aggressively, "You, surnamed Mo, don't you care about your kids? My son was just picking some mushrooms, and they stole them all! My son is a scholar, he never causes trouble, what does your family mean by this!"
Mo Qianshang glanced at them, and her three sons immediately started complaining all at once: "Mother, that's not true. He bullied our sister first."
"What's wrong with scholars? Scholars can't bully others!"
"Those mushrooms aren't his!"
Mo Qianshang was at her wits' end, feeling that she wouldn't have any peace today: "Alright, stop talking, Xiaoya, tell your mother yourself what happened?"
Qianya looked up, her small face covered in tears, sobbing, and after a long while she managed to choke out, "He...he stole my mushrooms..."
The little girl was crying pitifully, and Mo Qianshang felt very sorry for her. She quickly wiped away her tears, but the little girl's brows were furrowed, making her look angry instead. The other villagers around were also watching the commotion.
Meanwhile, seeing that Mo Qianshang remained silent, Old Man Zhao pressed his advantage even further: "You've already learned to lie at such a young age! My son, a dignified scholar, would he fight with a little brat like you for mushrooms?"
Looking at the arrogant old man Zhao, the crowd, who had been somewhat hesitant, pondered his words and instantly felt that they made sense. However, most of them were still used to speaking well of Zhao Xiucai, after all, he was the only scholar in the village!
"Yes, the Zhao family boy is a scholar, after all. He knows about propriety and shame. How could he snatch things from a child?"
Some people recalled the dozens of taels of silver that Mo Qianshang had taken out yesterday, and felt a pang of jealousy. They had thought she was just a poor woman from the village with a stepmother and her child, but they never expected her to be a wolf in sheep's clothing!
"Exactly, unlike some people who are wealthy but hide it so well that no one in the village knows about it!"
Qin Qianya heard everything clearly, and her sobs turned into loud wailing. She felt extremely wronged, but she couldn't utter a single word.
"You're talking nonsense!"
"My Qianya isn't that kind of person!"
Qin Heming and the other two surrounded Mo Qianshang and Qin Qianya, loudly defending their sister.
Mo Qianshang then spoke up: "You all go to the side."
Qin Zixuan turned his head: "Mother, they are bullying Qianya!"
Mo Qianshang frowned, and the children immediately became obedient, standing to the side with their heads down.
She wasn't trying to scare them, but the journey of fleeing famine was arduous, and these people were already desperate for food. Although most of them were teachers, if they really couldn't tolerate the Qin family after the money came along, they might be able to devour them alive.
Mo Qianshang turned to look at Old Man Zhao, who was sizing them up, and the young man dressed as a scholar standing behind him with a gloomy expression.
Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but frown.
Although this scholar Zhao was a learned man, his eyes were always wandering, as if he were plotting something, and he didn't seem like a righteous person.
After such an incident, this grown man is hiding behind the old man and hasn't said a word.
"Scholar Zhao, since you're here too, let's get this straight. Tell me what happened back then!" She was determined to investigate this matter thoroughly.
She knew her children very well; they were all very young and naturally kind.
On the contrary, the Zhao family, seeing Old Man Zhao's smug demeanor, did not believe that their bad bamboo could produce good shoots!
Upon hearing Mo Qianshang call him out to speak, Zhao Xiucai's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. How embarrassing would it be for a dignified scholar like himself to confront a mere child in front of so many people over a few mushrooms?
He had a cold face and slightly raised his chin, as if speaking to Mo Qianshang, a village woman, was a great favor: "I came here not to have any other involvement with Madam Qin, but I picked these mushrooms, but your son snatched them away. Madam Qin, do you have an explanation for me?"
"You're talking nonsense! This mushroom was clearly... hiccup, I picked it. You tried to take it from me, but I wouldn't give it to you. How did it become yours?"
Qin Qianya interrupted the scholar's pretentious and affected speech with a sob and hiccup. The scholar's face darkened further, and he stared at her with a gloomy look in his eyes.
Mo Qianshang's gaze swept over the two of them twice, and she inadvertently noticed Zhao Xiucai's hands hanging at his sides. They were fair and clean, without a single callus. She instantly understood what was going on.
“Zhao Xiucai, you keep saying the mushrooms are yours, so you should have some evidence, right?” She suddenly spoke, which startled Zhao Xiucai.
"Evidence? What evidence? Does your Qin family have any evidence that these mushrooms are yours?" After a brief moment of distraction, Zhao Xiucai quickly recovered and retorted, "If you want me to produce evidence, then you also need to produce evidence."
He felt that his words were very skillful, and snorted coldly: "Do you think I, a scholar, would wrong you?"
His words drew nods of agreement from some of the onlookers. The villagers here were all illiterate, and in their eyes, a person who was literate was someone who would never have to worry about food and was a person of high moral character.
Would a high-minded person steal someone else's mushrooms?
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