Chapter 92 Public Confrontation
"How do you think you should handle this?" He was meticulous and seemed to have considered Zhu Mingyue's awkward position, so he suggested, "I suggest sending her to the county government before dawn."
Although he was rarely home, he knew a fair bit about Wang Youyin.
This guy is capable of anything, from murder and arson to all sorts of bad deeds. He never tells the truth and is a habitual liar. He seems well-behaved now, but he might implicate Zhu Mingyue in public.
It would be better to just lock him up in jail, and if anyone asks, just say he made some mistakes, thus clearing Zhu Mingyue of any wrongdoing.
Zhu Mingyue knew he meant well, but he still underestimated the malice of those who loved to gossip behind people's backs. Even baseless rumors could be exaggerated by them. If this matter were to be hastily resolved in secret, those people might think he was hiding something because he had something to hide.
He wanted to make a public spectacle of the situation openly and honestly, so that everyone would know about it and he could shut those people up.
Zhu Mingyue shook his head: "Brother Zhengming, I don't care what the villagers say behind my back. Please call the village chief and the thief's family here. By the way, I don't mind people coming to watch the show, the bigger the commotion, the better."
Li Zhengming wasn't stupid; once things had come to this point, he understood Zhu Mingyue's plan.
When the village chief rushed to the Xie family's house, Wang Youyin had already been dragged from inside the house to the front door.
His face was ashen. He kicked Wang Youyin to the ground and roared, "You little brat, no matter how poor you are, you can't steal money from other people! I think you're tired of living."
Wang Youyin was so numb from being kicked that he simply lay down on the ground with his hands behind his back, which made him a little more comfortable.
The Xie family caused quite a commotion, and Li Zhengming, having taken Zhu Mingyue's hint, didn't try to hide it. Instead, he shouted throughout the village, "A thief has broken into the Xie family!"
Those who were asleep and those who weren't were now wide awake. Thefts in the village had happened before, but the theft of a few measly items was nothing to brag about. However, since it was the Xie family that was targeted, everyone became very alert.
The Xie family is very different now than before; they used to be the richest family in the village.
According to the young people in the village who inquired in the town, Zhu Mingyue's food stall is extremely famous, and even officials from the county come here specifically to eat there!
With business thriving, money naturally flowed into the Xie family like water. Everyone said the Xie family was hiding gold and silver treasures, and they were eager to take them but didn't have the guts.
No one knew who the thief was. Li Zhengming only said that a thief had broken into the Xie family's house without mentioning his name, which piqued everyone's curiosity. Despite being tired, they all got dressed and went out with their families to join the excitement.
The open space in front of the Xie family's house was not large to begin with, and it was surrounded by layers of people. When Wang Youcai's family came, they couldn't even squeeze in.
"Get out of the way! Everyone get out of the way!" Wang Youyin's mother forcefully pushed aside the people blocking the way.
Those people were getting impatient, but when they turned around and saw that it was Wang Youcai's family, they all voluntarily made way for them.
"Son, you're alright! Why did they tie you up!" Wang Youyin's mother rushed over to protect her son. She touched a sticky liquid on her hand and, by the firelight, saw that her hand was covered in blood.
She was immediately alarmed: "My son is injured! Don't just stand there, quickly untie him and take him to the town clinic!"
Upon hearing this, no one moved; some watched coldly, while others pointed and made a few jokes.
Even with his thick skin, Wang Youyin felt ashamed to make a fool of himself in front of so many people. He lowered his head and gritted his teeth beside his mother, saying, "Stop talking."
But his mother was deaf but had a loud voice: "What? Who the hell did this to you? Don't be afraid, my son, tell me and I'll stand up for you."
She said that, but her eyes kept drifting towards Li Zhengming. Of all the people there, only Li Zhengming was holding a knife.
Zhu Mingyue then emerged, wearing a plain cloak. He glanced at the two men on the ground and said calmly, "I caused his injury. A thief broke into the house, so I was right to defend myself, wasn't I?"
The village chief said sternly, "That's right, this brat deserves it."
Wang Youyin's mother was somewhat flustered. She had heard that someone had arrested her son for stealing from the Xie family. Her mind went blank as she rushed over from home, and she didn't know how to deal with the sudden situation.
Wang Youcai, panting heavily and red-faced, shouted, "My son is no thief!"
He glanced at Zhu Mingyue, then pointed directly at him, chuckled, and began to argue: "To be honest, my son and this Zhu Mingyue have long harbored feelings for each other."
The crowd stirred, and they all looked in the direction he was pointing at Zhu Mingyue, exclamations rising from all sides.
Li Zhengming immediately rebuked, "Stop talking nonsense! Wang Youyin was clearly caught stealing but failed."
Wang Youcai raised an eyebrow: "How do you know he failed to steal? Could it be that you stayed at the Xie family's house the whole time and witnessed everything?"
Li Zhengyang's mother pretended to stand behind Zhu Mingyue to adjust his cloak, but upon hearing this, she exploded like a firecracker: "Wang Youcai, you're talking nonsense! My son and Mingyue are completely innocent, and you have no right to spout such lies."
Li Zhengming is still unmarried, and Zhu Mingyue sees this and is secretly pleased. She won't tolerate anyone gossiping about him to her face.
Wang Youcai, on the contrary, actually linked the two of them together to spread rumors. She was so angry that she was about to rush up and tear his mouth apart.
Zhu Mingyue couldn't stop her, but fortunately Li Zhengming reacted quickly and pulled his mother back, signaling with his eyes not to act impulsively, lest she fall into Wang Youcai's trap.
Li Zhengyang's mother thought it made sense. If she and that old man really started fighting, things would get chaotic, and the matter would become completely unpredictable tonight.
She thought to herself that she had almost been tricked, and cursed Wang Youcai for being so cunning. She glared at him and spat at him.
Zhu Mingyue looked at him with apology in her eyes and shook her head very lightly. Li Zhengming received the message and stood up straight without any panic. He naturally had no guilt about what he hadn't done.
Wang Youyin's head was almost buried in the ground, and he remained silent, seemingly trying to play dead.
Zhu Mingyue chuckled: "Since you say that Wang Youyin and I are having an affair, why did I bring Brother Zhengming here, and why did I make such a big deal out of this? How do you explain all of this?"
Wang Youcai was prepared: "Li Zhengming happened to see your affair with Youyin. He thought a thief had broken into your house, which is why he made a commotion and came in to rescue you. You shameless woman, in order to avoid being gossiped about, you took the opportunity to frame my son as a thief so that you could clear yourself of any wrongdoing."
Wang Youyin's mother had also recovered by now. Seeing her husband speak, she felt like she had found her pillar of support and quickly chimed in, "Don't doubt it, everyone. What Youcai in our family is saying is the truth."
She pretended to cover her face with her hands and wailed twice before beginning to tell her story: "My son Youyin and he have been together for a while now. Youyin is a good man. He doesn't mind that he is a jinxed widow. He has told me several times that he wants to go to the Xie family to ask for her hand in marriage."
"But he was the first to object, telling my son to keep it a secret for now and talk about it later."
“My son is honest and simple. He listened to his advice and kept in cahoots with him until today. But when outsiders found out, he was betrayed without hesitation by this vicious person.”
After saying that, she started wailing again, shouting, "My son is so unlucky, he has been framed!" She even shamelessly asked the village chief to investigate.
Zhu Mingyue listened quietly and couldn't help but applaud. This impromptu speech, though shameless, was indeed "reasonable and well-founded" and had some logic.
Those who are not very reasonable are probably already completely convinced by these words.
He glanced at Wang Youyin, who was cowering on the ground trying to make his presence known and even attempting to rely on his parents to fight, and clicked his tongue: "Aren't you going to say anything?"
"Or is it that what your parents said is what you also want to say?"
Wang Youyin froze instantly, then began to shake his head frantically. "No, my parents are talking nonsense. There's nothing between me and Zhu Mingyue. I really did sneak into Xie's house to steal things because I coveted Xie's money."
Wang Youcai thought this was a sure thing, but his stupid son's words reversed everything. He was furious and gritted his teeth as he stepped forward to attack his son from both sides.
His mother was heartbroken and hugged her son, crying, "Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! It's all this jinx's fault! My son is innocent!"
Wang Youcai cursed, "I only blame him for taking the blame himself now in order to protect the dignity of this jinx."
"Have you thought this through? Don't let him get you wrongfully imprisoned!" He said this as a form of advice, but in reality, he was threatening his son who was not thinking straight.
Wang Youyin knew exactly what his parents meant. He wanted to cooperate with them and wanted to announce to the world that he was having an affair with Zhu Mingyue, so that Zhu Mingyue would have no choice but to marry him.
But he wanted to live even more! If he didn't do as Zhu Mingyue said, his intestines would rot and his body would perforate after eighty-one days.
Wang Youyin, despite being beaten black and blue by his father, still kept repeating, "I really just came to the Xie family to steal things."
Zhu Mingyue sneered: "My judgment isn't so bad that I'd even notice a thief."
"That's not necessarily true!" A sharp female voice rang out from the crowd. The person laughed and said, "Xie Pei joined the army at the beginning of the year. It's normal for a widow to feel lonely and need someone to keep him company after being a widow for so long."
When she brought it up, some people remembered the long-standing rumors circulating in the village that Xie Pei and his young and beautiful widowed sister-in-law had been having an affair for a long time.
Zhu Mingyue sighed, feigning distress: "Alas, it seems that everyone is determined to force me to admit to my affair with this thief today."
To his surprise, Wang Youyin was terrified by what he said. He was really worried. If Zhu Mingyue admitted to having this affair with him, would he have any chance of survival?
There is definitely no such thing.
He now felt intense hatred for the woman who had just said those words, dragging him back into the fire.
He recognized the voice. Following his memory, he scanned the crowd and his gaze settled on the woman.
"There could be nothing between Zhu Mingyue and me. I don't like men at all."
He pointed at the woman: "It's all her fault. She instigated me to steal things from the Xie family for her. Now that things have been exposed, she's trying to get away with it."
Widow Qian? She was involved in all of this?
A chorus of hisses erupted immediately.
Everyone was caught off guard by the barrage of gossip, and for a moment they couldn't tell which was real and which was fake. They just kept eating.
"Son, do you know what you're saying?" Wang Youyin's mother was also stunned.
Her son, who is usually quick-witted, seemed to be possessed tonight. She hoped that Wang Youyin would admit to having an affair with Zhu Mingyue, so that he could marry her without going to jail.
But his son, on the contrary, not only admitted that he came to the Xie family to steal money, but also admitted to his affair with Widow Qian.
This widow is no good; she simply can't understand why Wang Youyin intended to expose their relationship in public.
Seeing that things were beyond saving and were getting worse, Wang Youcai was so angry that he almost fainted and was only saved from falling by being supported by others.
Wang Youyin's mother tried to stop her son from talking anymore, but he just got more and more excited.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
