Chapter 51: Rogue
Old Lady Sun glared at Xu Qingmeng fiercely and said through gritted teeth, "I... I'm old, how can I remember so clearly? It's not that I saw your business was so prosperous and I thought you were short of manpower, how could I lose my face and offend you? In this case, I'll just leave."
She turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by Xu Qingmeng.
"Grandma Sun, I haven't made my point yet. This gold hairpin is a valuable item. One moment you say my mother took your hairpin, and the next moment you say you forgot. Aren't you making fun of my Gu family?"
Old Lady Sun hesitated for a moment. This was all made up.
"I...I...I'm getting old, so I'm bound to have forgotten things..."
Mrs. Zhao, a woman who lived next door to the Gu family, could not stand it any longer and stood up to defend the family, saying, "Old Lady Sun, you slandered the Gu family without any evidence and now you say you remembered it wrongly. Isn't this obviously blackmail? Don't you think that there is a scholar in the Gu family who will definitely become an official in the future? Aren't you afraid of retribution for ruining his reputation like this?"
Old Mrs. Sun was so embarrassed by what Mrs. Zhao said. She didn't get the job, didn't get the money, and lost face. How could she be willing to accept this?
Her eyes rolled and she began to cry out again: "Oh, this is so unfair! This Gu family member is so heartless! He bullies a helpless old woman like me!"
"Grandma Sun, isn't your eldest grandson fine? How come he is all alone? Aren't you cursing your precious grandson?"
Someone among the people watching outside shouted something, which immediately caused the audience to burst into laughter.
While she was crying, she secretly looked at the faces of Xu Qingmeng and Gu Yunyi, hoping to find any sign of weakness.
"You're talking nonsense." Old Lady Sun spat in that direction and cursed, then turned to King Xu Qingmeng and the others and said, "Your Gu family is making so much money now, but you still forget to embezzle my hairpin. There is even a scholar in your Gu family who doesn't know how to accumulate virtue. Poor me, an old woman..."
Xu Qingmeng looked at Old Lady Sun's shameless appearance and sneered in his heart.
She knew that she couldn't be lenient with people like this.
"Grandma Sun is right," Xu Qingmeng said in a cold tone, "Since you insist that it is..." She paused, staring into Grandma Sun's eyes, and said word by word, "My mother accepted your benefits, my mother took your gold hairpin, then..."
“…Then please produce the evidence!” As soon as Xu Qingmeng finished speaking, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, and everyone’s eyes were focused on Old Lady Sun.
Old Mrs. Sun was frightened by Xu Qingmeng's sharp eyes and trembled. Her crying stopped abruptly, like an old hen with its neck strangled, unable to make any sound. Where did she get the evidence? Even the hairpin was fabricated out of thin air.
Her eyes flickered and her gaze wandered, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Seeing that Xu Qingmeng had taken control of the situation, Gu Yunyi stepped forward and said in a gentle and elegant manner, "Grandma Sun, the neighbors all know what kind of person my mother is. She is kind-hearted and generous, and would never steal. If you really have evidence, just bring it out, and our Gu family will never shirk responsibility. But if you have no evidence and maliciously slander us, we will never tolerate it." He paused, and his tone became more serious. "We will report it to the authorities and let them judge right and wrong to protect the reputation of our Gu family." He swept his eyes around the crowd watching the excitement, "And ask all the neighbors to be witnesses."
Gu Yunyi added, "Since Grandma Sun has no evidence, our Gu family can't explain it clearly. In order to prevent Grandma Sun from saying that our Gu family has a relationship with the government, our Gu family can apply to the county government for a public inspection today. If our Gu family can find the gold hairpin that Grandma Sun mentioned today, we will definitely pay her a hundred taels of silver. If not... According to the laws of our dynasty, the crime of slandering and defaming someone's reputation must be judged according to the laws."
Seeing how tough the Gu family was, Mrs. Zhao felt secretly proud.
She already had some grudges against the Gu family, and this time when she saw Old Lady Sun making trouble, she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to add insult to injury.
She pretended to try to reconcile them, "Yun Yi, we are all neighbors, why make things so awkward? Old Mrs. Sun is old and has a bad memory, maybe she really made a mistake. Why not make a big deal out of a small matter?"
Xu Qingmeng sneered and refuted unceremoniously: "Mrs. Zhao, what you said is not right. My mother-in-law is innocent, why should she suffer such grievances? If the matter today is not investigated thoroughly, who will dare to come to our restaurant to eat in the future? How can the reputation of our Gu family be maintained?"
She looked determined, "Today, we must report to the police and clear my mother-in-law's name!"
Seeing that the situation was not favorable to her, Old Lady Sun's eyes rolled around, and she suddenly cried out "Ouch!" and sat on the ground, crying and screaming: "Oh, my leg... my leg is broken... The Gu family beat me... The Gu family bullied me..."
Everyone was stunned when they saw this.
This old lady Sun, her expression changes so quickly, doesn't it?
He was standing fine just now, how come his leg is broken now?
Xu Qingmeng looked at Old Lady Sun rolling on the ground and sneered in her heart.
She had long expected that Old Lady Sun would act like a rogue, so she was prepared.
He walked out of the crowd, her face gloomy and her eyes sharp as knives, shooting straight at Old Lady Sun who was rolling on the ground.
"Since you said your leg is broken, why don't you ask a doctor to take a look, and report to the police so that they can judge the case." Her tone was cold, without a trace of emotion, like a chilly winter wind, making Old Lady Sun's heart shiver.
When Old Mrs. Sun heard that she had to call a doctor and report to the police, she immediately panicked.
Her leg wasn't broken at all, she was just pretending. If she called a doctor, wouldn't she be exposed?
She struggled to get up from the ground and stammered, "No...no need to call a doctor...my...my legs...my legs are fine..."
Seeing this, Xu Qingmeng raised the corners of his mouth slightly and revealed a sneer.
"Grandma Sun, your broken leg healed so quickly. You were rolling on the ground just now, and now you're fine? And you're saying that my mother-in-law accepted your benefits and took your gold hairpin? You're really...
Old Mrs. Sun was left speechless by Xu Qingmeng's words, her face turning pale and blue, like a magic ball.
"I...I..." She hesitated for a long time but couldn't make out what she meant.
When Mrs. Sun saw her lie was exposed, she panicked. She knew that she would not be able to extort money today and would be sued instead, so she wanted to slip away.
"Xun Ge'er, go report to the police!" Xu Qingmeng gave the order, and Xun Ge'er immediately turned around and ran.
“No... no need to report to the police... I... I was wrong..." Old Mrs. Sun’s face turned pale. She grabbed Xun Ge’er’s sleeve and begged bitterly.
Xu Qingmeng looked at the pitiful appearance of Old Lady Sun, but there was no sympathy in her heart.
She knew that she couldn't be lenient towards such people.
"It's too late!" Xu Qingmeng said in a cold tone, "There must be an explanation for what happened today!" She turned to Li, "Mother, please help Grandma Sun into the front hall..."
Winter Solstice extra chapter! There is one more chapter for my family members!
(End of this chapter)
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