Jiang Ling didn't panic when Wang Laizi accused her. She knew very well that Wang Laizi was a cunning and shameless scoundrel, and even if she caught him red-handed, he would have a hundred reasons and ten thousand excuses waiting for her.
“Since you say I’m vicious, then let me ask you, where is my viciousness?” Jiang Ling stared at Wang Laizi expressionlessly.
Jiang Ling's imposing presence, though seemingly calm, sent a chill down the spine of the usually fearless Wang Laizi. However, Wang Laizi was no ordinary man; he turned his already cloudy eyes and began to fabricate lies.
"Village chief! You...you mustn't be fooled by this wicked woman! It was clearly this wicked woman who was lustful and seduced me behind my back! I'm the one who's innocent!!" Wang Laizi spoke sincerely and firmly, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
"Fine! You say I seduced you? Then let me ask you, when, where, and what did I say to you?" Jiang Ling asked, her eyes blazing with anger as she stared at Wang Laizi.
"You...you...it was just a few days ago, you...you were..." As Wang Laizi spoke, his gaze began to wander uneasily through the crowd, as if he were searching for something.
Jiang Ling followed Wang Laizi's gaze and saw that Widow Hao in the crowd suddenly lowered her head and turned to leave. Jiang Ling reacted quickly and ran towards Widow Hao, grabbing her as she was about to leave the Lu family ancestral hall.
"Hey... Jiang... Jiang, why are you grabbing me? Let go of me, you're hurting me!" Widow Hao looked at Jiang Ling with a pitiful expression, her peach-blossom-like eyes gazing at her.
"What are you doing? Come here, I have something to ask you!" Jiang Ling dragged Widow Hao to Wang Laizi's side without saying a word.
"You're Wang Laizi's lover, aren't you?" Jiang Ling asked, staring at Widow Hao with a cold smile.
"You...you...don't make false accusations! You did such a shameful thing, don't try to smear others!" After Jiang Ling said this, Widow Hao immediately filled her eyes with tears and looked pitiful.
"Cough...cough...Jiang, are you mistaken? How could Widow Hao do such a despicable thing?" The village chief quietly approached Jiang Ling and said with a puzzled look.
Jiang Ling glanced at everyone's expressions and, as expected, they were just like the village chief's—all looking puzzled. Some villagers had even developed hostility towards Jiang Ling. At this moment, Jiang Ling seemed like a female bully, harassing others.
Jiang Ling grabbed Widow Hao's wrist and said fiercely, "Raise your hand!"
"What?" Widow Hao asked, her voice trembling with tears.
"Raise your hand! Did you hear me!" The widow Hao's pitiful act had no effect on Jiang Ling. Jiang Ling glared at the widow Hao with fierce eyes and repeated the order.
Widow Hao was so frightened that she shuddered and shakily stretched out her hand.
“You see! These are Widow Hao’s hands!” Jiang Ling said, holding up Widow Hao’s hands, which had long nails painted with light red henna.
This action puzzled everyone even more, and even the village chief looked at Jiang Ling with a blank expression.
"Village chief, could you please take off Wang Laizi's upper body clothes?" Jiang Ling said, glancing at the village chief.
The village chief, unaware of Jiang Ling's true intentions, nodded and did as she said. When the village chief took off Wang Laizi's shirt, everyone, including the village chief, gasped in surprise.
Several bloody scratches from fingernails appeared on Wang Laizi's dark back.
"Fellow villagers, these are my fingers!" Jiang Ling held out her palm to show everyone.
“This… Jiang Shi doesn’t have fingernails, so she definitely couldn’t have scratched herself into such a bloody mark.”
"Hey, you know what? It's really true! And this widow Hao, with her delicate skin and tender flesh, doesn't look like someone who can do any hard work, but her few acres of barren land are growing quite well!"
"Oh my! You're right! Let me tell you, the other day my second son came back and said that Wang Laizi was helping Widow Hao with the work in the fields! At first, I didn't believe it. Wang Laizi doesn't even care about his own few acres of land, how could he be so kind as to help Widow Hao?"
Rumors spread like wildfire through the crowd. The village chief, his expression stern and lips clenched, berated Widow Hao, "Widow Hao, what exactly happened! If you don't tell me, believe me, I'll kick you out too!"
Widow Hao had never seen anything like this before. She was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and two streams of tears flowed from her eyes.
"I...I was forced!! Village chief, you must believe me! It's all Wang Laizi's fault, what can I...what can a widow do? I'm all alone and powerless..." Widow Hao said, covering her face and crying.
This enraged Wang Laizi, who glared at the weeping widow Hao and said viciously, "The most poisonous heart is a woman's! If you hadn't seduced me in the first place, would I have wanted a rotten piece of trash like you who brings bad luck to her husband? Wasn't it your idea to break into the Jiang family's residence at night?"
After saying this, Wang Laizi realized his mistake and quickly shut his mouth, lowered his head, and stopped talking. However, the widow Hao scrambled to Wang Laizi's side and reached out to scratch his face, denouncing his previous beastly behavior as she did so.
The situation was spiraling out of control. The village chief quickly called for help to separate Widow Hao and Wang Laizi. Widow Hao sat on the ground, crying incessantly, while Wang Laizi continued to hurl vicious curses.
"Stop arguing! If you keep arguing, we'll send you both to the government office and throw you in jail!" the village chief yelled at the two men.
Upon hearing the words "go to jail," the two immediately shut their mouths.
"Tell me, what's the story behind breaking into the Jiang family's residence at night?" The village chief asked Wang Laizi with a serious expression, his eyes narrowed.
“This…” Wang Laizi realized he had misspoke and hung his head without saying a word.
"Village chief! Don't listen to his nonsense! He's the one who's always had improper thoughts about Jiang! He... he even threatened me..."
“Widow Hao, you are indeed vicious! Village chief, don’t believe her! I’ll tell you everything…” Wang Laizi hurriedly began to defend himself when he saw Widow Hao starting to turn the tables on him.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the village chief was at a loss. Jiang Ling walked over to him and whispered, "Village chief, find two people to take Widow Hao out first, don't let her escape. Let's question Wang Laizi first!"
After hearing this, the village chief nodded and quickly had several people take the crying and making a scene from the Lu family ancestral hall.
Now only Wang Laizi was left. The village chief frowned and scolded, "Wang Laizi, if you don't explain yourself clearly today, then wait for me to report to the magistrate and have you thrown into jail!"
The village chief's words carried a great deal of authority. Wang Laizi, who had been so reckless just moments before, hung his head and said dejectedly in a low voice, "I... I'm a scoundrel, I'm not human. Some time ago, I started having an affair with Widow Hao, and these days, the more I look at Jiang Shi, the more I want to possess her!"
"After Widow Hao found out, she argued with me a few times, but seeing my firm attitude, she... offered me some advice..."
At this point, Wang Laizi suddenly shut his mouth, looking at the village chief with a terrified expression and pleading, "Village...Village chief, I'll tell you everything I need to say, but please, please don't send me to jail!"
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