Xie Baotian had been honest for half his life. If it were a trivial matter, he would just suffer a little loss. But his daughter's reputation was a matter of life and death. In this powerful clan, if she were to be branded as unchaste, she would be divorced by her husband's family at best, and drowned in a pig cage at worst.
This complete stranger, this shrew, just spouted off and tried to kill her daughter. How could her father possibly let her go?
Xie Baotian grew angrier the more he thought about it, and he put all his strength into each slap. One slap after another, the shrew was so bad that she couldn't even open her mouth!
Xie Baoshu also shouted.
"You old hag, you spew filth from your mouth. Your heart is unclean, and you slander others without any evidence. Although my niece went to the city, she was with her father, uncle, and brothers the whole time. Her father-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law also accompanied her."
Anyone who spews nonsense again, don't blame me for tearing their mouth apart!
The man who had been shouting earlier saw Xie Baotian beat up the old lady and got up to beat Xie Baotian, but was then kicked to the ground by Guo Zongqi, who was full of anger.
Those who had joined the riot tried to step forward, but Guo Zongqi's constables drew their swords and charged forward.
"Who dares to cause trouble?"
Commander Guo was known for his fiery temper, and no one had ever dared to slander him so blatantly, especially since he genuinely considered Xie Yushu a sister. Hearing this, he was furious and launched into a flurry of kicks at the man.
"Fuck you! I'm an upright man, and you bunch of filthy rotten bastards!"
Your mother fed you shit before you grew up! I'll teach you to talk nonsense!
You're just spouting nonsense!
You think I wouldn't dare beat you up?! Damn it!
"I was wrong! Officer, I was wrong, I dare not be so cruel, please spare my life!"
Seeing that no one dared to join in their commotion, and knowing that Commander Guo was not someone to be trifled with, the man realized he had miscalculated and immediately covered his head and begged for mercy.
"Father, Brother Guo, let's teach him a lesson!"
Seeing the man begging for mercy, Xie Yushu spoke up to persuade him.
Xie Baotian and Guo Zongqi then released the old woman and the man.
General Guo shouted loudly
"If I hear anyone spouting nonsense again, I'll cut out their tongue and use it as a snack with my drink!"
Xie Baotian also made a statement
"I'll never forgive anyone who dares to slander my daughter."
Xie Tianqi and Liu Xiaodong, who had long been suppressed and were getting impatient, also said angrily.
"Anyone who dares to spread rumors and slander my sister, I'll break their legs! You'll see!"
"Me too! Anyone who doesn't believe me can try! Dare to bully my sister, and I'll make sure you're finished!"
Xie Tianqi and Liu Xiaodong both returned dressed in their official uniforms: one in a black yamen runner's uniform with red trim, and the other in a blue magistrate's uniform with white trim. Each carried a sword. Although they were still young, they had developed some imposing presence after experiencing two incidents, making them appear quite imposing.
Their original plan to use public opinion to force the constables to give them more grain was thwarted, and they all fell silent.
"Hey! Aren't these the second son of the Xie family and the fifth son of the Liu family? Why are you two dressed in official robes?"
Someone recognized Liu Xiaodong and Xie Tianqi and pointed at them.
As soon as he said that, several women glanced at Xie Yushu, intentionally or unintentionally.
A voice came from the crowd
"The Xie and Liu families are peasants for eight generations, so poor they can't even afford pants. Yet, without any incident, they manage to get the two of them dressed in official robes!"
Shameless!
No sooner had she finished speaking than Qu Xiaodie lashed out with her whip.
A woman screamed in response!
"Ah! My face!"
Qu Xiaodie flicked her whip and pulled the woman out.
"What did you just say? Say it again!"
"When the woman saw that Qu Xiaodie had a cold face and looked like she was going to eat someone, she covered her face and dared not make a sound."
Seeing this, Commander Guo shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I'm telling you, the Xie brothers and the three Liu brothers are now working in the Tai'an Prefecture government office."
As for why these brothers were able to get jobs in the yamen, it's because they helped the imperial envoy catch corrupt officials in Tai'an Prefecture and made meritorious contributions. Governor Han of Tai'an Prefecture personally appointed them to work there!
Everyone who went with them knew about this. Anyone who dared to gossip again would be disrespecting the governor and slandering a third-rank official of the imperial court. At best, they would be flogged; at worst, they would be imprisoned for life!
Think it over carefully before you speak!
After Guo Zongqi finished speaking, everyone became completely obedient.
They couldn't afford to offend even the county magistrate, let alone a high-ranking official of the third rank. Their gaze towards the Xie and Liu families changed. Although they were still jealous and resentful, they dared not show it anymore.
It will probably take some time for them to fully accept it!
That's human nature. No matter how successful and wealthy someone is, they won't arouse anyone's jealousy. But if someone close to you becomes successful, they'll feel resentful and uncomfortable, as if everything was taken from them!
Then they'll retaliate against you in every way, their narrow-minded and vicious attitude is disgusting!
This pointless farce has come to an end.
Although it made General Guo and Xie Yushu quite unhappy, they were all upright people who clearly distinguished between public and private matters.
Once everyone had lined up according to their respective villages, Commander Guo first asked Xie Yushu, frankly stating that due to the short notice and the current situation, food was indeed insufficient. Han Zhongyu had done his utmost, but the amount of food he had collected was not very enough; distributed among the people, each person could only receive thirty jin of grain.
Even so, there's no guarantee that every household will receive it. We asked Xie Yushu and the others if they could receive a smaller amount, so the remaining funds could be used to help more families!
Xie Yushu naturally wouldn't be greedy and take advantage of disaster relief resources. Without saying a word, she made the decision for herself and the Xie family, willing to give up the disaster relief food and not take a single grain.
Seeing this, Liu Xiaodong followed suit and refused to take a single grain from the Liu family.
The others were unwilling to accept this, and they all complained that they hadn't made much money and had only bought this little bit of grain, unlike the Xie and Liu families who had gotten jobs!
Actually, it's not that we don't have enough money. Even if we don't, we still have some spare cash. It's just human selfishness!
However, the other party kept their money tightly under wraps, gritting their teeth and insisting that they had none left. Moreover, apart from Xie Yushu and her family, the others joined together to testify to each other, so Xie Yushu and her family couldn't interfere too much.
General Guo directly announced the decree: within ten days, the imperial court would distribute sweet potato seeds. This grain distribution would only guarantee 30 catties of grain per person, enough to last for more than two months until the sweet potatoes mature. Those who had purchased grain would have their grain replenished according to the number of people in their families, deducting the amount they already had.
For example, if you buy a 100-jin (50 kg) grain, that's enough for three people, with 10 jin left over. If you have five people in your family, you'll get an extra 50 jin.
As a result, those who didn't get any grain were relatively satisfied, but those who did get grain were in an uproar. They didn't dare to complain to Commander Guo, and instead blamed Xie Yushu and the others for causing them to receive less grain.
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