Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 347 - 347 348 The Unfortunate Child_1

Chapter 347: Chapter 348: The Unfortunate Child_1 Chapter 347: Chapter 348: The Unfortunate Child_1 Dabao’s Mother could only hang her head low, her eyes reddening as she remained silent. How could she not feel ashamed? But what Madam Zhao was doing now embarrassed her even more. It was Madam Zhao who had pushed her out, Madam Zhao who wished for her death in exchange for a stone tablet of honor. In Madam Zhao’s eyes, she truly was that insignificant.

Muniang sighed helplessly, comforting Dabao’s Mother, “You shouldn’t take your mother-in-law’s words to heart. That woman has character issues. Just live your life well. You still have a son. Don’t think about all this nonsense.”

Dabao’s Mother nodded vigorously, understanding that Muniang was afraid she might consider suicide, “Mm, thank you, Muniang. If it wasn’t for you speaking up for us, this time, we probably—”

“I wasn’t speaking up for you. I was speaking up for justice. In this issue, you are the greatest heroes and deserve much better treatment.”

Dabao’s Mother didn’t quite understand but clearly felt respected by Muniang. She was moved beyond words, something she had never dared to hope for before, and managed a small smile, “Thank you.”

The scattered soldiers prepared to take their beatings were the only ones left. Muniang had no interest in watching and turned to leave. Nangong Qian quickly followed, “Hey, I did save your life, after all. Shouldn’t you show some gratitude for such a great kindness? I still owe you a life-saving debt!”

Muniang gave him a cold look, “Didn’t you want to take my life when you pushed me off the cliff? Now, a life for a life, you don’t owe me anything.”

Nangong Qian was amused, “You put it quite lightly. So the fall off the cliff was a bigger loss for you?”

“Does that matter?” Muniang glared at him, “You’d better go back to where you came from and don’t even think about playing tricks on me. I absolutely won’t be harmed a second time by anyone. If you still want to use me to restrain Yu Ze, you might as well save your energy since next time, my arrow won’t just strike your shoulder so simply.”

Having said that, she no longer paid any attention to him and walked away. Nangong Qian was not upset but rather smiled wickedly. If there were a next time, even a stab in the heart would be welcome to him.

After more than half a month, Tupo Village finally emerged completely from the shadow of the recent catastrophic event. The scattered soldiers had been handed over to the authorities to be beheaded after the autumn harvest. As for the losses suffered by the families, Lord Lu, with his kind heart, had compensated them. The matter was finally settled satisfactorily.

However, after all these matters were dealt with, they remembered that Qiao Yuanzhen had not been dealt with yet. After some thought, the Village Head called together the esteemed elders of the village to make a decision.

“In my opinion, the basic line for being a human is to not harm one’s own people, especially under the circumstances of an enemy army’s attack. Qiao Muniang is a great hero of our village. What Qiao Yuanzhen did at the time was indeed excessive! If word gets out, others might say there’s a traitor in our village,” said Xue, one of the older elders with considerable standing in the village.

“That’s true. An educated person like him should understand this principle most clearly. Yet, he ignored it completely. This is not only a disgrace to Tupo Village but also to the Daqian Dynasty! It’s better to banish him from our village sooner rather than later. Wouldn’t everyone else in the village feel uneasy? When facing powerful foes, shouldn’t we all be united? Yet he plotted behind our backs, and even now he shows no remorse for his personal vendettas. How can anyone in the village dare to deal with him?”

Another elder stroked his beard, saying, “But, after all, Qiao Yuanzhen is the only scholar in our village. Isn’t it a bit improper to just drive him away directly?”

The Village Head spoke decisively, “The matter has already come to this. Do you think his title of scholar can still be preserved? Lord Lu is not blind. As an honest and upright official, he will definitely strip him of his scholarly title. Such a person with corrupt intentions, no matter how much he reads, it’s all in vain!”

“Then let’s drive him out! What use is there in keeping someone who brings disgrace to the village without any reputation?!”

The village’s decision finally came out, and Qiao Yuanzhen, having been locked in the ancestral hall for over half a month, already had injuries, and now after staying in such a dirty and chaotic place for so long, her pampered body naturally couldn’t endure it. Her health had deteriorated a lot. Hearing that she could finally be released, Madam Zhao was overjoyed, but immediately her head buzzed with the news that Yuanzhen was to be expelled.

“This is outrageous! How can they treat our Yuanzhen like this? I can’t live like this!”

Madam Zhao certainly started making a fuss again, this time the Village Head didn’t show any good grace, “This is the result discussed by the clan elders. Don’t make a scene with me. If you still refuse to accept it, I’ll just send the person directly to the prefectural authorities!”

Madam Zhao ground her teeth, the urge to commit murder burning within her.

The Village Head looked at Madam Zhao in this state and could only shake his head helplessly. If she were to find out that Yuanzhen might also be stripped of her academic honors, she would probably not only think of murder but also of suicide.

Upon receiving this news, Qingya immediately came back to inform Muniang, “That’s good, a scum like Qiao Yuanzhen can finally be expelled. It’s been so annoying to see; I’ve heard that there’s a great chance Yuanzhen will lose her scholarly honors. After all, once involved with a crime like conspiring with the enemy, it’s really over.”

Muniang muttered to herself, had she known earlier that this accusation could be so useful, she should have used it to frame him long ago.

“However, I’ve heard something else,” Qingya hesitantly said.

“What is it?”

“It’s about Dabao’s Mother, she seems to be pregnant.”

Muniang’s heart skipped a beat, “Pregnant? Dabao’s father’s?”

“Logically, it should be. It’s just that Dabao’s father, Xu Shuzhuo, is almost always in the prefectural city, rarely comes back. Otherwise, Dabao’s Mother wouldn’t have only had Dabao after marrying into the family for so many years. It was only about a month ago that Xu Shuzhuo returned and stayed for two days. Dabao’s Mother insists the child is definitely Xu Shuzhuo’s, but her mother-in-law seems to be furious, claiming the child must be illegitimate; after all, they haven’t had another child for so many years, and just now, at this time —”

“What’s happening now?”

“It seems to have caused a row; the Jin Clan wasn’t too pleased with Dabao’s Mother being alive in the first place, and ever since that incident, they’ve been quite disdainful of her. Now this ill-timed child has popped out, truly putting people in a difficult position.”

Muniang sighed, how fate toys with people. Why did this child have to come at this time? Dabao’s Mother was already a woman with a hard life, with such a mother-in-law, and now just as things seemed to have calmed down for a bit, the arrival of this child was bound to shatter that peace.

At the Xu Family, a huge commotion had erupted.

Mrs. Jin’s shrill voice nearly burst eardrums, “I said a long time ago that we should have drowned that wretch in a pig cage, and you were all opposed to it. Now look, she’s even got an illegitimate child, tell me, tell me, how is everyone in the village going to look down on our Xu Family?!”