Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 428 - 428 429 How will the play continue_1

Chapter 428: Chapter 429 How will the play continue_1 Chapter 428: Chapter 429 How will the play continue_1 Xiangcao cried out, “I was just delivering the dish. How could I have poisoned it? Lady, what grudge do Dahu and I have that I would harm him so? Lady, please have mercy, I truly did not do it!”

The two maidservants pointed at her and said, “Lady, it must be her. If we had poisoned the soup, why would only Dahu be poisoned? Although we made the soup, it was Xiangcao who served it and distributed it to everyone. We are truly innocent!”

Dahu also suddenly seemed to remember something and yelled at Xiangcao, “It was you! Yesterday, I scolded you because the hawthorn soup bowl you gave me was too small. You were displeased but didn’t dare to argue with me, so you resorted to this underhanded tactic to harm me. How cruel of you!”

Xiangcao’s face turned pale in an instant, “No, no, no, I didn’t…”

“Still denying it! Who else could it be but you!” Dahu’s anger rose, and he turned to Muniang, “Lady, it must be her. She looks honest on the surface, but her heart is so dark. It was her who caused me to harm Miss Chen. Now you definitely won’t let me off, so she used this to take revenge on me. She’s truly malicious!”

Xiangcao, too anxious to speak, began to weep bitterly. Indeed, Dahu had been fierce with her yesterday because she had not given him a large bowl. This time she specifically prepared a large bowl for him, but never expected another incident to happen. Now, all fingers were pointed at her, and she was at a loss for words, only shrinking back and shedding tears.

Muniang pondered for a moment, then said, “You may all leave for now. Lock Xiangcao in the firewood shed.”

Xiangcao turned white, “Lady, I really didn’t poison him, I did not mean to harm Dahu!”

“How dare you still make excuses,” Dahu was red-faced with anger.

Muniang glared at him, “Leave! I will get to the bottom of this. Xiangcao, stop begging. I only look at the evidence. Until then, you will be locked in the firewood shed. If it’s not you, there’s no harm done. But if it is, you should already imagine the consequences!”

Xiangcao shuddered at these words but still nodded, no longer making a scene, allowing the servant to take her away.

The room finally quieted down. Muniang organized her thoughts, feeling troubled. Although everything pointed to Xiangcao, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Zhong Yulang came in and asked, “Now that the culprit has been found, how does Lady plan to deal with it?”

Muniang shook her head, “Let’s not rush this. Wait on this matter.”

However, Zhong Yulang looked troubled, “But if we don’t settle this, how can we explain to Chen Yuhua’s family? Her parents just came. I told them you were handling the situation, and they didn’t come in to disturb, but they’re still waiting. They just want an explanation. Otherwise, they are even prepared to take it to the County Government Office to seek justice. After all, with their daughter harmed like this, no one would feel at ease.”

Muniang also felt conflicted upon hearing this. If they turned it over to the County Government Office, Xiangcao would surely be convicted and might even end up in prison. Furthermore, this incident could tarnish Mei Garden’s reputation. If it became embroiled in a lawsuit, it surely would be improper. Besides, with the family pressing her, she had to give them an explanation.

Just as Muniang was wrestling with her thoughts, the door was suddenly burst open, and Chen Yuhua’s parents barged in, falling to their knees as soon as they entered, giving Muniang quite a fright.

“Lady, our Yuhua was favored by you, which was the only reason for her good fortune, but now, nearly losing her life due to the malicious hearts of others, I cannot accept that at all. Please, Lady, you must give an explanation. If you don’t have the heart to punish her, hand that wretched girl over to me, and let me discipline her myself! After all, the daughter of the Chen Family cannot be bullied without consequence!” Chen choked up as he spoke.

Their family too doted on their children, and although she was a daughter, being the youngest, she was always coddled. Naturally, they could not bear Chen Yuhua suffering such grievous wrongs.

Muniang hastily helped Chen to his feet: “What are you doing? I didn’t say there wouldn’t be an explanation, but the matter hasn’t been thoroughly investigated, and I can’t leap to conclusions, can I? Once I grab the culprit who dares to do such a deed, you won’t have to bother yourself, Sir, I will be the first to deal with them.”

Chen replied, “We already know, it was that maid called Xiangcao who did it. Now Lady, are you saying things haven’t been cleared up because you wish to brush us off? Although the Chen Family is common folk, at the very least there’s still some justice in this world!”

Muniang felt a sense of helplessness and didn’t know how to respond; she couldn’t just say she felt it wasn’t Xiangcao, that would be too far-fetched.

“Master Chen, could you just trust me this once? Although I, Qiao Muniang, am just a woman, I still have credibility. Yuhua is someone I’ve supported with great effort, and I am absolutely the person who most wants her to do well. Her mishap has distressed me more than anyone, and that’s exactly why I want to clear up the truth, to give you a proper explanation. Just give me a few more days, and I will thoroughly investigate this matter,” Muniang earnestly promised.

Chen pondered for a moment and, considering Muniang’s kindness to his family, ultimately chose to trust her once more: “Then I will give you a few days, but if no one is produced by then, I will report it directly to the authorities.”

Muniang nodded: “Rest assured.”

“Ah, so the culprit is Xiangcao; she went too far. Just because she had a disagreement with Dahu, she went and put laxatives in his soup. Talk about immoral, and in the end, it was Miss Chen who suffered.”

“Hmph, she always seemed innocent enough,” someone remarked disapprovingly, “who would have thought I was blind; Miss Chen, such a kind-hearted person, to suffer such a fate – how pitiful. With her parents making a fuss at the door, I bet she’s doomed this time. Even if the Lady spares her, her own parents would want to tear her apart!”

Guo Yuehua quietly listened on the side, then quickly asked, “What about Xiangcao? Has she been driven out yet?”

“Not yet, the Lady has locked her in the woodshed.”

“Why hasn’t she been expelled yet?”

“Do you think the Lady would let her off so easily? Kicking her out would be too lenient. The Lady will surely punish her severely; she might even be crippled.”

Hearing this, Guo Yuehua felt relieved. It seemed the “truth” had been settled, and as long as it didn’t involve her, all was well. She felt a huge weight lift off her chest. With Chen Yuhua unable to perform, and Xiangcao taking the blame, Qiao Muniang would definitely be anxious to find someone to play the Little Dragon Girl.

Indeed, no sooner had Muniang bid farewell to Chen Yuhua’s parents, Zhong Yulang came forward with this difficult question: “Now that Chen Yuhua can’t perform, how will the play continue?”