The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 117: Entering the Thief

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Entering the Thief

Wang Yongzhu patted her chest after closing the door, "Oh dear, my head hurts..."

When Lady Jiang came to call her for breakfast, she had just left her room, only to find that aside from herself and Lady Jiang, everyone else seemed to have disappeared.

"Wasn’t it time for breakfast? Where is everyone?" Wang Yongzhu asked, puzzled.

"Your second uncle said he wanted to go check the situation in the ancestral hall first, and your father went with him. Several of the boys along with Jinhua also went. Your mother hasn’t gotten up since early morning because she said she is feeling unwell. You can start eating, and I will take some food to her first," Lady Jiang said as she scooped up a bowl of porridge and cut a thick plate of pickled vegetables to take to Old Granny Zhang’s room.

Upon hearing Old Granny Zhang was unwell, Wang Yongzhu became anxious. She was fine last night, but all of a sudden, she felt sick this morning. Could it be that she strained something last night, or something else?

With that thought, she couldn’t eat. She grabbed the plate and said, "No need, I’ll go check on mother."

She then headed towards the main house.

In the inner room, Old Granny Zhang was lying in bed fully clothed. She heard the commotion and moved a bit but didn’t roll over.

"Mother, what’s wrong? Where doesn’t it feel good? Did you twist something last night, or did Wang Daxiu hurt you?" Wang Yongzhu threw out a barrage of concerned questions.

Her hand reached for Old Granny Zhang’s forehead.

Disturbed by the fuss, Old Granny Zhang could not stay reclined any longer; she sat up with a hearty appearance and good spirits.

This didn’t look like someone who was unwell at all.

Wang Yongzhu, her anxiety deflated, couldn’t help but express a mix of laughter and chagrin, "Mother, what are you doing pretending to be sick early in the morning? What are you up to?"

Old Granny Zhang took the plate, slurped down two mouthfuls of porridge, then huffed, "I just couldn’t bear to see your second brother, so I pretended to be sick to avoid going out. It was suffocating me first thing in the morning! I heard you talking to him in the courtyard; you silly maid, you need to be more careful from now on. Don’t tell your second brother everything, there’s no end to his schemes. He must have at least tens of thousands of tricks up his sleeve; ten of you put together wouldn’t be a match for him! Don’t let him buy you off with just a couple of pieces of candy, spilling everything you know to him!"

"Mother, don’t worry! From now on, I will listen to you. Whomever you say I should talk to, I’ll talk to them. If you say not to talk to someone, I won’t talk," Wang Yongzhu promised, raising her hand.

Relieved, Old Granny Zhang finished her porridge quickly and started walking outside, simultaneously instructing, "You just stay at home. Women are not allowed in the ancestral hall, and besides, it’s too hot outside. There’s no need for you to suffer like that."

How could Wang Yongzhu agree to that? She had worked so hard to identify the murderer, risking being drowned in a pond after being exposed, and for what?

Wasn’t it to see the murderer punished in the end and earn Points?

She had come this far, having taken ninety-nine steps. And now, on the very last one, she was to be denied the chance to see for herself? Was that reasonable?

Hurriedly, she too finished a bowl of porridge, threw down her spoon and chopsticks, and ran outside. Lady Jiang, seeing that everyone had left, felt worried. She thought for a moment, gathered the leftover food into the cupboard, locked the door, and followed suit.

The Wang Family Ancestral Hall was located toward the east end of the village. It was a modest trio of rooms which usually housed the ancestral tablets of the Wang Family lineage, whose ancestors had fled here due to a drought.

They had settled in Qilidun to thrive and multiply, leaving descendants behind.

Later, the original dwelling of these first Wang Family people became the ancestral hall for the entire clan. Now, about a hundred years later, what started as a lone branch has flourished abundantly.

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The area outside the ancestral hall was crowded with people, all waiting to see how the matter of Li Jinlong would be dealt with today.

Since men not of the Wang Family were not allowed inside the ancestral hall, everyone stood on the open ground in front of the hall’s entrance.

The doors to the hall were wide open; within the dimly lit room, Li Jinlong was tightly bound, kneeling on the ground, flanked by Wang Yongping and the brothers Jindou and Jinhoo as guards.

At the entrance to the hall, the Li Family Patriarch and Wang Family Patriarch had instructed several strong men to watch the door, not allowing any disturbances.

By the time Wang Yongzhu arrived, several Clan Leaders were already there, conversing cordially with Wang Yongan.

The usually high-and-mighty Clan Leaders, whether from the Wang Family, the Song Family, or the Li Family, were all exceedingly polite at this moment.

Wang Yongzhu realized then that the title of Scholar held by Wang Yongan had no small influence in the village of Qilidun.

Wang Yongan was the most handsome among the Wang brothers to begin with, and his scholarly pursuits gave him an air different from that of the other villagers who labored in the fields; coupled with his fair skin and his gentle and amiable demeanor, he was polite and respectful in his dealings, despite the prejudice Wang Yongzhu harbored against him.

From a distance, Wang Yongan truly stood out like a crane among chickens, like the bright moon hanging in the sky, instantly capturing attention.

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t tell what Wang Yongan was cheerfully chatting about with the Clan Leaders, but she saw the Li Family Patriarch’s face change, beads of sweat emerging on his forehead.

The Wang Family Patriarch and the Song Family Patriarch also appeared gravely concerned, pressing for further questions several times over.

Wang Yongan seemed to have offered a few words of reassurance, and the Clan Leaders’ expressions relaxed a bit.

What followed proceeded very smoothly; Li Dagui and his wife, Wang Daxiu, were summoned by the Li Family Patriarch.

Let’s say Li Dagui was so angered by his unfilial sons that he fainted and only came to his senses early in the morning, with only his sobbing wife, Wang Daxiu, by his side, his sons, daughters-in-law, and daughter nowhere to be seen.

Upon waking and wanting to drink some hot water, he called out for a long time, but his wife only knew how to cry out for her daughter-in-law; however, no one appeared even after a long while.

The courtyard was deathly silent without a sound to be heard.

Li Dagui felt that something was amiss and tried to summon his strength when he realized his whole body was weak; he instructed his wife to go out and check the courtyard.

Anxious and angry, he thought about how there was no one worthwhile in the house after he went down, how his wife knew only to cry, leaving him without even hot water to drink. Thinking this, his determination to save his younger son grew even stronger.

After waiting a short while, having gathered a bit of strength, he heard Wang Daxiu wailing in the courtyard, crying out, "Cursed thieves! We’ve been robbed! A thief has entered our home!"

A thief?

Li Dagui’s first reaction was to reach behind his bedhead, where he had hollowed out a space to keep the family’s silver, their entire savings.

Feeling a solid purse, Li Dagui slightly relaxed and tucked the purse into his chest.

Then he struggled to get out of bed and walked out from the inner room, only to see Wang Daxiu sitting on her rear in the yard, wailing, "Who is the lawless brute that dares to steal from my home! Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning! May lightning strike you dead, you beasts! Cursed bastards bringing disaster, is this how you bully our old Li family for having no one to rely on! Master Heaven, open your eyes and look! Are you trying to force us to our deaths——"

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