The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 568 - 566 Doubt

Chapter 568: Chapter 566 Doubt

Second Uncle Sun grabbed Old Lady Sun, "So it was you, Second Sister Li! Speak up, who is your lover? Is it true that you and he killed my older brother?"

Old Lady Sun hurriedly cried innocence, "Second Uncle, I’ve been wronged! How could I have dallied with another man? Your big brother died from a cold, how could I have caused his death?"

Wang Yongzhu glanced at Lady Lin, curious to know how she knew the cause of Old Man Sun’s death.

Lady Lin, not noticing Wang Yongzhu’s glance, saw Second Uncle Sun grabbing Old Lady Sun and immediately added fuel to the fire, "That may not be true. How could your in-laws catch a cold? Besides, a cold can be cured by seeing a doctor, how could it lead to death? It might be that you adulterers secretly used poison to kill your in-law!"

Her words reminded the onlookers.

"Indeed, Old Man Sun’s health was always good, without sickness or disaster; his demise was somewhat sudden."

"Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember that before Old Man Sun got sick, there seemed to have been an argument with his wife."

"Oh my, before that I even saw Old Man Sun’s wife with another man, quite intimately, and after I told others, she came to my door and scolded me for three days!"

...

As the saying goes, ’Many mouths can make anything sound true’; now with people already skeptical, the groundless rumors spread, and suspicion towards Old Lady Sun rose.

In the end, almost everyone believed that Old Man Sun had indeed been killed by Old Lady Sun and her lover.

Inside the house, Song Chongjin had already received a signal from Wang Yongzhu, and along with Jindou and Jinhu, they had gone to the backyard and smashed the coffin in the miscellaneous room.

They wrapped up the wealth inside into a bundle and brought it out, tossing it into the courtyard.

"This was found inside a coffin in the back courtyard."

Now everyone understood that this must have been the private wealth of Old Lady Sun. It was unexpected that while the Sun family seemed poor, Old Lady Sun had her own stash.

The treasure, bundled in mere cloth, scattered as it hit the ground.

Suddenly, a dozen silver ingots, some loose Copper Coin, a few pieces of fabric, and several pouches and hairpins and such lay exposed before everyone.

Lady Lin’s eyes were sharp. "Isn’t that our eldest sister’s dowry? I remember clearly, these hairpins, this fabric, and these Silver hidden at the bottom of the trunk!"

As she spoke, she singled out the dowry items from the Wang Family, which accounted for almost half.

After picking them out, Lady Lin then casually rummaged through the pouches and her face reddened instantly, as if bitten by a snake, she withdrew her hand.

Her mouth hastily cursed, "I spit! You still deny having a lover? What’s this shameless pouch about? I never realized, at your ripe old age, you’d have such a demonic pouch!"

As soon as Second Uncle Sun heard this, he picked up the pouch and saw its content, his face turned black with shame and anger, and he hurled the pouch at Old Lady Sun’s face, "What is this?"

Those with sharp eyes saw that the pouch was embroidered with two naked figures entwined, and the crowd exploded into chatter.

Those curious had already run off to the Clan Leader’s House to spread the news.

The people from Second Uncle Sun’s household had also heard the news and rushed over. Seeing Second Uncle Sun’s ashen face and then the pile of silver and pouches on the ground, they too were overcome with anger, speechless.

By this point, the Sun family’s home had nearly been demolished, not leaving a single intact item.

Sun Laoer and his family had been thrown out by Song Chongjin and the Wang Family Brothers.

Sun Laoer’s Wife saw that pile of wealth and blurted out, "Mom, you actually hid so much private money?"

Sun Laoer was also annoyed: "Mom, don’t you always say that our family has a hard time making ends meet? Asking you for a couple of coins is like asking for your life. When elder brother hurt his head, you said we had no money to see the doctor, what is this?"

It was true that Sun Laoer harbored dissatisfaction toward Old Lady Sun. With so much wealth, had she let the elder brother see a doctor, maybe he wouldn’t have died. How could this have led to the tyranny of the Wang Family?

Sun Shitou foolishly stared at Old Lady Sun, then at the dozen or so silver ingots, his gaze shifting uncertainly.

Shitou’s Wife, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, tugged at Sun Shitou’s sleeve, "Half of that silver, isn’t it our mother’s dowry?"

Sun Shitou shook his head, "I don’t know."

Of course, he didn’t know. Since his birth, he had never seen it, only heard his grandmother say his mother was useless, that she only brought some clumsy things of no use as her dowry.

Who knew there was actually silver?

Not to mention Sun Shitou’s ignorance, even Lady Lin, looking at the silver ingots that were counted out, was too angry for words.

When the Wang Family married Wang Yongzhen, she had not yet married into the Wang Family, but she had been staying with them frequently at the time.

The reason she knew this was the treasured silver dowry was that she had once seen these silver ingots in Old Lady Lin’s room, which Old Lady Lin had immediately put away.

These silver ingots were said to have been exchanged for their auspicious meaning, with fresh designs, one tael per ingot, exceptionally small and charming.

Later it was heard that four ingots of silver were given to Wang Yongzhen as part of her treasured dowry.

She had been so envious at the time, and today, there were seven or eight ingots, making up to seven or eight taels. Who knew how much her father-in-law had given in private? Adding this up, along with the rest of the dowry, it almost matched the expenses of her marriage to the household head, maybe even more.

Lady Lin’s face changed on the spot. Given her temperament, she no longer supported that elder sister-in-law. She should have just left.

All the Wang Family people present were no fools, looking at Wang Yongzhen’s dowry picked out by Lady Lin, everyone made a mental calculation.

They were just more patient than Lady Lin. Now that the Sun Family was ruined, they couldn’t just leave, could they?

Wang Yongfu glared at Lady Lin, "We’ll talk about this when we get back."

Lady Lin barely managed to steady herself.

Before long, the Sun Family Patriarch arrived. After listening to the situation from Second Uncle Sun’s family, he became furious, had Old Lady Sun tied up and gagged, ready to take her to the ancestral hall.

Wang Yongzhu spoke with a smile that was not a smile, "How you deal with this Old Devout Woman of the Sun Family is your affair! But our Wang Family’s business is not yet finished!"

The reason the Sun Family Patriarch wanted to take Old Lady Sun away as soon as he arrived was firstly to find out who the adulterer was and the true cause of Old Man Sun’s death.

Secondly, naturally, it was because he had heard about the Sun Family’s eldest daughter-in-law being mistreated on his way here. If this matter was not resolved properly and the reputation damaged, it would hinder the Sun family clansmen from marrying and finding matches for their daughters in the future.

Therefore, he wanted to hide it out first and then discuss.

But could Wang Yongzhu let him get away with it? Hadn’t she waited here half the day just for him?

"How about this, dear niece by marriage, why don’t we take the lady back to her mother’s home first to rest and recover? As for the money and silver, we, the Sun Family, will pay! Once we’ve cleared up the cause of death for Great Ming’s father, we can discuss what to do next," suggested the Sun Family Patriarch.