Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11954

"Why did you bring my son here? He doesn't understand anything, don't make things difficult for him!" The widower Li panicked the moment he saw his son, no longer the nonchalant person he had been before, and began to shout angrily.

“Why did you bring it? Ha, of course, to prove your point!” Yang Ruoqing said.

As she finished speaking, she said to her bodyguard, "Let's begin!"

The guard nodded and then ripped off Li Mao's pants.

All eyes were on Li Mao, and everyone craned their necks to see what the guard was up to and why he was pulling down a fool's pants right away.

The moment Wei pulled down Li Mao's pants, everyone who witnessed the scene exclaimed in surprise.

Even Yang Huazhong and several village elders were shocked.

Wang Hongtao, who had returned, had just entered the ancestral hall when he witnessed this scene. He stumbled, his eyes widening in disbelief: "Oh my god, what's going on?"

What's it like? Yang Ruoqing's curiosity was piqued, and she was about to turn around to see what it was when suddenly—

A tall figure suddenly blocked Yang Ruoqing's view, cutting off her line of sight with Li Mao.

It is Luo Fengtang.

Yang Ruoqing looked up, preparing to push him away. She was currently solving a case, and only the final step remained.

But as soon as her gaze fell on Luo Fengtang, Yang Ruoqing didn't dare to push him away.

Because, in her view, this was the final step in solving the case, but in Luo Fengtang's eyes, Yang Ruoqing saw something called 'jealousy'.

Oh no! She was so focused on solving the case that she completely ignored the jealous man beside her.

Luo Fengtang stood there blocking her way, showing no intention of moving aside, and warned Yang Ruoqing in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Don't look."

Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to Li Mao and no one was paying attention to her, Yang Ruoqing looked at the man in front of her with a sly smile in her eyes and mouthed a few words.

These words seemed to carry flames, instantly scorching Luo Fengtang's handsome face until he couldn't hold back anymore, and his earlobes turned red.

Yang Ruoqing saw that his earlobes were red, and knew that he had been moved by just one sentence.

She curled the corners of her lips, secretly delighted; the feeling of teasing him was wonderful.

And those words were: Go back to see you!

……

"Brother Wangsheng, are you still there?" Yang Ruoqing asked the crowd again.

A hand was raised above her head. "Excuse me, excuse me, Qing'er, I'm still here."

At this moment, village doctor Wang Sheng shed his identity as a bystander and donned his doctor's armor once more.

"Brother Wangsheng, could you please check Li Mao to see if he is capable of being a husband?"

"understand!"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone (except Yang Ruoqing), the gazes and curiosity of the others followed Wangsheng's hands as he began to fidget...

Li the widower panicked and tried to rush over to stop it all, but he was forced to kneel on the ground by the guards, his neck pressed down so he couldn't lift his head.

A moment later, Wangsheng helped Li Mao pull up his pants again and gave him another piece of candy.

With two pieces of candy in front of him, 20-year-old Li Mao was just a clueless kid, standing there happily eating the candy, letting Wang Sheng check him and letting everyone else watch.

After Wang Sheng tidied Li Mao's clothes, the guards led Li Mao aside. Wang Sheng then stepped forward and said to Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang, "We've examined him. Li Mao's body must have suffered severe burns in his childhood. It's atrophied and deformed. It's already a miracle that he survived. As for performing any acts of adulthood and continuing the Li family line, that's simply impossible!"

After saying this, Wang Sheng shook his head, sighed, and walked back into the crowd.

Yang Ruoqing nodded. This time, she no longer spoke to Li Guanfu and Mai Lao Er, but came to Yang Huazhong and several mascot village elders.

"Everyone should understand now, right? This widower Li keeps saying he wants to marry Mai Sui'er to be his child bride. I don't even want to talk about his filthy thoughts, for fear of soiling my mouth!" she said.

Yang Huazhong and several village elders looked at each other in bewilderment. Wang Hongtao was so angry that he slapped his thigh and cursed Li the widower as filthy and disgusting.

"The most despicable ones are Mr. and Mrs. Mai; they're even more disgusting than Widow Li!"

"They're all disgusting, in no particular order."

"They should all be drowned in pig cages! People like that are a waste of food!"

This time, with the physical evidence verified, all the evidence and the truth laid bare before everyone's eyes, there was no longer a single voice in the ancestral hall favoring Li the Widower and Mai Lao Er.

If it weren't for Yang Huazhong and several village elders, the villagers who came to watch the commotion would probably have rushed up and beaten these people to death.

Although Yang Huazhong and his group maintained order, the villagers kept throwing spittle and pebbles at Li Guanfu and Mai Lao Er, making them afraid to even lift their heads.

The final result was that the six taels of silver belonging to the Li family were confiscated, and the Li family father and son were sent back to Li Village. At the same time, the village head of Li Village was informed so that the people of Li Village would take this as a warning.

The matchmaker was severely reprimanded, and Yang Ruoqing declared on the spot that the matchmaker was never allowed to set foot in Changping Village again, and that if she were ever seen there, her leg would be broken.

The main attraction was the second son of the Mai family and the Tie couple.

“Drugging and selling women is a terrible thing, and it has a negative impact on the overall atmosphere of our surrounding villages,” Yang Ruoqing said. “My suggestion is to deal with it according to the clan rules and village laws!”

There's no need to take this to the authorities. In this era, clans and villages have direct law enforcement power.

In particular, the governor of Changhuai Prefecture and the generals of the National Protection Army all came from Changping Village, so both public and private laws were enforced in Changping Village.

And so, Mai Lao Er and Tie Shi were locked in a dark room on the side of the ancestral hall to await the specific punishment methods for the next two days.

"It's getting late, everyone should go home!" Yang Ruoqing dismissed the crowd, yawned, and went back to her home at the village entrance with Luo Fengtang and Yang Huazhong.

On the way back, Yang Huazhong, the village head, had to humbly ask his daughter and son-in-law for advice on how to handle the aftermath.

Yang Ruoqing said, "No rush. First, lock that couple in the small dark room next to the ancestral hall for a few days. Give them one meal a day, throw in two bundles of straw and a quilt, just enough to keep them from starving or freezing to death." Luo Fengtang looked at Yang Ruoqing beside him. The snow reflected on her face. The way she spoke and the way her eyes moved were all vivid symbols in his eyes.

'My wife is so kind-hearted; she even returned the bedding to me when I locked her in the dark room. Such a kind and beautiful woman—I'm so lucky to have married her!'

Yang Ruoqing was unaware that Luo Fengtang was trying to win her over, her romantic mind racing. At that moment, Yang Ruoqing was busy answering Yang Huazhong's next question.

"Qing'er, how many days will you be locked up? And there has to be some kind of punishment for this, right?" Yang Huazhong asked again.

You can't just detain someone for a few days as punishment, can you? That doesn't seem quite right.

Yang Ruoqing said, "Locking them in for three days and letting them suffer a little won't cause any life-threatening problems."

"Three days later, release them and then make them write a written confession in black and white in front of the village committee,"

"Of course, they are both illiterate. We'll have them dictate their confessions and find someone to write them down. As for the content of their confessions, they will naturally say that they will treat their two daughters well in the future, and that neither of them will be allowed to get married before they turn 16. Furthermore, the village committee must oversee any marriage proposals made by their daughters in the future."

In this way, we can prevent the couple from forgetting the pain of their past mistakes and continuing to try to take advantage of their two daughters' marriages.

“That’s fine, but we can’t be too ruthless. If we really kill the couple, their two daughters and the three children left with the Tie family will be left without anyone to raise them, which will be a problem,” Yang Huazhong pondered.

Yang Ruoqing knew that these last words were what Yang Huazhong had been holding back all along, wanting to say but too embarrassed to say directly.

"Don't worry, Dad. No one has died in these matters, so I will only give them a small punishment as a warning," Yang Ruoqing said. "If someone had really died, then I'm sorry, those two will be beheaded if they deserve it, and their entire fortunes will be ruined if they deserve it. As for their remaining children, I can just adopt them. It's not like I can't afford to raise them!"

"Yes, Father knows that Qing'er is sensible!" Yang Huazhong was finally relieved.

"Oh, right, what about the six taels of silver we confiscated from Li the Widower? Are we really not going to return it to him?" Yang Huazhong asked again.

Yang Ruoqing said, "Of course I won't return it. I didn't imprison the father and son, but I confiscated their money. I just want to skin Li the widower alive!"

"No buying, no harm. The case of Widow Li serves as a lesson for the villagers in the surrounding area. From now on, anyone who tries to imitate the buying and selling practices of Widow Li and Old Mai will be fine once they are discovered, as they will lose both their money and their life!"

Back at the Luo family home, Luo Fengtang went to the backyard to report to Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian. They had been away for several hours dealing with matters that night, and then had Rong Gu and the others bring back the two sisters, Mai Sui'er and Mai Li'er.

Luo Fengtang needed to go and explain the whole story to the two elders in person, so that they could feel at ease.

Yang Ruoqing and he split up and went to the guest rooms. Mai Sui'er and Mai Li'er were settled in the guest rooms in the front yard, accompanied by Rong Gu.

When Yang Ruoqing entered, the guest room was warm and cozy, with a charcoal fire burning and bright, warm lighting.

Having already taken a shower, changed into clean cotton-padded jackets and trousers, washed their faces, and recombed their hair, the Mai sisters sat at the square table in front of the bed, eating their meal.

A sumptuous meal, hot soup, and desserts were laid out on the table, and Aunt Rong sat to the side taking care of them.

The door suddenly opened, and when they saw that it was Yang Ruoqing who came in, the Mai sisters stood up together.

"Aunt Qing'er." Mai Sui'er called out timidly, her little hands nervously clutching her pants. After calling out, she quickly lowered her head and dared not raise it again.

Meanwhile, Mai Li'er tilted her little face up, her bright and clear eyes following Yang Ruoqing.

Although there was some restraint and fear, there was more of an expectation hidden deep in her eyes. In that instant, a scene flashed through Yang Ruoqing's mind.

On a snowy winter night, a stray kitten, though afraid of humans, mustered its courage and slowly approached a stranger, hoping to take a chance and find a home so it would no longer be a homeless animal...

"Okay, good children, sit down and continue eating, don't be shy." Yang Ruoqing smiled warmly at the sisters and moved to the table to sit down.

She glanced at the food on the table and nodded to herself. Aunt Rong was very thoughtful in doing these things. The food she prepared was suitable for children, easy to digest, filling, and easy to eat.

"Aunt Qing'er, Aunt Rong prepared too much food for us. My sister and I can't finish it. Would you like to eat with us?" Mai Li'er looked at Yang Ruoqing and asked softly.

In short, it conveyed two meanings: not only did it extend an invitation to Yang Ruoqing to have dinner together, but it also conveyed Yang Ruoqing's gratitude to Rong Gu.

Hearing this, Rong Gu looked at Mai Li'er with satisfaction, thinking that the little girl was quite sensible.

Yang Ruoqing smiled and said to Mai Li'er, "I'm not hungry, you guys eat. I have something to tell you after you're done."

"Mmm." Mai Li nodded, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat.

Yang Ruoqing watched the two children eat, and it would be a lie to say she didn't feel heartbroken.

In Changping Village, Mai Lao Er's family's living conditions weren't actually that bad; at least they had no problem having enough to eat and drink.

However, because they had many children, it was a blended family. Each of them brought two daughters, and after they got together, they had a son together.

Even if a couple can feed five children, the quality of their food will certainly be poor.

In such a family, the best food is always given to the son first, and then to the second son, because the second son is the strong laborer and the pillar of the family.

After Mai Lao Er finished eating, it was Tie Shi's and her two daughters' turn. Mai Sui'er and Mai Li'er were always the last to finish, eating what was left over and the worst food.

So both girls were thin and small. At this moment, when they were holding bowls that were bigger than their faces, although they probably wanted to eat more politely, when the food entered their mouths, it stimulated their appetites and the panic of being dominated by hunger for a long time. The two girls couldn't help themselves again and ate in big mouthfuls, and even almost choked several times.

Yang Ruoqing poured them tea and placed it aside, while Rong Gu helped them ladle soup.

"Don't rush, eat slowly." Yang Ruoqing gently patted Mai Li'er's back.

Mai Li looked up at Yang Ruoqing, her eyes slightly red. She nodded, took small sips of soup, but tears silently slid into the soup bowl.

Yang Ruoqing pretended not to see it, got up and went to her friend's bedside, touching the bedding.

Yes, the bedding is thick enough.

"Ronggu, put two more hot water bottles in their blankets to warm their feet."

"Oh dear, look at my memory! I was so busy preparing the food that I forgot about this. No wonder I felt like something was missing."

Rong Gu smiled and quickly got up to get ready.

(End of this chapter)