Xiao An did not hesitate.
“There is nothing to deliberate about. We must report her to the authorities.”
Zhu Cui also said, “We caught her this time. If we hadn’t, Xiao An’s two mu of land would have been completely ruined this year.
“She destroyed the seedlings twice. She was trying to cut off Xiao An’s only means of survival. That woman’s heart is even more poisonous than a snake’s.”
Huang Guixia was furious as well.
“She pulled out the seedlings and destroyed the crops. I really hope the county magistrate orders the constables to give her fifty strokes and then sentences her to exile. She’s absolutely hateful.”
“Exactly. Report her and send her to prison. If she’s so capable, let her cause trouble in prison.”
Xiao An’s voice was like a sharp blade, cutting off Lin Feng’s hope of continuing to beg for mercy.
Like a wounded jackal, Lin Feng knelt on the ground and sobbed miserably.
The village head pondered for a moment.
“Xiao An, before we report her, we should at least inform her family. They need to understand why Lin Feng is being taken to the authorities.”
Xiao An nodded.
“Of course.”
The village head turned to the man beside him.
“Da Shi, go to the northern mountain and tell Kang Rong and his parents.”
Wang Da Shi was Zhu Cui’s brother-in-law. The village head had also summoned him tonight.
Wang Da Shi’s voice was just as deep and muffled as Wang Da Shan’s.
“Alright. I’ll go right now.”
The village head lit another torch and handed it to him.
“Come back as quickly as you can. We’ll wait here in front of Xiao An’s bamboo house.”
Wang Da Shi nodded.
“Don’t worry. My legs are quick.”
He took the torch and hurried toward the northern mountain. He really was quite fast.
Xiao An said, “Let’s go inside and wait.”
Zhu Cui and Huang Guixia bent down, each grabbing one of Lin Feng’s arms. They pulled her up from the ground and dragged her toward the bamboo house.
It was late March, and the weather was already warm.
The village head stuck his torch into the simple stove Xiao An had built.
The bamboo house was small, and with so many people inside, there wasn’t enough room to move around. So everyone sat on several rocks outside the house.
Lin Feng simply sat on the ground, hugging her knees and burying her face between them without moving.
She had actually calmed down by now. She knew Wang Da Shi had gone to find Kang Rong and his parents.
When she had left home, Kang Rong and his father were still out hunting. Lin Feng silently prayed that Heaven would bless them and let them return home by now.
Otherwise, with only her mother-in-law at home, it would be difficult for anyone to come up with a way to save her.
If she were sent to prison, there was no telling whether she would even come out alive.
And even if she did return, no one could say what might happen to a woman inside a prison.
The village head sighed.
“It has rained here this year, so we’ve been able to plant our fields. If everything goes well, we’ll have a harvest in autumn.
“But I’ve heard that in Yongzhou, in the northwest, there hasn’t been a single drop of rain for the past two years, and this year is the same.
“Their land hasn’t been planted for three years. Their lives must be even harder than ours.”
Huang Guixia gasped.
“My goodness. Not a single drop of rain for three years? Wouldn’t people starve to death?”
The village head nodded.
“When the fields produce nothing, the elderly and children are usually the first to starve.
“I’ve heard that some people, driven to complete desperation by hunger, have already resorted to exchanging their children for food…”
Zhu Cui shuddered at the thought.
Suddenly, anger surged through her.
She jumped up and kicked Lin Feng.
“We finally got rain this year! Everyone managed to plant their fields.
“How could you do something so vicious? If you ruined Xiao An’s livelihood and caused her to die, what would you gain from it?”
Zhu Cui was terrified in retrospect.
She was afraid that if Lin Feng had succeeded, Xiao An’s only means of survival would have been completely destroyed.
Lin Feng began sobbing miserably, looking as though she were the one who had been wronged.
An hour passed.
Torchlight appeared along the mountain road.
Kang Rong arrived at Xiao An’s bamboo house with his parents, following Wang Da Shi.
The village head stood up.
“Kang Rong, and his parents, I assume Da Shi has already explained everything to you?”
Kang Rong answered quietly.
“He has.”
With that, Kang Rong and his parents all knelt before Xiao An and repeatedly knocked their heads against the ground.
Xiao An immediately stood and stepped aside.
Putting Kang Rong aside, his parents were already elderly. Xiao An did not want to accept their kowtows and risk receiving such a great show of respect from people of their age.
Kang Rong’s voice was full of pain.
“Xiao An, this was Lin Feng’s fault. I apologize to you on her behalf.
“Please, for the sake of the fact that we grew up together, give me some face and forgive her this once.”
Xiao An let out a cold laugh.
“Give you face? She nearly destroyed my only means of survival. Can your face make up for my livelihood?”
Kang Rong’s mother crawled forward several steps, her face full of panic.
“Xiao An, when Da Shi first told me Lin Feng had pulled out your muskmelon seedlings, I didn’t believe him.
“Isn’t that basically an attempt to kill someone? What kind of hatred could possibly make someone come up with such a vicious idea?
“Da Shi said it was absolutely true. Otherwise, why would he have gone all the way into the mountains in the middle of the night?
“Only then did I believe him. That wicked woman said she was going out to gather vegetables, but she never returned. She was actually here hurting someone.
“Xiao An, please, for the sake of her three children, who are still so young, forgive her this once.
“The three children have already gone to sleep. Otherwise, I would have brought them here and made them kneel before you to apologize on behalf of their mother.
“Xiao An, please forgive her. Our entire family will remember your kindness for the rest of our lives. We will all be grateful to you.”
After saying this, she repeatedly slammed her forehead against the ground.
Kang Rong’s mother was quite clever.
Every word out of her mouth emphasized how wrong Lin Feng had been, taking all the blame upon herself in an attempt to calm Xiao An’s anger.
Once Xiao An’s anger subsided, there would be room to negotiate.
Huang Guixia sneered.
“Oh, look at you! You’re like an old cow kneeling beside a fire, thinking you’re something special.
“There is no tree in this world that can cover the entire sky. Everything has something that can overcome it. Yet you can’t even control your own daughter-in-law?”
Zhu Cui wasn’t as sharp-tongued as Huang Guixia and couldn’t come up with such cutting remarks, but her plain face was filled with anger.
Kang Rong’s father, already an old man, continued pleading.
“Xiao An, please show some mercy and forgive Lin Feng this once. We’ll compensate you for the damage to the fields.”
With that, he repeatedly knocked his head against the ground.
The three members of the Kang family genuinely slammed their heads down hard. Soon, their foreheads were covered in blood.
The village head couldn’t bear to watch.
He looked at Xiao An, then at the family still kowtowing.
“How much are you planning to compensate her? Tell me.”
Kang Rong’s father took silver from inside his clothes and held it out with both hands.
“This is four taels of silver. I know it’s not enough.
“Tell us how much more is needed. I’ll sell the animal skins we’ve saved at home. If that’s still not enough, I’ll find another way.
“Lin Feng was at fault. We must compensate her.
“Village head, please help us say a few good words.”
Seeing the blood covering the old man’s forehead, the village head was moved and could no longer bear it.
He looked at Xiao An and spoke with some difficulty.
“Girl, how about this? If these two mu of muskmelons had been harvested, they could have earned around eight taels of silver.
“Kang’s daughter-in-law committed such a vicious act, and she did it twice. Let’s make them compensate you ten taels of silver. What do you think?”
Before Xiao An could answer, he added:
“Please, for my sake, let them compensate you with silver.”
According to Xiao An’s original intention, she didn’t want compensation at all. She wanted Lin Feng sent to prison.
But the village head had shown compassion toward the Kang family and asked her to give him some face.
In the end, Xiao An did not insist.
“Alright. This time, for the village head’s sake, I won’t send Lin Feng to prison. I’ll accept the compensation instead.”