“You poisoned my goose!”
The man accused refused to accept it and shouted back, “Nonsense! Your goose was already sick! I barely touched it, and it just rolled its eyes and dropped dead! I haven’t even accused you of trying to poison people by selling sick livestock! You old man, how dare you turn around and frame me!”
Hearing this, Ji Yu shifted her gaze from the goose to the man.
He was stout and round-faced, dressed in clothes that looked ordinary—which they were—but still, ordinary common folks rarely wore fabric of that quality.
Facing the accusation, he argued fiercely, his face turning red with anger, vehemently denying he had poisoned the bird.
“You! Cough cough…” The old man was so enraged he started coughing violently. The coughs were deep and rasping, his frail body shaking like a broken bellows, looking as if he might stop breathing at any moment. It was heartbreaking to watch.
Ji Yu held his shoulder and gently patted his back. “Grandpa, don’t be anxious. Take your time.”
The old man looked up at her, his face pale and streaked with tears. He tried to speak but was overcome by another fit of coughing. He shook his head, looking wronged, as if he had a grievance he couldn’t voice.
Some onlookers couldn’t stand it anymore and pointed at the big man. “He’s just an old man! How can you bully him like that?”
“Bully him?!” The man’s eyes widened in fury. “Do you have eyes? Did any of you see me poison it? Or see me hit him? No? Then shut up!”
“Look at how sick he is from anger! How can you say you didn’t bully him?”
“That’s right! Bullying an elder and denying it! You clearly just want to cheat him out of his money.”
“Exactly! Look at this poor old man. He probably relies on selling this goose to survive. It’s so big and fat, clearly well-raised. How could it be sick like he says?”
…
The crowd murmured, openly criticizing the man without fear.
Ji Yu listened quietly. Most people sided with the old man, only a few remained neutral.
People naturally sympathize with the weak. Without knowing the truth, they instinctively assume the weaker party is the victim.
But Ji Yu had sharp eyes. Just now, when she looked down at the goose, she caught a glimpse of the old man’s face—a fleeting, triumphant smirk that he hadn’t managed to hide.
Anger flared up in her chest. She had genuinely been worried about him just now!
“Girl… cough… my goose… wasn’t sick…”
Ji Yu smiled faintly. She walked over, squatted down, and picked up the goose. Its long neck hung limply. She stroked its white feathers gently, leaning close… and heard a very faint, weak chirp.
Her eyes lit up almost imperceptibly. She examined it closely and found a blade of grass stuck in its beak. Suddenly, everything made sense.
Seeing her turning the goose over and over, the old man grew nervous, afraid she would see through his trick. He started coughing even louder.
“Cough cough… What misfortune! I just wanted to sell this goose to get medicine for my wife… and now it’s poisoned… cough… Why is heaven so cruel to me…” He began to wail loudly.
Seeing him cry, someone in the crowd shouted at the big man, “Hey! Just buy the goose! Since you ‘poisoned’ it, take it! Let him get the money for his wife, and you’ll have done a good deed!”
The man glared. “Do you feel sorry for him? Then why don’t *you* buy this sick goose?”
“It wasn’t me who poisoned it, why should I buy it?”
“It wasn’t me either! So why should I?!” The man shot back, silencing the critic who immediately shrank back into the crowd.
Snorting disdainfully, the big man turned to leave. Seeing this, the old man quickly threw himself forward and hugged his leg, crying dramatically, “Give me back my goose…”
The crowd began to point fingers again. The man’s face darkened and he lifted his foot to kick the old man away—but Ji Yu stepped in and stopped him.
He had the upper hand right now, but if he kicked the old man and hurt him, he would lose all reason and become the villain.
The man thought Ji Yu was going to lecture him too and scowled. “Get out of the way! My foot has no eyes, I don’t want to accidentally hurt a delicate girl like you.”
Ji Yu smiled, lifted the goose, and shook it slightly. “I think this goose is perfectly fine. Big brother, why not buy it?”
“What nonsense! It’s sick! Why would I buy something I daren’t eat?!” He huffed.
Ji Yu adjusted the goose in her arms happily. “If you don’t want it, then sell it to me, Grandpa.”
“You want to buy a sick goose?” The man looked at her in confusion.
Surprisingly, the old man refused.
“It’s been poisoned! How can I sell it to you? I can’t harm you!” He walked shakily to her side and advised, “Girl, if you want a goose, there are plenty of others at the market. Why buy this poisoned one?”
Ji Yu hugged the goose and smiled at him sweetly. “Grandpa, why do you say it’s poisoned?”
The goose had just fallen over with its eyes rolled back. Even if it was dead, you couldn’t immediately assume it was poisoned.
Yet the old man kept insisting it was poisoned by the man, clearly trying to force the man to buy it so he could get rid of a problematic bird. It was all about money.
So why refuse her money now?
It was obvious—he was determined to stick it to this specific man. And based on the way he looked at him, there was clearly deep hatred there.
Caught off guard by her question, the old man stumbled for an answer. “It was fine before! He touched it, and it fell over! What else could it be but poison?!”
Ji Yu squeezed the goose’s neck gently.
Suddenly, a clear **GOOSE!** rang out.
Everyone stared in shock as the goose wiggled in her arms.
Ji Yu beamed. “Grandpa, look! It’s better now!”
The old man’s face turned deathly pale. He stumbled backward a few steps, swayed, and then plopped down on the ground, wailing at the top of his lungs:
“Oh! My poor granddaughter!!”
Ji Yu: “…”
Wait… the goose came back to life, so why is he crying about his granddaughter now?