It was already far too late to commission custom furniture, so Li Xiyue purchased ready-made pieces from a carpenter’s shop and arranged for the owner to deliver them directly to Zhu Village. Since the roads leading into the village were mostly rough mountain trails, transporting goods there was extremely troublesome. In the end, Li Xiyue had to pay an additional five taels of silver before the shopkeeper reluctantly agreed to make the trip.
She also bought several quilts, bedding sets, pots, pans, and various daily necessities. By the time the sun climbed high overhead and the heat became unbearable, the two girls finally began heading home.
Strictly speaking, Li Xiyue already had all these items stored inside her dimensional space. Unfortunately, the designs and materials were far too different from anything in this era. To avoid attracting suspicion, she had no choice but to buy everything from scratch.
By the time they finally carried the heavy bundles back to the house, both girls were drenched in sweat. Their hair clung damply to their faces, and their clothes stuck uncomfortably to their skin.
Li Xiyue invited Zhu Qinghe into her room for a drink of water and a short rest before she returned home.
The moment they stepped through the doorway, both girls froze.
Fresh blood was splattered all across the floor.
“Sister Li, th-this… what happened here?” Zhu Qinghe stammered, her face turning pale with shock.
Li Xiyue shook her head as if equally confused, though the absence of Wang Dani and her family, along with the large pool of blood, already confirmed that her plan had worked perfectly.
Her bedroom door stood wide open, and the entire room had been ransacked.
“Heavens above, we’ve been robbed!” Li Xiyue cried out in alarm.
“Quickly, check what’s missing!” Zhu Qinghe urged anxiously, her thoughts immediately jumping to the sixty taels of betrothal silver her brother had given.
Li Xiyue pretended to search through the mess before turning toward Zhu Qinghe with a panicked expression.
“The betrothal silver your brother gave me… it’s gone!”
“What are we supposed to do now?” Zhu Qinghe asked, her voice trembling as tears welled in her eyes.
Li Xiyue immediately rushed toward the courtyard entrance. Taking a deep breath, she shouted at the top of her lungs,
“Thief! There’s a thief in Zhu Village! Somebody help catch the thief!”
Realizing what she was doing, Zhu Qinghe quickly joined in.
“Thief! Hurry and help us catch the thief!”
At that hour, most villagers were still preparing lunch inside their homes. Hearing the frantic shouting, people began pouring out one after another to see what had happened.
“Little Li, Little Zhu, what’s going on with you two?” Auntie Li asked as she hurried over, still holding half an ear of corn she had been husking. “Why are you making such a fuss?”
Zhu Qinghe spoke in a rush.
“Auntie Li, please help us think of something! The betrothal silver my brother gave Sister Li was stolen!”
“What?” Auntie Li gasped in disbelief.
Sixty taels of silver was an enormous fortune in the countryside, enough to build two large brick houses from the ground up.
“Wait here, both of you! I’m going to fetch the village chief right now! Imagine having a thief hiding inside our own village, absolutely outrageous!”
With surprising speed, Auntie Li sprinted off toward the village chief’s residence, still clutching the half-peeled corn in her hand.
By the time Zhu Chenggong arrived at the old Zhu family home, dragged there by Auntie Li’s relentless urging, a huge crowd had already gathered outside the gate.
Some villagers had even brought their lunch bowls with them, happily eating while enjoying the excitement.
The crowd quickly moved aside when they saw the village chief approaching.
“Chief, you’re finally here! You have to catch this thief!”
“Exactly! Look at these poor girls crying themselves sick!”
Zhu Chenggong looked over and saw that both girls truly had swollen, reddened eyes from crying.
“Qinghe, Xiyue, Auntie Li explained a little on the way here,” Zhu Chenggong said in a calming voice. “Tell me exactly what happened. Did the thief leave behind any clues? If we can’t solve this ourselves, we may have to report it to the county magistrate. Sixty taels is no small amount.”
Li Xiyue wiped at her tears and spoke softly.
“Uncle Chenggong, when Sister Qinghe and I left for the county this morning, my room was securely locked. But when we returned, the door was already open.”
Zhu Qinghe nodded vigorously, her eyes red with anger. If her brother had been home instead of escorting another caravan, he would have broken the thief’s legs on the spot.
Li Xiyue hesitated briefly before lowering her voice.
“Also… the lock wasn’t damaged at all. It looked like someone opened it with a key.”
“I see,” Zhu Chenggong said thoughtfully. “Then what about all the blood on the floor?”
By now, he already had a strong suspicion in mind. Earlier that morning, Zhu Tiezhu had borrowed the village ox-cart, claiming his son had seriously injured his hand.
Every family has its own troubles, Zhu Chenggong thought with a silent sigh.
Li Xiyue explained smoothly, “The blood… should have come from the trap I set. Chief, you know Brother Qingshan brought over the betrothal gifts recently. I was worried mice might ruin the tea leaves and wine, so I asked Brother Qingshan for a heavy iron trap and placed it up on the ceiling beams. Who would’ve thought it wouldn’t catch a mouse, but instead…”
“Instead of catching a grain-stealing mouse, it caught a silver-stealing rat!” someone in the crowd shouted jokingly.
The villagers burst into laughter.
Suddenly, Auntie Li slapped her thigh.
“Wait! Didn’t Zhu Qingsong scream like he was being slaughtered this morning? I heard him all the way from the fields!”
Several villagers immediately agreed.
“That’s right, we heard it too!”
“Oh, now that you mention it,” Zhang Dabao added suddenly, “I saw Zhu Tiezhu, Wang Dani, and Zhu Qingsong riding an ox-cart toward the city early this morning. Zhu Qingsong was screaming in pain the whole way. Chief, you know about that too, don’t you?”
Put on the spot, Zhu Chenggong could only nod helplessly.
After all, the village’s only ox-cart belonged to his family.
Li Xiyue widened her eyes in disbelief.
“That can’t be… they wouldn’t really…”
The villagers looked at her sympathetically.
This poor girl was truly pitiful.
Only then did Zhu Qinghe finally understand.
“Uncle Chenggong, are you saying Zhu Qingsong is the thief?”
Zhu Chenggong did not answer directly.
“You two should eat something first and don’t starve yourselves,” he said gently. “Once their family returns, if the evidence truly points to Zhu Qingsong, the village will definitely give you justice.”
Li Xiyue wiped away another tear and nodded gratefully.
“Thank you, Uncle Chenggong. Without you, I truly wouldn’t know what to do.”
Zhu Chenggong sighed inwardly at the endless drama surrounding the Zhu family. After dispersing the crowd, he headed home to rest, already knowing a massive commotion would erupt once Zhu Qingsong returned.
Since the room was in complete chaos, Li Xiyue and Zhu Qinghe accepted Auntie Li’s warm invitation to eat at her house instead. Conveniently, it also allowed them to keep watch for Wang Dani’s family returning to the village.
The two girls sat at the wooden table, each holding a bowl of steaming corn porridge.
“Eat more, both of you,” Auntie Li urged warmly. “If one bowl isn’t enough, I’ll serve another.”
The girls nodded politely, though both silently decided that one bowl was more than enough.
Life in the countryside was difficult. Most families barely had enough food for themselves, and unless it was an important occasion, people rarely ate at another household’s table.
Nearby sat Auntie Li’s daughter-in-law, Madam Yang.
She was heavily pregnant, her belly protruding sharply forward, yet the rest of her body looked painfully thin. Her complexion was sallow and unhealthy, and her sunken eyes made her appear weak and exhausted.
Seeing that she barely touched her food, her husband quietly placed a piece of cornbread into her bowl.
Madam Yang accepted it with a faint but gentle smile.
Watching the affectionate interaction between husband and wife, Li Xiyue suddenly found herself looking forward to her future marriage with Zhu Qingshan.
A peaceful and ordinary life like this did not seem bad at all.
After the meal, Li Xiyue pretended she had forgotten something in her room. Taking the opportunity to slip away from Zhu Qinghe’s sight, she retrieved a pound of premium brown sugar, half a pound of dried red dates, and over a dozen fresh eggs from her dimensional space.
She wrapped everything carefully inside a bundle of clothing before quietly handing it to Auntie Li.
“What’s all this?” Auntie Li asked in confusion.
“Auntie Li, you’ve helped me so much these past few days,” Li Xiyue said softly. “I don’t have anything else to repay your kindness with. Please accept these and let Sister-in-law nourish her body properly.”
Auntie Li immediately shoved the bundle back.
“You foolish child! How could I possibly take your things? Living under that old hag’s roof is already difficult enough for you. Keep these and eat them yourself.”
“Auntie Li, even if you don’t want them, Sister-in-law needs proper nourishment. Don’t you want a healthy, chubby grandchild?”
Auntie Li hesitated.
Ever since her daughter-in-law entered her second month of pregnancy, she had suffered terrible morning sickness and vomited nearly everything she ate. Only recently had her condition improved slightly.
An ordinary farming family simply couldn’t afford expensive nourishing foods. Watching the frail young woman carry such a large belly worried the entire family constantly.
“Child, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Auntie Li said emotionally. “If you ever need help in the future, just call for me. Even if boiling water rains from the heavens, this old woman will still rush over to support you.”
Her heart was overflowing with gratitude toward Li Xiyue.
The brown sugar and red dates were both excellent quality, especially beneficial for pregnant women recovering their strength and blood.
Just then, Zhu Qinghe’s anxious voice suddenly rang out from outside.
“Sister Li! Hurry out here! Zhu Qingsong is back!”
Zhu Qinghe was so furious she practically wanted to storm over and beat Zhu Qingsong to death herself.
At the same time, loud shouting and chaos erupted from the neighboring courtyard.
Clearly, Wang Dani’s family had returned.
“Li Xiyue, you vicious little slut! You evil wretch! Why aren’t you dead yet? May lightning strike you to death!”
Wang Dani’s shrill screams echoed throughout the entire village.
Within moments, another massive crowd gathered outside the old Zhu residence.
Li Xiyue immediately asked Zhu Qinghe to fetch the village chief again.
Today, she intended to settle everything with Wang Dani’s family once and for all.
Having just received Li Xiyue’s gifts, Auntie Li exploded with rage upon hearing Wang Dani’s vicious insults.
She rolled up her sleeves and prepared to charge straight into the courtyard to fight.
Both amused and touched, Li Xiyue quickly stopped her.
“Auntie Li, don’t fight with her. The village chief will handle this.”
Only then did Auntie Li reluctantly calm down.
Less than ten minutes later, Zhu Qinghe returned while practically dragging Zhu Chenggong behind her.
The moment they arrived, Wang Dani’s filthy curses were still pouring nonstop from her mouth.
Zhu Chenggong’s expression darkened instantly.
“Woman of the Wang family, shut your mouth immediately!”
Seeing the village chief arrive, Wang Dani not only refused to stop, but cried even louder.
“Chief, you must seek justice for our Qingsong! His hand is ruined! We already spent fifty taels of silver in the city, and even the doctors can’t guarantee it’ll recover! My son is still young and unmarried, how will he support a family in the future?”
In truth, the medical fees had only cost twenty taels.
The extra amount was simply part of her plan to squeeze every last coin out of Li Xiyue.
Beside her stood Zhu Qingsong, his right hand wrapped heavily in layers of bandages.
The instant he saw Li Xiyue, his eyes turned bloodshot with hatred.
Like a mad beast, he charged directly toward her.
Before he could reach her, Zhu Chenggong shouted sharply, and two strong young villagers immediately stepped forward and pinned Zhu Qingsong down.