Those who once scolded and cursed her were now the ones protecting her.
Rumors were truly terrifying.
Li Honghua sighed helplessly. “We agree to compensate.”
Then she added, “But the money isn’t with me right now. My husband Da Yong went out to work a few days ago and hasn’t returned yet. I’ll pay once he comes back.”
Zhang Sanya immediately objected. “No! What if you go back on your word? It must be paid now.”
“Exactly! Pay it now!”
In truth, everyone also wanted to see whether the Fu family could really produce twenty taels of silver.
Li Honghua looked troubled. “I really can’t take out twenty taels right now. I can give five taels first, and tomorrow—when Da Yong returns—we’ll give the remaining fifteen. Is that acceptable?”
She was clearly speaking to the village chief.
She was very unwilling in her heart. Why was the village chief siding with Xue Zhi?
In the Great An Kingdom, villages were isolated, and most people were uneducated, making them easily misled. Villages were also often hostile toward one another, so the village chief was like a local ruler whose word was law.
Normally, if the village chief sided with Fu Qiang, the matter could be casually dismissed. What could a young woman like Xue Zhi do?
But this village chief was relatively upright and knew right from wrong. More importantly, he had Fu Shiyue’s prior request in mind, so he naturally leaned toward Xue Zhi.
But not excessively so.
If he truly were biased, he would not have even mentioned compensation—he would have directly expelled Fu Qiang from the village.
Twenty taels of silver was already giving Fu Qiang a chance.
He could read and had some understanding of the law, so he knew that compensation for fallen soldiers existed. He was certain the Fu family must have at least a hundred taels.
Giving Xue Zhi twenty taels was also considered compensation for her years in the Fu household.
Once she had money, she could repair her house and move out of Fu Shiyue’s home.
The village chief nodded. “Fine.”
After a pause, he added, “Tomorrow at noon, I will accompany Xue Zhi to your house to collect the remaining fifteen taels.”
Then he asked Xue Zhi, “Do you agree with this arrangement?”
“I’ll listen to the village chief,” Xue Zhi replied. Though she said this, resentment had already filled her heart.
A perfect opportunity to get Fu Qiang expelled had been wasted.
What a pity!
Once someone was expelled from the village, it meant they had no clan protection. Other villages would also refuse to accept them. The only outcome would be becoming a wandering beggar.
Honestly, revenge could be simple—she could just kill the Fu family outright.
But she did not want mutual destruction.
She was living a second life; revenge was not her only goal.
And she did not want them to die so easily.
She wanted them to suffer a fate worse than death.
The village chief raised his voice. “Enough! Everyone go back and rest. There’s work tomorrow.”
With that, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Li Honghua and Sun Xiaoqian helped the injured Fu Qiang limp away.
Nanshi Academy
The next day at dawn, sunlight filtered through the dormitory window.
Zhen Zhao woke up to the sound beside him and saw Fu Shiyue already dressed neatly. He frowned. “Shiyue? You… you woke up so early?”
It was the first time he had seen him up this early.
The room was dim, and Zhen Zhao did not notice that Fu Shiyue’s ears were red. He only heard a cold “Mm.”
Rather than waking early, he had not slept at all.
Ever since Xue Zhi took his outer robe yesterday, he had been looking forward to today.
He even imagined her sitting at a table, her beautiful face lit softly, carefully mending his clothes, then lowering her head to bite off loose threads with her red lips.
His pounding heart had kept him awake all night.
He waited the entire morning—but she did not come.
Tan Fengzhi casually draped an arm over his shoulder. “Shiyue, the dining hall has meat dishes today. First come, first served. Let’s go!”
Fu Shiyue was pulled along to the dining hall.
“Shiyue, what’s wrong? Today’s meal is made by Chef Fan.”
Chef Fan rarely cooked personally; he was the academy head’s chef and highly skilled.
“Nothing,” Fu Shiyue replied.
But before he even finished lunch, he asked permission from the teacher and left early.
By now, Xue Zhi should have already arrived—but she hadn’t.
Something was wrong.
His heart tightened instantly.
He left the academy and took a donkey cart. The driver was from the neighboring village.
The driver smiled and chatted, “Scholar Fu, heading home for something?”
“I left a book at home,” Fu Shiyue replied casually.
The driver nodded. “Ah, studying matters is important.”
Then he added gossipingly, “By the way, Scholar Fu, something big happened in your village last night involving Fu Qiang and Xue Zhi.”
Fu Shiyue’s eyes narrowed instantly.
Fu Qiang? Xue Zhi? Last night?
What happened?
Had something occurred last night, which was why she hadn’t come?
And Fu Qiang—why was he involved again?
His heart tightened. “What happened last night?”
The driver said, “Oh right, you weren’t home so you wouldn’t know. Last night Fu Qiang climbed into Xue Zhi’s courtyard intending something improper.”
Fu Shiyue’s body stiffened.
“What happened after that?” he asked, voice tight.
The driver continued, “Luckily, Xue Zhi caught him. She thought he was a thief and hit him until his head was bleeding. They say there was blood all over the ground.”
Fu Shiyue exhaled slightly. She was fine—good.
But the next words made his expression freeze again.
“That shameless Fu Qiang even tried to frame her, saying she invited him. In the end, the village chief intervened and gave him two choices—pay twenty taels or be expelled from the village. He chose to pay. And I also heard Fu Lin’s compensation money was taken by the Fu family—something like three hundred taels.”