Village Head Tao was in a foul mood. In the middle of the night, someone had pounded on his door and woken him up, shouting, “Thieves have broken into the village!”
At his age, he nearly fell while getting out of bed. He hurried over as fast as he could, only to discover that it was Wang Er, the local troublemaker. He breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he was furious.
“Wang Er, explain yourself. What exactly happened? If you can’t give me a satisfactory explanation, I’ll have no choice but to ask the magistrate to handle this.”
Wang Er was pinned to the ground and had no way to argue. Those standing nearby could even smell the strong odor of urine coming from him.
“Did Wang Er wet his pants because he was scared?”
“Hahaha, you’re such a coward, yet you’re always looking for trouble.”
Their words made Wang Er’s face turn red, then pale.
At that moment, Physician Li and Li Nanxing also hurried over and stood beside Jiang Yutong.
“Yutong, are you alright?”
Jiang Yutong shook her head at them without saying anything.
Seeing that Jiang Yutong was unharmed, the father and son both breathed a sigh of relief. Then they turned their attention to the village head, waiting to see how he would handle the matter.
“Wang Er, your family has lived in Shangyuan Village for generations. You’ve always been a petty thief, stealing chickens and dogs here and there, and I turned a blind eye to it. But I never expected you to become this outrageous. You actually climbed over someone else’s courtyard wall in the middle of the night and threw a snake inside. If that snake had bitten someone, it could have cost them their life.”
Wang Er stubbornly lifted his chin.
“That house belongs to my aunt’s sister-in-law! Why should she be allowed to live there? If anyone should live there, it should be me.”
Village Head Tao glanced around. It was pitch-black, and this wasn’t the right time to settle the matter. There were still two hours before dawn, so he immediately gave his orders.
“Lock Wang Er in the ancestral hall. At daybreak, gather the entire village and discuss the matter of this house together.”
“Everyone, disperse. Yutong, go get some rest. I’ll definitely give you an answer tomorrow.”
Jiang Yutong replied loudly, “I’ll leave everything in the village head’s hands.”
Only then did Village Head Tao feel a little better. He led the way as he left.
Someone immediately dragged Wang Er toward the ancestral hall.
Physician Li was a little worried about Jiang Yutong.
“Yutong, you must have been frightened. Why don’t you come stay at our house tonight?”
Jiang Yutong reassured him, “Uncle Li, I’m fine. Don’t worry. You should go home.”
After what had happened tonight, anyone else who wanted to target Jiang Yutong would certainly think twice.
Seeing that Jiang Yutong seemed to be doing alright, Physician Li could only remind her once more.
“Then be extra careful.”
In the end, only Jiang Yutong remained.
She locked the courtyard gate, went inside, drew a bucket of water, washed her hands, and went back to bed.
Jiang Yutong slept surprisingly soundly.
The next morning, she got up and cooked herself a bowl of mutton noodles. After eating, she heard the village bell ringing.
That usually meant the village head had something to announce and was summoning everyone to gather.
After getting herself ready, Jiang Yutong headed toward the ancestral hall. On the way, she ran into Auntie Wang and Sister-in-law Xing’er.
“Yutong, you must have been frightened last night, right?” Auntie Wang asked worriedly.
Jiang Yutong greeted her warmly and reached out to stroke Da Niu’s little face.
“Auntie Wang, I’m fine. Did I scare you all?”
Xing’er patted her chest.
“You scared me half to death! It wasn’t until my husband came back and told me you were alright that I finally felt relieved.”
Auntie Wang also said, “That Wang Er is a damned scoundrel. I want to see how the village head deals with him later.”
As they talked, everyone soon arrived at the ancestral hall.
The village head was already there, and Wang Er had been tied up and thrown into the courtyard.
The villagers gradually gathered. Ning Yao’s wife and Sun Taohua had brought their children as well. When Ning Yao’s wife saw Jiang Yutong, she rolled her eyes at her.
Jiang Yutong ignored her and stood with Auntie Wang and the others on the other side.
Once Village Head Tao saw that most of the villagers had arrived, he began speaking.
“I called everyone here today because something unpleasant happened in the village last night.”
“Most of you have probably already heard about it. Wang Er climbed over someone’s courtyard wall in the middle of the night and threw a snake inside.”
Whispers immediately broke out among the crowd. Those who lived farther away and didn’t know what had happened asked for the details, while those who had witnessed it the previous night enthusiastically retold the story, making it sound even more dramatic.
Village Head Tao struck the gong in his hand.
“Quiet!”
Once the entire courtyard fell silent, Village Head Tao spoke again.
“Wang Er, do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Wang Er’s leg, which had been struck by Jiang Yutong’s arrow the previous night, still hadn’t been treated. He had spent the entire night in pain. Now he hung his head, looking completely dispirited. He was nothing like his usual arrogant self.
“Village Head, I refuse to accept this! That house belongs to one of my relatives. What’s wrong with me taking it back?”
Village Head Tao glared at him.
“You claim the house is yours? What evidence do you have?”
This fellow clearly didn’t take him, the village head, seriously.
Village Head Tao had personally agreed to let Jiang Yutong live in the house. Now Wang Er had suddenly jumped out and claimed it belonged to him. It was ridiculous.
Fortunately, Village Head Tao had the house deed in his possession. Otherwise, the matter really would have been difficult to explain.
Wang Er spoke confidently.
“My aunt’s sister-in-law was the wife of the original owner. I even went to their house to play when I was little. Now that they’re all gone, obviously the house belongs to me.”
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
“Wang Er, my grandaunt’s cousin’s aunt was also the lady of this household. So I should have a share of the house too!”
“That’s right! I have a share too!”
All kinds of voices came from the crowd.
Ning Yao’s wife was secretly delighted. She had always hated seeing Jiang Yutong doing well. Now that everyone was trying to claim the house, she could barely suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth.
She had always believed that a weak woman like Jiang Yutong couldn’t survive after leaving the Ning family. Sure enough, someone was already bullying her.
She spoke up as well.
“The money used to repair this house came from my family, so naturally, my family should have a share of it too.”
Village Head Tao took a deep breath and looked at the chattering crowd.
“Fine. Since all of you claim that this house belongs to you, then bring out your evidence.”
“Also, everyone knows that the original owner of this house was executed along with his entire family. Since you claim to be his relatives, then we should have the authorities come and investigate properly to see whether any members of his family escaped.”
The moment they heard this, everyone fell silent.
It certainly wasn’t worth losing their heads over a little greed.
“This was originally an abandoned house with no one living in it. Jiang Yutong had nowhere to go, so she came to me and asked for this house. I thought that since it was sitting there abandoned, it would be better to let Jiang Yutong live in it. That would be a good deed.”
“I never expected that after seeing her repair the house, all of you would come here to make trouble.”
“Now you’ve all seen it for yourselves. Jiang Yutong is no pushover. If you get yourself injured by an arrow next time, even reporting it to the authorities won’t help you.”
Some of the villagers had witnessed everything the previous night. They had seen Jiang Yutong standing on the roof like a female warrior. Ordinary people were clearly no match for her.
Those who had been harboring ulterior motives were now reconsidering their plans after seeing what had happened to Wang Er.
This was exactly the effect Jiang Yutong wanted.
“As everyone knows, I’m just a weak woman. I had no choice but to defend myself for my own safety.”
“Village Head Tao gave a homeless woman like me a place to live, and I am deeply grateful. I will never forget his kindness and generosity.”
“And I will always remember the kindness of everyone in Shangyuan Village as well.”
After saying this, Jiang Yutong bowed deeply to everyone.