After Mother Qian and the others left, An Qiu looked at the scattered food and couldn’t help but shed tears.
An Chun slumped to the floor, breaking down in tears. “Xia’er, you tell me, the three of us are also of the An family’s blood; why do they treat us so cruelly over and over again?”
An Xia didn’t speak, but she knew the reason they were disliked was because of her mother. Her mother was kind and gentle, completely different from the way the rest of the An family conducted themselves. Mother Qian often did despicable things, and her mother would not go along with her. Over time, Mother Qian grew to hate her mother more and more, and by extension, she disliked the children she birthed.
As for An Laifu, he appeared to be foolishly filial on the surface, but in reality, he was selfish. As long as the fire didn’t burn him, he would turn a blind eye. Moreover, in the eyes of the extremely patriarchal An Laifu, the three sisters were nothing more than objects that could be sold for money to pave the way for his sons.
Seeing An Chun tired from crying, An Xia said calmly, “Eldest Sister, not all parents love their children. Rather than dwelling on the word ‘blood,’ you would be better off living your own life well.” As she spoke, she picked up all the bolts that had been fired from the arm-crossbow.
An Chun looked at the food that was no longer fit to eat, her face full of distress. “A perfectly good table of dishes, wasted just like that.”
An Xia said indifferently, “There is still meat and vegetables in the house; we can just cook again. There is nothing to feel distressed about.”
After finishing, she returned to her room, slid the bolt home, and placed the newly purchased arm-crossbow and the bolts into her space.
An Chun cooked two new dishes, but everyone was in low spirits for this meal. As they reached the end of their meal, rough pounding on the gate sounded again!
“Open up, you little wretches!”
“Daring to scream and attack your elders—this Hulu Village cannot tolerate you!”
Mother Qian’s angry roar erupted from outside the gate! An Chun looked at An Xia with fear, panicking, “Xia’er, what do we do? They must have gone to invite the village head.”
“Let them invite him. I’ll go open the gate!” An Xia said. “Don’t speak for a moment. Whatever I say, you just agree with me.”
After finishing, An Xia opened the gate!
Sure enough, Mother Qian and An Laifu had brought the village head with them. The village head’s face was very dark, as An Laifu had told him that An Xia had attempted patricide by shooting a bolt at his neck! If this were true, the reputation of every unmarried woman in Hulu Village would be ruined once news got out.
“Grandfather Village Head is here? Please come in.” An Xia remained composed, showing no sign of panic!
The village head entered, and the An family followed close behind. “An Xia, your father says you shot him with an iron bolt?” the village head asked, getting straight to the point.
Upon hearing this, An Xia wore a look of confusion, mingled with a hint of sorrow. She looked as if she were about to weep, tears welling up in her eyes. “Grandfather Village Head, what are you talking about? I didn’t do such a thing. Have my father and grandmother gone to slander me in front of you again?”
An Xia’s use of the word “again” increased the village head’s suspicion of Mother Qian and An Laifu. It wasn’t the first time they had done something like this, and he hadn’t fully believed them in the first place. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come personally to clarify the situation, but would have simply brought people to drive them out.
Mother Qian was stunned by An Xia’s ability to lie with her eyes wide open. She pointed her finger repeatedly. “You little wretch, you’re lying through your teeth!” Her goal today was clear: to drive these three little wretches out of Hulu Village, but only after they compensated her for her “injuries” with everything valuable they owned! She rudely pulled Zhang over and pointed at the injuries on her face. “You did this to her too, don’t you try to deny it!”
She turned to look at the village head. “Don’t listen to this little hussy’s nonsense!”
An Xia’s expression remained flat. She lifted her pant leg and pointed to a wound on her calf. “Does having an injury mean it was caused by me? In that case, I say the injury on my leg was caused by you!” That injury was one she had accidentally gotten while up on the mountain.
The village head shot Mother Qian a look of disgust and said unpleasantly, “You make such baseless accusations, calling them ‘little wretches’ at every turn; where is the demeanor of a grandmother?”
An Laifu was full of confidence. “You don’t have to admit to the other injuries, but this wound on my neck was caused by an iron bolt. Everyone knows that the wounds from wooden bolts and iron bolts are different. You and Hunter Ma are the only ones in the village with iron bolts, but Hunter Ma has returned to his wife’s family home.”
An Chun and An Qiu turned panicked and worried as soon as they heard An Laifu mention the iron bolts. A flash of worry also crossed An Xia’s face as she argued, “I don’t have any iron bolts, you… you are talking nonsense!”
Her panic made An Laifu even more convinced that the little wretch hadn’t had time to hide the arm-crossbow! That made things easy! He looked at the village head and said, “Uncle Village Head, catching a thief requires evidence. Whether she has iron bolts or not, let’s search her room.”
An Xia refused without a second thought. “On what grounds are you searching our room?”
An Laifu triumphantly said, “Uncle Village Head, she is clearly feeling guilty!”
The village head sighed at length and looked at An Xia. “Xia’er, since your father says this, we must search to clear your sisters’ names!”
An Xia lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment before saying, “Fine, I will let you search the house, but Grandfather Village Head must be the one to search with them!”
The village head nodded. “That is only natural.”
He proceeded to search room by room with the An family. An Chun and An Qiu came to her side and whispered worriedly, “Second Sister, what if they find the iron bolts?”
An Xia said confidently, “Don’t worry, they will never find them!”
After half an hour of turning things over, the village head, An Laifu, and Mother Qian emerged together. Mother Qian was in complete disbelief, screaming hysterically, “How is it possible not to find the iron bolts? This little hussy must have hidden them, she must have!”
An Xia crossed her arms and sneered, “You searched the place inside and out three times, turned this house upside down, and didn’t even spare the roof. Are you still going to slander me?”
The village head only felt a headache coming on. He glared at Mother Qian. “Have you caused enough trouble? I accompanied you as you searched, and I didn’t see anything. My eyes aren’t blind. I know very well who is making trouble and stirring the pot today!”
Mother Qian was full of resentment. After a moment of silence, her murky old eyes lit up. “That little wretch An Xia went to Fourth Uncle An’s house today. The iron bolts must have been bought there. If they can prove she did indeed buy iron bolts, it proves she has hidden the items.”
The village head felt agitated as he looked at the relentless Mother Qian! But he knew her character well; if he didn’t give in to her, there would surely be more trouble! So he went to find his nephew. “Go to Fourth Uncle An’s house and invite him and his wife, Zhou, to come over.”
An Chun and An Qiu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, felt their hearts leap into their throats again upon hearing that Fourth Uncle An was being summoned! Wouldn’t this reveal everything? Only An Xia acted as if nothing were the matter, her expression calm and composed.