Just then, a shrill voice came from the crowd:
“Oh! I was wondering! When that Su girl came back this morning, she was covered in dirt and looked like a complete mess. So she was defiled by bandits!”
Everyone turned toward the voice.
It was Madam Wang, standing at the front of the crowd and craning her neck to watch the commotion, her face full of schadenfreude.
Su Qingli looked at her.
“Madam Wang, you tried to steal our cow this morning and spread rumors at night. You’ve done two wicked things in one day. Aren’t you afraid ghosts will come knocking on your door tonight?”
Madam Wang’s eyes darted around.
“I… I didn’t…”
Su Qingli looked at her.
“Madam Wang, you said I was defiled. Did you see it happen?”
Madam Wang froze again.
“I… I didn’t…”
“You didn’t see anything, yet you dare spread rumors?” Su Qingli smiled. “Then let me say that you and Uncle Li Fu have an affair. Do you admit it?”
The crowd burst into laughter.
Given Madam Wang’s age, she was old enough to be Li Fugui’s mother.
“You little wretch! What nonsense are you talking about…”
Madam Wang’s face turned bright red, and she awkwardly retreated into the crowd.
However, the strange looks directed at Su Qingli did not disappear.
“Everyone, disperse! Stop talking nonsense here! My sister is perfectly fine!”
Su Changle hurriedly waved his hands and explained, but his heart was filled with a sharp ache.
He remembered that when Su Qingli had returned home that morning, her clothes had indeed been covered in mud and dirt, and she had looked utterly miserable.
Could it be that she had really gone through something so terrifying?
But at the time, he had been overwhelmed by what had happened to his sister-in-law and had even pushed her away.
He really was a terrible brother!
Su Changqing’s eyes also reddened.
His younger sister had gone through such a terrible ordeal, yet as soon as she returned home, she had immediately entered the delivery room to save Cheng Sujin and the baby.
And what had he done as her elder brother?
He hadn’t comforted her at all. Instead, he had scolded her and even threatened to drive her out of the family.
He really was worthless!
“That’s right. Don’t listen to that man named Cheng spouting nonsense!”
Su Changqing stepped forward and stood in front of Su Qingli, his voice deep and firm.
“My sister didn’t enter a bandits’ den! I was the one who drove her out of the house and told her to go to the county town to find work. She spent the night at an inn!”
At this point, Su Changqing could only take all the blame upon himself.
Su Qingli looked at her elder brother’s back as he stood protectively in front of her. She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.
Ever since she was a child, she had always been alone.
She studied alone, went to work alone, came home from work alone, and ate alone.
But at this moment, someone was standing in front of her.
Someone was willing to bear the blame just to protect her.
She suddenly understood something.
Perhaps transmigrating into this world wasn’t bad luck after all.
Perhaps Heaven had seen how lonely she was and given her a family.
Just as everyone was discussing among themselves, Su Qingli raised an eyebrow and looked at Cheng Siwen.
“Cheng, how do you know I was kidnapped by traffickers? Did you see it happen?”
Cheng Siwen’s expression changed slightly.
“Hmph. Why should I tell you how I know? You were gone all night. If you weren’t kidnapped by traffickers, what else could have happened?”
“Or perhaps…” Su Qingli smiled. “You were the one who hired those traffickers?”
Cheng Siwen’s expression changed drastically.
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
“Then why are you so nervous?”
Su Qingli didn’t look at him again. Her tone remained calm.
“Unfortunately for you, when I reached the mountains, the bandits’ hideout had already been raided by the authorities from the neighboring county. I was fine.”
Cheng Siwen’s heart skipped a beat.
“How could that be such a coincidence?”
“Don’t believe me?”
Su Qingli turned around, walked to the pile of firewood beside the field ridge, bent down, rummaged through it, and pulled out a knife.
A copper ring hung from the knife’s handle, and dark, dried blood stained the blade.
She plunged the knife into the ground.
The villagers watching were startled and hurriedly stepped backward.
“This is a bandit’s knife.”
Su Qingli dusted off her hands.
“I picked it up from the ground.”
Cheng Siwen’s face turned deathly pale.
The blood on the knife was real.
And the copper ring on the back of the blade was not something an ordinary household could possess.
He opened his mouth, but couldn’t say a word.
Everyone looked at the knife, then at Su Qingli, and their expressions changed.
—This girl had escaped from a bandits’ hideout, and she had even taken one of their knives with her?
She was incredibly brave!
“Otherwise, what did you think? Would those bandits kindly let me go?”
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded.
Su Qingli continued, “And the traffickers were caught too. After being brutally interrogated, they admitted that someone had hired them. They’re now begging the authorities to reduce their punishment.”
Cheng Siwen’s breathing became rapid.
“You’re lying! How could anyone deliberately want to harm you?”
“Exactly.” Su Qingli sighed. “I haven’t offended anyone, so why would anyone want to harm me?”
She stopped looking at him and turned toward her two brothers.
“Big Brother, Sister-in-law still needs someone with her. You should go home first. Second Brother, go back and harness the cart to Mengmeng. Come with me to the county town.”
Cheng Siwen looked horrified.
“Why are you going to the county town?”
“To report you to the authorities.”
Su Qingli looked at him and smiled.
“I’ll report both the loan-sharking matter and the traffickers. As long as the authorities draw a portrait based on the trafficker’s description, whoever was behind this won’t be able to escape.”
Cheng Siwen’s expression completely fell apart.
Report to the authorities! Report to the authorities! Report to the authorities!
Why was this woman always talking about reporting people to the authorities?
Did she think the county office belonged to her?
In truth, Su Qingli was taking a gamble.
She was betting that Cheng Siwen didn’t know the exact situation involving the bandits and wouldn’t dare risk his future.
As it turned out, she had won the gamble.
Just as she and Su Changle climbed onto the ox cart, Cheng Siwen gritted his teeth and chased after them.
“Qingli, actually, I was only guessing about the traffickers. Come back with me. I’ll have my mother go to your family right now to ask for your hand in marriage. I won’t mind that you went into the mountains. Once I pass the xiucai examination, we’ll get married immediately!”
Cheng Siwen had completely thrown caution to the wind and decided to give Su Qingli a little sweetness first.
Later, he could simply find an excuse to break off the engagement.
Su Changle looked nervously at Su Qingli.
In the past, his sister would definitely have been overjoyed and agreed immediately, wouldn’t she?
Just as he was thinking this, Su Qingli kicked Cheng Siwen away.
“Don’t disgust me. I’d rather marry Mengmeng than marry you!”
Cheng Siwen’s face turned livid.
Su Qingli would rather marry a cow than him?
Su Changle looked at Cheng Siwen’s twisted expression and felt immensely satisfied.
“You heard her. My sister doesn’t want to marry you. Get lost!”
After saying that, he suddenly felt refreshed!
In the past, his sister had shamelessly fawned over this Cheng Siwen, and he had always felt embarrassed for her. Whenever he saw him, he would even take a detour.
This was the first time he could finally hold his head high in front of this bastard!
Ah! That felt so good!
He cracked the whip, and the ox cart immediately drove away.
…
On the road, Su Qingli was thinking about the loan-sharking issue. Seeing Su Changle hesitate several times as if he wanted to say something, she finally said,
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Su Qingli, could you at least speak like a proper girl?”
Su Changle was nearly choked to death by her bluntness.
“No.”
Su Qingli took an orange from her space and casually handed half of it to him.
Su Changle was stunned.
“Where did you get this?”
“Don’t want it?”
“I do!”
Su Changle quickly took it from her. He was instantly captivated by its juicy, refreshing taste and said with his mouth full,
“Su Qingli, you were too reckless just now. By telling everyone about the loan shark, what will they think of you? Are you still going to get married in the future?”
“Then I won’t get married. I’ll marry Mengmeng.”
Su Changle didn’t want to talk to her anymore.
Su Qingli tossed the orange peel onto the roadside. Su Changle looked at it with another pang of regret.
Even the peel could be eaten. Why did she throw it away?
Thinking about what Su Qingli had just said, he couldn’t help muttering,
“You’re talking nonsense again. You’re a girl. How can you not get married?”
“Do you think I’d have a good life if I got married?”
As she spoke, Su Qingli handed him another half of the orange.
“With your temper, if you really married into another family, you’d definitely suffer,” Su Changle muttered as he accepted the orange. “It probably wouldn’t be any better than staying with your own family. Not getting married… might actually be okay?”
Su Qingli’s lips curled upward.
Then she heard Su Changle’s voice grow quieter.
“Last night, you…”
Su Qingli knew what he wanted to ask.
He wanted to know whether she had really been kidnapped and taken to the bandits’ hideout.
“Second Brother, don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“That’s good. But…”
Su Changle let out a sigh of relief, then stared at the orange in his hand, which clearly shouldn’t exist according to everything he knew.
“Where exactly did you get this fruit?!”
Su Qingli’s expression became serious.
“Second Brother, do you want to hear the truth?”
Su Changle became serious as well.
“Of course.”
“A few days ago, I had a dream. I dreamed that an immortal taught me some magic tricks. I used those tricks to conjure this orange!”
Su Changle was stunned. Then he was instantly amused and angry at the same time.
“Su Qingli, do you take me for an idiot? Be serious!”
“I am being serious!”
“Tell me the truth!”
“Fine. I stole it.”
“I knew it!”
Su Changle snorted and stuffed the entire orange into his mouth.
“You’re a girl. How can you steal things? Next time—”
“I stole it from Cheng Siwen’s house.”
Su Qingli decided to carry the lie all the way through.
Su Changle choked for a moment before finishing his sentence.
“Next time… call me.”