Chapter Ninety – Someone Else Assisted Me
“What, you want to kick me out?”
As soon as Gu Mengyao spoke, Lin Jiao’e said incredulously.
It was just a small matter, why was Gu Mengyao holding onto it so tightly!
What a vicious woman!
Gu Mengyao’s sudden words caught Gu Yu, who was standing nearby, off guard. Before he could speak, he saw his little wife’s overbearing side. He immediately crossed his arms and watched with keen interest, wanting to see Gu Mengyao’s rare display of toughness.
It was truly rare!
Gu Mengyao was usually a good-natured person and rarely got angry. Although she would get a little upset sometimes, she was easy to appease. Unlike now, where she was so determined.
Moreover, Gu Yu had already heard the system prompt that Gu Mengyao’s anger value had increased twice.
He wondered what use this anger value was.
It had appeared once before, and with today’s increase, it had accumulated to 23 points. It seemed that, like favorability, it would erupt when it reached 100 points.
“This… Mengyao, isn’t that too decisive! If you ask me, just send them to the yamen and beat them. Why make them leave the village?”
“No, since Lin Jiao’e wrongly accused my Yu with a muddled mind once, she might do it again next time. I can’t take that risk.”
The Village Chief was troubled when he heard Gu Mengyao’s words.
He still wanted to play the role of a peacekeeper and mediate. He wanted to persuade Gu Mengyao to change her mind, but Gu Mengyao had already made up her mind to drive out Widow Lin and her daughter and would not listen to the Village Chief’s persuasion.
Gu Mengyao had already thought of a solution on the way to the Village Chief’s house.
Although Lin Jiao’e had only framed Gu Yu once, Gu Mengyao was extremely angry. She thought that if this woman continued to stay in the village, who knew what trouble she would stir up.
As for others calling her heartless and unreasonable, it was easy for them to say when the matter didn’t happen to them. When Lin Jiao’e’s slander against Gu Yu was replicated on them, would they still be able to resolve it peacefully?
In any case, Gu Mengyao felt that her temper was usually good, but this time she was directly angered to the point of exploding by Lin Jiao’e.
When it came to a hidden danger, it had to be eradicated.
Simply sending them to the yamen to be beaten would not directly solve the problem. Instead, it would leave behind considerable trouble.
Normally, she could sympathize with those who deserved sympathy, but when she encountered someone who could become a fuse for future trouble, Gu Mengyao was very firm this time and had to resolve it in advance.
“Oh my, Gu family’s girl is truly ruthless! She wants to drive people away at the slightest disagreement. I won’t dare to provoke the Gu family in the future, lest I be driven away too.”
“What are you talking about? Even if Gu girl drives Widow Lin and her daughter away, it’s because these two women acted improperly first. First, they tried to frame someone, then they pretended to be dizzy after taking medicine. Why do they get to have all the excuses!”
“I agree, it’s about time something was done about Widow Lin and her daughter!”
“They’re causing trouble in the village every day, it’s best to drive them away sooner.”
“Alas, it would be too regrettable if Widow Lin and her daughter leave.”
“What’s regrettable! Don’t tell me you want to sneak onto their kang at night. Be careful, your wife will beat you to death.”
“If these two women are driven out of the village, where will they be housed? I also think Gu Mengyao is too heartless. It would have been better to send them to the yamen for a few spankings. Why do all this.”
“Even an idle person has some temper. If it were me, I couldn’t tolerate someone slandering my husband like this. It’s good that I haven’t cut them with a cleaver.”
After Gu Mengyao finished speaking, the surrounding onlookers began to discuss.
There were all sorts of opinions, but the majority supported Gu Mengyao.
Gu Yu was somewhat bewildered after hearing the surrounding discussions. He wondered why everyone’s emotions were so agitated just from driving Widow Lin and her daughter out of the village.
Could it be that being driven out of a village was a very serious matter in ancient times?
“Qingheng, why are they saying that? Is being driven out of the village a serious matter?”
“It is serious! After being driven out of the village, it is very troublesome to find a new place to settle down, as other villages are unwilling to accept people who have been driven out.”
“Is it difficult? I feel like I can just spend some money and buy a house in town.”
“That requires a wealthy family. Houses in town are too expensive, and even renting one is not something villagers can afford… However, Widow Lin and her daughter recently received thirty taels of silver from the Yang family, plus their previous savings. They should have no problem buying a house in town.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Moreover, it’s only because Widow Lin and her daughter have money that they can buy a house… Since their hukou has been moved out of Yang Family Village, they cannot engage in business or take the imperial examinations. Moreover, without a stable place to live for a long time, they will be classified as vagrants and directly driven out of town!”
After understanding the reason from Gu Qingheng, Gu Yu finally understood… why some villagers said Gu Mengyao was heartless when she said she wanted to drive out Widow Lin and her daughter.
It turned out that it was only because other villages were unwilling to accept Widow Lin and her daughter, and the villagers were worried about how the widowed mother and daughter would live.
Gu Yu couldn’t help but curl his lips when he thought of this, thinking that even if others couldn’t live, Widow Lin and her daughter would probably live well.
However, Gu Yu was also fortunate that he hadn’t left directly when he first transmigrated.
Otherwise, how would he know that ancient times were so troublesome!
“Since you’ve made up your mind, then we can only let…”
“I’m unwilling! Why should I leave just because Gu Mengyao says so? Is she that capable in the village? She’s not the Village Chief, just a woman, why is she saying this.”
“I’m not the Village Chief, but I am Gu Yu’s wife. When you wanted to frame Gu Yu, you should have prepared in advance, because my Gu family is not a place for you to run wild.”
The Village Chief knew that he couldn’t persuade her anymore after hearing Gu Mengyao’s words. It was fine to just drive Widow Lin and her daughter away. At least the village wouldn’t have so many problems in the future.
After being angry, Gu Mengyao’s expression gradually calmed down. On the other hand, after hearing that she was to be driven out of the village, Lin Jiao’e no longer looked as pitiful. Instead, she looked at Gu Mengyao with a ferocious expression and said words of defiance loudly.
She didn’t do anything to Gu Yu, so why should she leave the village!
Moreover, why only drive her away? This matter was not planned by her alone… While Lin Jiao’e was thinking about these things, she immediately turned her head to look at Yang Shun, who was about to slip away, and a strange smile suddenly appeared on her face.
She couldn’t die alone. She had to pull someone down with her.
“Village Chief, regarding the matter of framing Gu Yu, it wasn’t something I could accomplish alone. There was someone else in the village who assisted me.”
“What???”
“He said that if I could marry Gu Yu, he would give me a reward of fifty taels of silver, so I resorted to this tactic, wanting to gain both money and life. Now, if you want to drive me out of the village, then he must go with me.”
“Who is the person who assisted you?”
“Yang Shun.”
Afterward, Lin Jiao’e looked at the Village Chief’s expression. Thinking that she would surely not escape the fate of being driven out of the village, she decided to go all out and directly exposed Yang Shun.
The surrounding onlookers did not expect that… after dealing with Lin Jiao’e, another Yang Shun appeared. What was about to be resolved had now taken a new turn.
As such, their eyes lit up, ready to see how the situation would develop.
They hadn’t eaten this melon in vain today! It was truly sweet~
Yang Shun did not expect Gu Mengyao to be so determined to drive out Widow Lin and her daughter. Therefore, after being exposed by Lin Jiao’e, his face turned green and then white. He wished he could faint on the spot, so as not to see the gazes cast upon him by the villagers.
Yang Shun, who had only ever received admiring glances from childhood, had never encountered looks of disdain, surprise, and contempt. His breathing began to quicken.
This damned Lin Jiao’e!
Just as Yang Shun was feeling extremely awkward, Lin Jiao’e saw his state and felt much better. She thought that even if she was to be driven out of the village, Yang Shun shouldn’t have an easy time.
However…
Lin Jiao’e glanced at Gu Mengyao standing opposite her and immediately spat on the ground in displeasure, showing her dissatisfaction with Gu Mengyao.
If not for Gu Yu’s good looks, a mere twelve-year-old brat, did she, Lin Jiao’e, really like him?
It was just that the Gu family was wealthy, hmph!
It might be good to leave the village this time. There were more wealthy people in town, and she didn’t have to live in the same village as these poor folk anymore.
Lin Jiao’e had not wanted to leave the village before, but it was only because she couldn’t swallow her pride and still held some hope that she wouldn’t be driven out of the village… However, after seeing the Village Chief and the villagers’ expressions, Lin Jiao’e knew that she had to leave today.
Since that was the case, Lin Jiao’e no longer wanted to struggle.
After pulling Yang Shun off the horse, Lin Jiao’e finally vented her anger.
If this place doesn’t keep her, there will be other places that will!
“Yang Shun, do you admit it?”
“Village Chief, I… Lin Jiao’e is slandering me. How could I do such a thing!”
“Slandering me? How have I slandered you? Didn’t you approach me first and say you wanted Gu Yu to suffer eternally? If everyone doesn’t believe me, you can ask Liu Da Niu, who was the first to inquire about Gu Yu going up the mountain.”
Yang Shun’s dissembling words made Lin Jiao’e smile and roll her eyes. Then, as she spoke, everyone looked uniformly at Liu Da Niu, wanting to know the truth from him.
“It was Yang Shun. He asked me before if I had seen Gu Yu on the mountain. I was wondering why Yang Shun would ask about Gu Yu. Then he said… it was to reconcile with Gu Yu, so he wanted to see if he was free now.”
Liu Da Niu, once again under everyone’s gaze, straightened his chest and quickly affirmed that it was true. Yang Shun was the first person to approach him.
Now, no matter how much Yang Shun tried to explain, he couldn’t clarify it.
