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Aunt Pan felt that there was nothing in her mouth obstructing her anymore, and she immediately felt delighted, wanting to speak.
But as she tried to open her mouth, she realized something was wrong.
She couldn’t speak!
Shen Yu’an couldn’t help but smirk secretly. How could she not be prepared for this?
Unnoticed by anyone, right after Shen Yu’an finished speaking just a moment ago, she had already released the gu worm she carried on her body.
And that tiny gu worm followed Shen Yu’an’s command, crawling onto Aunt Pan’s body, and then burrowing into her ear.
Because the gu worm was so small, it didn’t catch Aunt Pan’s attention even as it entered her body.
Shen Yu’an had always wanted to test how effective this gu worm she had refined was, but she never had a suitable opportunity. Now, she let Aunt Pan be the first one to experience it.
This gu worm was called the True Word Gu, and it had already started to take effect once it entered Aunt Pan’s body.
The gu worm had another effect as well; as long as nobody asked Aunt Pan a question, she would be unable to speak.
Aunt Pan’s face filled with terror as she tried to open her mouth, but she couldn’t speak!
After waiting for a while and seeing that Aunt Pan still hadn’t spoken, Zhu couldn’t help but anxiously urge her, “Aunt Pan, if you have any grievances, just speak out. I will definitely do justice for you.”
After saying that, she looked smugly at Shen Yu’an.
Seeing that Shen Yu’an didn’t even glance at her, Zhu became furious.
Due to the shock of finding herself unable to speak, Aunt Pan forgot for a moment that she should stand up and remained sitting on the ground.
Many members of the Shen family had gathered in the courtyard, standing beside Shen Yu’an and glaring at Aunt Pan on the ground.
Shen Yu’an turned to Zhu Li Zheng and said calmly, “To be fair, please go ahead and ask the questions, Zhu Li Zheng.”
Zhu Li Zheng solemnly nodded and cast a somewhat clouded gaze over the people present before finally turning his gaze to Aunt Pan, who was sitting on the ground in a disheveled manner.
He started with the first question, “Why did you come to the Shen family’s residence so early in the morning?”
This time, Aunt Pan could finally speak, and she instinctively replied, “I went to the foot of the mountain to dig wild vegetables. I passed by here on my way back to the village.”
This statement was not incorrect, and it seemed like a trivial matter.
Zhu Li Zheng nodded again and continued, “Did you enter the Shen family’s courtyard on your own initiative, or were you coerced by them?”
Aunt Pan answered without hesitation, “Of course, I came in by myself.”
Zhu Li Zheng listened to Aunt Pan’s account and nodded, acknowledging her words.
After hearing her story, he turned to Shen Yu’an and asked, “Is what she said true?”
Shen Yu’an’s smirk remained, and she replied confidently, “She did enter the courtyard on her own, and she saw my brother and his pregnant wife taking a walk. As for the rest of her remarks, they are just her personal opinions and feelings. We have been taking care of my sister-in-law as she’s going through a delicate phase, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Zhu Lizheng nodded again, and though he seemed somewhat perplexed, he continued his inquiry, “Is there anyone else who can confirm or deny Aunt Pan’s words?”
The other villagers from Longxian Village exchanged glances but remained silent, not wanting to get involved in the conflict between the two families.
Seeing no one stepping forward, Zhu Li Zheng sighed, “Since there are no other witnesses, it’s challenging to determine the truth entirely. Let’s not dwell on this matter any longer.”
With that, he signaled for Aunt Pan to stand up, and she hurriedly complied. The atmosphere in the courtyard tensed as the unresolved tension lingered.
But being treated well and blessed by others is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with it.
It’s fine to talk about this behind someone’s back, but you shouldn’t say it directly in front of them.
The crowd kept their distance from Aunt Pan.
Zhu Li Zheng’s expression turned somewhat displeased as he continued, “And then?”
Aunt Pan casually added, “I did it out of goodwill. It’s freezing cold outside, so I thought of helping her into the house…”
Zhu, who had been worried, breathed a sigh of relief. She knew it; that stubborn girl must have misunderstood things and accused Aunt Pan wrongly.
She sneered, “Look at what I said. Aunt Pan also had good intentions to help you, and yet you ended up tying her up.”
“People who fled from disaster often bring trouble with them. Our village can’t afford to keep such bandits. Zhu Li Zheng, having people like them in the village will only cause trouble. It’s better to drive them away,” Zhu suggested.
Zhu Li Zheng looked at Zhu as if she were a fool, wanting someone to throw her out.
Aunt Pan clearly hadn’t finished speaking, and interrupting her now would be a slap in the face.
He was about to reprimand Zhu when he heard Shen Yu’an let out a light laugh before saying anything.
She glanced at Zhu Li Zheng, and in an instant, he didn’t feel like speaking anymore. Fine, they made their own mess and should bear the consequences.
Shen Yu’an looked at Zhu and said, “How about we make a bet? If we wrongly accused her, I’ll give you five taels of silver…”
Zhu’s eyes brightened; this was like giving her money!
She immediately agreed, “Deal.”
Then she extended her hand and said, “Hand over the silver.”
Shen Yu’an glanced at her hand but didn’t make a move. Instead, she said, “Now, let’s discuss what will happen if you wrongly accused us.”
Upon realizing that Shen Yu’an seemed reluctant to give her the silver, Zhu got angry and exclaimed, “What do you mean by accusing me of backing out on the bet? Everyone here is watching!”
Shen Yu’an chuckled lightly, remaining composed as she said, “In a bet, both parties need to place their bets. I have put five taels of silver on the line, what about you?”
Zhu didn’t care about the concept of betting; she said, “I don’t have five taels of silver!”
Shen Yu’an continued persuasively, “I don’t want your five taels of silver either. Since you have full confidence in Aunt Pan’s innocence, how about you place a bet of one tael of silver? Let’s have this bet, what do you say?”
Zhu Shi’s eyes darted around, thinking that Shen Yu’an’s proposition made sense. Unaware that she had fallen into Shen Yu’an’s trap, she replied, “Alright, I’ll bet one tael of silver.”
The Shen family members behind Shen Yu’an maintained their composure, observing the situation without saying a word. They believed that if Shen Yu’an proposed this bet, she must be very confident in winning. Thus, they silently stood behind her.
Others felt that Shen Yu’an seemed a bit foolish, readily admitting to her mistake and even offering silver as compensation.
Some people even thought about betting with Shen Yu’an.
Who wouldn’t want to earn five taels of silver for free?
Among them, only Zhu Li Zheng sensed that something was off.
Shen Yu’an was a clever girl; how could she willingly do something that would be unfavorable for herself?
However, Zhu Li Zheng found it difficult to speak up in this situation. After pondering for a moment, he reprimanded Zhu, “Stop stirring up trouble and go away.”
But Zhu didn’t perceive Zhu Li Zheng’s good intentions. Instead, she felt that he always sided with those who had recently arrived in the village.
She sneered and said, “Li Zheng, you can’t be envious of the silver I’m about to get and try to stop me. Considering your father’s status, you better not meddle in this.”
Zhu Li Zheng glared at Zhu with frustration, thinking to himself, “I can see that you’re about to lose some silver. If it weren’t for your father’s status, I wouldn’t even bother dealing with someone as foolish as you!”