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The villagers, while they might not heed Gao Lizheng’s authority, dared not ignore Steward Luo’s influence. Seeing Steward Luo arrive with a sizable group and armed guards, they refrained from further aggression.
Steward Luo loudly proclaimed, “Ms. Chen is the needlework master for my young miss and is associated with Tangyuan. Anyone who bullies her is bullying Tangyuan, opposing me, Luo, and my young master, who is a military officer.”
Typically discreet about their master’s official position, the Tangyuan residents never boasted about his rank. However, today, to defend Chen Feng, Steward Luo revealed his master’s status.
A military officer – that was a high-ranking official indeed.
Upon hearing this, the people who were previously indignant lowered their “weapons.”
One bold man, still indignant, approached and said, “Mr. Luo, that wretched woman Chen Feng beat my mother like this. What do you say to that?”
Chen Feng threw her stick to the ground and stepped forward, addressing Steward Luo, “Uncle Luo, those two gossipy women were speaking ill of Magistrate Chen and his mother. Out of concern that their words would bring trouble to our entire village, I confronted them.”
She wasn’t foolish enough to disclose the gossip about Mrs. Wang.
Although the two women primarily gossiped about Mrs. Wang, they did indeed speak ill of Magistrate Chen and his mother, leaving them with no defense.
Steward Luo surveyed the surrounding villagers and solemnly declared, “I’ve heard some village gossip. You all are quite audacious to publicly discuss a high-ranking official from the capital. This is slander against a high-ranking court official, a grave offense. Aren’t you afraid of being reported and losing your heads?”
Hu Laowu squeezed through the crowd and added, “Steward Luo, I can testify that these two women are habitual gossips, always critical and judgmental. This time, they went too far, speaking ill of Magistrate Chen. I’ll immediately go to the county town and seek out my sister’s husband, who is a constable, to apprehend these audacious and wicked women.”
Steward Luo glanced at him and said with a serious tone, “Yes, take my master’s credentials and go directly to the county magistrate.”
Upon hearing the possibility of meeting the county magistrate, Hu Laowu was overjoyed and repeatedly exclaimed, “Good, good! I’ll get to it right away.”
The two families were already spooked by Steward Luo’s labeling them as “slandering high-ranking court officials.” and upon hearing about their imminent visit to the county magistrate and the constable, they became even more frightened.
The two women swiftly scrambled to their feet. One of them cried out, “This is a misunderstanding! We didn’t slander Magistrate Chen, we just mentioned how Magistrate Chen’s mother drove Mrs. Wang away.”
The other woman also shouted, “We won’t dare to say anything about Magistrate Chen and Mrs. Wang ever again.”
Their men, infuriated, lashed out physically and verbally. One man, while hitting, exclaimed, “You foolish woman, daring to spread rumors. You’re asking for trouble, don’t drag our whole family down with you.”
Another man simultaneously kicked and hit, shouting, “I’ll beat you, foul-mouthed woman, daring to spout nonsense.”
Steward Luo looked at the two families and said, “These two foolish women are still talking nonsense in front of so many people. If they continue, it won’t just harm your families, it will implicate the entire village. When everyone is interconnected, half the village will be embroiled.” Then, he turned to Gao Lizheng and said, “Brother Gao, you’re too lenient. For these troublemakers who harm others and themselves, reason won’t work.”
Gao Lizheng’s face turned red with embarrassment as he fiercely glared at the two families. He also feared the matter reaching the county magistrate. If it did, it would make him appear incompetent.
Hastily, he smiled at Steward Luo, “It won’t happen. I will certainly discipline them properly.” Then, he instructed several sturdy women, “Go and give each of them, Ding and Xing, ten slaps each to teach them a lesson. They need to learn what to say and what not to say, to avoid dragging our entire village into trouble.”
Gao Lizheng was generally mild-mannered and rarely resorted to village justice. However, this matter had escalated too far, and he felt it necessary to discipline these two women. If Steward Luo did get involved and took the matter to the county yamen, it would spell trouble. While the villagers were not fully aware of these dynamics, he had heard some rumors about the tremendous influence behind the Tangyuan master, an influence even Magistrate Chen couldn’t afford to provoke.
The villagers were also fearful. If things escalated, it wouldn’t just implicate one household, it could drag half the village into trouble. Consequently, they began to denounce the two women and demanded strict punishment for them.
The sturdy women, who had convoluted kinship ties with Ding and Xing, were also afraid of being implicated. They agreed to pull the two women aside, with two women pulling and one woman doing the hitting.
This was a case of following the crowd. Initially, it was about blaming Mrs. Wang, and now it was about singling out the two women.
Even the families of Ding and Xing dared not intercede. Enduring ten slaps in the village was still better than being taken to the county yamen.
Hearing the sound of slaps and the wails of the two women, Chen Feng felt particularly relieved.
After the punishment, Steward Luo said to Hu Laowu, “Since they’ve been disciplined and have acknowledged their mistakes, let’s not take this to the county yamen for now. We are neighbors, and harmony is important. However, you need to be clear, if anyone dares to speak out of turn again, report them to Brother Gao. If Brother Gao doesn’t handle it, report it to the county yamen and request the county magistrate to investigate.”
Hu Laowu quickly agreed, and Gao Lizheng assured that he would handle it. Even the heads of the two families thanked Steward Luo and expressed their gratitude.
Chen Feng silently admired Steward Luo’s adeptness in handling the situation. It wasn’t appropriate to bring up Mrs. Wang’s matter now— the more it was discussed, the worse it sounded, and the more complicated it became. By imposing such a significant accusation, and using forceful means to suppress the rumors, the villagers were no longer allowed to gossip.
The two families dared not cause any more trouble. After their women were beaten, they quietly took them home.
As the crowd dispersed, Chen Ming, Chen Ye, and Chen Gui thanked Steward Luo, Gao Lizheng, the village carpenter, and others. They even expressed gratitude to Hu Laowu.
Meanwhile, Chen Feng struggled to support the pale and unsteady Mrs. Wang, dragging her home. Mrs. Wang was trembling and unsteady, and it took great effort for Chen Feng to move her.
In front of the courtyard gate, Chen Lu, leaning on a crutch, stood there with Dabao. They had received word that Chen Feng had been involved in a fight, and seeing many people rushing out with hoes and big sticks, Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang were afraid of any unintentional harm to the two children and firmly refused to let them follow.
They watched as many people arrived from outside the village, and tears welled up in their eyes. Dabao cried out, “Uncle, why haven’t my mother, grandma, and grandpa come back yet?”
Chen Lu with tears streaming down his face, replied, “Let’s wait a little longer. If they don’t return, we’ll go find them.”
When they saw Chen Feng supporting Mrs. Wang on their return, they wiped away their tears and rushed to meet them. An anxious Lu asked, “Where’s father? Is he okay?”
Chen Feng reassured them, “He’s fine. He’s talking with someone and will be back soon.”
The group then returned home, relieved to be together.