Chapter 41: If You Want People to Not Know, You Must Not Do It Yourself

Hu Zhaodi smiled sincerely. In this world, sincere efforts often bring rewards, unless you encounter someone like black cold hearted people.

After eating the cakes, the three of them put out the fire and continued to search for medicinal herbs and meat in the mountains.

By the afternoon, at the hour of Shen, all four of their backpacks were full, so they joked and made their way back to the outskirts.

When they arrived, Old Man Ji had already chopped down a pine tree as thick as a bucket and was using a hatchet to trim its branches.

The four of them quickly went up to help, and together they secured the wood onto the ox cart to take it back home.

Upon returning to the Ji family’s courtyard, the Ji brothers were stunned.

Old Man Ji’s lips twitched uncontrollably.

Outside the small courtyard, the people who had spread rumors yesterday were kneeling. Their eye sockets were deep, and the dark circles under their eyes resembled panda eyes, their faces as pale as paper.

As soon as they saw Hu Zhaodi, they hurriedly crawled over to her, tears in their eyes, pointing at their mouths with trembling fingers.

Hu Zhaodi sneered, “What’s wrong? Did all of you realized you were wrong? Now you’re here to kneel and beg for mercy?”

The group nodded repeatedly like chicks pecking at rice, constantly bowing their heads.

Hu Zhaodi, with her keen insight, stared into their eyes without blinking. After a moment, she shook her head, walked around them, and directly entered the house.

The Ji brothers exchanged puzzled looks, completely unsure of what was happening.

After unloading the wood from the ox cart and placing it in the yard, the three brothers eagerly entered the house to ask Hu Zhaodi.

Eldest Brother Ji asked, “Zhaodi, what’s going on with those people kneeling outside?”

Old Man Ji entered with a dark expression: “They deserve it. Yesterday, they were gossiping recklessly in front of me and Zhaodi, and today they’ve turned mute.”

The Ji brothers’ expressions darkened, their fists clenched as they prepared to teach those gossipy women a lesson.

Hu Zhaodi spoke up to stop them: “Brothers, calm down. Don’t get angry. If they enjoy gossiping so much, let them kneel. I want to see how long they can hold out.”

Fifth Brother said, “I can’t hold back. They dared to gossip about Zhaodi; I should knock out their teeth!”

“Fifth Brother Ji, don’t be so impulsive. Hitting those people would only dirty your hands and hurt them, which isn’t worth it.”

At that moment, Aunt Ji walked in and said, “Zhaodi, those people came to kneel outside after lunch. It doesn’t seem right to let them kneel like this indefinitely.”

Old Man Ji snorted coldly: “Hmph! There’s nothing wrong with it. Let them kneel. They dared to gossip and slander our Zhaodi. Just turning them mute is already showing mercy.”

Aunt Ji’s expression changed: “What did they say?”

Old Man Ji repeated the indecent words those women had said yesterday.

The Ji brothers’ anger surged; others might not know what kind of person Hu Zhaodi was, but the Ji family knew all too well.

Everyone knew how hurtful such indecent remarks could be to an unmarried girl.

Zhaodi hadn’t provoked them at all, yet they maliciously slandered her—simply despicable!

Fifth Brother stormed out of the courtyard, pointing at the kneeling women and cursing, “You bunch of worthless pigs and dogs, did Zhaodi provoke you? How dare you slander her like this?

With mouths that only know how to spew filth instead of eating, did your parents mix up your mouths and your butts when they gave birth to you?

Becoming mute is what you deserve!

Get out of here! Don’t come kneeling outside the Ji family courtyard again, just go!”

The kneeling women couldn’t make a sound, tears streaming down their faces.

Yesterday, after Hu Zhaodi left, they didn’t take her words to heart.

Once they returned home, they only felt a slight dryness and itchiness in their throats, along with a bit of hoarseness.

However, by evening, they could no longer make a sound, and their throats grew increasingly painful, making it feel like swallowing blades; the pain caused cold sweat to drip from their foreheads.

In fact, someone had come by the Ji family’s courtyard in the morning, but no one was kneeling, so they left again.

As their throats became more painful and they could barely swallow even a mush of vegetables, they decided to come together and kneel outside the Ji family courtyard.

Although they couldn’t make any noise, they were not genuinely willing to come and admit their mistakes.

As long as Hu Zhaodi would lift the curse, within half a day, rumors about her would spread throughout the entire village.

Moreover, it was possible that the rumors would reach neighboring villages.

Although Hu Zhaodi was unafraid, those who spread the rumors had implicated the Ji family as well.

Old Man Ji was now the village chief, and these rumors would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to the Ji family.

She could not allow the Ji family, who had shown her kindness, to suffer even the slightest consequence.

Hu Zhaodi came out and coldly said, “You all can go back! You haven’t truly repented; kneeling here is useless. I won’t lift the curse for you.”

The kneeling group was dumbfounded. How did this girl know they hadn’t genuinely repented?

They were still thinking about getting revenge on this girl after the curse was lifted!

But this girl seemed able to see through their hearts. Despite them coming to kneel respectfully, they couldn’t deceive her into lifting the curse.

Yang Dahui and his wife glared at Hu Zhaodi with malice in their eyes, their mouths opening and closing, but no sound came out.

Hu Zhaodi stared at their lips, her gaze growing colder.

She parted her red lips: “Yang Dahui, you and your wife have committed countless evil deeds, yet you still want to drug me so that I’d have to bear your crippled son’s child, making me serve your entire family, right?

You also want to take over the land I bought, forcing me to continue to work like a horse for your family to earn silver. You ugly bunch really have some beautiful thoughts!”

Yang Dahui and his wife looked at Hu Zhaodi in disbelief, as if asking: How did you know?

Hu Zhaodi raised an eyebrow: “Want to know how I know?

If you want people not to know, you must not do it yourself.

Those little schemes of yours are practically written on your faces.

Do you really think everyone else is an idiot, unable to see through your filthy intentions?”

The other gossiping women kneeling nearby looked at Yang Dahui and his wife in shock.

They also had children, and at home, they had daughters who had yet to reach marriageable age.

Although they always thought their daughters would eventually marry, they were still their children.

If anyone plotted against their daughters like this, they would probably fight to the death with them.

Zhaodi was only fourteen and had yet to reach marriageable age; how could these two people do something so heartless?

Did they think that because Zhaodi had no family backing her, they could scheme against her without restraint?

How despicable!

Hu Zhaodi’s icy voice rang out again: “And you lot over there, just how good of friends are you with Yang Dahui and his wife that you’re willing to be their pawns?”

Hu Zhaodi stroked her chin: “Is it that Yang Dahui is having an affair with you, or is it that his wife is having an affair with your men?

How much benefit did they give you for you to be used as their guns?”