Hao Cheng hesitated for a moment, her expression changed several times, and she simply admitted: “My parents’ sudden departure left me with no relatives after their burial. I couldn’t bear it for a while, so I had the idea of ending my life. That’s why I found a rope, thinking it would be a relief and I could reunite with my parents under the earth.”

She looked miserable, and the crowd sighed.

Kou Qing didn’t expect Hao Cheng to admit it. His plan was originally to have Hao Cheng deny it, or accuse them of strangling her with a rope. Then he could immediately accuse Hao Cheng of lying. After all, it would make a huge difference if she had attempted suicide or if they had tried to murder her for money.

But now that Hao Cheng had confessed, it was even better.

He immediately followed her lead: “Alright, since you’ve admitted it yourself, Village Chief, I don’t have much else to say. Everyone understands now, I never expected my brother, such a kind-hearted person, to raise such a ^[1]“white-eyed wolf” – it’s a metaphorical way of describing someone who is disloyal, unappreciative, or treacherous, especially towards those who have helped or cared for them. … Continue readingwhite-eyed wolf!”

The way people looked at Hao Cheng changed, and if the original owner were present, she would probably be too angry to speak.

But Hao Cheng had a bewildered expression: “Uncle, what are you talking about? I never said I attempted suicide. You keep admitting as if I’ve done something wrong.”

Thinking of her parents worrying about her in the other world, Hao Cheng’s eyes quickly turned red too.

Before Kou Qing could speak, she choked out: “I couldn’t bear it for a while, but the moment I kicked the stool, I realized. If I were to leave like that, they would never rest in peace. Heaven has eyes, the rope I hung myself with suddenly broke, and I was lucky to survive. Then, while I was still lying on the ground, I heard the conversation outside.”

Her gaze swept over Kou Qing and that servant, with a hint of resentment in her tone: “It was because I didn’t make a sound that these thieves outside shamelessly discussed their plan, and that’s how I was able to pick up the stick in advance, stand at the door, and knock out this thief. Aunt Dong saw the rest. I am a scholar, and even the neighboring villagers know my temperament as Hao Cheng. Have I ever told a lie?”

“No, you haven’t.”

“I still trust Hao Cheng.”

The original owner was known in the village as an honest person, a bit naive from studying too much. Although she didn’t do farm work well and couldn’t help her parents with their work, she was one of the few scholars in the village. If she were accused of lying, the villagers wouldn’t believe it.

Kou Qing, on the other hand, was known for being shrewd even before he got married. Between the two of them, Hao Cheng was more trustworthy.

“What do you mean by that?” He didn’t know why his shy niece suddenly became eloquent.

Hao Cheng could play the sympathy card well, and her ability to show her pitiful side was top-notch.

He immediately showed a pitiful look: “I came with good intentions to see my niece, but I was slandered as a thief. It’s really pitiful. A bunch of women bullying me, a weak man.”

This was embarrassing. Kou Qing was Hao Cheng’s uncle, and everyone knew about it. Logically, an uncle wouldn’t do this to his only niece, but Hao Cheng wasn’t the type to lie either.

The main problem was that when outsiders saw it, the situation wasn’t clear, so both sides stuck to their stories. Without concrete evidence and witnesses, even the magistrate couldn’t make a ruling.

Thinking about it, Village Chief wanted to settle it privately and let it go. She usually mediated in such messy family matters to avoid further entanglement.

But before she could say anything, Hao Cheng didn’t wait for both sides to shake hands and make peace.

She stared into Kou Qing’s eyes and asked, “Earlier, Uncle said that you let this person come to save me, broke the rope, and rescued me from the rafters. Is that correct?”

Kou Qing felt uneasy, suspecting something fishy about the rope breaking.

He immediately said, “Perhaps I didn’t explain clearly earlier. When we came in, you suddenly fell down. My servants went to check on you, and you unexpectedly grabbed a stick and knocked out one of my servants. I thought it was a ghost, so I screamed and ran out.”

“Oh, so according to Uncle’s explanation, this servant wasn’t the one who saved me. I was inside the house, and suddenly a stranger broke in without saying a word. I woke up and knocked out this stranger. How does that make me the white-eyed wolf in Uncle’s eyes?”

Kou Qing was ready to give Hao Cheng a way out, also for his own dignity: “I came to check on you out of goodwill. When you didn’t make a sound inside, I was worried that something had happened to you, so I rushed in. I didn’t consider that you might not recognize my servants. Calling you a white-eyed wolf was indeed inappropriate, but please don’t have such suicidal thoughts again. Luckily, the rope broke this time. If it hadn’t, and no one had barged in like that, it would have been difficult for me to explain to your father.”

Kou Qing’s tone was that of an elder, subtly reproaching Hao Cheng for her ingratitude, but there was also a hint of leniency. However, Hao Cheng didn’t want to let it go at that.

She didn’t want to suffer this injustice and spoke lightly, “This land and house are not worth much. Your household is wealthy, and even a servant’s monthly salary is two taels of silver. It’s unlikely they would covet my meager possessions. Perhaps I misheard.”

Seeing that Hao Cheng was being sensible, Kou Qing said, “You must have misheard. My servant doesn’t receive two taels of silver as monthly salary; it’s only half a tael.”

Everyone knew that Kou Qing’s family, to which Kou Qing was married, was very wealthy. They were discussing: “Yes, your uncle is fortunate. He manages the household, and we hire over twenty servants to serve every year. Let alone the surplus money in the house, why would he covet such trivial things from you?”

Even if it’s only half a tael, with over twenty servants, it adds up to more than ten taels. Kou Qing always acted poor in front of her brother and the original owner, but everyone in the village knew that Kou Qing’s family had plenty of money.

Hao Cheng smiled, took out a yellowed promissory note, and said, “Then perhaps I misheard. Let’s settle this in front of everyone. Uncle, please repay the twenty taels that my parents lent you back then.”

Money was crucial to Kou Qing, and he didn’t want to part with twenty taels, or even one tael, “It’s not easy for our family either. With such high expenses, can’t you understand the situation of a family like ours?”

Previously, the original owner and her father were soft-hearted. Although twenty taels were a lot, it wasn’t essential. Kou Qing, on the other hand, was stingy, and getting money from him was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Hao Cheng’s eyes turned red, “This money was lent to Uncle by my parents. I understand your difficulties, so when I buried my father, I didn’t bring up this promissory note. Instead, I borrowed some money from Uncle first. However, since Uncle’s family is in trouble, he could only give me a hairpin worth three wen coins. In order to bury my parents, I sold valuable things at home and ended up in debt. I didn’t even have money for food. It’s really difficult for everyone, but I don’t have the face to beg for food every day. If Uncle is really having a hard time, then forget about this money. After all, Uncle still has over twenty servants to support, and if I starve to death, this debt will be cleared.”

Although she was saying that Kou Qing didn’t need to repay the money, every word was clearly accusing Kou Qing of being heartless, a white-eyed wolf!

Clearly, a servant who could earn half a tael per month, yet when her brother died, only three wen coins were given for burial. And owing twenty taels of money, he delayed repayment, preferring to let his niece starve to death while he lived comfortably. Such a person wouldn’t hesitate to commit murder for money.

Everyone wasn’t stupid. This promissory note was black and white, and Kou Qing kept changing his words. It was clear who was telling the truth.

Hao Cheng was one of the few scholars in the village. If she starved to death, Village Chief wouldn’t be able to explain it. But no one was willing to let Kou Qing off the hook. After all, Kou Qing owed such a large sum of money, so she should repay it!

Village Chief coughed twice, “Hao Cheng, don’t speak such unlucky words. Since everyone is here, let me take charge of this matter. Repaying debts is a matter of principle. Today, Kou family will repay the money. If you don’t have the money on you, I’ll send someone to fetch it from town for you.”

Kou Qing was about to say something, but Village Chief insisted, “If you say you don’t have the money, then go to the yamen and accuse someone of attempted murder for money. After all, we are all witnesses for Hao Cheng!”

Going to the yamen and bribing the county magistrate would cost more than twenty taels of silver. Kou Qing ground his teeth in frustration, “No need, I have enough money with me!”

He took out a tael of broken silver, removed the hairpin from his head, and said, “Take this to the pawnshop. I’ll repay the money today.”

The hairpin pawned for twenty taels of silver, Kou Qing collected the broken silver, tore up the promissory note, and left the Xinghua Village with his servant, feeling embarrassed.

After everyone left, Hao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief holding the twenty taels of silver. One tael of silver was enough for an ordinary family in the village to live on for a month, but since Hao Cheng didn’t farm, she had to buy many things again. Now her family was so poor that twenty taels of silver could support her for nearly half a year.