Chapter 244: See the Officials, Then

Chapter 244: Chapter 244: See the Officials, Then

The Cao Family arrived aggressively. Hu Dacheng, who had been instructed beforehand, slipped out of the courtyard and darted off to inform Ji Huan.

By the time Ji Huan arrived, she saw two unfamiliar middle-aged women blocking the Hu Family’s main gate, and a large crowd had already gathered at the entrance.

Hu Dacheng whispered, "Those two are helpers the Cao Family hired. My mom wanted to close the gate and handle this privately, but they wouldn’t let her."

’Wouldn’t let her? They’re deliberately trying to make a big scene.’

Ji Huan gestured for Hu Dacheng not to go in yet. The courtyard was in an uproar; clearly, an argument had broken out.

"You shameless thief of a widow! No wonder you can’t raise anyone decent! First, Hu Liang broke off the engagement, and then he broke my son’s leg! To this day, my son is still stuck in bed, and my daughter nearly hanged herself! How could you do this? You broke your promises without a second thought! People of Dafeng Village, all of you, come and judge for yourselves! Has the Hu Family lost its conscience?!"

After Granny Cao finished her tirade, Mrs. Wang chimed in with a tearful voice.

"Oh, my poor sister-in-law! She was so looking forward to marrying Hu Liang, but who knew he was such a heartless man! My husband was beaten to a pulp, too! You can’t just bully people like this! You weren’t like this before! You’ve just made a little stinking money and now you look down on our family..."

Aside from the ten households that had partnered with them for the "Golden Duo," most of the villagers had only vaguely heard about the Hu Family calling off the engagement. As for why, the details weren’t clear.

So, hearing the accusations from the Cao family’s mother- and daughter-in-law, they were only just learning that not only had Hu Liang broken off the engagement, but he had also injured his would-be brother-in-law. On top of that, the girl had nearly taken her own life. This was all a bit...

"See? I told you. Ever since their family started that business, they’ve gotten so arrogant their noses are in the air! Who do they think they are anymore?"

Someone who held a grudge against the Hu Family took the opportunity to chime in.

But who couldn’t hear the sour grapes in that comment? Someone in the crowd immediately retorted.

"Don’t talk nonsense! The Hu Family has always been decent. They’re the same as they’ve always been. They wouldn’t do something like that. There must be a reason."

"Yeah, Gou Sheng’s wife, stop stirring up trouble! No matter what beef you have with Widow Xie, you shouldn’t be siding with outsiders to trample on our own villagers!"

The villagers had a sense of community. No matter how deep their personal conflicts, when outsiders came looking for trouble, they had to set their differences aside and present a united front.

Gou Sheng’s wife pursed her lips. "I side with reason, not relatives! If they didn’t have a guilty conscience, why would they suddenly stop their perfectly good business?"

"Well..."

That’s right. If they were in the right, why would they have agreed to such an unreasonable demand?

Widow Xie was absolutely furious.

During that confrontation in town, everything had happened so suddenly that anger clouded her judgment, and she had blurted out how Cao Yunyun had betrayed Hu Ximei.

She had regretted it ever since.

If that matter were truly dragged into the open, the first person to suffer would be Hu Ximei. Even though she had been deceived and the engagement never happened, in the eyes of others, her reputation would be stained forever.

And then there was Cao Yunyun. Although her actions were disheartening, the real culprit was Mrs. Wang. Cao Yunyun was still a young, unmarried woman, and Widow Xie couldn’t bring herself to truly ruin her.

Besides, these villages were so close to each other. If even a whisper of this got out and Cao Yunyun’s reputation was completely destroyed, what if she tried to kill herself again, or started pestering Liangzi once more...

With all these concerns, whenever Widow Xie spoke to people about the reason for breaking the engagement, she was always vague.

Those who knew some of the inside story only knew that the Cao Family had used their daughter to try and get the Hu Family’s recipe. They didn’t know about the arranged marriage for Hu Ximei that fell through, or the wicked things the Cao Family had done in that affair.

The Hu Family had already swallowed their losses. She just never imagined that after taking every advantage, the Cao Family would have the gall to turn around and make false counter-accusations!

Filled with rage and resentment, Widow Xie yanked Cao Yunyun, who was standing with her head down, out of the crowd.

"Girl of the Cao family, speak for yourself! Has my Hu Family wronged you in any way? Don’t you know why we broke off the engagement, huh? You almost did something to Ximei..."

"Mom!" Hu Liang hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Widow Xie, whispering, "We’re in the village. Think about Ximei’s reputation."

Suddenly yanked out from the crowd by Widow Xie, Cao Yunyun had no reaction at all, seemingly unafraid of the scandal being exposed.

She only looked up when she heard Hu Liang’s voice.

However, Hu Liang kept his side to her, not giving her even a single glance.

Granny Cao yanked Cao Yunyun back behind her.

She had originally thought Widow Xie had already exposed the fact that the Cao family tried to act as a matchmaker for Hu Ximei. Since she dared to come and cause a scene, she was determined to deny it to the death.

Now, seeing the reactions of Widow Xie and Hu Liang, she knew they hadn’t told anyone and didn’t dare to. Her arrogance immediately flared.

"You made a little money and now you look down on us poor relatives! You fabricated some bullshit excuse to break off the engagement and then you tried to pin all the blame on my daughter! My son couldn’t stand by and watch, so he went to reason with you, only to be nearly crippled by Hu Liang... We were originally going to report you to the magistrate! It was only because you begged and pleaded, agreeing to give up your hot and spicy soup business as compensation, that we agreed to reconcile. But you shameless bunch! You stopped selling in town yourselves, but then you turned around and taught your business to other people. Aren’t you deliberately setting them up to steal our customers?!"

Was Granny Cao lying? Not entirely.

The broken engagement, the beating, the compensation, the promise—all these things had actually happened. She had simply reversed the order of events, completely changing their meaning.

Even their fellow villagers exchanged uncertain glances upon hearing this; those who had initially spoken up for the Hu Family now fell silent.

Seeing this, Granny Cao grew even more confident.

"The Cao Family is not to be trifled with! If you don’t give us a satisfactory explanation today, I, an old woman, will smash my head on your doorstep and die right here!"

Mrs. Wang quickly provided the answer to what would count as a "satisfactory explanation."

"Either you forbid those people in your village from selling the Golden Duo in town, or we’ll see you before the magistrate. Oh, right, and you have to pay us compensation! Take your pick!"

With so many people suddenly selling the Golden Duo in town, not only could the Cao Family no longer run an exclusive business, but they were also being pushed out to the point where they could barely operate at all.

So, the reason they came to cause a scene this time was, one, to force the Hu Family to eliminate their competition, and two, to extort a hefty sum of money.

Ji Huan, who had been standing behind the crowd of onlookers, heard this and finally pushed her way through into the Hu Family’s courtyard.

"Go to the magistrate, you say? I was just thinking the same thing."

Seeing a young woman suddenly step forward, the Cao Family members were all taken aback.

When they also saw the instantaneous change in Cao Yunyun’s expression and the resentful, suppressed look in her eyes, what was there not to understand?

Granny Cao felt it was beneath her to argue with a young girl, so she shot a look at Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang understood and stepped forward, pointing at Ji Huan as she cursed, "And who might this be! So it’s you, you shameless little vixen—"

"Ma’am, hold on!"

Ji Huan didn’t give her the chance to sling mud, holding up one hand to silence Mrs. Wang while pointing with the other at Shi Yong in the crowd.

"Shi Yong, could you please go borrow a cart for us? Yeyang is quite a long way. I’m afraid we won’t make it in time if we walk."

Shi Yong had heard someone was causing trouble at the Hu Family’s home and had just arrived, sweating profusely. Upon hearing Ji Huan’s words, he immediately turned and ran off again.

Mrs. Wang stammered, "Wh-what are you doing?"

Ji Huan looked at her with feigned confusion. "Didn’t you say you wanted to see the magistrate? Let’s go."

Mrs. Wang had heard stories about Ji Huan, all of which described her as introverted, timid, and easy to manipulate. Although Cao Yunyun had later said that Ji Huan wasn’t timid, Mrs. Wang just assumed she was, at most, a little tougher than her own sister-in-law.

Who would have thought she’d be so fierce?

She called their bluff about going to the magistrate just like that. Can’t she tell it was just a threat?!

As if she’d been stung, Mrs. Wang quickly retreated to Granny Cao’s side and whispered, "Mom, what do we do now?"