Chapter 168 - 168 Return
168 Return
At this moment, more people had come to the village entrance to get water. The villagers who had gone around looking for Su Yuniang also rushed back.
Everyone gathered at the village entrance. When they heard Madam Zhou and Fatty Su’s conversation, they could not help but surround them.
When Madam Zhou saw that her fellow villagers were here, she felt more confident.
She raised her voice and said, “Fatty Su, you know very well what you’ve done. To think that Yuniang treated you as a doctor and believed you. She even spent so much consultation money to move into your house, but you’re greedy and don’t know what’s good for you. You harmed Yuniang for money!”
“What do you mean for money?” Auntie Wu asked. “Sister Xiao Zhou, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t talk nonsense.”
“I’m not spouting nonsense!” Madam Zhou snorted coldly. “Everyone doesn’t know, right? Yesterday, Su Yuniang took a large sum of silver to Little Su’s house! She disappeared at night! Tell me, if it’s not Fatty Su and the others who killed her for money, what could it be?”
Su Xiaoxiao said, “Oh, how did you know she took the silver to my house? Did you see it?”
Madam Zhou said, “We’ll know once we search your house!”
Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes turned cold. “Search my house? Zhou, I think you’re tired of living!”
Madam Zhou was so frightened by Little Bully Su’s aura that she took a big step back. She said fiercely, “You, you, you, you’re feeling guilty, right? If you have a clear conscience, why don’t you let us search you? I think you… you hid Yu Niang’s silver! You’re afraid that we’ll find it!”
Su Xiaoxiao said, “If you doubt me today, you can search my house. If you doubt me tomorrow, do I have to open the door and welcome you in? What do you take my Su family for?”
“What happened?”
“Village Head!”
It was Elder Su.
The village head also searched for the entire night. On the way, he bumped into Old Master Su, who had come down from the mountain.
The ages of the two men added up to more than a hundred years old. They were not like young men. After a night without sleep, they looked extremely haggard.
Especially the village head. He was clearly much younger than Old Master Su, but he looked much more tired than Old Master Su.
The person who asked the question just now was the village head.
Li Xiaoyong said, “Aunt Zhou slandered Daya, saying that Daya harmed Yuniang.”
Madam Zhou exploded. “What do you mean by slandering her? I’m telling the truth! If you don’t believe me… If you don’t believe me, ask Old Master Su! Did Yu Niang leave with a large sum of money?!”
Old Master Su wanted to say something but hesitated.
The village head said, “Brother Su, just say it.”
Old Master Su said with a complicated expression, “Yuniang’s valuables… are indeed missing.”
Madam Zhou hurriedly said, “Did you hear that!”
Su Xiaoxiao chuckled, “Just because of this, you say that I killed her for money? If you have the ability to solve cases, why don’t you go to the government office to be judges?”
“You!” Madam Zhou was so angry that she fell backward.
Su Xiaoxiao continued, “Speaking of Yuniang carrying silver, I remember something. Sanlang said that he heard Yuniang quarreling with her family before Yuniang left. Why couldn’t you have murdered Yuniang?”
“Yuniang is a member of our Su family! How can we harm her?”
It was Su Can.
He and Su Erlang came over from outside.
He looked at Old Master Su. “Father, we just went to the Zheng family. Yu Niang didn’t return to her in-laws’ house.”
Su Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows. “Then tell me, what are you arguing about with Yuniang?”
“Noisy…” Su Can was about to talk about the divorce, but he stopped himself when he caught Old Master Su’s gaze.
He said, “We wanted Yuniang to come back, but she refused to come back. She said that you wanted her to treat her for a few more days. You told her that if she came back early and did not address the root of her illness, you wouldn’t be responsible! We said that you were most likely scaring her. Yuniang was bewitched by you, and she wouldn’t listen to us no matter what! She took the silver to pay for your consultation!”
“I was wrong.” Su Xiaoxiao apologized sincerely.
Everyone was stunned. Was she admitting her culpability?
Su Xiaoxiao continued, “You shouldn’t be judges. You should be storytellers.”
At first, the villagers did not understand. After a while, they realized that Fatty Su was mocking the Su family for making things up.
“Pfft!”
Aunt Liu could not help but laugh. When Old Master Su looked at her with a dark expression, she quickly stopped smiling and looked into the distance with a serious expression.
Su Can said, “Father, in my opinion, they’re the ones who harmed Yuniang!”
The reason why the Su family dared to slander Su Daya so brazenly was that they knew her personality. Su Yuniang had lived there for many days, but Su Daya’s family did not say anything that they should not have.
In order to protect Su Yuniang’s reputation, Su Daya’s family did not expose the truth of Su Yuniang’s departure from home, nor did they publicize the scandal between Su Yuniang and Zheng Yuanbo.
Therefore, Su Daya’s family would definitely suffer in silence!
Of course, even if Su Daya’s family revealed the truth, they were not afraid. Both sides had their own opinions. Did the villagers believe in the Su family which had done evil, or the Su family which had done the village a favor?
Su Xiaoxiao said, “We didn’t harm Yu Niang.”
Su Can said, “Whether you did or not, won’t we know after a search?”
Madam Zhou chimed in, “That’s right. If you were innocent, would you not dare to let us search you? Don’t you agree?”
The human heart was the most easily incited.
The villagers saw the change in the Su family and their complaints about the Su family decreased a lot. However, this matter concerned the other Su family…
It was obvious who was more important.
The villagers fought to speak.
“Fatty, just let them search.”
“That’s right. If you didn’t do it, you can also prove your innocence, right?”
“She doesn’t dare to let us search. Could it be like what Aunt Zhou said? Is there really something going on?”
“Stop stalling for time! When the Su family hears the commotion and moves the stolen goods, we won’t be able to find anything!”
This was about human life; it was about the life of a Su family member. They could not even repay the favor of the Su family with their lives. They had to seek justice for the Su family!
After that, the villagers rushed toward the Su family.
A trace of smugness flashed across Su Can and Su Erlang’s eyes as they quickly followed.
They thought to themselves that Fatty Su would be caught red-handed soon. They would see how she was going to quibble then!
“Aiya, you guys…” The village head tried to stop them, but unfortunately, he couldn’t stop them at all.
Li Xiaoyong caught up. He was not looking for stolen goods, but to prevent the villagers from causing trouble in the Su family.
All this while, Su Xiaoxiao calmly fetched water.
Old Master Su was old and naturally could not rush forward like young people.
He looked at Su Xiaoxiao suspiciously.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t know where they hid it. She thought that she was innocent, so she wasn’t afraid of being searched. Her reaction was reasonable.
However, for some reason, he felt that something was amiss. An uneasy feeling rose in his heart.
In Old Su’s house, Su Jinniang woke up in a daze. Last night, Su Xiaoxiao came to interrogate her and knocked her out. The next time she opened her eyes was the present moment.
God…
Was it almost dawn?
Oh no, she had to tell his father quickly that the matter of Yuniang’s belongings had been exposed!
Su Jinniang lifted the blanket and got out of bed. She was so nervous that she was wearing her shoes on the wrong side.
She opened the door and saw Madam Fang coming out of the kitchen.
Madam Fang did not sleep the entire night either. Her eyes were red from crying.
When Su Xiaoxiao came to question Su Jinniang last night, she and Old Madam Su had also gone to look for Yuniang nearby and did not hear anything from Su Jinniang’s room.
Su Jinniang looked at the haggard Madam Fang. There was no heartache in her eyes. Instead, she felt that her mother was very useless. She did not want to be like her mother in the future.
She asked, “Mother, are Father and Second Brother back?”
Mdm Fang said, “He went to Little Su’s house. I think your grandfather went too.”
Su Jinniang turned pale. “What?”
Su Can, who had no idea what was going on, was gloating. When he found the bag in the pigpen later, he would see how the Su family would deny it!
The front door of the Su family’s house was locked, so they went in through the back door.
While the villagers started searching from the kitchen and the backyard, Su Can rushed into the pigpen without thinking.
However, to his surprise, the pigpen was clean. Other than a donkey, there was not even a blade of grass!
Didn’t she say it was hidden in the feed?
Where was the feed?
Where were the haystacks?
Where was the bag?
“Are you looking for this?”
Su Xiaoxiao also came in from the back door.
She leaned against the door frame of the kitchen nonchalantly, a bundle hooked between her fingertips.
Su Can’s eyes lit up. “It’s Yuniang’s bag! It’s really at your house! Guys, look! We found the stolen goods!”
Su Xiaoxiao smiled coldly.
Su Can took three quick steps forward to snatch the bag.
Unexpectedly, before his hand could touch her, a familiar figure walked out from behind Su Xiaoxiao.
“Dad.” Su Yuniang spoke.
Su Can froze on the spot!