stingy landlady

Chapter 200 The Truth Comes Out (2)

Dazhu saw Guixiang's disheveled clothes and messy hair and snorted coldly:

"Hmph! Look what you've done!"

Dazhu strode angrily toward the source of the noise.

Several farmhands were seen punching and kicking a frail scholar. An old woman was crying and trying to pull one away, then trying to stop another. A little girl was also pleading.

"Please! Please don't hit my brother! Please! Don't hit him, Mother!"

The scholar was also weeping and wailing:

"Please! Stop hitting me! Ouch! Mom! It hurts so much!"

Dazhu quickly shouted!

"stop!"

One of the farmhands knew Dazhu.

"It's the old boss! Stop!"

The old woman threw herself on Jiang Hongliang and cried incessantly.

"My son! Hongliang! Hongliang! How are you? Where are you hurt? Your leg? Can you stand up? You damned bastards! Why did you hit my son? My son is a student of the Imperial Examination!"

I'm going to the county government to sue you! My son! My son! Where does it hurt? Let me see! You bunch of scoundrels! You hurt my son, I'm going to sue you!

Good heavens! Is there no justice? Such a young girl, she just opened her mouth and you all dare to hit her! And so many of you hit my son! Son! Stand up, see if you can walk? Are your hands hurt? Can you still write?

Jiang Xiaoyu also went to help Jiang Hongliang. Jiang Hongliang slowly stood up and tentatively took a few steps. He shouldn't have broken any bones.

Dazhu then got a good look at Jiang Hongliang; he was indeed a handsome man. However, his face was bruised and swollen, and covered in blood, making it impossible to discern his features.

"Who are you? What are you doing in Huanghua Village? And you! Sister-in-law! Where did you come from? There aren't any villages around here, where did you come from?"

You claim to be scholars, but you don't look like our farmhands at all! Tell me! Are you here to steal or what?

Jiang Hongliang didn't recognize Dazhu either, and looked to Jiang Xiaoyu for help. Jiang Xiaoyu didn't recognize Dazhu either. Upon seeing Jiang Hongliang, she quickly shook her head to indicate that she didn't know him.

The old woman stopped crying and asked:

"Who are you? Why do you care so much? Why can't outsiders enter this village? It's not your village! What nonsense are you spouting? The road is wide open! We can go wherever we want!"

How can you beat people like this? My son is a student who has passed the preliminary imperial examination! In a few years, he'll pass the county-level examination and become a scholar; then he won't even have to kneel before officials!

The old woman saw that neither of her children recognized Dazhu, so she took the initiative to speak first.

Dazhu nodded and said:

"That's right! The road leads to the sky, go whichever way you want! Please! If you go any further into the village, beat them out!"

Jiang Xiaoyu hurriedly said:

"Sir! I... I'm a worker here! This is my mother and my brother! They've come looking for me!"

"Then pack your things! You don't need to come to work anymore!"

Guizhi walked over from behind, talking as she went.

"Jixiang! Ruyi! Take her to get her things, and have Wanrou pay for her. She's not allowed to enter Huanghua Village again! Did you sign the confidentiality agreement we made you sign?"

Jiang Xiaoyu whispered:

"Signed!"

Guizhi shouted:

"You signed the agreement, so why are you bringing your family here? Do you think I won't deduct your pay, or that I won't throw you in jail?"

Jiang Xiaoyu stammered:

"Master! I haven't revealed any secrets! My mother and brother just came to get something from me, no! They just came to see me!"

"I heard your brother comes here every day? What is he looking for? To see if you've been bullied? Or to see if you've hidden any silver?"

"Jixiang! Ruyi, take her to retrieve the item!"

"Master! Miss Master! I can't leave! I still have to work to earn money! When I get home, I have to do all the hard work and I still don't have enough to eat!"

"Master! Miss Master! Please! Have some compassion! Don't kick me out!"

Jixiang and Ruyi had already dragged Jiang Xiaoyu away. Lin Qian's wife, He Wanrou, was helping Guixiang wash her face and tidy her clothes.

Ruyi ran over.

"Aunt Xu! Aunt Lin! Take Miss over and hear what Jiang Xiaoyu has to say!"

Gui Xiang had just stopped crying when she heard Ru Yi's words and was completely confused. She asked:

"Ruyi, what are you taking me to listen to? Where are we going to listen to it?"

Wanrou and Lin Qian's wife helped Guixiang walk out. Upon arriving at Jiang Xiaoyu's residence, Guixiang seemed somewhat confused yet also somewhat clear-headed. The group stood silently outside the door.

Ruyi went inside, while Jiang Xiaoyu dawdled and refused to pack her clothes.

"Sister Ruyi! Please talk to the employer for me! I'll be beaten to death if I go home! Without work, I'll become a superfluous person, and I'll have to spend money to pay for my brother's continued education! I! I'll be sold!"

Ruyi's indifferent voice came:

"Jiang Xiaoyu! Tell me why you deliberately approached the young lady? And why you even took her to see your brother? Tell the truth, perhaps..."

Ruyi stretched out the tone.

Jiang Xiaoyu hesitated upon hearing this:

"Sister Ruyi! Sister Jixiang! I! I'm just on good terms with the young lady! My brother came to see me by chance."

Ji Xiang immediately shouted:

"Hmph! So ungrateful! Ruyi! What's the point of you being a good person and giving her a chance? She's just a young lady who doesn't understand anything."

Oh! Do you think we're all idiots?! "Chance encounters"?! Once or twice?! Can we really expect to bump into each other every day?! And your mother too! Humph! Don't tell me you know nothing!

Oh! Such a shameless person! You don't need to pay me! Just take the things you brought from home! You are not allowed to take anything that was issued by our workshop!

Not even a needle or thread should be left for her! What use is there in keeping someone like her, a habitual liar?

Jixiang spoke quickly, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube, leaving Jiang Xiaoyu no chance to get a word in edgewise. As soon as Jixiang finished speaking, Jiang Xiaoyu quickly chimed in, as if afraid she wouldn't even get a chance to tell the truth.

"Sister Jixiang! Sister Ruyi! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Jixiang and Ruyi stared at her, as if a single lie could take her away!

Jiang Xiaoyu hurriedly recounted her story, and although it was somewhat incoherent, everyone still understood:

“I came to work because I couldn’t afford to pay for my brother’s schooling! But I’m new to this job and don’t earn much, not enough for my mother and brother’s expenses.”

My mother heard that the mistress of the house was a girl, but she was too young, and there was always someone around who couldn't do anything! When she learned that the young lady was in the prime of her life and hadn't been engaged yet!

Therefore, I deliberately approached the young lady and took her to meet my brother. My brother dressed up specially, and after meeting the young lady a few times, he and the young lady...

Gui Xiang blushed deeply upon hearing this, glancing at Wan Rou and Lin Qian's family, fearing that Jiang Xiaoyu would say something even more offensive.

Ruyi continued to ask:

"And another thing! What's your mother up to today? Why did it all happen so coincidentally? She must have been hiding nearby watching the whole time!"

"Was this all planned in advance? Tell me!"