A Good Country Wife
Chapter 312 - 306 Impatient_1

Chapter 312: Chapter 306 Impatient_1

Lin Yue held the sachet in her hand, growing even more doubtful whether Chunxi really was the one behind this deed. She had seen Chunxi’s needlework before, and the sachet didn’t seem to match her craftsmanship. Yet it was Chunxi who had instructed Zhang Guihua—how could that be? It was all quite baffling.

"Zhao Er Gou’s wife has admitted it, Chunxi did this herself and even paid her fifty coins. If it wasn’t her, why would she do such a thing? It’s obvious, I think she holds a grudge against you. I am going now to find the village chief and a few elders so that the chief and the elders can make a public judgement," Zhao Erhu said, ready to leave.

"Wait, Brother Erhu, I have a few words to say to you." Lin Yue pulled Zhao Erhu aside. "Brother Erhu, with Zhang Guihua’s testimony, Chunxi can’t escape blame. Let’s not reveal the sachet just yet. We’ll see how things unfold later. This sachet doesn’t look like Chunxi’s work; there could be someone else scheming behind the scenes."

"All right, I understand. No matter who did it, we can’t let them get away with it," Zhao Erhu said, nodding his understanding of Lin Yue’s suggestion.

Lin Yue thought that regardless of whether it was Chunxi who did it or not, she couldn’t completely dissociate herself from the incident. Perhaps Chunxi knew who had pushed her. After all, Chunxi had tried to harm her several times before; it was only right for Chunxi to face retribution. So even though Lin Yue sensed something amiss, she didn’t stop Zhao Erhu. They would act based on the circumstances that unfolded, ensuring neither to let Chunxi off lightly nor to allow the real culprit behind the scenes to escape.

Zhao Erhu went to the village chief’s house and explained everything. The village chief was even angrier than Zhao Erhu. Such an atrocious incident had never occurred before in the village. Petty squabbles were common, but a treacherous attempt on someone’s life from behind was unprecedented and absolutely could not be tolerated. Moreover, this wasn’t Chunxi’s first offense. Such a malicious-minded person was bound to be a disaster sooner or later.

"Erhu, don’t worry. Our village has never faced such a heinous act. Now that I’m aware of it, I can’t let it slide. Here’s what we’ll do: you go invite several elders from the Zhao Family village to the ancestral hall, and I’ll gather the villagers. Inform Zhao Jingui and his family as well," said the village chief, who was known for his decisiveness. He then took a gong and went out to summon everyone to the ancestral hall. The news that the village chief was going to hold a public trial over the incident shook everyone—Zhao Erhu’s household’s affair was common knowledge, thought at worst to be a malicious prank or an accidental fall by Erhu’s wife in the back mountain. No one realized it was a deliberate push. Good heavens, how cruel the perpetrator must be.

On ordinary days, with not much happening, the villagers loved excitement. The current matter was frightening enough to grab everyone’s attention. Everyone wanted to see the heartless culprit for themselves, to know to steer clear in the future. God forbid they offend her and meet the same fate. Consequently, it didn’t take long after the village chief’s notice for the ancestral hall to be packed with villagers all buzzing with talk.

Calculating that enough time had passed, Lin Yue decided to head to the ancestral hall. Zhao Erhu had already come to escort her. Along with a few children, they all indignantly spoke of ensuring that the person who had harmed others faced retribution—for having dared to wrong their mother.

Chunxi was still being ordered around by the You Family, never expecting the village head to summon their family to the ancestral hall of the village. They weren’t told the reason, and Chunxi felt guilty and didn’t want to go. However, the village head had specifically instructed them to come. Zhao Jingui and the You Family suspected that Chunxi might have done something wrong, thinking of her as a curse, and feared the slightest lack of vigilance might have led her to commit some unknown misdeeds. They only hoped it wouldn’t bring trouble to their family.

"Chunxi, Sister Guihua, the wife of Zhao Er Gou, has accused you of asking her to tell a lie to deceive Brother Erhu’s wife to the back mountain, and then you pushed Brother Erhu’s wife down the hillside. Do you admit to this?" The village head’s gaze towards Chunxi was unfriendly.

"Village head, I didn’t do it; they are lying, they’re deceiving you." Chunxi’s head shook like a rattle-drum; such an incident, even if committed, could never be admitted as the punishment for harming someone’s life would be severe. Moreover, even though she had indeed instructed Zhang Guihua to lure Lin Yue to the back mountain, the subsequent events were not her doing.

"Sister Guihua, Chunxi denies orchestrating this. Do you have any evidence to prove it? Otherwise, it would appear that you committed the crime and are attempting to blame Chunxi. Such an act of plotting a murder, I would have to send you to the government immediately." The village head understood that Sister Guihua had no quarrel with Brother Erhu’s wife and, although Sister Guihua was not an exemplary person and liked to gossip, she did not have the courage to commit such a crime. By speaking thus, he intended to force Zhang Guihua to produce evidence against Chunxi.

"Chunxi gave me fifty coins that day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have helped her. At that moment, Zhang Liu’s wife was in the room; she must have heard it." Zhang Guihua, tempted by the easy money, thought merely calling out could earn her fifty coins without much effort. Such a good deal falling into her lap, she never imagined Chunxi would commit such a vicious act. Now regretting it tremendously, thankfully Mrs. Zhang Liu was in the room at the time, otherwise she could have been blamed beyond redemption.

"You’re lying to me, didn’t you say there was no one in the room?" Chunxi, hearing others were at Zhao Er Gou’s house that day, lost her composure. Indeed, Mrs. Zhang Liu came forward to confirm Zhang Guihua’s statement. Chunxi turned deathly pale, now unable to clear her name, even though she was innocent.

The You Family, however, had not expected that Chunxi, having been thoroughly searched by them, could still produce fifty coins—presumably stashed somewhere unknown to them, and even implicated in a life-threatening crime. They had long known this woman was ruthless, but had not anticipated she would have the audacity to go so far. The thought of such a person close by sent chills down their spine. If the village head did not deal with Chunxi today, they would insist Zhao Jingui dispatch Chunxi when they returned home, lest they become her next victim.

"Chunxi, what else do you have to say? Our village has never seen such a ruthless plotting against someone’s life. Brother Erhu’s wife has treated you decently; how could you be so heartless?"

"It wasn’t me, really, it wasn’t me! I didn’t do it. That day, although I asked Sister Guihua to deceive Lin Yue to the back mountain, everything that followed was not my doing, truly it wasn’t."

Chunxi didn’t know how to explain the situation. She had lured Lin Yue to the back mountain intending harm, but before she could carry out the plan, Zhao Jingen called her away, preventing her from executing her scheme. She was still resentful and frustrated about abandoning her plot when she learned Lin Yue had an accident. Delighted at the news, thinking it was providence that Lin Yue had fallen on her own, she was shocked to find out Lin Yue was actually harmed by someone else. Now, the very crime she had conceived was being pinned on her, an utterly wrongful accusation.

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