Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 251

Chapter 251: 251

"Auntie, aren’t you the mother of this little thief? If you are, then please ask him to return the purse he stole from me." Nanzhi was not angered and looked at the fat woman, smiling cheerfully.

It wasn’t hard to see that the sleazy man was with the little thief, but as for this woman, she merely enjoyed watching the commotion, which made her disaster-prone and quite detestable indeed.

"How can you talk like that, young lady!" The fat woman immediately took offense to Nanzhi’s words and started glaring at her.

"Isn’t this kid your child then? If he isn’t your child, what does his theft have to do with you? He stole my silver. Do you want me to let him get away with it? If you have plenty of silver, you should give him some!"

Laughter suddenly erupted from the crowd.

Some people just enjoy spectating, and they don’t understand why they should interfere.

"Sister, I was just hungry, and I lost my footing and accidentally bumped into you. I didn’t mean to dirty your clothes." The little beggar looked pitiful, about to kneel for Nanzhi.

"Please don’t kneel. I can’t accept that. Since you say you didn’t steal, let’s report it to the officials. If I wrongly accused you, I’ll apologize and give you this piece of beef as compensation. But if I was right, you can wait for me in jail." Nanzhi was still smiling at the little beggar without any evident annoyance.

The little beggar was dumbfounded. Generally, if he stole something, he would just get beaten up, and with that uncle’s defense, he usually wouldn’t get into much trouble, but why does this person want to sue?

People usually say that young women are thin-skinned and won’t pursue matters too far. Could it be that he’s going to be arrested today?

The thought of possibly ending up in jail sent the little beggar into a panic. He forgot about acting pitiful and began scanning the crowd for his accomplice.

Seeing this reaction confirmed Nanzhi’s suspicions, so she too began to observe the crowd.

After looking around, she noticed that the man from earlier had vanished and sighed in her heart.

What was the meaning of this? Had they abandoned this little thief?

Not seeing his accomplice, the beggar was visibly rattled but still tried to keep his voice calm, saying, "Sister, I really didn’t steal your purse. Perhaps... perhaps you could let me go, and I’ll help you find it?"

Nanzhi glanced at him, torn. The little beggar’s words meant he was willing to return the purse, but should she let him go?

If she did, he might go on to steal from others. If she didn’t, seeing that this kid was only a bit older than Zhiyu, it would be him who ultimately suffers if they take it to the officials.

Nanzhi was torn and didn’t speak. The fat woman on the side, however, seemed to have found an opening.

"Just look at you, a young girl! He said he would help you look for it, so why are you still pushing so hard?"

The fat woman’s voice was loud. Seeing Nanzhi still not speaking, she put on an even more pained expression.

"You look like a good person, but why is your heart so black?"

"Who the hell are you calling black-hearted?"

Lin Yicheng was on his way to pick up Nanzhi from the restaurant to go home when he saw her surrounded by a crowd, which irritated him.

He was tall and sturdy, and his stern face instantly sent the fat woman stammering in fright.

"Who... who... who are you?"

"Why the hell do you care who I am? If you’ve got nothing nice to say, you better zip your mouth. Don’t dirty people’s ears with your nonsense!"

After giving the fat woman a stern look, Lin Yicheng went over to Nanzhi’s side.

The onlookers also took a step back out of fright, creating a pathway for Lin Yicheng and Nanzhi.

"Fat...Nanzhi, what’s going on?" Lin Yicheng was about to call Nanzhi ’Fatty,’ but quickly corrected himself.

They were outside, and Fatty was already a young woman; it would be improper to call her by her nickname in public.

"I ran into a little thief who stole my purse." Nanzhi hesitated but told him the truth.

She didn’t believe that letting this little beggar go would cause him to mend his ways. Instead, he might continue his thieving activities.

But that’s just how the world is, and she couldn’t bring him home out of overwhelming compassion.

"Since he’s a thief, let’s take him to the officials." As soon as Lin Yicheng mentioned suing, the fat woman didn’t dare say another word. Seeing that he didn’t appear to be a good-natured person, she discreetly squeezed herself out of the crowd.

"I...I was wrong, I’ll return your purse." The little beggar might be young, but he understood the consequences of falling into the wrong hands. In most cases, he would just receive a few beatings and be let go due to his age. But now, being held by Lin Yicheng, a tall and intimidating man, he was utterly terrified.

When he said he would return her purse, the surrounding crowd sighed. It seemed that the little beggar was indeed a thief.

Lin Yicheng didn’t care whether the child cried or not. He grabbed the kid by the collar and led Nanzhi towards the prefecture.

"Big brother..."

"What, you don’t want to take him to the officials?" Lin Yicheng glanced at the little beggar, who was bowing his head, and asked.

"Not exactly." Nanzhi shook her head and sighed, "It’s just that he is only a bit older than Zhiyu and looks quite pitiful."

"But we have to teach this child a lesson. If we let him get away with it because he is young, he may steal again in the future. When he is caught as an adult, it will be a more serious matter, possibly a life and death situation." Lin Yicheng held onto the little beggar’s clothes and could feel the boy’s light weight. This little beggar was probably the same age as Doudou, but much skinnier, almost as thin as Zhiyu.

"Yes, you’re right, big brother." Nanzhi looked at the wilted little beggar with complicated feelings.

This place is quite strict with thieves. She didn’t know what would happen to him in the future.

"Have you forgotten about Liu Jie? At least calling him as a brother might help."

While dining, Liu Jie suddenly sneezed, causing his colleagues around him to shield their rice bowls and move away a bit.

When Liu Jie saw Nanzhi and Lin Yicheng, he was a bit confused at first as to why Lin was carrying a child in his hand.

"Brother Lin, what’s this about?" Liu Jie scratched his head, looking at the dirty little beggar in astonishment.

"This kid stole my sister’s purse, and I happened to catch him," Lin Yicheng briefly explained, releasing the little beggar onto the ground.

"So he’s a little thief?" Liu Jie circled around him for a bit before gesturing for his colleagues to take him away.

"Brother Lin, just say the word, and it’s as good as done." Liu Jie chuckled and whispered. He was clever enough to know that if Lin Yicheng truly wanted to punish the little beggar, he wouldn’t need to involve him.

"We have kids at home too. My sister feels bad that this child had to become a beggar and doesn’t want him to remain a thief. That’s why we brought him over to ask for your help."

"That’s nothing at all. Consider it done!" Liu Jie banged his chest, but then added with some hesitation, "However, we can only keep him for half a month. After that, we have to let him go, and there won’t be much we can do."

"We understand. Thank you for your help." Lin Yicheng patted Liu Jie’s shoulder. "When you have time, come by and let’s have a few drinks."

"Sure, I’ll remember that, Brother Lin."

After dealing with the little beggar’s issue and retrieving her stolen purse, Nanzhi finally felt at ease and headed home with her big brother.

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