The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 858 - 185: Feint to the East, Attack in the West_2

Chapter 858: Chapter 185: Feint to the East, Attack in the West_2

Kong’s said nothing, just watched on the sidelines with a gloomy look in her eyes, which flashed with venomous light from time to time, without uttering a word.

Pei Wenli wasn’t home, and Pei Houli wasn’t home either.

The business at Qian’s Silk Store was bad, and Pei Zongli had also exhausted the revenue from surrounding prefectures over the years; even sweet potatoes were being cultivated now, so fawning over him had little benefit and could offend the increasingly powerful Pei Qin and others. Relying solely on his salary, as an Eighth Rank, he only got a little over thirty taels of silver a year and two loads of rice and flour.

The second branch of the family wasn’t well-off either, and was reluctant to give additional help to the main family. Although Old Master Qian had compensated with some silver, neither Pei Houli nor Lady Zhu and Old Pei knew about it; it was all gripped tightly by Pei Wenli alone. Thus, when it came to household expenses, they could only continue to go out and find work to earn some money.

With no one at home to stop Pei Qian, in the blink of an eye, she turned Old Pei’s House upside down, searching and smashing everything.

Sun Quanliang’s second son, a sly one, rummaged through Pei Houli’s room and found a flower-patterned bellyband and a pair of red underpants, which he lifted out and declared, "Ah! These are clothes worn by a young wife, not by old women! Old Master Pei even hides a woman in his house!"

Outside, a crowds of onlookers started pointing and whispering upon seeing this.

Grandma Pei was among the crowd, and upon seeing the bellyband and red underpants, her face suddenly changed, her eyes widened in disbelief. She stepped forward, staring intently at them.

Noticing her reaction, Grandma Miao shouted, "Oh my! Lady Lizheng, don’t tell me you recognize this bellyband and red underpants!? Could they belong to someone from your family!?"

Everyone knew that Pei Lizheng’s son Pei Yuansheng was lame, and his wife Meng’s had some disdain for him. She stayed because Pei Lizheng clung to her tightly, their life was comfortable, and they had three children. Furthermore, Pei Qin taught them how to run a rice noodle workshop, and when Pei Lizheng was busy, it was Meng’s who managed it.

Now the rice noodle workshop wasn’t making as much money as it did in the beginning, and Meng’s had made a scene several times, showing little care for Pei Yuansheng anymore.

Villagers said that if Pei Yuansheng’s father wasn’t Lizheng, earning more than the villagers each year, Meng’s would’ve long since stopped living with Pei Yuansheng.

Upon hearing Grandma Miao’s words, the crowd looked at the bellyband and red underpants in Sun Erlang’s hand, their glances shifting with suspicion, wondering if they belonged to Meng’s. If they really were hers, how did they end up being found in Old Pei’s House!?

Meng’s was over thirty this year; a relationship with Pei Wenli was improbable, so that left Pei Houli. Since Lady Chen’s death, no one had kept an eye on him. He had already borne the infamy of overpowering his sister-in-law, and now committing adultery with Meng’s... it seemed possible.

Seeing the villagers point and talk with a gleeful expression, eagerly awaiting a scandal, Grandma Pei immediately started arguing with Grandma Miao, "You foul-mouthed old hag, what nonsense are you spouting! Always stirring trouble wherever you see happiness; aren’t you afraid of retribution!? The more evil you do, the less filial your sons and grandsons will be; you’ll die a lonely old hag!"

Grandma Miao wouldn’t let herself be cursed, "Oh! Just because your son is Lizheng, no one else gets to speak a word? I didn’t say they belonged to your daughter-in-law, why are you jumping so high!?" She loved watching a good show and yearned for someone else’s embarrassment!

Grandma Pei was livid, grinding her teeth and her face turning ashen. In her heart, she wished she could tear Meng’s to pieces and kill her. She hadn’t been willing in the first place; if it hadn’t been for her son’s insistence, they wouldn’t have married that promiscuous and cheap woman! Her son was crippled, and she dared to commit such a low and shameless act, causing their entire family to lose face.

Lady Zhu’s gaze flickered, at a loss for words.

Old Pei’s face darkened with embarrassment, seething with anger until his chest heaved.

Sun Erlang held the items, snickering coldly, "To whom do these belong? Whoever’s they are, come and claim them quickly!"

But Pei Qian wasn’t there to find trouble with them, she was there to find a person, "Throw it up in the tree! Search every cellar in the front and back yards, the woodpile, and the entire kitchen! Don’t miss a single one!"

Sun Erlang acted swiftly. Since Chang Yonglin’s two guards couldn’t all fit in his house and were staying near the workshop, also keeping watch over it, he had picked up a few fighting skills, making him stronger than the average person. Taking the bellyband and red underpants, he climbed up to the big poplar tree at the gate and hung them high up on the tree.

Meanwhile, the Government Officers continued the search.

After searching three times without finding what they were looking for, Pei Qian swept her eyes around the group with a somber look, "If anyone sees someone with suspicious behavior and reports a useful clue, I’ll reward them with one hundred bucks. And if you help find the person, I’ll reward you ten taels of silver!"

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