RWNEFE -Chapter 74 Serves Him Right!

Trapped inside the courtyard, Wu Youliang heard the villagers’ plan and was so frightened that he hurried to run out.

“How come someone’s running out from inside?”

When Wu Youliang rushed out, all the villagers saw him.

Panicking, he said, “I saw that no one lived here, so I went in to take a piss.”

“Oh? The place you’re staying is at the village entrance. This is the back of the village—you ran pretty far just to take a piss!”

Wu Youliang forced an explanation. “I was afraid I’d stink up the place if I did it too close to the village.”

A sharp-eyed villager noticed something was off.

“What’s that bulging thing you’re hiding in your clothes?”

Sensing something wrong, the villagers reached out and grabbed him.

“Hey, isn’t this the red bridal veil I prepared for my daughter?” Afraid of making a mistake, the villager lifted a corner to check.

“It really is something from my house—look, there’s the mark my wife stitched here!”

With evidence right in front of them, Wu Youliang couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to.

“This man came to our village to steal! We can’t let him off so easily… beat him!”

The villagers surrounded Wu Youliang and rained down punches and kicks.

“Go find the village head. He’s with those people who came during the day. Who knows what kind of people they are? They must give us an explanation!”

“Right!”

“Ow—what just poked me? He’s still got more stuff on him…”

Once they saw what it was, the villagers beat Wu Youliang again even harder!

…

Loud knocking echoed at the door.

Shen Lanxi opened it.

“Master, something’s happened!”

If it had been anyone else’s business, they would never have disturbed her rest.

“It involves the Shen family!”

Chunxue carefully recounted what had happened, then described what took place after the villagers escorted Wu Youliang over.

“That scoundrel Wu Youliang actually said, right in front of the villagers, that Shen Yuanruan should be handed over to them as compensation. He claimed that she’d eaten and used his things all along the way and was already his woman—he did it on purpose, trying to make the Shen family pay on his behalf!”

Shen Lanxi asked, “How did Shen Yuanruan react?”

Chunxue said unhappily, “She looked completely terrified—she knelt on the ground, crying and begging the Shen family to save her!”

Shen Lanxi had already made up her mind. “Ignore it. You two go rest.”

Chunxue and Qiushuang stared at the closed door in shock. Miss isn’t going to interfere with the Shen family anymore?

Liu Yanhui was still waiting outside for an answer. Seeing Chunxue and Qiushuang come out, he immediately asked, “Did the master say what to do?”

Chunxue answered truthfully.

After hearing it, Liu Yanhui was just as astonished. Other matters were one thing, but a woman’s reputation was everything—if she didn’t step in, wasn’t she afraid the Shen family would resent her?

When Liu Yanhui returned, Liu Laohu immediately walked over. He didn’t ask outright, but his look said it all.

Liu Yanhui shook his head, his eyes glinting. “We’ll just watch the show.”

Liu Laohu didn’t quite get it—was he supposed to watch Wu Youliang get beaten to death, or Shen Yuanruan be taken away by the villagers to pay the debt?

Every member of the Shen family wore a grave expression, especially Shen Congli and his wife.

“Third son, Shen Yuanruan is your daughter. What do you say we do?” Grandmother Shen had finally managed to get some decent sleep, only to be dragged up to deal with such sordid business. Her face was dark; she’d already scolded them once and was now so angry her chest ached.

“Mother, didn’t you say earlier that Yuanruan was expelled from the clan? She has nothing to do with our Third Branch anymore!”

When Madam Miao heard her husband say this, her vision went black. Yuanruan was her first child. She’d endured several hard years with them, and when life improved, she wanted to make it up to her eldest daughter. Among all her daughters, she doted on Yuanruan the most. Even when she saw her daughter clinging to Wu Youliang for wealth, she said nothing.

After all, if her daughter rose in the world, the maternal family would benefit too.

Now that such a thing had happened, punishment was one thing—but expelling her from the clan? Without the protection of a clan, a woman’s fate would be unimaginably miserable.

That was the treasured flesh of her heart, raised delicately since childhood—how could she bear it?

“My lord, Yuanruan is our first child. When she got food before, she even thought to share it with us. That shows she’s filial.”

“Mother, Yuanruan is still so young. You used to favor her the most. She must have thought that by following Wu Youliang and living well in the future, she could help our Shen family.”

“Mother, my lord—Yuanruan is a good, filial child!”

Hearing her mother speak this way, Shen Yuanruan hurriedly begged, “Father, Grandmother, I only thought that if Big Sister ever ran out of money and our Shen family had no one to rely on, I could be like Big Sister and contribute to the family too!”

The moment Shen Yuanruan blurted out the eldest granddaughter’s identity, Grandmother Shen glared furiously.

“Shut up! Are you trying to get our entire family killed?!”

The Shen family stiffened in fear. The women of the different branches lunged forward and each slapped Shen Yuanruan once.

“Shut up! Think carefully about what you should say and what you shouldn’t. If you don’t want to live, even if we have to borrow silver, we’ll buy a white rope and wrap it around your neck!”

Terrified by the ferocious looks of the women, Shen Yuanruan’s mind went blank, and a wet patch slowly spread on the ground.

She’d wet herself.

The women covered their noses and retreated in disgust.

“Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother—I don’t want to die. Please save me, save me…” Shen Yuanruan kowtowed repeatedly, begging.

The villagers of Gulan Village blocked the doorway. If they didn’t get an explanation tonight, they would never let this go.

“Wu Youliang, aren’t you supposed to be rich? Why did you come to our village to steal chickens and skulk around?” Liu Laohu asked with a frown.

Seeing a chance to turn things around, Wu Youliang immediately said, “You want to help me pay them off. Once my relatives in the capital send me money, I’ll repay you tenfold!”

Madam Song spat. “Bah! What rich relatives? You’re nothing but a thieving hoodlum. Others might not know you, but I do. You broke into a house to steal and scared the owner into an illness that killed him—I lived right next door!”

Some prisoners nearby wanted to ask, You’re talking about theft causing death—then what are you? But with outsiders present, they didn’t dare ask.

Shen Yuanruan looked as if struck by lightning. She raised her head in disbelief and stared at Madam Song. “He said he was related to the Grand Chancellor…”

Before she could finish, Madam Song cut her off with a scornful snort.

“I could say I’m related to the Grand Chancellor too! Who can’t spout nonsense? What—would you dare go ask the Chancellor himself?” What an idiot—how could she not see through something so obvious?

“That’s right. We all left the city together. Did anyone see people coming to see Wu Youliang off? Where did his money come from?”

“Who knows? Maybe it was all stolen, chicken by chicken.”

Shen Yuanruan’s face went deathly pale as she collapsed into the puddle of urine. In the crowd, Shen Yuanxin wore a cold smile.

Serves her right!

It wasn’t just Shen Yuanruan—everyone from the Third Branch looked terrible. They had thought their daughter had latched onto a wealthy man, and that once they reached Dongchuan they could enjoy a comfortable life.

Who would have thought that not only did no comfort come, but their reputations were sullied by a lowly rogue? If word spread, how would the unmarried men and women of the Third Branch ever find matches?