182: Chapter 182: Envious_1 182: Chapter 182: Envious_1 âItâs wolves,â Gu Yaoâs face changed, âWolves always appear in packs, letâs hurryâŠâ Although they were already at the foot of the mountain, no one could assure that the wolves wouldnât come down.
Years ago, there was an incident where a child was devoured by wolves that had descended from the mountains.
Gu Yao had made no secret of his presence in the village from the start.
In fact, when asked what he was doing there earlier, he even gave an answer.
So, when a group of young men were seen bringing a large creature down from the mountain, it immediately sent shockwaves through the entire village.
Everyone knew that the Gu Familyâs second son was adept at hunting.
They had often seen him return with wild chickens and mountain goats, but no one had expected him to come back with a Black Bear this time.
That creature was quite valuable.
Therefore, upon seeing the people who had helped, everyone began to calculate in their minds.
If they had known earlier, they would have mingled more with the Gu Familyâs people.
Look, even a bit of assistance might have earned them a share of the meat.
How great it would be if their own family members had joined in?
Thus, some began to get chummy with Gu Yao, and there were even those who asked if he needed more people to help.
Gu Yao just shook his head and declined with a smile.
Those who were rejected mostly just smiled it off.
After all, this was an opportunity to take advantage without giving anything in return; people understood and let it go when Gu Yao refused.
âPah!
Whatâs so impressive about that?â However, some peopleâs faces soured in an instant.
âYang Ruxin from the Yang Familyâs main house isnât any good either.
She used to follow around Guan Qingshu daily, brother this, brother that, without a hint of shame.â The speaker sneered, âNow sheâs no longer chasing Guan Qingshu and started instigating a division of family assets with the elders.
How dare a young girl initiate a division?
Thatâs so unfilial!
And now, thereâs no one to control her, she can just go into the woods with any man whenever she wants.
She sure has good taste, I bet she had her eyes on Gu Familyâs second son when she was still all over Guan Qingshu.
Tsk tsk, look at that, a trip to the woods and a share of silver in hand.
Such a fortunate lifeâŠâ
Although these words werenât spoken loudly, due to the sharpness of the voice, the surrounding crowd basically all heard them, and immediately, some peopleâs gazes towards Yang Ruxin shifted.
Envy of the rich is a sentiment that always exists.
Even if Yang Ruxinâs family had been pitied before, a single Black Bear was enough to tip the scales of many villagersâ hearts.
Yang Ruxin understood human psychology, so she certainly didnât act as if she hadnât heard.
A womanâs reputation in this era was paramount.
If she let this slide, there might be even more unsavory rumors spreading about her in the future.
Words can kill; such events had indeed happened before.
Just three years ago, a young widow from Feng family village, hated for her beauty, became the target of baseless accusations that she was promiscuous and taking lovers.
Despite her attempts to explain, no one believed her.
In the end, she hung herself in the middle of the night.
By the time she was found, her body had already stiffened.
Although Yang Ruxin would neither hang herself nor become desperate, she still needed to live in this village.
If public opinion turned against her, her life would be fraught with difficulties.
Therefore, whether it was to deter or to warn, she had to respond.
With her temperament, the only appropriate response she could muster was to directly show her anger through action.
She charged toward the person who made the snide remarks, raised her hand, and slapped them across the face with all her strength.
With a loud smack, all the onlookers were stunned.
The slapped personâs face swelled up red in an instant, and they were left utterly dazed.