Chapter 103: Slander, Punishment ( 2 )
The moment the Village Chief saw 2 men chatting with Yao Zhi, he frowned and said, "Yao Girl, I received a report that you are being harassed by strangers. Are you okay?"
When they heard this, both Zhou Boming and Zhou Zihong were startled. They looked at the villagers who were glaring at them in confusion.
Yao Zhi glanced at them and noticed several women were looking at her gloatingly. Connecting the dots, she could guess that someone was trying to smear her already bad reputation.
Under everyoneās gaze, she stood up and greeted the Village Chief with a smile. "Village Chief, I wonder who spread the rumors and made a fake report."
Hearing this, the Village Chief looked at the 2 strangers and asked, "If the report is fake, then who are they?"
"Village Chief, this is Uncle Zhou, and this is his son. They own a seasoning store in the town, and they came to give me the payment for my sauces," Yao Zhi replied with a smile.
As soon as she finished her words, a middle-aged woman suddenly said, "If you say you sold sauce, then you sold sauce? Everyone knows how lazy you are. Besides eating, sleeping, and creating trouble, what else can you do?"
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Following her words, several people, young and old, chimed in and listed all the things done by the original owner before Yao Zhi arrived in this world.
Listening to their words, Yao Zhi suddenly pitied Fu Chenāan. She didnāt know what sins he had committed in his previous life for him to marry someone as shrewd as the original owner.
While she listened calmly, both Zhou Boming and Zhou Zihong couldnāt help but feel angry on her behalf. They felt that the girl those people were talking about was a different person from the one they knew. This was clearly slander!
When the words turned nasty, Zhou Zihong finally said, "Everyone, there must be a misunderstanding here. Miss Yao is kind and skilled. She is not someone who would do those things."
The moment he said this, the villagers not only didnāt stop, but they also hurled insults at him.
"Who are you? Who gave you the right to interfere with our villageās matters?" a young man asked while pointing at Zhou Zihongās nose.
"Who is he? Of course, he is this shrewās lover! The 2 of them are so shameless, they even bring another man when they meet secretly!" a middle-aged woman said, with hatred and jealousy clear in her tone.
Yao Zhiās eyes turned cold the moment she heard her words. She stared at the woman and asked, "Do I know you? You talk as if you know everything about me."
"Yao Zhi, stop pretending. We caught you red-handed. Even if you have 100 mouths, itās useless. I will tell Brother Fu everything you did behind his back and let him divorce you!" a young woman shouted.
As soon as she said this, Yao Zhi sneered and replied, "So you are going after my husband. No wonder you try your best to slander me and ruin my reputation."
When everyone heard this, they turned to look at the woman. Seeing their doubtful gazes, the woman panicked and shouted, "Y-you are talking nonsense! I didnāt have any intention toward Brother Fu!"
"Is that so? If you have no bad intentions, why did you call another womanās husband so intimately? You said Iām shameless, but I think you are the shameless one!" Yao Zhi said coldly.
Without giving the woman a chance to speak again, she turned to the Village Chief and said, "Village Chief, I already told you that Iām selling my sauce to Uncle Zhou."
"When they visited yesterday, a lot of people saw them. They came with a group of people. If you donāt believe me, you can send someone to find out if Iām lying."
After she said this, Zhou Boming finally got the chance to explain. "Everyone, Iām doing fair business here. Please donāt slander my reputation and ruin my family."
"If you donāt believe me, you can ask people who work at the Generalās mansion. I sold the sauces made by Miss Yao to them yesterday afternoon. Iām just a middleman who earns a little bit of money."
The villagers looked at him and discussed in low voices.
Seeing that they started to doubt the rumor, Yao Zhi took out one of the banknotes and showed it to the Village Chief. "Village Chief, this is the money I earned from selling my sauces."
When the Village Chief saw the amount written on the banknote, he was shocked. It was 50 taels of silver. He looked at Zhou Boming, and after a while, he said, "Since itās a misunderstanding, then everyone should disperse."
Most of them had come to watch a show. Since the Village Chief said that it was a misunderstanding, they didnāt want to linger and turned around.
Before everyone left, Yao Zhi said, "Wait a moment."
Hearing this, everyone stopped and looked at her. "Yao Girl, whatās wrong?" the Village Chief asked.
"Village Chief, I wonder who told you that Iām having an affair? Can you tell me the name? I want to report this person to the authorities."
Everyone was stunned by her words. After a long silence, the middle-aged woman said, "Itās just a small matter. Is there a need to involve the authorities?"
Yao Zhi looked at her and replied coldly, "This person dared to spread rumors and slander a military officerās wife. If this person goes unpunished, others might follow this bad example."
"If that happens, our villageās reputation will be tarnished. By then, how could we continue living with our heads held up?"
When they heard that their villageās reputation would be tarnished, everyone became uneasy.
They had unmarried daughters and granddaughters at home. If their village got a bad reputation, how could their families find good matches for them?
Reaching this conclusion, everyone nodded in agreement and demanded an answer.