Chapter 53

“Eldest daughter-in-law, what are you saying? I… I’m not drunk? Do I not know myself? And the key… This is my oversight. Previously, when Madam Wang washed my clothes, she forgot to take out the key. It just so happens that I’m wearing the same clothes today, so I found the key and used it.”

Qin Xu’s eyes were wandering as he spoke. He was obviously racking his brain for an excuse, but even the villagers didn’t buy it, let alone Mo Ruyue.

She glared at Qin Xu coldly and didn’t even bother to look him in the eye.

“Second Lord Qin, you can’t lie to anyone. The key is so heavy, how could Madam Wang not notice it when it was in your clothes? Hmph, you sneaked into your sister-in-law’s courtyard in the middle of the night. If it wasn’t for the fact that she hadn’t moved in yet, do you know what the situation would be like now?”

!!

The leader of the group scoffed at Qin Xu’s words. Now, anyone with a brain could understand that the second son of the Qin family had deliberately hidden a key. If they didn’t want to steal something in the night, they must have wanted to cause some destruction.

“I say, let’s invite the village chief and the elders. This isn’t something we can solve. It’s said to be an internal matter of the Qin family, but it’s not really a family matter.”

At this time, Aunt Liu suddenly said something fair. The man of the Qin family’s second branch had sneaked into the house of the widow of the first branch at night. Who knew what dirty thoughts he had?

“Don’t! Don’t go!”

This time, Qin Xu was really panicking. If the village chief and the clan elders were alarmed, this matter would be troublesome.

“Aunt Liu, I drank too much and went the wrong way. After all, I’ve lived here for so many years, and it’s natural I’m still used to coming to this house. This isn’t a big mistake. There’s no need to alarm the village chief and the elders, right?”

At this moment, an old and sharp voice suddenly sounded, “Second brother, second brother! Did you drink too much horse piss again that you don’t even know where your home is?”

At the crucial moment, Qin Shi appeared at the right time. Even her words were exactly the same as Qin Xu’s. She insisted that he had drunk too much and entered the wrong door.

“Mother, mother! Please help me tell everyone, I’m about to die of injustice!”

Seeing that his savior had arrived, Qin Xu immediately shouted and involuntarily walked in the direction of the sound. However, he forgot that his feet were still in the trap. He had just taken a step forward when he felt a tight and painful sensation in his feet. He only had time to let out an “ah” before he fell hard on the ground.

Qin Shi was walking into the house when she suddenly heard her son’s scream. She didn’t know what had happened, but she was so scared that her soul came out of her body, and she immediately quickened her pace.

When she entered the house, she saw Qin Xu lying on the ground in a sorry state, trying very hard to get up.

“Son, what’s going on? Did someone attack you?”

Qin Shi quickly walked over and prepared to help Qin Xu up. At the same time, she stared fiercely at Mo Ruyue, as if she had already determined that she was the one behind this.

Qin Xu lowered his head and looked at his feet. Everyone followed his gaze and saw that there was a very thick hemp rope around his feet. It seemed that with every pull, it would tighten. Now, it had already been deeply wrapped into his ankle.

Some of the men were also hunters, so they could tell at a glance that this was a live chain for hunting.

This kind of rope was a slipknot when it was set up, but once it caught the prey, it would tighten as the prey struggled. If the hemp rope was mixed with thin iron wire, it could even cut off the prey’s limbs.

No wonder Qin Xu didn’t hurry to hide when he heard the commotion outside. He could’ve gotten out through the dog hole, but he insisted on waiting for everyone to come in and find him. It turned out that he had been trapped by a noose and couldn’t escape.

Everyone looked at Mo Ruyue at the same time. The scene of her throwing lassoes over the children was still fresh in everyone’s memory. Now that she had used lassoes on Qin Xu, it was not unexpected.

“Good, it’s you again!”

Qin Shi looked at her son’s foot that seemed to have swelled up. Suddenly, her heart ached, as though her flesh had been pierced. She glared at Mo Ruyue and started to make trouble.

“Mo Ruyue, you’re so cruel. Are you trying to break my son’s leg? Hurry up and untie him!”

She didn’t have the slightest awareness that it was her son who had done something wrong. Instead, she ordered Mo Ruyue around arrogantly, as if Mo Ruyue had wronged her instead.

Before Mo Ruyue could speak, a rather dignified voice suddenly came from outside.

“What are you all doing here so late at night?”

Everyone turned around and saw that the person who was walking over was the village chief.

The village was in such a mess that even the dead were awakened.

When Qin Shi and Qin Xu saw that the village chief had arrived, their expressions changed almost at the same time. Their faces were as white as paper, and their bodies, which were hugging each other, also started to shiver.

“The village chief is here.”

“Village chief, you should uphold justice for the Qin family. There’s a thief in the house, but he’s still refusing to admit it!”

Before Mo Ruyue could say anything, someone took the initiative to explain the situation to the village chief on her behalf.

“Old Lady Qin, is it you and the Qin family’s eldest branch again? You guys cause chaos in the village every day, and it’s because of you everyone in the village is unable to live peacefully!”

The village head’s face was gloomy as he opened his mouth to scold Qin Shi. However, he had also included Mo Ruyue in his words. These words made Mo Ruyue raise her eyebrows and she was instantly unhappy.

“Village chief, your words are really interesting. So it was I who opened the door to invite the second son of the Qin family in? You were also there when they handed over the keys to me that day when we separated. They said that they had given me all the keys, but the moment I turned around, Second Qin sneaked into my house in the middle of the night. I’m jusy thinking about the safety of my family. I have nothing to do with the second branch of the Qin family anymore!”

Her words were rather harsh, and after the village chief heard it, his already gloomy face became even darker. However, what Mo Ruyue said was also the truth. Just now, he was only biased towards the Qin Family, so he deliberately blurred out the main points and generalized both sides. This way, when dealing with Qin Xu later, he would be more lenient.

He didn’t expect Mo Ruyue to directly expose the loophole in his words and not even leave him any face. This made the village chief feel a little embarrassed in front of the villagers.

“Hmph, you have a sharp tongue.”

After he finished speaking, he no longer provoked Mo Ruyue and walked straight up. He glanced at Qin Xu’s ankle that was tied by the rope and snorted coldly.

“Qin Xu, the last time your mother went to the first branch to steal money, she was caught stealing. This time, you broke into the house at night and were caught red-handed by the other party’s noose. Who would still suspect that you both are not mother and son?”

“Mo Ruyue already let you off the hook last time. What? You don’t even want your family’s old house this time?”

In his heart, he also hated the Qin family and the second branch for being so useless. All day, they wanted to make Mo Ruyue’s life difficult, but they did not have the ability. In the end, not only they became the laughingstock of the village, but they also brought shame to the entire Qin Family!