"My good sir, you've gone too far. The woman you threw out earlier has come to clarify. The loss of the child has nothing to do with the Qi family. Strictly speaking, it was caused by your own indiscreet behavior. What right do you have to shift the blame onto the Qi family?" Wen Cen couldn't stand it any longer and spoke first.
His wife couldn't eat during her pregnancy. If it weren't for his father-in-law sending Qi family's kimchi, which gave his wife an appetite, she wouldn't have been able to eat. It was thanks to that that she gave birth to a healthy baby boy! He had originally intended to visit the Qi family to express his gratitude, but before he even arrived, he witnessed such a spectacle. He had also heard about the booming kimchi business and knew many people would have designs on it. He hadn't expected to encounter one so soon.
"Constable, but my son was indeed lost at the Qi family's," Li Shan said to Wen Cen with great deference, bowing and scraping like a sycophant.
"Your son? What a joke. A pool of blood, how do you know it was a son? You're talking about a fortune teller? Did the fortune teller also predict that you would drive your wife and son out of your home?" Qi Zhenzhen asked indignantly. "I thought you genuinely cared about Sister Rui Xue and the child. Turns out, you were coveting the very foundation of my Qi family's livelihood. You truly have no shame."
Li Shan glared at Qi Zhenzhen. "In any case, my son was lost at your place, so you are responsible."
Li Shan clung to this one point.
Wen Cen looked at Qi Zhenzhen with some concern, realizing it was indeed a difficult situation.
"Bah! Don't you know how the child was lost? You come here to slander people. Sister Lin was already in a very weak condition. Her pregnancy was not going well. If she had been properly cared for, the child might have been safe. But you took her out to show off, and Sister Lin was filled with anger, which affected the child. This child was clearly killed by you!" Zhang Er Niu said emotionally.
Li Shan sneered, "Which pregnant woman never gets angry? And I haven't seen anyone lose a child just because they got angry."
"I can't stand to see this any longer. I was wondering, Madam Lin is your Li family's daughter-in-law, so why was she living at the Qi family's? During the New Year, the Qi family didn't say a word about such a bloody and inauspicious event as losing a child. They served her wholeheartedly, even using dozens of taels of wild ginseng, which is something that even money can't always buy. After all their sincere efforts, you still have the audacity to come here and cause trouble. When Madam Lin first got pregnant, she fainted once. What did I say? I told you to take good care of her, feed her well, and avoid anger. Otherwise, the child might not be saved!" Doctor Mo said loudly. "I remember you promised very well at the time, but then you brought in a woman with no status or reputation, and drove out your wife who had shared your hardships. It's no wonder Madam Lin's child was lost."
Doctor Mo was the only physician in several nearby villages, skilled and highly respected. When he spoke, everyone sided with him in condemning Li Shan.
Li Shan became somewhat flustered, having not expected Doctor Mo to say such a thing.
"I, I, I..." Li Shan stammered.
"What 'you'? You black-hearted scoundrel! You've done wrong and don't know how to repent, but instead you escalate by slandering others. You don't deserve to live in this village. We'll all go and talk to the village head and have him expelled from the village," Zhang Er Niu said loudly. "Who knows what other harm someone like him might cause in the future, and then we'll all be implicated. That would be bad."
Everyone agreed with Zhang Er Niu, and they clamored to go to the Song family to seek justice from the village head, Song.
"You can't do this! I won't pursue this matter anymore. I won't pursue it, is that not enough?" Li Shan said anxiously. If he were truly expelled from the village, he would lose his house and land, and then he wouldn't have a place to live. Moreover, bad news travels fast, and if this spread, he didn't know how it would be twisted.
Zhang Er Niu spat. "You're not pursuing it now? It's too late!" He had seen Lin Rui Xue's pale face earlier, and his heart ached. Thinking that it was all Li Shan's fault, he naturally didn't want Li Shan to have an easy time, considering it a form of revenge for her.
Zhang Niu looked at his energetic older brother and felt something was a bit strange. However, as the saying goes, brothers fight side by side, and fathers and sons fight together. He couldn't just watch.
The two brothers, carrying Li Shan as if he were a chicken, led a group of people towards the village head Song's house.
Wen Cen, walking at the back, cupped his hands towards Qi Zhenzhen. "I originally intended to formally visit and express my thanks, but I didn't expect to encounter such a matter. Miss Qi, please don't get upset. This Li Shan has wicked intentions and will not have a good end. My grandfather will surely side with the Qi family. When I returned this time, he spoke to me for a long time, saying that Miss Qi has great breadth of mind, no less than a man."
With such high praise, Qi Zhenzhen felt a little embarrassed.
"I'll just call you brother-in-law like Ming Yue. I haven't done anything. It's the village head grandfather who is kind and looks after our family. If we couldn't have settled in Xinghua Village, we wouldn't be where we are now," Qi Zhenzhen said modestly.
Wen Cen nodded secretly, recognizing this young girl as indeed steady.
"Since we've met now, our family is in the county town. If there's anything difficult to resolve, just send word, and we will definitely help if we can," Wen Cen said. "I won't delay here any longer. I'll go back and see how my grandfather plans to deal with Li Shan."
Qi Zhenzhen nodded and watched him leave before turning to go inside.
Upon entering the house, Qi Zhenzhen vigorously rubbed her hands and stomped her feet. She had been outside for too long, and her hands and feet had become numb from the cold.
Meeting Yun Shi's anxious gaze, Qi Zhenzhen waved her hand. "Mother, it's alright. Brother Zhang Er, Xiao Niu, and the villagers have taken Li Shan to the village head's house. Brother Zhang Er thinks this Li Shan is a bad person, and if he stays in the village, he might cause trouble in the future, so they want to ask the village head grandfather to expel him."
Yun Shi and Lin Rui Xue were both a little stunned. Expelled from the village meant being officially banished, which would be recorded by the authorities. Li Shan would likely have difficulty settling in the Yunlai Prefecture in the future, as his household registration would not be filed, making him almost like an undocumented person.
"He brought this upon himself. This matter could have been dropped entirely. I don't know what he was thinking, coming here to make trouble..." Qi Zhenzhen wouldn't sympathize with such a person. "As a result, he gained nothing and ended up implicating himself. He must be regretting it immensely now. He reaps what he sows; he has no one to blame but himself."
Lin Rui Xue nodded. "I have severed all ties with him and have no further relationship. I will be happy if he does not fare well. From now on, he walks his sunny road, and I walk my single-plank bridge."