Li Juan gasped, covering her mouth. “Could it be… there really isn’t any family heirloom?”
That seemed to be the only possibility.
But Xu Laidi refused to believe it.
How could there be none? Old Lady Liu had spoken so confidently, claiming it was a very precious family heirloom.
Su Fang appeared equally shocked, though her surprise carried a touch of performance.
“I thought it was strange. If they really had a family heirloom, those two don’t seem like the type to live such a poor life for it.”
Bai Yunjiao added, “Oh no, if that’s the case, doesn’t this mean Liu’s family was pulling a marriage scam?”
Song Wei casually popped a sunflower seed into her mouth, speaking in a lazy tone, “When a pie falls from the sky, it might be an iron pie—one heavy enough to crush you.”
But if a fool gets crushed, it’s their own fault.
Xu Laidi’s heart shattered completely. Her face turned red with anger, and she stormed out furiously.
Song Wei exchanged glances with the old ladies. Without hesitation, they all stood up and followed her.
“Wait for me; I’m coming too!”
Naturally, others didn’t want to be left behind.
Life in the village was dull, especially in an era without phones or modern entertainment. Aside from working in the fields, people had to make their own fun.
And gossip? It was downright addictive in such monotonous times.
Xu Laidi marched forward in rage, trailed by a growing crowd.
A passerby asked what was going on, and one of the old ladies slapped her thigh dramatically.
“Big news! Xu Zhiqing’s box didn’t have any family heirloom—it’s empty!”
Goodness, this revelation drew even more people into the gossiping parade. Together, they followed Xu Laidi to Old Bachelor Liu’s house.
At that moment, Old Lady Liu was chatting with a few acquaintances she was close to.
“My Dakang is finally going to have a wife. Xu Zhiqing isn’t the prettiest, but she’s a woman, and she can bear children to carry on the Liu family line.”
“Old Lady Liu!”
Xu Laidi barged into the rickety house, flinging the door open.
Seeing her, Old Lady Liu’s eyes flickered with something unreadable, but she quickly plastered a smile on her face and greeted her warmly.
“Xu Zhiqing, why have you come? Oh dear, the house is such a mess. If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve tidied up a bit.”
Xu Laidi threw the box at her feet.
“There’s nothing in here! You lied to me!”
Old Lady Liu’s expression shifted. “Xu Zhiqing, you can’t just accuse me like that. I packed the item myself, and my son saw it too. How could the Liu family’s family heirloom be fake?”
“It’s an empty box! There’s nothing in it! You heartless people just wanted to trick me into marrying into your family!”
“What? That’s impossible!”
Picking up the box, Liu Old Lady inspected it and saw it was indeed empty. She immediately put her hands on her hips and started shouting.
“Xu Zhiqing, you’re just too much! Could it be you took our family heirloom but don’t want to marry my son, so you’re pulling this stunt? That’s downright shameless!”
“Our Liu family’s heirloom is a baby-sized peace lock. It’s been passed down from Da Kang’s great-great-grandfather. We give it to our daughters-in-law when they marry in. Then we hope for a grandson, and the lock is put on his neck. When he grows up, it’s taken off and passed on to the next generation…”
Old Lady Liu spoke with such conviction, even describing how the lock had the Liu family’s character engraved on it, that the simple-minded villagers started to believe her.
“Rubbish! There’s nothing inside!”
Xu Laidi desperately tried to argue, but compared to Old Lady Liu’s detailed account, her defense seemed weak.
Old Lady Liu seized the opportunity to press further. “I think you’re regretting agreeing to marry my son and want to keep our heirloom for yourself! I tell you, it’s impossible! Either you marry my son, or you return our family heirloom!”
“No, wait, that’s too much of a loss for us. This treasure has been passed down for generations! You must return it!”
The villagers began discussing fervently.
“So it’s a peace lock? I’ve heard those are made of gold or silver—really expensive!”
“Shh! You can’t sell those things now, but if it’s ancestral, it should be fine.”
“One says there’s nothing in the box, the other says there is. Who’s telling the truth?”
“I bet Xu Zhiqing is lying. She probably regrets agreeing to marry Old Bachelor Liu but doesn’t want to give the heirloom back. After all, she’s been caught taking things that aren’t hers more than once…”
The villagers started recounting Xu Laidi’s past misdeeds. Apparently, this wasn’t her first time taking things and then accusing others.
Trust is a powerful thing, and Xu Laidi’s reputation among the villagers was abysmal. Most of them leaned toward believing Liu Old Lady.
Some doubted the existence of the heirloom altogether but didn’t speak up to defend Xu Laidi.
Panicking, Xu Laidi pointed to the people from the educated youth dormitory.
“The box was empty to begin with! Ask them—they know!”
Caught off guard, the educated youths found themselves dragged into the chaos.
Why involve us in this mess?
Gao Le, who had been standing at the front, practically jumped backward, distancing himself.
Zhao Su quickly ducked behind the old ladies.
“Don’t look at me; I know nothing about this.”
The other educated youths also stepped back, their expressions tinged with alarm.
Xu Laidi, seeing their reactions, became even angrier, her face contorted with rage.
“You—aren’t we all educated youths? We’re supposed to stick together! How can you just stand by and watch them slander me?”
Song Wei bared her teeth in a wide grin. “Don’t count on me. My relationship with you is purely that of an enemy.”
She pointed at her own cheek meaningfully.
Xu Laidi’s face turned beet red.
Gao Le scoffed, “I don’t know you. Not one bit.”
Liu Linlin rolled her eyes. “So what if we’re all educated youths? We’re not your parents. We don’t owe you anything. Even your own parents don’t care about you.”
Not long ago, hadn’t she accused them of being thieves? Did she think they were stupid enough to help her now?
Bai Yunjiao spoke softly, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about this. I can’t lie.”
Li Juan quickly raised her hands. “I… I don’t know either. All I know is that when you showed us the box, it was already empty.”
They were simply telling the truth.
Xu Laidi latched onto Li Juan’s statement. “You heard her! She said it was empty!”
Li Juan was exasperated.
What I meant was that it was empty when you showed it to us. Could you stop twisting my words?
Old Lady Liu sneered, “Xu Zhiqing, what nonsense are you spouting? What Li Zhiqing meant is that you showed her an empty box because you’d already taken out the heirloom and hidden it!”
“I didn’t! The box was empty! There was no family heirloom! You have to believe me!”
Initially, Old Lady Liu called Xu Laidi simply “Laidi,” but now she refers to her as “Xu Zhiqing.” I’m not sure why. However, since the original text used “Zhiqing,” I translated it directly to stay true to the source.
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