12dz Chapter 466 Zhao Qiaoniang, You’re Dead This Time
Chapter 466 Zhao Qiaoniang, You’re Dead This Time
Bai Qian nodded and said, "I know those people. They were from the same hometown before, and we helped them before."
Bai's father and mother brought Bai Qian directly to the ancestral hall. The clan leaders were all there early in the morning, and Bai's father told them what had happened.
Bai Qian knelt on the futon, her knuckles white from clutching the hem of her skirt tightly. Her voice was filled with suppressed anger:
“Elder, I would recognize them even if they turned into ashes!
"Because of our fellow countrymen's friendship, we turned a blind eye to it as it was just a minor incident. Who could have imagined that they would become so brazen now?"
Father Bai slammed his hands on the altar: "Over fifty thousand taels of silver! This is going to kill our family!"
Bai's mother's eyes were red, and her voice was choked with sobs: "I shouldn't have been soft-hearted in the beginning, letting those ruthless people get away with it!"
The elder half-closed his eyes as he took the bill from Bai Qian and snorted heavily, slamming his dragon-headed cane down on the brick floor. "Do you think our Bai family is easy to bully? This time, they'll pay! How much did they lose?"
Bai Qian trembled as she pulled out a piece of yellowed rice paper and said, "Master Hui, the total is 56,800 taels. This is the list drawn up by the shopkeeper. Every item is clearly stated."
"Do you know where they live?" asked the elder.
"Of course I know!" Bai Qian gritted her teeth and said, "My husband and I have been asking around these days and finally found out where they're hiding. It's at No. 3 Xinghua Lane in the south of the city!"
The elder abruptly stood up, his hoarse voice echoing through the ancestral hall: "Men of the Bai family, listen up! Gather the young and strong men in the village and follow me to seek justice! I will not give up until we get the silver back today!"
Suddenly, there were responses one after another outside the ancestral hall. More than a hundred young and strong men quickly gathered, holding sticks, hoes, and short knives on their waists.
Bai Qian stood at the front of the team, smiled coldly, and said softly: "Zhao Qiaoniang, you are dead this time."
Zhao Qiaoniang held a small gilded cup, blew on the warm lotus seed and lily porridge to cool it, and gently passed it to Lin Wanwan's lips: "Eat slowly, be careful of your throat if you burn it."
"Young lady, remember, ladies of noble families should hold the cup with three fingers when dining, and never let their lips touch the rim." Madam Zheng kept nagging in her ear, "Our ancestors said that children's habits should be like a blank sheet of paper. The earlier they are immersed in etiquette, the more likely they are to become well-behaved."
At three quarters past the hour of Mao, before the morning bell rang, Lin Wanwan was already sitting upright on the embroidered cushion.
Madam Zheng held a sandalwood ruler in her hand and ran it along her stiff back: "Hold your neck a little straighter, your shoulders like winter plums, your waist like a slender willow."
Whenever he slacked off, the ruler would fall heavily on the desk.
She is only one year old!
Mrs. Bai felt a little reluctant, and Zhao Qiaoniang couldn't bear to watch it any more: "Mother, Wanwan is still so young, isn't it too early to follow these rules now?"
Nanny Zheng held a ruler in her hand and slowly walked to Lin Wanwan and said:
"Do you know why this etiquette must be taught from a young age? People are like the stubborn rocks by the river.
Once you become an adult, your habits are like the lines on a stone, deeply ingrained and difficult to change!
She looked at Lin Wanwan and said, "A lady's manners should be honed from the time she is just learning to speak. Every frown, smile, and gesture must be steeped in rules."
Lin Wanwan looked at Madam Bai pitifully. Madam Bai sighed and said, "That's true. I have also learned these etiquettes since I was a child."
Zhao Qiaoniang was also helpless, as she now had to spend an hour every day studying these things.
Suddenly, I heard Huang Mao saying outside, "More than 100 people are here, saying they want to see our wife."
Zhao Qiaoniang frowned and asked, "More than 100 people?"
The yellow-haired man nodded and said, "I saw Bai Qian and Lin Dasheng. Do you want to go out and take a look?"
Zhao Qiaoniang went out with a dozen servants.
The elder of the Bai family twisted his Buddhist beads, looked at her and said, "Are you the wife of the Zhao family?"
"Who are you?" Zhao Qiaoniang asked back.
The elder raised his hand to signal the restless tribesmen behind him to be quiet: "I heard that you cheated Bai Qian out of more than 50,000 taels of jewelry. Now, it's time to return it to its rightful owner."
Zhao Qiaoniang chuckled:
"So that's what Bai Qian told you? The jewelry store owner was there, and there were so many witnesses.
Those jewels were given to me by Lin Dasheng himself! How come you say they were stolen?"
A strong bearded man took half a step forward, the axe at his waist flashing coldly as he moved:
"Everyone knows that Bai Qian is marrying a wealthy man! How could she frame you for such a small sum of money?
If you know what's good for you, just hand over the jewelry and don't force us to do anything!"
"That's right!" another young man spat, his eyes piercing Zhao Qiaoniang. "I've never seen such a shameless woman! Stealing jewelry? Are you desperate for men? "
Zhao Qiaoniang looked at Lin Dasheng and said, "Lin Dasheng, in front of so many people, why don't you tell me what's going on?"
Lin Dasheng looked at her and said, "Qiao Niang, please return those pieces of jewelry to me? I... I already have a wife..."
Zhao Qiaoniang looked at him with a half-smile and said, "Then what did you say in the shop at that time? Tell everyone."
"I...I was just being polite..."
Zhao Qiaoniang looked at the people from the Bai family and said, "Did you all hear that? I didn't steal these jewelry. He asked us to take them."
"You took it just because he told you to? Have some shame! Taking another man's things is no different from being a whore in a brothel!" Laughter broke out all around, and the saliva almost splashed onto the hem of Zhao Qiaoniang's skirt embroidered with twin lotus flowers.
"That's right! Private transactions are immoral!" the woman with twin buns echoed in a shrill voice, stabbing the ground with her rolling pin. "If it were me, I would have been too embarrassed to face anyone!"
Zhao Qiaoniang sneered and said:
"That's wrong again. Lin Dasheng was my man before, and I gave birth to three children for him.
He kicked me and my child out of the house. We almost starved to death. Now isn't it normal for him to give some money to support the child? "
Everyone in the Bai family was immediately in an uproar.
Madam Bai and Master Bai came out. Master Bai glanced at the chaotic clansmen and sneered, "The Bai family has a century-old family tradition, but now they have fallen to the point of attacking with weapons just because of a woman's crazy words?"
"You... who are you?" A white-haired elder staggered forward, his cloudy eyes suddenly widened, and the pipe in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
Someone in the crowd gasped, and exclamations of surprise rang out one after another. It turned out to be the Bai family's "great uncle" who had not appeared for many years. He was ranked as the great-great-grandfather in the family tree, and even the current elders of the family had to treat him with respect as a junior.
The men of the Bai family knelt on the ground. Master Bai sneered and said, "You are getting more and more powerful. I really didn't expect that the Bai family would become like this."
Bai Qian clutched her sleeves, her fingertips turning white. "No, fifty thousand taels of silver is mine, not Lin Dasheng's. Why should I give it away?"