Chapter 194

Jiang Li is currently keeping his wife company while she exercises.

"How are you feeling? Does it hurt? If it really hurts that much, let's stop."

Seeing his wife in pain makes his heart ache.

Du Ruo is sweating profusely from the pain, but she refuses to call it quits. "Since we've started, how can we give up halfway? It's bound to hurt the first time, but it won't once you're used to it, and it'll even feel very comfortable."

Jiang Li's expression is peculiar. "This posture... did you also learn this in the Immortal Realm?"

Du Ruo has no time to pay him any mind.

Inhale, exhale, tighten the core.

After a while...

"Husband, I'm done." Unfortunately, the moment she stands up, Du Ruo's legs turn to jelly, and she nearly takes a tumble.

Jiang Li is quick-witted and catches her, asking with a straight face: "I find these movements of yours a bit strange, wife. Could it be that you're practicing specifically in preparation for our wedding night?"

Du Ruo's face turns beet red, and she pushes him away. "What are you thinking about? I am not!"

It was just a matter of having nothing to do and practicing a few yoga poses.

This man manages to associate everything with wedding nights.

He acts cold and abstinent in front of others, but behind closed doors, he's a big bad wolf—and a lustful one at that, hmph.

A smile washes over Jiang Li's eyes, making his face appear even more peerlessly handsome. "I remember your birthday is on the sixth day of the second lunar month next year, am I right?"

Du Ruo knows exactly what he's thinking, so she feigns composure. "I forgot. I'll go ask Mother."

Having said that, she turns and runs into the house.

To consummate the marriage once she turns eighteen—that is the agreement between the two of them.

She would never admit that she is actually quite looking forward to that day herself.

After dinner, the couple lies in bed, and after some intimacy, Du Ruo asks about what happened during the day.

"Why did Grandfather Clan Head call you over?"

Jiang Li's large palm wanders over her smooth, supple skin, his voice low and husky. "Nothing important, just talking about the matter of Lü Xiue."

Du Ruo is puzzled. "Didn't Lü Xiue die? What else is there to talk about?"

Jiang Li smiles; although Lü Xiue is dead, the matter is not yet over.

The Jiang Clan Head is a man of great temper. This time, the Second Branch of the Jiang Family was nearly wiped out, and every time he thinks about it, he wishes he could poke Lin You Tian and his wife to death with his cane.

If a wife is not virtuous, it is the husband's fault.

Lü Xiue has paid the price, but Lin You Tian shouldn't expect to have it easy either!

"As the saying goes, to strike a snake, strike its seven inches. What is Lin You Tian's reliance for being so overbearing all these years? To deal with him, we only need to remove his reliance." Master Jiang secretly gave his father an idea.

These words make the Jiang Clan Head's mind suddenly clear.

That's right, isn't Lin You Tian only so arrogant because he relies on being the village chief?

Then we'll strip him of his position and see how arrogant he can be in the future!

The Jiang Clan Head leans on his cane, heads out excitedly, and goes to sit with the other clan heads one by one.

After returning, he finds Jiang Li, tells him about the matter, and asks if Jiang Li has a candidate in mind for the new village chief.

"The hope for the revitalization of our Jiang clan lies entirely with your Second Branch, so this person must be one of our own. At the very least, they shouldn't keep causing trouble for your family or holding you back. That way, you and Erlang can be more at ease when working outside, right?"

These words make sense.

Jiang Li thinks for a moment, and it really does lead him to think of someone...

"Who is it?" Du Ruo asks, snuggled in his arms.

Jiang Li leans into her ear and whispers the person's name. "What do you think, wife?"

Du Ruo expresses her approval. "I think it's doable."

What is a village chief for? In the end, it's to serve the vast number of villagers, not to ride on everyone's heads and act like a tyrant.

Therefore, this person must possess several characteristics.

First, their character must be good. It is acceptable for them to seek some benefits for themselves—after all, if water is too clear, there are no fish—but they cannot go too far. It won't do to spend all day thinking about how to scrape benefits for their own family.

Furthermore, their ability cannot be too poor; at the very least, they must be literate.

Otherwise, if the authorities issue a task, how can they pass it down if they can't even read it?

In the whole village, there are only a few people who meet these two conditions.

Of course, Jiang Li definitely has selfish motives, so the person chosen is on good terms with the Second Branch of the Jiang Family. He doesn't want anyone else to take advantage of his absence to try every possible way to burn his wife to death or find ways to poison his family.

Early the next morning, the sound of gongs rang through the entire Longquan Cun.

"Everyone gather at the threshing ground! At least one person from every household must come out; the clan heads have a major announcement!"

Hearing this commotion, the whole village becomes restless.

"What major event? Don't tell me we have to do corvée labor again?"

"Who knows? I hope not. My man hasn't been well lately and can't handle the strain!"

"Oh, stop making such a fuss and scaring yourselves. If it were really corvée labor, the village chief would be the one to say so; the clan heads don't handle that..."

Everyone thinks that makes sense, and they all breathe a sigh of relief in unison.

Then they take off running toward the threshing ground.

The threshing ground is a great place for excitement; last time, Jiang Zongbao and his cousin Hao Jinzhi used the sky as their quilt and the earth as their mat, which really gave them an eyeful!

Du Ruo doesn't really want to go, but since Jiang Li has already gone, one person per family is enough.

However, she can't withstand Yao Yulan coming over to drag her out.

Yao Yulan is acting as if she's taken fake medicine, her spirit extremely high. "Sister-in-law, let's go, let's go, let's go join in the fun!"

Having said that, she drags her out without giving her a choice.

Du Ruo has no choice but to follow along.

The threshing ground is already packed with people, a vast sea of heads, everyone stretching their necks to look at the platform in front, like penguins waiting to be fed.

On the platform, besides the six clan heads and Jiang Li, there is also the gloomy-faced Lin You Tian.

Lin You Tian is about to die of anger.

People say that sending charcoal in snowy weather is a kindness, but for him, they're all sending him shit!

Taking advantage of his family's misfortune, not only do they not offer a few words of comfort, but they actually unite to dig out his foundation and pull him down from his position as village chief.

Pfft, a bunch of people who kick a man when he's down!

Needless to say, it must have been that bastard Jiang Li who came up with the idea; only he hates him that much.

Lin You Tian glares at Jiang Li with slanted eyes.

Jiang Li doesn't change his expression, not even giving him a glance, as if this person doesn't exist at all, instead looking toward a corner below the stage.

Du Ruo smiles brightly at him.

"Alright, stop smiling, he can't see you from that far away." Yao Yulan is speechless at this display of affection.

She stares eagerly at the clan heads on the stage.

Ahem, the Gou Clan Head speaks first, saying loudly: "Fellow villagers, we have called everyone here today because there is an urgent matter to discuss with you."

As he speaks, he glances at the Jiang Clan Head beside him.

The Jiang Clan Head looks at his nose and his heart, pretending to be ignorant.

He counts as half a party involved in this matter, so it's better to remain silent to avoid suspicion.

Seeing that he doesn't pick up the conversation, the Gou Clan Head has no choice but to continue himself. "As you all know, a few days ago, the village chief's wife, the Lü woman, poisoned the Second Branch of the Jiang Family, nearly poisoning people to death. The case has been brought to light, and the Lü woman has also been ordered to be executed by the official."

Everyone looks at each other.

Isn't this something the whole village knows? What else is there to say? Can't you come up with something fresh?

"I haven't finished speaking yet." Seeing the crowd starting to get restless, the Gou Clan Head quickly says, "Although the Lü woman is dead, the impact of this incident is extremely bad. The neighboring villages are now laughing at us behind our backs, saying that our Longquan Cun village chief can't even manage his own wife, so how can he manage the whole village?"

"Everyone, tell me, what should be done about this?"

As soon as the words fall, Jiang Zongbao is the first to jump out. "That's easy, we have so many young men in our village, let's just go straight to their door and see if they dare to gossip again!"

Gou Clan Head: "..."

He turns his head to look at the Jiang Clan Head, thinking, that fool of your family, you handle it yourself.

The Jiang Clan Head knocks his cane hard on the ground, raises his eyebrows, and points at Jiang Zongbao below the stage.

"Come here, you brat, get up here."

Jiang Zongbao instantly loses his nerve and shrinks behind his wife, Hao Jinzhi. "I, I don't..."

Hao Jinzhi picks him up directly and throws him onto the stage. "Go!"