Chapter 188: Great Turmoil

Gu Xixi glanced around, her gaze calm, yet she exuded authority without anger.

"That means Gu Erye made a false accusation, and you are giving false testimony; lightly, you'll be caned and must apologize to me in person; severely… you'll all be thrown into jail together."

"Anyway, they're all our relatives, so it's convenient for outsiders to take turns bringing prison meals."

"The expressions of these Gu clan relatives all changed, as they furtively glanced at each other to see what reaction they'd get."

"At this moment, Village Chief Lao Qian and his wife, Qian Daxian, also rushed to the scene."

"The villagers voluntarily made way, letting the village chief and his wife stand at the front's best spot so they could preside over justice."

"Lao Qian first glared at Gu Youfu and the others, then nodded at Gu Xixi, signaling her to continue."

Gu Xixi said, "Have you all decided? Whoever wants to be this witness, please step forward."

After a while, the opposite side fell silent.

Even wherever Gu Xixi's gaze fell, someone would flinch and lower their head, daring not to meet her eyes.

Gu Xixi's aura grew ever more imposing.

A hired hand guarding Gu Erye shouted, "Did you hear what our master said? Go ahead and sue, go now!"

"It's a pity, this old man cherishes his life too much; we saw him rolling on the ground several times, tearing his clothes and hair himself, yet no one laid a finger on him."

"Another hired hand raised his hoe, laughing in agreement, 'It's really a shame—why didn't the old man just pick up a stone and smash his own forehead with it?'"

"You come to extort people, yet you didn't even plan this beforehand?"

Gu Erye still lay on the ground, the dampness from the soil seeping into his single layer; his old, frail body couldn't bear to get up again and again.

But those two hired hands crossed their hoe handles, blocking above Gu Erye to prevent him from rising.

One hired hand gave a half-smile, "Old sir, if you're tired from the fuss, just lie down a bit longer—so you won't get hurt when you rise, and then we'd have to extort you again."

Gu Erye glared angrily, but no one paid him any heed.

Gu Erye's son and daughter-in-law stood nearby, not daring to step forward to help him; just abandoning their father and retreating like that was hardly proper.

They could only turn their heads, looking pleadingly at Gu Youfu.

Gu Youfu's face darkened; he could no longer pretend to be amiable or act like a good person.

He snapped impatiently, "Look, look, what are you staring at me for? Earlier you went out shouting about fighting and killing, but now, when it counts, each of you is more useless than the next—you hear ten sentences from others and can't even let out a fart!"

Several of Gu Erye's family members were also unhappy, "Big brother, you didn't even tell us earlier that if this blows up we might have to go to jail, right?"

He Jinglan pointed at the opposite side and shouted loudly, "Everyone hear that? They're in cahoots, they planned this ahead of time!"

Zhang Shen spat, "Pah! Shameless, and you still dare to say it wasn't intentional extortion!"

The onlookers erupted in an uproar.

In everyone's hearts, who was right and who was wrong was already clear enough.

Lao Qian's face was solemn as he was about to speak to make the final judgment.

Seeing this, Gu Erye grew anxious; he had gone to great trouble to stir up a fuss, and with difficulty had gathered so many people to bolster his momentum—how could he just let it go like that?

Moreover, while others might be fine, his own wheat yield had dropped so much.

He was unwilling to gain nothing, to be firmly labeled an extortionist, and thereafter be ridiculed by the villagers.

Gu Erye struggled and shouted, "Why are you still standing there? How could you be so easily intimidated by a little girl?"

"Don't you all want her grain-growing secret?"

"I, an old man, charged ahead to pave the way for all of you, but at the crucial moment you refuse to act!"

Gu Youfu's eyes shifted, he made up his mind, and with a sinister expression said, "They say the law can't control a crowd; we're many, so what do we have to fear from her being few?"

"Anyway, since it's come to this, we might as well all act together and force her to hand over the secret!!"

The greed of the Gu clan relatives was fully aroused; each clenched their weapon, eyes fierce.

"What Youfu said is right—wealth and honor are sought in risk; if you're unwilling to sacrifice, you can't catch the wolf!"

"Exactly, after all it's just an internal Gu clan dispute; even if the government office catches us, at most we'd be jailed a few days—it'd be worth it!"

"She hoards the secret and won't let go, clearly not treating us as her own, so we needn't be polite to this girl!"

"Right, since she's unkind, don't blame us for being unjust—let's all go up and destroy her wheat entirely!"

The Gu clan members roared madly as they charged forward, everyone's eyes reddened by greed.

No matter how Lao Qian flared up to stop them, at this moment no one would listen to his words.

The previously stable situation again took a sudden turn for the worse.

He Jinglan stamped her foot in anxiety, "These people are crazy, each speaking lofty and righteous, but what's the real difference from bandits?"

Mu Nan Zhao looked through the crowd at Gu Xixi, and Gu Xixi firmly shook her head at him.

If Mu Nan Zhao were to draw his sword now, it wouldn't be as simple as just disarming someone's arm earlier.

The world's chessboard is about to undergo a major shift, and as one of the players, Mu Nan Zhao absolutely cannot cause bloodshed at this moment.

Gu Xixi stared at the surging crowd opposite, then with a backhand she successively shoved Shitou and He Jinglan toward An Qinghe.

You three are all outsiders; they won't rashly attack you. You watch over those two for me, so they aren't accidentally hurt.

Zhang Shen stepped beside Gu Xixi and handed her an iron hoe.

Gu Xixi caught sight in her peripheral vision of Zhang Shen suddenly raising an axe; she snapped her head around, "Auntie, why did you bring our firewood-splitting axe?"

Zhang Shen faced the enemies, eyes unwavering, "Xixi, don't be afraid; there's no point reasoning with these people. Today we'll fight them to the end—whoever wants to bully you must first get past my axe!"

Gu Xixi sucked in a breath of cold air; she had never seen Zhang Shen so fierce—truly a sight to behold.

But… using an axe directly—isn't that too brutal?

Before the words were finished, Gu Youfu and the others had already rushed up close.

Actually, their aim wasn't to beat or kill Gu Xixi, but to rush toward the large wheat field behind her.

They intended to threaten Gu Xixi with destroying the wheat field to force her to hand over the farming secret.

Otherwise, they'd leave Gu Xixi with a total loss of harvest.

She won't let the Gu Clan have it easy, so nobody else should either!

Chen Dafu and the hired workers naturally wouldn't let the Gu Clan succeed; in the midst of their pushing and shoving, the conflict finally broke out.

However, the hired workers were all able-bodied young men, cooperating with each other in fighting the Gu Clan, and for a while they didn't suffer any loss.

Gu Xixi gripped the iron hoe tightly; she, a researcher, had never fought anyone before.

Seeing such a brawl before her eyes for the first time, she inevitably felt some nervousness.

Seeing that the Gu Clan couldn't break through the workers' defense, Gu Xixi noticed a few unfamiliar relatives slipping around from the side and running toward the wheat field.

Thinking that her own field was about to be ruined by these people, Gu Xixi somehow found the courage, picked up the iron hoe, and gave chase.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Shen also ran after her, shouting, "Xixi, don't go alone—watch out for getting hurt!"

Mu Nan Zhao frowned slightly.

Clearly she couldn't even reach her yet—what was she showing off for?!