Chapter 50: Listen to Your Advice, Spare Her Life

Gu Xixi smiled and locked eyes with Zhou Gua Fu, showing no intention to retreat.

Zhou Gua Fu was both embarrassed and angry, "You, you, what do you have to be proud of!"

"He never said he liked you, that he must marry you! You two still aren't a proper husband and wife!"

Gu Xixi good-naturedly spread her hands, "Then there's really nothing we can do, who made him the man the County Office sold to me?"

"What I think, and what he thinks……"

She gave Zhou Gua Fu a bright smile, word by word, "What, business, of yours?"

Down the mountain, everyone was to go home, Gu Xixi thanked everyone again.

Apart from Zhou Gua Fu's face turning deathly pale and silent, everyone else was cheerful.

"What thanks, you and Chen Fang have helped the village plenty, it's only right."

"Ah, still calling him Chen Fang, from now on you should call him Mister Chen!"

"Exactly, hahaha, I never thought we'd produce a teacher."

In the relaxed, happy atmosphere, Lao Qian hadn't forgotten why Gu Xixi went missing.

When everyone had laughed enough, he straightened his face, solemnly said, "Great-niece, you said when you fell into the trap at noon yesterday, you personally told Gu Lao San's daughter to go down the mountain to find help?"

Gu Xixi knew Lao Qian was settling old scores.

She calmly said, "Yes, I didn't want to trouble everyone, just had my younger cousin go to my house to give Zhang Shen a message."

Zhang Shen said, "Gu Qingye never came to my house yesterday."

"At night I saw you and Chen Fang not coming back for dinner, so I went to her house to look for someone."

"The door was almost broken down, they wouldn't let me in to see Gu Qingye, and said there was nothing shady?"

Lao Qian asked, "Then did you finally see Gu Qingye?"

Zhang Shen nodded, "I saw her, she was lying in the room, saying she went down the mountain with my Gu Xixi and Chen Fang, then split up, and she doesn't know where the two went."

"I went to Gu Lao San's house last night, his neighbors can all testify."

Gu Xixi feigned confusion, "That's strange."

"At the time I was shouting from the pit, I personally saw Qingye leaning over the mouth asking how we were."

"How could she say that when I'd already come down the mountain?"

Everyone else present had realized the truth.

Lao Qian sneered, "What else could it be? Clearly they're colluding to lie, intending to stand by and watch someone die!"

Someone shouted indignantly, "No wonder Liu Shi claimed a headache and refused to go up the mountain with us."

"She's afraid Gu Xixi and Mister Chen are still alive, facing each other, exposing them!"

Everyone looked at Lao Qian, waiting for his judgment.

Lao Qian pondered, "The facts are basically clear, everyone's worked hard today, let's disperse for now."

He turned to Gu Xixi, stern-faced, "Great-niece, you must trust me, you and your family go home to rest, I'll go to Gu Lao San's house to get an explanation."

Gu Xixi bowed, "I naturally trust you, Uncle Qian, just sorry to trouble you."

Lao Qian said, "Such a disgraceful affair in the village is indeed my dereliction as Village Chief."

When Zhou Gua Fu left, she deliberately twisted her waist and edged toward Mu Nan Zhao.

She lowered her head, gathering what she thought was a bewitching, alluring glance.

As she reached Mu Nan Zhao, she suddenly turned her head, the corner of her eye flickering… flower…??

The unbidden flirtatious glance met Mu Nan Zhao's icy stare.

The petals seemed to be sliced by countless invisible blades, shattering into powder in the air.

Zhou Gua Fu froze, a chill shot from the crown of her head straight to the soles of her feet.

Only after Mu Nan Zhao walked away could Zhou Gua Fu tremblingly move her feet……

Zhang Shen went home, closed the door, confirmed Gu Xixi was unharmed, then relaxed.

"I just wanted to ask, how did Zhou Gua Fu end up talking to you?"

Zhou Gua Fu's late husband had once quarrelled with Gu Bapi over an irrigation ditch, things got unpleasant.

For years the two families had had no contact.

Though times changed, the two men had both passed, yet when Zhou Gua Fu saw Zhang Shen and Gu Xixi in the village, she still turned her head away as if she hadn't seen them.

Gu Xixi had just clearly refused Zhou Gua Fu, she didn't want Zhang Shen to know this, lest she stir up more anger.

She smiled, "Who knows what's wrong with her, suddenly coming to talk to me."

"Just a few idle words, nothing much."

Zhang Shen had no suspicions, said, "People like her who fawn on the powerful and trample on the weak are the most snobbish."

"Maybe she sees our family doing well now and wants to renew ties."

Gu Xixi said, "Whatever, she's unrelated, why bother with her."

She glanced at Mu Nan Zhao with meaning.

Just now she saw he'd been grim-faced all along, she knew he must have heard Zhou Gua Fu's words.

The old doctor, knowing the two had returned safely, took Mu Nan Zhao's pulse, then relaxed and went to inspect the medicinal herbs Gu Xixi had gathered.

In the west room only Gu Xixi and Mu Nan Zhao remained.

Gu Xixi looked at his expression, wanting to comfort him, "She really was insulting, but I've already righteously refused her."

"Don't waste your anger on someone not worth it."

Mu Nan Zhao lifted his eyes, "You don't need to worry, I'll handle it myself."

Handle? Gu Xixi startled, "You wouldn't……?"

She glanced outside, lowered her voice, "Kill to silence?"

Gu Xixi, having grown up in a rule-of-law society, still could not agree with the notion of "whoever does evil, I will kill them."

"Her idea is too dirty, but after all she only thought about it and never put it into practice."

"Just give her a lesson."

Mu Nan Zhao said coldly, "She dares to think that, she deserves to die."

He uttered those last three words through gritted teeth.

Gu Xixi took a deep breath; actually, that makes sense—how should I persuade her?

She came up with an idea in a panic: "Our village hasn't had a murder case in years."

"It's just because of Zhou Gua Fu that outsiders have taken notice; for us, it's more loss than gain!"

"Besides, you're about to see General Meng; how can you cause trouble over someone like this?"

Gu Xixi's offhand "we" said in her agitation unexpectedly improved Mu Nan Zhao's mood considerably.

"You actually know how to weigh pros and cons." His expression eased slightly as he lifted his gaze to her.

"Fine, I'll listen to you; let's set it aside for now."

Gu Xixi turned away, quietly let out a breath, and said, "You didn't sleep last night; go rest."

This mountain trip yielded a rich harvest, and Old Langzhong happily processed the medicinal herbs.

Zhang Shen dumped the food on the ground and sorted it into categories; seeing the fresh, vibrant wild fruits, she thought of Gu Xixi's fondness for them.

"Xixi, I can't free my hands; you wash some fruit and eat it yourself."

"No rush." Gu Xixi said cheerfully while holding another small sack.

"I need to take care of it first."

Gu Xixi even kept the precious tea saplings she had dug up after falling into a trap, still in the sack.

She prepared a half-basin of rooting and sterilizing water, then carefully removed the soil wrapped around the tea roots, and slanted the rootlets into the water.

Tomorrow, the plot of land Lao Qian promised her will finally be put to use.

Gu Xixi was mentally planning when suddenly a woman's wailing came from outside the wall.

"Sister Xixi, I was wrong; I'm sorry to you and Brother Chen—I'm kowtowing to you here!!"