Young Master Xiang has gone mad?
This news is quite shocking, but right now Long Yue doesn't have time to bother with it. Miss Lu wants to accuse Li Qingmu of being a sorcerer. He's about to take the imperial exam; nothing must go wrong.
At this point, Long Yue should probably say something to ease the situation, take a step back, but she does the opposite, sneers, and says, "Go ahead! Miss Lu, feel free to go! When you can't present evidence in court, I'll accuse you of slander!
My husband is a scholar, a talent nurtured by the Emperor of Da Zhou. Who are you challenging with these groundless accusations?"
"I..."
Lu Qianqian was stunned. She just wanted to scare her a bit; she hadn't thought it through this much.
The Lu family does a small business, wealthier than an average family but can't compare to those rich ladies. Naturally, she hasn't read much, barely knows any big words, and doesn't understand these complicated matters.
The crucial part is that Long Yue unkindly used the Emperor of Da Zhou to intimidate her.
Lu Qianqian looked at Long Yue's calm demeanor, feeling overpowered by her presence, and panicked instantly.
"I, I..." she hesitated, then stamped her foot in frustration and said, "I'll go find some evidence, then I'll accuse you, humph!"
She was finding an excuse for herself to back down, but she almost tripped when leaving, looking really embarrassed!
"Troublesome mouth!"
Long Yue snorted, giving Lu Qianqian an evaluation, then turned to look at the man beside her, seeing him smiling at her in a meaningful way, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
"What's with Young Master Xiang going mad?"
Long Yue felt this matter couldn't be unrelated to Li Qingmu. Under her sharp gaze, Li Qingmu felt a bit guilty and, with an innocent expression, said, "I don't know!"
Long Yue looked at the man with disdain. That pitiful bunny look of his really made her want to hit him. Needless to say, this must be related to him!
This man surely hid something from her before!
Long Yue was a bit angry, but it wasn't a good place to vent, so she held back, took some silver and clothes, and left the Embroiderers' Pavilion.
"Go sell the paintings."
Long Yue's tone was very calm. Knowing he had upset his little wife, Li Qingmu obediently went to the painting shop next door, sold the paintings, and gave Long Yue one tael and two qian of silver when he came out.
Long Yue took the silver and left, with Li Qingmu chasing after her closely.
He knew why his wife was angry, but he felt helpless. Such dark secrets are better left unknown.
"Dear, let's go back, and I'll explain slowly," he softened, caught up with Long Yue, and whispered to her, pulling her into his arms.
Long Yue wasn't buying it. The same tactic wouldn't work on her twice. She replied coldly, "Talk, or get lost!"
"..." Li Qingmu sighed and had to say, "At that time, I was seriously wounded and needed someone to take care of me, so I coerced him to help find water and herbs; otherwise, I'd kill him, that's all. If it drove him mad, it was just because... well, there was no food, so... I made him carve up those assassins and grill their meat..."
Long Yue widened her eyes at him, and Li Qingmu felt his image might have shattered in her eyes. Would she think he's a demon?
He explained nervously in a small voice.
"That government official's nephew, as the capital's prefect, wouldn't send assassins lightly. The master behind this must be unusual too. If he went back alive, they would think we sheltered him, and none of us would survive. That's why I had to kill him. As for that... I did it to survive..."
He said, sneaking a glance at Long Yue. Seeing she showed no signs of disgust, he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Why are you so tense?" Long Yue gave him an annoyed look; she disliked seeing him all timid in front of her. "Your wife might come from half a military family, not as old-fashioned as you think!"
Li Qingmu was surprised, seeing the little woman's exquisite face brimming with confidence, with a slightly raised chin, a bit proud, making her seem adorably naive and sweet.
His heart skipped a beat, his gaze deepened, and he said softly, "Dear, I was wrong."
"What did you do wrong again?" Long Yue wanted to hit him. "Always quick to admit fault. How many mistakes do you think you're allowed? Don't say it again next time!"
"Not understanding you deeply enough was my fault."
Li Qingmu lowered his eyebrows, smiled slightly, and who knows why he found it funny?
Long Yue ignored him, went to the market to buy some pastries, and went back.
As for buying rice and flour, she wouldn't spend even a copper coin as long as Mrs. Zhang hadn't left the Li family!
She still took Chai Tieniu's cart back, and once Chai Qiao'er got on, she eagerly discussed embroidery with Long Yue. This little girl was quite eager to learn.
She asked very basic questions, and Long Yue answered them one by one, chatting and laughing with everyone as they returned to the village.
They parted ways at the village entrance, with Long Yue and Li Qingmu heading towards the Li family.
Just about to reach their home, they suddenly saw a crowd of people, villagers gathered in twos and threes at the Li family's doorstep, pointing and discussing, occasionally letting out some remarks.
"The Li family is too much; how can they treat a daughter-in-law this way? Is this something humans do?"
"Exactly, with her head split open, what kind of grudge was there? The Li family is extremely stingy!"
"I heard it was that Evil Woman Li from the Li family. Truly an authentic evil woman, better keep an eye on your kids, lest she beats them, and then there's no place to seek justice."
"..."
These murmurs kept echoing, filled with sarcasm and mockery.
At this moment, someone saw Long Yue coming and hurriedly poked the person next to them, signaling them to stop talking.
But that person was Aunt Liu of the Liu family, who had lost to Long Yue several times and still harbored resentment, refusing to comply and speaking even louder.
"What's there to fear? Daring to do but not let others speak? What's this about the Li family? Unlucky family! Tsk tsk, marrying such wives, one who can't lay eggs and another who's an evil woman, oh my, the Li family's ancestral grave must have been dug up for..."
"Pfft!"
A clump of mud fell from the sky, landing perfectly into Aunt Liu's mouth.
Aunt Liu was talking excitedly, never expecting anyone to throw something into her mouth. When it landed, she instinctively shut her mouth.
Then...
"Ugh—"
A stench enveloped her, and Aunt Liu began vomiting violently.
"Oh dear, what's happening with Aunt Liu? Mouth full of... that stuff?"
Long Yue's melodious voice rang out, tinged with schadenfreude. She had heard Aunt Liu bad-mouthing her from afar, so she unhesitatingly grabbed a clump of mud and threw it, resulting in Aunt Liu's misfortune.
The mud was a deceitful shade of dark yellow, so when she spat it out, it turned into... a mouthful of that stuff!
"Pfft~"
Someone in the crowd laughed. After all, they were just here for the spectacle, and any spectacle would do.
Aunt Liu had come to embarrass Long Yue, but ended up embarrassing herself, angrily spitting out the mud and picking up a stone from the roadside, ready to throw it at Long Yue.