Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 69 - 69 070 Consensual Matters_1

?Chapter 69: Chapter 070 Consensual Matters_1 Chapter 69: Chapter 070 Consensual Matters_1 Nanny Zhang’s heart seethed with hatred. She had been so close to pushing her daughter onto Erliang, but now, with such a scandal erupting, all her plans had dissolved into nothingness. Green with rage at Muniang’s mocking gaze, Nanny Zhang’s face turned the color of sickly weeds.

The village chief’s brow was twisted into knots. In all his years at Tupo Village, he had never encountered such shameless acts. Despite wielding power for so many years, this was his first time dealing with such a thorny issue. If the adulterer had been some common folk, that would have been one thing, but it just had to be Qian Yuan, that profligate scion.

Muniang certainly saw the village chief’s dilemma. He had always treated her quite well, and besides, she had orchestrated this entire event. However, she didn’t want to put the village chief in a difficult position.

“Village chief,” Muniang said, “since Mr. Qian doesn’t belong to our village, it’s naturally not our place to deal with him. Why not leave this matter to the county government office? After all, you’ve already prepared a case there, and there haven’t been any significant changes in either the suspects involved or the case itself. Tomorrow, let’s hand it over to the Local County Official. Otherwise, if you get too involved, Mr. Qian might not be happy about it.”

Before the village chief could reply, Qian Yuan was already hopping mad: “Hand me over to the county government for what? What a trivial matter this is! It was nothing more than a night spent together with mutual consent. Why should you meddle at all?”

Muniang couldn’t help but laugh, struck by the forwardness of Qian Yuan’s thoughts!

Nanny Zhang was naturally upset, shouting at the top of her lungs: “What do you mean by this? Now that you’ve defiled my daughter, you think you can just walk away? What about my daughter’s fate?”

Qian Yuan looked at Niu Qingfang with contempt: “What can be done about it? She slept with me by her own free will. Should I then be held responsible?”

“You!” Nanny Zhang was so furious she nearly choked.

A wave of tsking swept through the crowd; Qian Yuan’s mouth was so foul. How could he shamelessly claim it was done willingly? He clearly lacked any upbringing.

Niu Qingfang was not one to be easily fooled. With the situation as it was, she couldn’t let this final chance slip away. Wiping the tears from her face, she cried: “But you clearly said you would marry me, even swearing a deadly oath!”

Qian Yuan scoffed coldly: “Marry you? Am I out of my mind? Where is the marriage document? Who heard any deadly oath? I’ve never seen anyone as brazen-faced as you!”

Qian Yuan had indeed planned to marry, but not the right person. Now, filled to the brim with frustration and anger, he had no intention of holding back any longer. He decided to go all out and deny everything!

Niu Qingfang’s face turned ice-cold as she cursed through clenched teeth: “Qian Yuan, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning from the heavens?”

“I said what I said, and if I said I didn’t, then I didn’t. Why the hell are you still making a scene?” Qian Yuan brazenly played the scoundrel.

Furious to the point of explosion, Niu Qingfang was out of options. If only she had known, even if it meant deceiving him, she should have made Qian Yuan write down the marriage agreement!

Qian Yuan addressed the village chief directly: “Old man, you heard her. I didn’t force this woman; she climbed into my bed on her own. Moreover, I never promised to marry her. Plain and simple, it was consensual, and when it’s over, it’s over. What’s there to investigate? She’s the one trying to cling on to marry me, but I don’t want her. It’s as simple as that!”

Qian Yuan had always been a shameless rogue, and spouting such words didn’t embarrass him in the least. The village chief was stunned into silence; indeed, the logic of his argument seemed hard to dispute!

After all, this incident and Erliang’s previous one were different. Last time, Erliang was accused of “violating” Niu Qingfang, and responsibility seemed warranted, but this time, it was clearly Niu Qingfang who had climbed into the bed. Why should he, the village chief, bother himself with the affairs of a shameless woman?

Muniang’s lips curled into a smirk. She had underestimated Qian Yuan; she had thought to witness a grand show, but it had prematurely concluded, leaving only tragedy for Niu Qingfang.

Niu Qingfang burst into wailing: “Village chief, you must stand up for me. Now that I am tarnished, he just shrugs it off and denies everything. How will I live my life from now on?”

The village chief looked at Niu Qingfang with disdain and declared loudly, “You created your own misfortune, and now you want me to help you? Mr. Qian isn’t from our village, so I won’t interfere further, unbind him! As for you, shameless and tarnishing the face of our entire village, according to the village rules, you should be put in a pig cage!”

As soon as Qian Yuan heard that he was no longer involved, he didn’t want to stay any longer, feeling it was very inauspicious. The ropes were loosened, and he immediately left without giving Niu Qingfang as much as a glance.

Scared white as a ghost, Niu Qingfang collapsed to the ground, and Nanny Zhang, after all, cherished her daughter. She wailed and knelt before the village chief to plead for mercy, “Village chief, please show magnanimity and spare her this once, she has always been well-behaved, it must have been Qian Yuan who deceived her, leading her astray with his sweet words to commit such foolishness! Village chief, she can’t be put in a pig cage!”

The village chief was after all a man of good heart. Tupo Village was small and the families there were all familiar to each other. Although he really didn’t like Nanny Zhang’s family, he had known them for so many years, how could he be so ruthless? He just sighed and then said:
“That’s enough, I wouldn’t have the heart to carry it through.”

Upon hearing the village chief’s words, Nanny Zhang and Niu Qingfang instantly relaxed. However, the village chief immediately said sternly, “But there must still be a punishment to serve as a warning to others, or else where is the dignity of the village rules? Niu Qingfang will be paraded around the village for one day to inform everyone of her disgraceful act, and she must make a sincere apology to all of the villagers. If the majority of the villagers are willing to forgive you, I will not pursue the matter further!”

Niu Qingfang’s face turned ashen. Such public humiliation was worse than death itself.

In the end, Niu Qingfang’s public shaming did win most of the villagers’ forgiveness. The villagers were mostly simple and kind-hearted. Who could truly bear to see a familiar face die?

Muniang had anticipated this, but it wasn’t of any concern to her. For Niu Qingfang, living now was probably more painful than dying.

With the knot in her heart finally untied, Muniang could also enjoy some peace.

Seeing the good sunshine outside today, she helped Mrs. Lin out to bask in the sun. Mrs. Lin was holding a piece of clothing that was not yet finished—it was for Er Liang. Muniang’s clothes had long been ready.

“Mother’s skills are truly marvelous. Unfortunately, I am too rough and careless. I will never learn such delicate craftsmanship in my lifetime,” Muniang said with a smile.

“It’s all my fault for being ill so many years. You’ve been managing the household every day, having no leisure to learn these things. Otherwise, why should I, your mother, be making clothes for your husband? My daughter is so smart; she would learn it right away,” Mrs. Lin chided.

Muniang smiled, “It’s my good fortune to have a mother who dotes on me so much that I don’t have to learn.”

Mrs. Lin laughed and scolded, “You sweet talker, very well, if you won’t learn, you won’t learn then. At worst, I’ll make your clothes for a lifetime.”

Muniang started laughing, “Mother is wonderful. Now that we have some leisure, I’ve been thinking about building our house. If we delay further, it’ll be hard when winter comes.”

“Whatever you say,” Mrs. Lin laughed, feeling very content in her heart, never having imagined she could live such a good life.

While the two of them were talking, they saw the village chief arrive. Muniang quickly welcomed him in, “Village chief, what brings you here?”

The village chief smiled and said, “Do you still remember the matter you mentioned to me a month ago, about buying a large amount of good land?”

(I don’t know what expectations you have for the second male lead; he’s about to be released into the story.)