Farm Girl's Manor

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone’s gaze converged on Han Zhiyun almost simultaneously.

The leading government officer had initially not taken Han Zhiyun’s words to heart, but once he recognized Han Zhiyun’s somewhat familiar face and recalled his identity from his memory, he was instantly stunned. He then respectfully saluted Han Zhiyun, "This one pays his respects to Second Master Han. If there has been any offense, I hope Second Master Han can forgive me."

Seeing this, even though the other government officers did not know who Han Zhiyun was, they promptly stepped forward and humbly bowed in salute, following their leader’s courteous example.

Wang Dali watched this scene, a bad premonition suddenly rising in his heart. Before he could figure out exactly what this premonition was, Yang Bao arrived in a hurry with a group of villagers.

Seeing Wang Dali in the courtyard, Yang Bao could hardly contain his anger, and pointed at him while loudly exclaiming, "Wang Dali, you not only enter and exit Liu Yang Village without permission, but you also dare to deceive the officer to trouble the Mo Family. It seems you have the gall of a bear and the guts of a leopard!"

Wang Dali was indeed wary of Yang Bao, the village head, and seeing the villagers’ menacing glares, his unease spread further. However, with things having escalated to this point, he had no choice but to brazen it out, insisting that the Mo Family was hiding wild beasts and harboring malicious intentions. This way, he might still have a sliver of hope.

If the Officer were to find a ferocious beast in the Mo Family’s possession, not only would he be able to have his revenge, but he would also be seen as a hero for reporting it. Would the people of Liu Yang Village dare to be so disrespectful to him then? Perhaps, he could even use this opportunity to return to the village and reunite with his children and wife!

With this in mind, determination flashed in Wang Dali’s eyes, and he started slinging mud at Yang Bao, "Hmph, you, as the village head of Liu Yang Village, disregard the lives of the villagers, accepting benefits from the Mo Family, and helping them hide wild beasts. You are not fit to be the village head!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Bao nearly fell backward in anger. Although he had indeed gained quite a few benefits from the Mo Family on ordinary days, he would swear on his life that he had done nothing to betray the villagers.

Now, being slandered by a scoundrel like this, he was livid, "Wang Dali, you are an exile, a persona non grata. Even if I had done something wrong to the villagers, which I haven’t, you would have no right to criticize! Given your audacity to enter and exit Liu Yang Village as you please, I have the right to deal with you."

"Exactly, what face do you have to stand here and speak ill of the village head, you criminal? If I were exiled like you, I’d wish I could bury myself in a hole. Only someone with a skin as thick as yours could have the nerve to come back and cause trouble for others!"

"Hmph, why even bother reasoning with someone like this? Can he even understand? We might as well beat him up with sticks and throw him out so that he’ll be too scared to ever come back and cause trouble in the village again."

"Right, throw him out! We can’t let this rotten apple spoil the whole barrel and ruin our village’s atmosphere."

"..."

The villagers expressed their righteous indignation in agreement, their eyes filled with contempt as they looked at Wang Dali. Compared to Wang Dali, whose character was dubious, they were naturally inclined to trust Yang Bao, the village head who had always been fair and just.

Even if the village head had really taken the Mo Family’s benefits, he had not helped the Mo Family harm anyone in the village. Instead, almost every family in the village had received the Mo Family’s kindness; why then would the Mo Family seek to harm them through the village head?

"Hmph, you useless bunch! The Mo Family tosses you a few bones, and you all lie down and wag your tails like dogs. Why don’t you go against the Mo Family—live in their big houses, eat their rice, spend the Mo Family’s money..."

Seeing his attempts at sowing discord fail and instead inviting disdain upon himself, Wang Dali grew enraged, his neck reddening as he ranted nonsensically like a mad dog.

The crowd was stunned by Wang Dali’s shameless words. Some people felt that given his greed, this was probably exactly how he felt. After all, last year’s heavy snow had crushed the Wang Family’s house, and even after Wang Dali was allowed to stay in the Mo Family’s home temporarily, he was dissatisfied and ended up squatting there and refused to leave, leading to a series of events. If it wasn’t for his excessive behavior, he would not have been exiled from the village.