"What happened? Grandma, why are you sitting on the floor?" Little Tang Mo asked, his face full of confusion.
Seeing that the small figure was indeed Little Tang Mo, everyone jumped in surprise and stared at each other in dismay.
Little Tang Mo then spotted Su Li. When he saw her turn around, he lowered his head, his little face blushing as he softly called out, "Mom."
After calling out, he trotted on his short legs over to Mrs. Tang. Mrs. Tang, who had been stunned silly, finally snapped out of it. With a wail, she swept Little Tang Mo into her arms. "Momo, my sweet boy, you scared Grandma to death!"
Little Tang Mo was startled, but he behaved sensibly and let her hold him without moving. He even reached out a small hand to pat her comfortingly. "Don't cry, Grandma. Don't cry, don't cry."
The sound of her crying snapped the villagers back to their senses. They all looked embarrassed, and the village chief's expression wasn't much better. Qin Shanshan's face shifted from utter disbelief to bitter resentment, looking somewhat twisted in the darkness.
Tie Niu, who was standing to the side, his face paling, suddenly questioned Su Li. "If Tang Mo was sleeping at home, why didn't you say so? Su Li, what are you playing at?"
At his question, the villagers all nodded, frowning at Su Li with unfriendly expressions.
Su Li looked at their expressions and scoffed. "When my mother-in-law first asked me, I told her Little Tang Mo was at home. But none of you would listen. You insisted on accusing me of selling him. Just now, I also said Little Tang Mo was asleep in his room, but you didn't believe that either. I told you twice, and you refused to believe me. What was I supposed to do?"
Hearing this, they glanced at each other. When they had come in and questioned Su Li, it seemed she really had answered that way. But because of their suspicions, they had instantly twisted her words to mean something else.
A flash of embarrassment crossed their faces, and they couldn't help but feel a flicker of resentment toward Qin Shanshan. 'It's all Qin Shanshan's fault. We only misunderstood Su Li because of her.'
Su Li didn't know what they were thinking. Her face was like ice as she stared at them. "Why would you treat me like this? Why were you so determined to brand me as the one who sold Little Tang Mo? This is a disaster out of nowhere. I haven't done anything to any of you, yet a whole crowd of you storms into my home to slander me. What kind of justice is that? Is this how you people in Xinghua Village treat wives who marry in from the outside? I'd like to see who dares to marry into this village in the future!"
Su Li looked at the village chief. "Regarding this matter, I ask you, Village Chief, to be the judge! I want justice."
On its own, this could be considered a small matter—just a misunderstanding because Su Li supposedly doesn't get along well with others. But with Su Li's words, the issue escalated, becoming about the treatment of all "outside wives," a matter that concerned the entire village.
If word got out that a wife from another village was bullied like this simply because she wasn't a local, who from other villages would dare let their daughters marry into Xinghua Village? It would be a stain on the entire village's reputation.
Xinghua Village had a limited population and couldn't be completely self-sufficient. The young men still needed to marry women from other villages to continue their family lines. Otherwise, they'd all end up bachelors!
As it concerned the entire village, the villagers' hearts sank, and they all looked to the village chief for help.
The village chief was extremely annoyed and just wanted to leave this hornet's nest. But after being called out by Su Li, he had no choice but to step forward.
"This matter... everyone was indeed in the wrong. We misunderstood you, Su Li." The village chief was seething internally. "On behalf of everyone, I'll apologize to you. We'll all make it up to you and promise to never wrongly accuse you like this again, alright?"
The village chief hadn't spoken so humbly in years. He couldn't figure out how Su Li had turned the situation around with just a few sentences.
Since the village chief had yielded, the already guilty villagers immediately chimed in. "We apologize, Yuanxiao's wife. We were wrong. We apologize to you."
"Yes, I apologize. I won't misunderstand you like this again."
As everyone offered their apologies one after another, the village chief took the opportunity to apologize again. He then shot a sharp, pointed look at Qin Shanshan, who had remained silent.
Qin Shanshan, who was clenching her teeth so hard she almost shattered them, naturally didn't want to apologize. She had hoped to slip by unnoticed, but the village chief had her in his sights. His glare sent a jolt through her, and she scrambled forward to offer her apology.
Su Li had been waiting for Qin Shanshan. Seeing her swallow her pride and apologize in agony brought a feeling of immense satisfaction.
Everyone had apologized and offered to make amends. Now they all looked at Su Li, waiting for her response.
Su Li took a deep breath, putting on an expression of helpless grief. "As a wife who married into this village, I... I suppose this is all I can do. I hope the Village Chief and everyone else will remember what you've said today. Please don't so easily misunderstand and slander me again. I could barely handle it this once; I won't be able to handle a second time. With such a baseless accusation, I could die and still not be able to prove my innocence!"
Su Li spoke with such heartfelt sincerity that the villagers felt even worse, quickly promising, "We won't, we won't."
Only Tie Niu, seeing Qin Shanshan's aggrieved expression, felt his heart ache for her and couldn't stop himself from letting out a cold snort.
The snort was loud and clear. Everyone immediately turned to look at him.
There was a hint of reproach in the villagers' eyes. Tie Niu glanced again at the calm Su Li, and his temper flared. "Playing the victim after you got what you wanted. You're really something else. If you weren't always causing trouble, people wouldn't have misunderstood you in the first place!"
"Tie Niu!"
"Shut your mouth!" the villagers and the village chief shouted at the same time. Qin Shanshan, however, suddenly perked up.
Tie Niu's face was beet red. "I... I just can't stand the way she's acting. Everyone makes mistakes, but she just won't let it go..."
Su Li's expression hardened. She looked at Tie Niu and began walking toward him, one step at a time. "Tie Niu, since you're so unconvinced, let's talk this through properly. There are plenty of people in this village, and it's not uncommon for a playful child to wander off for a bit. So why did no one suspect anyone else? Why did they come straight for me?"
Tie Niu was tongue-tied. "Well, that's obviously... obviously because..."
He couldn't say it, so Su Li said it for him. "You suspected me because you're prejudiced."
Su Li's gaze swept over the crowd. "I won't get into why you're prejudiced against me for now. I just want to talk about prejudice itself. Do you have any idea how terrifying your prejudice is? It could have completely ruined me. It could have ruined my entire life!"
As Su Li said this, her mind flashed back to her previous life. The weight and weariness in her voice were so heavy they were suffocating to hear.
Su Li started walking again, advancing on Tie Niu step by step. As he looked into her eyes, he felt completely exposed and couldn't help but retreat, step by step.
Su Li pressed forward relentlessly. "If, by some chance, Little Tang Mo hadn't been home today, I would have been defenseless against your accusations. You know full well what would have happened to me without me having to spell it out. Tie Niu, to personally destroy someone—someone so young, whose life has just begun—don't you feel even a shred of guilt? How is what you've done any different from being a murderer!"
Su Li bellowed the last two sentences.
It seemed she was questioning Tie Niu, but in reality, she was questioning every single person present—Qin Shanshan, Mrs. Tang, the village chief, all of them.
These were the words Su Li had wanted to ask, wanted to say, in her last life!
The powerful shout made Tie Niu tremble violently, breaking out in a cold sweat. He was rendered completely speechless.
"I... I... I was wrong, Su Li! I was wrong!"
Tie Niu cried out, his back pressed against the corner of the wall, his eyes squeezed shut.