At this moment, the wind gently stirred, and Wen Zhqing could feel it brushing across his face.
The wind might carry something, perhaps a distant call...
Wen Zhqing lowered his eyes, enduring the pain, and a bloodthirsty curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
All the humiliation he had suffered would be returned double, one by one, eventually.
Wen Zhqing lifted his gaze, trying to see past the crowd to the people conducting the search.
There should be results by now.
As soon as he thought this, he heard voices.
"Nothing found."
"There’s nothing against the rules."
Wen Zhqing was stunned.
At that moment, he could no longer hide his emotions, his eyes widened in disbelief.
How could they not find it? He had clearly placed it in Old Man Gu’s bedside cabinet...
Could these people be shielding the Gu Family?
Wen Zhqing ignored his aching backside and pushed through the crowd forward.
When he saw Old Gu’s bedside cabinet being opened, and there were only clothes inside, Wen Zhqing was incredulous.
"How could it be, I clearly..."
"Wen Zhqing, you clearly what?" A voice sounded beside him, startling Wen Zhqing.
He turned and saw Gu Yunzhou.
Facing Gu Yunzhou’s clear eyes, seemingly capable of seeing through everything, Wen Zhqing felt a panic in his heart, "No, nothing."
Gu Yunzhou chuckled softly, "They couldn’t find any contraband. It seems Wen Zhqing is a bit disappointed."
Wen Zhqing slightly tugged the corner of his mouth, "How could it be, you must be joking."
Gu Yunzhou looked steadily at him, not speaking further.
At this point, the leader of the search team also stepped forward to apologize to Old Gu, saying it was definitely a slander by the person who wrote the anonymous letter.
"...If I find out who that person is, I won’t let them off lightly."
Saying this, the person silently felt relieved, fortunate for holding back from a reckless search earlier.
Otherwise, if they searched thoroughly and found nothing, it would have been terribly embarrassing and would have caused a vendetta with the Gu Family.
They weren’t afraid of a village chief, but the Gu Family’s son-in-law, a cadre at the group level, made them cautious.
"It’s good that there’s nothing."
"I knew the village chief and his people are decent."
"I wonder who wrote that anonymous letter. If I find out, I’d beat them to death for sure."
"Must be one of the people here, but we don’t know who."
Villagers were discussing among themselves, their eyes scanning the crowd.
The anonymous letter writer was like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike them.
Today it was the village chief’s family, but who knows, others might unexpectedly become targets too.
Not everyone can be as lucky as the village chief’s family.
That was contraband book.
If it had really been found, it would’ve been a disaster.
More suspicious glances turned towards the educated youths.
After all, those educated youths were the most literate; uneducated people couldn’t write an anonymous letter.
Most villagers of Huaihua Village could trace their ancestry back to the same roots; there were some blood relations.
Even those who moved here later grew emotionally connected after a long stay.
Even if there were occasional disagreements, there weren’t deep-seated grudges leading to harmful actions.
But these educated youths, that’s another story.
The educated youths being eyed understood the villagers’ suspicions, feeling extremely stifled yet helpless.
Just when everyone thought that those searching the Gu Family would leave empty-handed, they heard a loud question: "Who is Wen Zhqing, and where is Bao Shanyan’s house?"
The crowd was taken aback, and immediately made way.
Exposing Bao Shanyan and Wen Zhqing.
Wen Zhqing was stunned, what was going on?
Bao Shanyan was also baffled.
Soon they understood.
"We received another anonymous letter claiming that Wen Zhqing and his wife also had contraband books."
No way, there was still more!
Before Wen Zhqing and Bao Shanyan could react, those people already knew where the Bao Family lived and left the Gu Family immediately, heading towards the Bao Family.
And the villagers, of course, didn’t leave either, following suit.
Wen Zhqing and Bao Shanyan gritted their teeth and followed ahead.
Wen Zhqing’s mind was in chaos.
He didn’t understand why nothing was found at the Gu Family when contraband books should have been discovered.
Moreover, he had only written one letter to report the Gu Family, so how could there be another letter reporting him and Bao Shanyan?
Wen Zhqing felt things slipping out of control, and watching those people head to the Bao Family, his sense of foreboding grew increasingly intense.
His gaze involuntarily fell on the Gu Family.
Soon, he met Gu Yunzhou’s gaze again, the latter’s gaze seemingly calm, with little expression, yet as Wen Zhqing looked over, the corner of Gu Yunzhou’s mouth curved subtly.
Wen Zhqing’s eyes widened, his heart skipped a beat, his mind suddenly felt as if struck by a hammer, understanding all at once.
It was clear that Wen Zhqing was clever.
And at this moment, he realized something.
The Gu Family knew!
His plan had been discovered by the Gu Family.
Everything that just happened was an act by the Gu Family.
The Gu Family had realized his plan, so nothing would be found at the Gu Family.
After realizing his plan, the Gu Family chose to turn it around.
Wen Zhqing was certain that the other letter accusing him and Bao Shanyan was definitely written by the Gu Family.
Since no contraband books were found at the Gu Family, does that mean...
It’s over!
At this moment, Wen Zhqing truly panicked, his hands trembled slightly.
He was a hundred percent sure that the items were now at the Bao Family, inside his and Bao Shanyan’s house.
If they were found...
Thinking of the consequences, Wen Zhqing felt a chill throughout his body.
He hurriedly moved to Bao Shanyan’s side, whispering, "Yanzi, you have to stop them, you must stop them from searching."
Bao Shanyan frowned at Wen Zhqing.
Initially, she was confused, but upon realizing the situation, she too understood that if they could avoid a search, it was best not to let them search.
But if persuasion failed, there was nothing she could do; after all, the Gu Family, as the village chief’s family, had undergone a search.
Moreover, she didn’t have any background.
However, Bao Shanyan considered herself innocent, with no contraband hidden, so even if searched, she wasn’t afraid.
But now, seeing Wen Zhqing’s flustered appearance, she was uncertain.
Actually, Bao Shanyan wasn’t foolish.
Seeing Wen Zhqing’s demeanor now, how could she not know there was something amiss?
Could it be, could it really be that something would be found at her home?
If that were true...
Thinking of that scenario, Bao Shanyan, who was usually fearless, suddenly panicked.
"What’s really going on, tell me clearly!" Bao Shanyan gritted her teeth.