They’re really here for my entertainment! Am I supposed to plead for them when they came here to steal my food? Do I look like someone who will do such a thankless task?
Perhaps after I help to plead for mercy, they’ll return home and badmouth me secretly!
She had learned her lesson and did not want to interact with these people anymore. She turned to the Chief and the others.
“Chief, I don’t care if you want to expel them from the clan genealogy book or not. I can’t do anything about that either. However, since they wanted to steal my food, I have the right to say a few words, right?”
“Go on.” The Chief looked at her sincerely.
“Jiuyue, hurry up and say it,” the families urged. They thought An Jiuyue would plead for them.
An Jiuyue found it amusing.
They tried to steal my food yet still wanted me to plead for mercy. Are they pulling my leg?
“Stealing is forbidden everywhere, especially when the epidemic disease is rampant. Fortunately, they failed this time. But if they had succeeded, there would be many repeated attempts in the future.”
The more they listened to An Jiuyue, the more they felt something was wrong. When she finished what she had to say, they became angry. They thought she would plead for mercy on behalf of their families.
She’s exaggerating things in front of the Chief and Junior Officer! She’s deliberately making it sound so serious. Does she want the Chief to punish them even more severely?
That was exactly what An Jiuyue intended to do.
If the Chief and Junior Officer did not stop people from stealing at once, it would tempt them to profit from other people’s toil in the future.
An Jiuyue glanced at them indifferently and asked, “Why? Did they not try to steal my food?
“I found them before they could steal anything and prevented the loss. But what if I didn’t? Not only will my food be stolen, but I’ll also have to starve and freeze in the coming days. I’ll even have to deal with the aftermath of having my child stolen.
“If things really ended up like that, how are you all going to compensate me? Tsk. You may not do that. You may even think that since they’ve already stolen my food, nothing matters as long as you aren’t hungry.
“Starving my family can feed all your families. You must also think I’ll gain a lot of good karma, right? Will you be extremely grateful to me in the future?”
The families were stunned when they heard her words. “Uh…”
Nobody liked theft. However, that only applied to their belongings. If someone in their family had stolen from another, they would scold them but still eat, drink, and use the stolen items. They would not return them to their owners.
If something had really happened, they would not compensate An Jiuyue. They would only agree to hide the matter together to prevent exposing their filthy deeds.
Their expressions turned sour. They were embarrassed An Jiuyue had exposed them.
“I’ll be frank with everyone today.” An Jiuyue took a step forward and met their gazes.
“I saved all of you during the flood because I wanted to accumulate some good karma for myself. I didn’t do that to make you thank me for anything. I gave you food and water because I didn’t want you to starve to death outside my house.”