Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia became even angrier, realizing that these people were actually targeting their third branch of the family.
She let go of Ms. Hua Junior and kicked Ye Ziyong, "How dare you say it has nothing to do with you? If it’s none of your business, how do you know so much about it? If it’s not your business, why didn’t you come forward and say something when so many people in the village were looking for them?"
"Enough, stop talking. Let’s take them all away."
Yang Chuxia knew that catching people quickly was important, as she still had to interrogate them later. After kicking Ye Ziyong, she didn’t say much more. At this point, Ye Zi’an handed her a rope, and she tightly tied up the captives.
She then handed the captives over to the constables.
"Please take care of these people on your way, you must keep a close watch on them."
The corners of the constables’ mouths twitched, thinking that they’d tied the people up like glutinous rice dumplings, so as long as there were no reinforcements, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
Finally, the ancestral hall quieted down when the constables left with Ms. Hua Junior, Ye Ziping, Burly Lu, and Ye Ziyong.
Everyone looked at the disheveled Yang Da’an and Ms. Liu, not knowing what to say.
When Yang Chuxia had gone to chase the coachman earlier, the crowd had tied up Burly Lu and Ye Ziping in the ancestral hall. The half-exposed head from the sack turned out to be the missing Yang Dongzhi when Ms. Liu opened it up.
At first, seeing Yang Dongzhi’s face was a bit better, although there was some red swelling around her mouth. However, when Ms. Liu pulled the sack down to reveal her shoulders, she was startled to see that they were bare, and immediately sensed something was wrong.
She quickly rushed the girl home and tore the sack completely open only to find Yang Dongzhi without any clothes on and bruises all over her body.
Ms. Liu knew instantly that Yang Dongzhi had been violated, and she hugged her tightly and wailed, while Yang Dongzhi seemed dazed, barely moving. If there hadn’t been any warmth in her body, they might think she was dead.
At that moment, Ms. Liu didn’t care, and rushed to the ancestral hall to beat Ye Ziping and Burly Lu. The two wanted to resist, but the villagers had the ancestral hall secured so tightly that they couldn’t run or fight back.
So this was the scene Yang Chuxia saw upon her return.
At first, nobody was aware that Yang Dongzhi had been violated, because Ms. Liu had acted fast and covered her up before anyone else saw. Only Ruoqiu saw, and she naturally wouldn’t talk about it.
However, they didn’t expect Ye Ziping to shout it out.
This time, Ms. Liu’s plan to keep the matter secret was utterly obliterated.
"Why are you crying?" Yang Chuxia glared at Ms. Liu and said, "He was just spouting nonsense. It’s not true. If you don’t want him to talk nonsense, you should have cut his tongue out when he was caught. He’s just like that damned old woman, trying to drag others down before dying."
Ms. Liu was momentarily stunned by Yang Chuxia’s scolding, her mind not responding quickly enough.
Fortunately, the Land Officer’s wife understood and stepped forward to support Ms. Liu, saying, "Xiaxia is right. That little scoundrel is just being vindictive, trying to spread lies even when caught. What he said isn’t true, and now isn’t the time to argue with him. You should go back and take care of your daughter, who has probably been frightened all night."
Ms. Liu’s mind finally worked better at this moment, and she gratefully nodded her head, then left with Ruoqiu to return home. Yang Da’an followed them as well.