Chapter 523: Chapter 523: Wishful Thinking Chapter 523: Chapter 523: Wishful Thinking “Changshun, Changshun’s wife, what is going on here? How do you explain the rumors outside?” the Magistrate came with a rather unpleasant tone.
His demeanor was unfriendly.
It seemed he was here to seek an explanation, if not outright to accuse. Upon his arrival, Su Yunjin saw that the Magistrate had brought several of the village’s big men with him.
Su Yunjin recognized these men; they were the same ones who had dunked Gu Changshun in the pig cage last time. It went without saying that the Magistrate also believed the rumors that were spreading outside.
However, when dealing with accusations, evidence should be presented. After arriving, the Magistrate did not immediately start cursing like the villagers who had previously gathered outside Su Yunjin’s house to gawk.
Instead, he allowed Su Yunjin and Gu Ya to explain themselves first.
Gu Ya glanced at the men the Magistrate had brought with him and then looked towards the Magistrate and countered his inquiry, “Magistrate, you’ve come to the Gu Family and brought so many people with you; it seems you have already concluded that my wife has been seducing men outside?”
Indeed, that was precisely what the Magistrate thought.
After Gu Ya spoke, the Magistrate scowled but did not refute.
“Magistrate, those absurd rumors outside, some meddlers who love spectacles have readily believed them, but you, a person of great virtue and reputation, how can you also so easily believe these groundless accusations?” Gu Ya’s remark clearly implied that the Magistrate was not using his head, blindly being swayed by others.
The Magistrate’s expression changed.
It seemed as though he was having trouble saving face.
But he still let out a heavy cold snort, “Gu Changshun, there is no smoke without fire. If these things were not true, then how do you explain the rumors outside? Why don’t the rumors speak of other village women seducing men, only your wife?”
“Magistrate, my wife has been slandered by others. I was hoping to trouble you to investigate this matter and clear her name,” Gu Ya looked at the Magistrate, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly.
The confrontational Magistrate’s face stiffened upon hearing Gu Ya’s words, realizing that today he had indeed only listened to one side of the story.
He had no solid evidence to prove that Su Yunjin had seduced any men.
Although the Magistrate was somewhat dissatisfied with Gu Ya’s tone, his own tone became more moderate. As the Magistrate, he was a man of prestige in the village.
Actions must indeed be based on evidence.
How could he act like those troublemakers?
“Gu Changshun, if I investigate this matter and find that your wife is not at fault, I will clear her name. But if it turns out that your wife is indeed guilty, then don’t blame me for being unkind. According to our rules, your wife must be dunked in a pig cage as a public example!”
If Su Yunjin had truly seduced a man and was let off easily, wouldn’t the moral customs of the Gu Family Village be thrown into disarray in the future? He was the village Magistrate.
He would definitely not allow such indecency.
Even if the Magistrate chose not to investigate, Gu Ya would look into the matter himself to clear his young wife’s name.
He believed his wife to be innocent, and thus had no objections to the Magistrate’s words, “Magistrate, we will proceed as you have said today. If my wife truly has done such a deed of seducing men, then however you wish to handle the matter, I will not interfere.”
But with a shift of tone, Gu Ya’s voice became more stern, chilling to the listener, “However, if my wife is innocent of the deed, do not think you can unjustly punish her without distinguishing right from wrong.”