A chicken drumstick fell into Si Jin’s bowl.
Both Si Jin and Jiang Yeqian stared at her, dumbfounded.
“Why are the two of you looking at me with such surprised faces? Sure, my last name may be Qi, but I have already broken off all relations with them and whatever happened today is none of my business. I have proof that I was not present there. They can’t just put the blame on me and accuse me of killing Qi Yuancheng, can they?”
After a pause, she continued, “Imagine being struck dead by lightning on a sunny day. He really should reflect on his wrongdoings. He angered the Heavens and brought tragedy upon himself!”
“The death of a person, like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings, will cause a consecutive chain reaction.”
“After this, the Qi family will no longer dare to cause me trouble!”
“Specifically with you here, you little jinx, they won’t dare to give you trouble. Hehe!”
…
After hearing Qi Qingyao’s words, both Jiang Yeqian and Si Jin no longer felt ashamed.
Jiang Yeqian thought, ‘Maybe it’s because she isn’t the real Qi Qingyao. Why would she be sad?’ Naturally, he would not put the blame on her.
The children were also momentarily surprised, but they did not feel sad at all. Firstly, the children were still unaware of what death really meant and, in their opinion, no one from that family was any good! Even if they died, it was not worth their sympathy.
It was the same for Si Jin, who had none of the scruples that a typical human would. Elder Sister did not blame him for it anyway. He started on his meal, feeling totally at ease.
While this incident, in Qi Qingyao’s opinion, was barely an interlude, in Linquan Village, it was a serious matter. A bolt of lightning killed someone in the village on a sunny day, and it was obviously a targeted assault too! Everyone else around the victim was unhurt. From the villagers’ point of view, this was solid proof that Old Man Qi and his family had offended the Koi Fish God. After some discussion, they ran over to Old Man Qi’s house.
The Qis were dramatically mourning the death of Qi Yuancheng. The villagers did not care though. They started to curse Madam Wu and Qi Boli.
“You confounded black and white, told all those lies, and offended the Koi Fish God! That’s why He struck Qi Yuancheng down with a bolt of lightning!”
“You deserved it!”
“The gods are watching us from up above!”
“We told you that you should have your sons and daughters perform some good deeds, but no one listened. Well, now Qi Yuancheng has been killed by a bolt of lightning!”
“Qi Boli, if your family continues to do whatever you’re doing, then you all should leave the village!”
“Yes, yes! You raised banners all around, besmirching Eleventh Daughter, and the Heavens struck with a bolt of lightning. You should consider this a warning. If this happens again, and if you persist in playing your petty tricks, the Heavens will vent their anger on the whole village. What should we do then?”
The villagers’ spit seemed like it would flood the Qi family home.
Several women knelt in front of Qi Yuancheng’s bed, crying, while the men in the family were forced to deal with the villagers’ scoldings. They felt their heads hurt as they listened to the villagers’ angry rants.
At last, it was Ma Sanye who had the villagers leave. He gestured for everyone to calm down and to help with Qi Yuancheng’s wake before doing anything else.
…
After Li Qing heard about what had happened in Linquan Village, the first action he took was to report it to the Heir. Pei Fengtang momentarily froze when he heard the news. “What are the odds of someone being struck dead by a bolt of lightning on a sunny day?”
It was as if he was talking to himself. Li Qing swallowed.
He had also wiped the cold sweat off his brow when he first heard about the incident.
Pei Fengtang’s eyes glinted. “That woman is definitely Su Hexiao.”
“It was the young boy who uttered the words though… I heard that his name is Si Jin,” Li Qing said.