Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

Chapter 290 False Accusations

Ultimately, Ms. Su's burns received timely treatment, preventing extensive blistering and ulceration.

Exactly, these burns always sting and are very difficult to treat.

Take clothing for example, the fabric rubs painfully against your skin. And in this freezing weather, who can stand not wearing pants?

Moreover, they were from the south and were always unaccustomed to life in the north. This made Li Xiaonuan very annoyed.

And so, the plan to return to the village had to be changed. They had to wait until Su's wounds had healed before setting off.

But that would mean they wouldn't be able to get back to the village for Lunar New Year's Eve. However, being able to go home for the Lantern Festival would be alright.

Fortunately, Li Xiaonuan had written to the village beforehand, telling Xiaoyang that they might return during the Spring Festival. However, the return date was uncertain.

After Su's injuries were healed, Li Xiaonuan learned what had happened from her.

Of course, Fei Fei, the nanny beside Madam Qi, and Qi Ji's head maid, who were standing guard to the side, also heard the details of what happened.

Contrary to what the maids and servants present at the time said, it was not Su who bumped into the old woman carrying hot water.

Instead, the old woman carrying the hot water went straight for Su.

Unable to dodge in time, Su was knocked to the ground. The old woman then took the opportunity to pour hot water on Su.

However, the exact details of the incident were differing between Madam Su and the old woman.

Over here, Madam Su confessed everything she knew. Over there, Qi Ji also began interrogating those people.

Of course, at the beginning, the old woman whose hand had been crippled still shouted that Su had wronged her, and she made a scene by crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself.

As for the maids and servants who were separated and imprisoned, their stories were surprisingly consistent.

They all said they only saw Su walking quickly with her head down, not looking where she was going. Therefore, the outcome was predictable.

Furthermore, they all said they did not witness the collision between Su and the old woman.

However, they all heard the old woman loudly remind Su that there was boiling water in her hands.

Qi Ji didn't offer any opinion on their statements. However, after they finished speaking, Qi Ji had someone feed each of them a pill.

After taking the pills, the old woman became even more suicidal, claiming that the Qi family had wronged her by helping outsiders to bully their loyal servants.

Qi Ji let the old woman cry and make a scene, without explaining anything to the Qi family noblewomen who were eager to take their maids and servants back home.

After the old woman finally realized that making a scene was pointless and reluctantly shut up, Qi Ji calmly began to speak:

“Granny Fan, I remember there’s a kitchen in the Jade Garden. All the hot water, tea, snacks, and other supplies come from there. I wonder what you’re rushing around the garden with a pot of hot water in such a hurry? And even if you’re just supplying hot water to the little warm pavilion in the garden, aren’t you going there?”

Upon hearing this, the old woman opened her mouth but couldn't utter a sound for a long time. After a while, she finally kowtowed and wept, admitting her mistake.

"Second Young Master, this old servant was wrong. This old servant shouldn't have tried to save trouble by taking a shortcut and borrowing from the garden. This old servant deserves to die. Please, Second Young Master, have mercy."

Qi Ji saw that the old woman was still trying to defend herself, so he wasn't in a hurry.

"Bing'er, tell me, is it closer to go from the garden to the warm pavilion in the corridor, or is it closer to take the private path you usually take?" Qi Ji asked, pointing to a little girl who was only fourteen or fifteen years old.

The young maidservant stepped forward shyly and replied, "Second Young Master, there is a stove and water vat in the warm pavilion of the corridor, so there is no need to borrow water from the main kitchen. Besides, it's quite a long detour from the garden to the warm pavilion of the corridor, so it's closer to go by that path."

After the little girl finished speaking, Qi Ji asked the old woman seriously, "Granny Fan, your shortcut is truly unbelievable."

The old woman knelt, holding her injured hand, her eyes darting around, and didn't say a word to explain for a moment.

The younger aunt and her daughter-in-law, who were waiting to the side, were quite anxious. They exchanged a glance, and both saw ruthlessness in each other's eyes.

Then there were the noblewomen who had encouraged their maids and servants to give false testimony; their expressions were also quite interesting.

Among them, the most ridiculous were the judge's wife and her daughter-in-law.

The judge's wife first made things difficult for Madam Su, and then she instigated the servants of the Qi family to deliberately neglect Madam Su, leaving her wandering aimlessly in the garden, unable to find her way to the front courtyard.

Later, after the scalding incident, the judge's wife and her daughter-in-law instigated the noblewomen present to have their servants give false testimony.

If all of this were to be said in public, everyone would feel embarrassed.

Originally, Qi Ji's branch was quite distant from the branch of the Imperial Judge.

In that case, even if Qi Ji does marry the young county princess in the future, the court judge's branch of the family will definitely not gain any advantage.

Li Xiaonuan knew all of this because Xiaogang told her.

Of course, Xiao Gang only saw this much before entering the inner courtyard and staying by Su Shi's side with Li Xiaonuan. He didn't know what happened after that.

In fact, Li Xiaonuan really wanted to go out and confront that old woman to find out who had bribed her to do this to Su Shi.

But then Li Xiaonuan thought again that if she really impulsively went out to question them, then the relationship between her family and the Qi family would naturally be irreparable.

That kind of outcome is exactly what the person behind the scenes wants to see.

Therefore, Li Xiaonuan comforted Xiaogang, and the two of them stayed by Su's side.

"Mom's right outer thigh, from the root all the way down to her calf, is burned. It's a huge, bright red patch, it looks terrifying," Li Xiaonuan told Xiaogang about Su's injuries.

"That's outrageous! How could that old woman hit so hard? Wasn't she afraid of causing trouble?" Xiao Gang asked indignantly.

“She wouldn’t be worried about causing trouble. She probably thinks we’re just rough country bumpkins and no one will bother to investigate this for us,” Li Xiaonuan said, patting Xiaogang’s head.

Xiao Gang was about to say something when a maid rushed in, shouting in a panic, "Something terrible has happened! Granny Fan cried out that she was innocent and then suddenly died with blood flowing from all seven orifices. The Second Madam said that you have gone too far and forced Granny Fan to her death."

Li Xiaonuan carefully examined the girl for a while before recognizing her as a head maidservant of the Sixth Miss.

"And then? Why did Granny Fan cry out that she was wronged?" Li Xiaonuan thought that Qi Ji had already investigated the matter to a sufficient extent.

"That Granny Fan accused you of having ulterior motives, wanting to climb the social ladder by marrying into the Qi family. She also said you had two plans: if you, Miss Li, couldn't marry our second young master, you would definitely make our sixth young lady marry him. She also said... she also said..." The little maid glanced at Xiao Gang with her eyes darting around, but didn't finish her sentence.

"What else did she say?" Xiao Gang was completely baffled and asked loudly in a panic.

He just couldn't understand how this matter had gotten involved with him again.

The maid glanced at Li Xiaonuan's face before whispering, "Granny Fan also said that Young Master Li came to our mansion specifically to seduce Miss Liu. She also said that Miss Liu doesn't understand anything and has probably been completely deceived by Young Master Li's family."

Li Xiaonuan was stunned. It turned out that some people, in order to frame others, would even disregard the reputation of their own masters.