Forced to marry, I picked up a young powerful official

When Gu Yichuan heard the voice, worry welled up in his eyes and he hurried over.

"Madam, why are you here?"

The person who came was Shen Nankui.

She smiled slowly, "I heard from my mother-in-law that you were here to clarify my affairs with the villagers, so I came over to listen."

When everyone saw Shen Nankui coming, they were surprised and curious.

What would she say?

Wang Ping saw her and bowed to her. "Madam Gu, I am well-respected in Lai'an Town. I have a good reputation. You have been wronged by the rumors these days. I apologize to you on behalf of the villagers. I hope you can be magnanimous and not hold it against us."

Shen Nankui did not return the greeting, but only said: "As I recall, there seems to be no children from the Wang family in the private school, right?"

Seeing her being so disrespectful, a hint of displeasure flashed across Wang Ping's eyes, but he didn't show it.

Still with a friendly look, "No, the young men in our Wang family are all studying in the county academy."

"Then why did Master Wang want to interfere in the affairs of the private school?"

Wang Ping felt as if his thoughts were being seen through by her cold gaze. He laughed and said, "I'm not doing this for myself, but for the villagers. If they can't say it out loud, I'm willing to do it for them."

He looked so righteous and awe-inspiring that the villagers looked at him with gratitude upon hearing his words.

In fact, only he himself knew that he just couldn't stand people like Shen Nankui.

She is obviously just a woman, but she insists on showing her face in public and working as a teacher in a private school. Isn't this corrupting the morals?

She also encouraged girls to go to school. When the daughters in the family heard about the private school, they all clamored to go there to study. Now he was unwilling to do odd jobs in the shop, and it was difficult for him to take care of his younger brother. He was pestered by her every day, which was really annoying.

And this whole thing was caused by this Shen family.

Naturally, he didn't want to see her continue to be a teacher.

Shen Nankui did not look at him again, but looked at the crowd. She looked at the curiosity, suspicion, or sympathy in their eyes, and slowly said, "There are tigers in the mountains. If a person does not know there are tigers in the mountains and passes by the mountains and is injured by the tiger, do you want to blame that person for having flesh and blood that can be eaten by tigers? Or do you blame him for being restless and having to go to the mountains to provoke tigers? Tigers eat people, so what did that person do wrong?"

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

Gu Yichuan seemed to see her intention. With pity in his eyes, he stepped forward, gently held her hand, and stood firmly beside her.

There were tears in Liang's eyes, and she also stayed close to her.

Shen Nankui continued to ask: "You all know that it is not my fault, so why do you want to make things so difficult for me? Why should a woman who is obviously innocent be slandered, defamed, and even forced to go to a desperate situation and even seek death?"

"If the people who were abducted were your sisters, wives, or daughters, would you treat them the same way?"

Wang Ping said disapprovingly, "Mrs. Gu has never committed suicide. Besides, now that the matter has been clarified and I have apologized to you on behalf of the villagers, I believe there will be no more rumors in the future."

Shen Nankui said: "Since you admit that these rumors are all lies and I am innocent, why don't you allow me to continue teaching in the private school? Isn't this discrimination and putting the blame on me?"

Wang Ping curled his lips, "No matter what, your reputation is tarnished, how can you teach students again?"

"So, Master Wang thinks that when a tiger eats a human, it is the human who is at fault?"

Wang Ping choked and said, "I don't argue with women."

Shen Nankui looked at everyone, but everyone avoided her gaze.

After knowing the truth, everyone sympathized with her situation and appreciated her past sacrifices, but they were still a little worried about leaving the child in her hands.

Shen Nankui didn't seem surprised. There was neither sadness nor anger on her face.

"I know that although you no longer slander me with rumors, you may not believe the facts in your heart. I stand here today to tell you that I fought with Wu Shao to the death and survived to preserve my innocence as a woman. Even if I am really insulted, I will never swallow it with blood."

Hearing this, everyone looked shocked.

Can you say such things without any hesitation?

Shen Nankui's face was firm, and she continued, "I believe that every woman would be afraid if she encountered such a thing, but we cannot accept our fate, because it is not us who are at fault, but those vicious tigers who eat human flesh and blood. The weaker we are, the more others will shift the blame to us, so we must be strong. If we don't even cherish ourselves, who can we expect to make decisions for us in this world?"

"My wife is right."

Gu Yichuan turned his head and stared at her, and the worry in his eyes finally disappeared.

He was afraid that his wife would be affected by these rumors, but he didn't expect that he underestimated her.

His wife is very strong.

That day, he went to the villa to look for her. He thought of countless possibilities in his mind, but he had only one thought, that is, as long as she was alive, nothing else was more important than her safety.

Hearing this, everyone had different expressions on their faces.

There were tears and understanding in the women's eyes, some men looked disdainful, some ashamed, and some looked thoughtful.

In the silence, someone suddenly burst into tears.

The crowd made way for an old woman who was slumped on the ground, pounding her hands with a look of grief.

Everyone knows her. This old woman is Mrs. Li who sells tofu on the street.

Mrs. Li cried louder and louder, and her mournful voice reached everyone's ears.

"... Well said, well said!"

"Back then, my granddaughter was bullied by some hooligans. Nothing happened, but someone spread rumors and made my granddaughter lose face. She jumped into the river in anger. They forced my granddaughter to death, and I, an old woman, had to send her son away before her!"

Hearing this, everyone looked distressed.

They all knew something about what happened back then. Mrs. Li's son and daughter-in-law died early, leaving her and her granddaughter to depend on each other. The two of them made a living by selling tofu in the town, and their life was pretty bearable.

However, as Mrs. Li's granddaughter grew up and became pretty, some people began to have evil intentions and took advantage of the fact that there was no one to support them. One day, when Mrs. Li was out, they sneaked into the home of the grandmother and granddaughter and intended to do something inappropriate to her granddaughter.

Although Mrs. Li arrived home in time and drove away the bad guys, people still heard all kinds of unpleasant words when a man was seen coming out of their house.

The granddaughter was so upset that she jumped into the river.

Mrs. Li burst into tears, "My poor granddaughter, she was only fourteen years old, so young, and I was just about to arrange a marriage for her, but she was forced to death... If my granddaughter could hear someone say these words back then, maybe she wouldn't have committed suicide..."

Her face was covered with tear marks and she looked at Shen Nankui with sad eyes.