The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The night was as cool as water. Tang Youyou slipped lightly into Zhang San's room without disturbing anyone. In the dim candlelight, she looked around. The room was simply furnished, with only a locked wooden box on the table, which looked particularly abrupt.

Tang Youyou's lips curled slightly, this was exactly her goal tonight.

She pulled out a small, delicate silver tool from her bosom. It was a gadget she had tinkered with in her spare time, and she hadn't expected it to come in handy right now. Her slender fingers nimbly moved it a few times, and a crisp "click" echoed in the silent room, and the wooden box opened.

There was a letter in the box. The handwriting on it was familiar to Tang Youyou. It was the handwriting of Mr. Tang Er. She carefully took out the letter and quickly read it. Suddenly, a storm of emotions surged in her heart.

The letter recorded in detail Mr. Tang's plan to collude with Qingfeng Village and annex the Tang family's property. Even the time, place, and personnel arrangements were clearly written. It was like an ironclad evidence of guilt!

Tang Youyou hid the letter properly and was about to leave when she heard a flurry of footsteps outside the door. Startled, she quickly blew out the candles in the room and hid behind the bed curtains.

With a bang, the door was roughly pushed open, and a sharp voice rang out: "Zhang San, you bastard, where have you been?"

Tang Youyou held her breath and looked through the gap in the bed curtains to see a bloated woman rushing in. It was Mr. Tang's wife, Tang Youyou's second aunt.

Second Aunt was rummaging through the drawers in the room, seemingly looking for something, cursing under her breath, and didn't notice Tang Youyou behind the bed curtains at all.

After a while, Second Aunt left the room with a belly full of anger. Tang Youyou then walked out from behind the bed curtain, secretly feeling lucky.

She did not leave in a hurry, but restored the room to its original state before quietly leaving Mr. Tang's yard.

After returning to Jingsi Garden, Tang Youyou immediately called Tang Dayuan and told him the contents of the letter. After hearing this, Tang Dayuan was so angry that he trembled all over. He never thought that his second brother, who seemed to be honest and loyal on weekdays, would do such a treasonous thing!

"Youyou, let's go expose him now!" Tang Dayuan was filled with righteous indignation and made a gesture to go find Uncle Tang San.

Tang Youyou quickly grabbed him and said calmly, "Dad, now is not the time. We only have this letter, which is not enough to bring down Second Uncle."

Tang Dayuan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. He knew that Tang Youyou was right. They had to find more evidence to bring Master Tang Er to justice.

"Then what should we do now?" Tang Dayuan asked anxiously.

Tang Youyou pondered for a moment, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes: "Dad, we..."

She lowered her voice so low that only Tang Dayuan could hear it. The father and daughter were whispering about their next plan in the room, completely unaware that a pair of eyes were staring at them closely outside the window...

Darkness enveloped Tangjia Village, but the lights in Jingsi Garden were bright. Tang Youyou and Tang Dayuan stayed up all night, carefully analyzing Mr. Tang's plan, hoping to find a flaw.

At the same time, on the other side of the Tang family's old house, Aunt Tang Si was describing to Uncle Tang San what she saw during the day with exaggeration.

"Uncle San, today I saw Dayuan and Youyou sneaking into the woodshed. I don't know what shameful things they were doing in there. When they came out, they were looking around. I was scared!" Aunt Tang patted her chest in a panic, her tone full of hints.

Third Uncle Tang was already suspicious of Tang Youyou and his daughter's recent unusual behavior, and now after hearing Fourth Aunt Tang's words, he felt even more uneasy. "What else did they say?"

"This... I was far away and didn't hear clearly." Aunt Tang Si rolled her eyes and continued, "But I saw that girl Youyou looked unhappy. She seemed to be holding something in her hand, hiding it. I don't know what it was that was shameful."

Uncle Tang's face darkened. Aunt Tang's words had undoubtedly sown a seed of doubt in his heart. He took a deep breath and tried to suppress his anger. "I understand. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."

The next morning, Third Uncle Tang summoned Tang Youyou and Tang Dayuan to the ancestral hall. The atmosphere in the hall was solemn. Third Uncle Tang sat on the armchair with a sullen expression, his eyes glaring sharply at Tang Youyou and his daughter.

"You two, have you been hiding something from me recently?" Uncle Tang's tone was stern, with unquestionable majesty.

Tang Youyou's heart trembled, knowing that Fourth Aunt Tang must have said something, but she remained expressionless and said calmly, "Third Uncle, what could we possibly be hiding from you?"

"Hmph! There's no best!" Uncle Tang placed the teacup in his hand heavily on the table, making a crisp sound. "Then explain why you have been so sneaky lately and why you've been meeting privately behind my back?"

Tang Youyou and Tang Dayuan exchanged glances. They knew that now was not the best time to tell the truth. Once they alerted the enemy, Mr. Tang would probably become desperate and it would be difficult to catch him then.

"Third Uncle, we..." Tang Youyou paused, a firm look flashing in his eyes, "We just found out something about Second Uncle, but we don't have any conclusive evidence yet, so we don't want to say it out for now."

"What's the matter?" Uncle Tang San asked.

Tang Youyou took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Uncle Tang San, "This is what we found. You will understand after you read it."

Uncle Tang San took the letter suspiciously. When he saw the contents, his expression suddenly turned very ugly...

Uncle Tang San's hands trembled as he read the contents of the letter over and over again. It detailed Second Master Tang's covert embezzlement of family property over the years, even his conspiracy with outsiders to seize the Tang family's ancestral home. The signature was clearly the name of one of Second Master Tang's closest associates.

"This..." Uncle Tang was so shocked that he was speechless. He couldn't believe that his second brother, who seemed to be honest and loyal on weekdays, would do such a heartless thing behind his back.

"Uncle San, we discovered this by accident." Tang Youyou said in a heavy tone, "We know this matter is of great importance, so we didn't make it public. We wanted to find solid evidence before telling you."

Uncle Tang San took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil in his heart. He carefully observed Tang Youyou's expression, trying to find a flaw in her face, but to his disappointment, Tang Youyou's expression was frank and sincere, without the slightest panic or evasion.

"Youyou, why did you do this?" Uncle Tang San asked in a deep voice, still with doubts in his heart. "Your Second Uncle has been pretty good to you over the years. Why did you frame him like this?"

"Uncle San, you misunderstood! I didn't frame Uncle Er. This letter is the best evidence." Tang Youyou said firmly, "I did this only to protect the Tang family and our shared family business."

Third Uncle Tang was silent. He really hoped that what Tang Youyou said was true, but after years of getting along with him, he knew the character of Second Master Tang very well. He really couldn't believe that his own brother would do such a rebellious thing.

However, at this moment, a piece of news was like a bomb, exploding in the Tang family.

"Have you heard? That girl Youyou got a fake letter from somewhere, trying to frame the Second Master and take all the family property!"

"Is this true? Youyou doesn't look like that kind of person!"

"You can only know a person's face but not his heart! Who knows what evil plans she has in mind?"

……

When Mr. Tang Erye learned that his confidant had betrayed him, he panicked, but he was an old fox after all, so he quickly calmed down and began to spread rumors in the family, discrediting Tang Youyou and portraying himself as a victim.

When Third Uncle Tang heard these rumors, his expression turned even uglier. He suddenly stood up, slammed the letter in his hand on the table, and said angrily, "Someone, go get Second Master!"

However, the servants brought back a piece of news: Mr. Tang claimed to be ill and would not see anyone.

Uncle Tang's face instantly turned ashen. He clenched his fists tightly, already having the answer in his mind. He looked at Tang Youyou with a complicated gaze and said in a deep voice, "Youyou, come with me..."

Tang Youyou followed the gloomy Third Uncle Tang to the study, feeling mixed emotions. She knew that Second Master Tang's avoidance only deepened Third Uncle Tang's suspicions.

In the study, Third Uncle Tang paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, saying nothing. Tang Youyou stood quietly by, waiting for his decision.

"Youyou," Third Uncle Tang finally stopped, his tone weary. "I know you're a good child, but this matter is of great importance, and I have to be cautious." He sighed. "Right now, there's a lot of talk in the family, and everyone is in a panic. I need an explanation, one that everyone can believe."

Tang Youyou understood that Third Uncle Tang was giving her one last chance. She took a deep breath and said firmly, "Third Uncle, I know it's hard for you to believe me right now, but please give me some time. I'll prove to you that everything I say is true!"

"Time?" Uncle Tang smiled bitterly and shook his head. "What we lack most right now is time! Second Master has been running the family for many years and has deep roots. Now that he insists you are slandering him, many people are beginning to waver."

"Uncle San, do you still remember who helped you recover the stolen heirloom? And who exposed the accountant's corruption?" Tang Youyou looked directly into Uncle Tang's eyes and said word by word, "Over the years, I have always done my best to help the family and safeguard its interests. Do you think I am such a mischievous and unscrupulous person?"

Uncle Tang was silent. Tang Youyou's words reminded him of her contributions to the family over the years. His heart began to waver. Could it be that he had really wronged her?

"Uncle San, I know it's hard for you to completely believe my one-sided statement." Tang Youyou paused, a look of determination flashing in his eyes, "I have decided to reveal Mr. Tang's true face in front of everyone at the family meeting!"