My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

The yard door was banged loudly, and the three people in the kitchen were stunned.

Si Xingzhi subconsciously looked at Si Muyan, and saw her pale face and the blood-soaked cloth on her head. Then he remembered that he could not rely on his daughter for everything, as he was the head of the family.

He threw the kitchen knife aside in a hurry, turned around and ran outside. Because he didn't hold the knife firmly, it fell and almost hit Si Muyan's foot.

"Is Yan'er okay?"

Si Xingzhi was startled and hurried back to pick up the kitchen knife. However, he forgot to put the knife back on the chopping board and just took it out to open the door.

"Who!"

"Open the door, open the door! You, Mr. Si, are so shameless! Who are you to seduce my son?"

The woman outside pushed the door angrily. When the door opened, she jumped in and wanted to continue cursing, but when she saw the kitchen knife in Si Xingzhi's hand, the curse words instantly got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say anything.

Si Xingzhi was confused: "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

The younger sister helped Si Muyan out of the kitchen. When she saw the woman, her expression changed: "Aunt Wang..."

"Bah, I don't know you!" The Queen Mother wanted to curse, but when she saw the kitchen knife, she swallowed her saliva and softened her attitude. "You borrowed money from my son, return it!"

It's easy to tell that my younger sister borrowed two taels of silver today, which is a lot considering the Si family's current situation. The means she used were probably not very bright, and perhaps because she borrowed so much, the other family members found out.

Si Muyan's eyes dimmed a little as she said, "A visitor is welcome. Seeing this aunt sweating, she must have walked quite a distance to get here. Why don't you sit down and drink some water first and talk slowly. Little sister, go get her some water."

The Queen Mother took half a step back, just exiting the courtyard gate, but not completely leaving, as she was on guard against the Si family closing the courtyard gate.

She said, "I don't want to drink the water anymore. I'll leave if you return the money."

Si Xingzhi realized belatedly that he was still holding a kitchen knife in his hand.

This was not a proper way to treat guests, so he should put the knife back. However, when his younger sister went to pour water, she asked him to hold Si Muyan, so he had no time to put the knife back, so he had to carry it like this.

Yan'er hadn't seemed this weak before, and could walk slowly on her own. It must have been the woman's noise that startled Yan'er, who was already seriously injured...

Si Muyan nodded at the Queen Mother: "This aunt suddenly came to our house, without any evidence, and came to curse us, and even accused our family of cheating us out of money. How can this be justified?"

It was mid-afternoon, and there were many people in the village with nothing to do. When they heard the noise, they had already popped their heads out to watch the fun.

"That's right, that girl just now was the daughter of your Si family, right? She was the one who cheated my son out of his money!"

The younger sister stood in the kitchen, tears welling up in her eyes. She could hear the commotion outside and knew the villagers had gathered. "I just borrowed a tael of silver from Wang Ming this morning, and now his mother is here! And he's still talking so nicely!"

Si Muyan's face darkened. "Auntie, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything you want! My sister is an innocent girl, and you accuse her of cheating? If this tarnishes someone's reputation, if it's false, I can sue you for defamation!"

The villagers gathered outside started talking.

"This Si family is really something. These days, it's always this or that. It seems like they're having a bad year."

"What do you mean by bad luck? I think it's just that Si Muwan who's not very self-disciplined. She's so young and can't even walk when she sees a man!" The woman who spoke was a young woman. She couldn't stand Si Muwan because her husband would just giggle when he saw her. "Humph, she just relies on her good looks to flirt with men every day. Turns out she's just trying to scam them out of their money!"

"Don't say that. The Si family has no other choice. The pillar of the family is gone. It is said that Old Si owes several taels of silver from gambling. If they don't get some money, they won't be able to make ends meet."

"You shouldn't cheat me out of money!"

It was an older woman who spoke up again: "Stop talking nonsense. Although the Si family is unreliable, I've been in the village for so many years, and when have I ever seen them owe anyone anything? The eldest daughter of the Si family would never allow such a thing to happen in her family."

Si Muyan looked up and saw that the older woman was Mrs. Zhu from the village entrance. Mrs. Zhu had four sons, all of whom were capable farmers. That was the way it was in the village: whoever had more sons and more capable sons would have a stronger back.

However, this old lady Zhu always lectured and criticized the three daughters of the Si family whenever she saw them. But today she actually took the initiative to speak for them?

Because most of the villagers were on her side, the Queen Mother's expression turned cold. "Whether she's talking nonsense or not, why don't you just let her come out and confront her?"

"Little sister, come out and tell me. This aunt said that you 'cheated' money. How did you do it?" Si Muyan turned around and called out to the little sister, nodding at her and giving her an encouraging look.

The younger sister was stunned.

The eldest sister was very disgusted with her relationship with those men. She knew that she would scold her every time, let alone this time when someone chased her home.

Maybe it was because her elder sister knew that she was doing this for the family. But no matter what, she knew that her elder sister would protect her and would definitely not let outsiders bully her.

Thinking of this, the younger sister held back her tears, walked out slowly and looked at the Queen Mother: "Auntie said I cheated her out of money, but I dare not admit it."

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother flew into a rage: "You bastard, how dare you do it but not admit it? Did you cheat my son Wang Ming out of a tael of silver this morning?"

"Lie? No, I told Brother Wang that I was asking him to borrow money. How come it became a lie when Auntie said it?"

The Queen Mother was furious and rushed over to slap her twice. However, Si Xingzhi reacted faster, letting go of Si Muyan and quickly blocking his way in front of his younger sister, pushing the Queen Mother away.

He was holding a kitchen knife in his hand, which was very intimidating.

The Queen Mother immediately burst into tears: "Oh my God, look at what kind of people this family is! Not only did they cheat my son out of his money, but they even brought a kitchen knife with them. Are they trying to kill people?"

Si Xingzhi was stunned. He wanted to throw the kitchen knife away, but was afraid of hurting someone. He was at a loss as to what to do. In the end, he could only look at Si Muyan for help.

Si Muyan shouted, "Such a shrew broke into my house and insulted my sister's reputation. My father was just protecting himself with a kitchen knife. If you continue to cause trouble, I will report you to the police!"

Report to the official?

The younger sister was anxious. She did owe someone money. If she reported it to the police, how would they get the money to pay her back?

Si Muyan remained calm and continued coldly, "You've said it before. Our Si family is so well-off that we don't feel itchy even when we have too many lice. But your family..."

The younger sister's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "That's right, Auntie, you have to think it over carefully. If I report you to the authorities for slandering me like this, even if Brother Wang passes the imperial examination, I'm afraid he won't be able to get promoted in the future!"