After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Su Tai continued, "Did you know that Mo was already pregnant when Xiong Kai had the accident? When the child was born, she found out it was a girl, and without saying a word, she threw it away, saying that the child had died at birth."

If it were you, and you finally managed to return home alive, only to find your mother and young son so badly cheated, and your young daughter abandoned, wouldn't you go crazy?

Xiong Kai was never a good person. If he hadn't been to prison and learned his lesson, he probably would have slaughtered the Mo family on the spot. Why would he let her here slander people with empty words?

After hearing Su Tai's words, everyone started pointing fingers at Mo Chunxiang.

Mo Chunxiang kept her head down the whole time, her hands clenched tightly under her long sleeves, so tightly that she didn't even feel her nails digging deep into her flesh.

Having achieved her goal, Su Tai walked confidently to Shen Yi's side.

Mo Chunxiang suddenly raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and accused Su Tai, "I've already taken the initiative to break off the engagement with the Shen family, allowing you to marry Shen Yi as you wished, so why do you keep harping on me? Are you only happy when you've driven me to my death?"

"What's going on?" The onlookers were extremely shocked. In all their years, this was the first time they had ever seen such a dramatic love story that was even more captivating than a theatrical performance. They had to open their eyes wide and listen carefully.

Su Tai blinked hard, pointed at herself, and asked Shen Yi, "Was she talking about me?"

Shen Yi pulled Su Tai into his arms and shielded her behind him, looking at Mo Laotian with disgust. "Mo Laotian, I used to respectfully call you Uncle Mo, but now you don't deserve it! I didn't want to bring up those old things, but since you can't discipline your daughter, let's talk about it in front of the magistrate, and I can finally get justice for what happened back then!"

Mo Laotian was shocked and immediately softened his tone, "Shen Yi, Chunxiang has been abused by Xiong Kai for so long, she's not thinking straight. Don't take it to heart. Our family is already in such a state, can you please not hold it against us?"

Shen Yi laughed angrily, "You pity? Isn't it pitiful that my wife was slandered by the Mo family? Old Tian Mo! My father died to save you guys. He was willing to save people, so I have nothing to say. But you broke your promise and went back on your word. What right do you have to ask me to pity you?"
"You were the one who took the initiative to come to my house and arrange a marriage between our children, to repay my father for saving my life. But Madam Mo disliked me, Shen Yi, because I was considered an unlucky person who crossed the river, and insisted on breaking off the engagement. So you took the initiative to come and cancel the engagement, didn't you?"

Mo Laotian opened his mouth, speechless. Seeing his reaction, everyone else immediately knew that Shen Yi was right, and they looked down on Mo Chunxiang even more.

Mo Chunxiang cried, feeling wronged, "I was young and naive and was tricked by Xiong Kai. I didn't mean it!"

"Whether you're sincere or not is none of my business!" Shen Yi decisively distanced himself from the matter, looking only at Mo Laotian, and continued, "Xiong Kai has long been involved with the Mo family, and even broke off the engagement with the Su family for your daughter. My father-in-law couldn't bear to see me ruin the marriage, and since my father saved him back then, he agreed to marry his daughter to me. My wife and I have never wronged anyone in our marriage."

Who does the Mo family think they are, daring to smear my wife like that?

"Exactly! I've seen plenty of shameless women, but this is the first time I've seen one this shameless! It's like a knife scratching your butt—it's an eye-opener!"

The angry crowd pointed and whispered among themselves at Mo Chunxiang, wishing they could throw stones at her.

Seeing that Shen Yi was truly heartless and ungrateful to her, with only Su Tai in his eyes, Mo Chunxiang hated him to the extreme. "Fine! Since that's how it is, I'll just die and that will be enough to repay you!"

Mo Chunxiang recklessly rammed her head against the pillar, but fortunately the constables stopped her in time. Although she was bleeding from her head, she did not die.

With her eyes glazed over, she kept looking in Shen Yi's direction and murmured, "If I hadn't broken off the engagement back then, would you have loved me this much?"

Shen Yi pursed his lips, his expression cold. "There are no 'what ifs' in this world. My wife is only Su Tai, and can only be Su Tai!"

Mo Chunxiang made a mistake. It's not that Su Tai can't live without Shen Yi, but that Shen Yi can't live without Su Tai!

The light in Mo Chunxiang's eyes quickly dimmed.

Mo Laotian and Guan Shi cried their hearts out, and the three of them were taken away by the yamen runners. This farce finally ended with the departure of the three members of the Mo family, but Shen Yi's words were as firm as nails, and he would never change them. He immediately asked the yamen runners to go to Shen Family Village to report that he was safe and sound, and he and Su Tai obediently settled down in the backyard of the county yamen.

The couple remained calm, but their relatives and friends who cared about them were extremely anxious.

Based on the information provided by Mo Laotian, a group of villagers were mobilized to inquire around, and they actually managed to find out some clues.

Two days later, Liu Tiechui brought a group of villagers to the county government office and personally reported the situation to the county magistrate.

"Sir, these two villagers reported that on February 20th, they saw an old man dressed in tattered clothes carrying a large sack towards Daxun River. The old man also had an iron shovel and an axe tied around his waist."

The magistrate's expression changed slightly, and he immediately ordered the yamen runners to summon Mo Laotian for them to identify.

Mo Laotian almost fainted from fright. His family had been stuck in the county town for the past few days and couldn't go back. This wasn't the first time he had regretted slandering Shen Yi. Now that the county magistrate had summoned him, he was worried that he would end up losing more than he gained by trying to steal a chicken, and that he would be wrongly accused of being the murderer. He was in no position to cover it up.

The two villagers stared at Mo Laotian's deathly pale face for a long time, then both shook their heads.

“Sir, it’s not him. That man looks older than him, with more white hair, a stronger build, and he’s not dressed as well.”

The county magistrate and Liu Tiechui looked at each other in bewilderment.

How the hell would know what the other person looks like from that description!

The magistrate looked displeased. Lu Tong comforted him, saying, "Sir, don't worry. At least we have someone to suspect now. There aren't many strong old men around. If all else fails, we can ask them village by village. We'll eventually find out something."

This is the only feasible method now.

Just as the magistrate was about to send out his yamen runners, his clerk rushed in to report, "Sir, Ma Xingteng from the Ma family in Moshi Town has come to report that his stepmother, Sang, has died."

The magistrate was in a real bind. "Another person has died! How did they die?"

The clerk was speechless. "Sir, the cause of death must be suspicious, otherwise Ma Xingteng wouldn't have reported it to the authorities. You should go and take a look!"

Liu Tiechui hurriedly said, "Sir, Ma Xingteng is my brother-in-law. I'll go with you to take a look."

"go!"

The group arrived outside the county government office.

Ma Xingteng bowed with a pale face.

The magistrate asked sternly, "Ma Xingteng, how did your stepmother die?"

Ma Xingteng calmed down considerably after seeing Liu Tiechui and quickly explained the situation, "Ever since my younger brother died on the battlefield, my stepmother has gone mad. My father has locked her in the yard and won't let her out, but she still makes a huge fuss, shouting so loudly that even the neighbors can hear her. This can't go on forever, so we had no choice but to send her back to her hometown in Fufeng Township." (End of Chapter)