Han Yue's powerful force directly shocked these servants, making them dare not step forward for a moment.
Just as everyone was at a stalemate, they heard an anxious voice of a woman outside: "Li'er! Li'er, so you're really here?"
The one who came was Mrs. Shen. Now with tears in her eyes, her frail body was supported by Shen Miao and a maid.
As soon as Mrs. Shen entered the yard and saw Shen Li in the yard, she ignored everyone else and immediately rushed in front of Shen Li, hugging her tightly into her arms.
"Li'er, my Li'er! You've worried your aunt to death!" Mrs. Shen cried so touchingly. But Shen Li in her arms was full of frost, standing there motionless, letting Mrs. Shen perform alone.
Sure enough, after Mrs. Shen finished crying, she let go of Shen Li and said, half indulgently and half reproachfully, "Li'er, how dare you run away secretly and be with other men? If something happened to you like this, how could I explain it to your parents?"
Shen Li took a step back, away from Mrs. Shen's touch. She took out the handkerchief from her sleeve and gently brushed her clothes twice. Looking at Mrs. Shen, she asked, "I wonder what my aunt means by being in private with a man?"
Mrs. Shen showed an expression of not wanting to mention it more: "Aunt knows that you don't want me to discipline you. But you're still an unmarried girl, yet having an affair with a man. This really has a bad influence! But don't worry, aunt will help you keep this a secret. None of them will say anything about today's matter!"
Shen Li retorted, "Aunt is wrong. I haven't done anything with anyone. Why should I cover it up? Why can't I mention it?"
Shen Miao and Mrs. Shen exchanged a look. They didn't understand what Shen Li meant just now.
But Shen Miao still looked dignified and considerate of the overall situation. She said, "Sister, what's wrong with you? Mother is also doing this for your own good today. Only by covering it up first and making sure no one knows can it not affect sister's and our Shen Mansion's reputation!"
There were already several circles of on - lookers outside the door. They all craned their necks to look inside, obviously very interested in what was going on inside.
"Hey, Lao Li, I just came. What's going on inside? Why are there so many people gathered?" A man who obviously just came to watch the fun asked the person beside him.
"Let me tell you, something big has happened! Inside, there's a young lady from a wealthy family who secretly ran out to have a tryst with a wild man! She was just caught!" That man also told all the gossip he had just heard.
"Wow! A tryst! This is a serious crime! In the countryside, she would be drowned in a pig cage! I wonder whose daughter this is! Raising such a disgraceful girl, it would be better to just beat her to death!"
"Shh shh shh! Keep your voice down! Let me tell you, the young lady inside is the powerful eldest young lady of the Shen family that everyone was talking about on the street some days ago!"
"It's her! No wonder she's so bold. Who dares to control her? She'll just drive everyone out!"
The on - lookers around laughed when they heard this. Obviously, the things that spread in the capital some time ago had given them a bad impression of Shen Li.
Naturally, Shen Li didn't hear what those people outside were saying. She just said sarcastically to Shen Miao and Mrs. Shen, "Humph! I wonder why my aunt and sister keep saying that they're thinking about me and considering the overall situation, but they were shouting just now as if they couldn't wait to tell the whole world about this?
"Are they afraid that not enough people know and my reputation isn't bad enough?"
Mrs. Shen twitched the corner of her mouth and said apologetically, "It's aunt's fault. Aunt didn't think it through! Let's go back to the mansion now. We'll talk about this matter behind closed doors!"
Shen Li stared at Mrs. Shen, knowing what she was up to. She deliberately made such a big fuss and attracted so many on - lookers. Naturally, this matter couldn't be concealed.
Then she pretended to persuade her to go back to the Shen Mansion and solve this matter privately.
But if she went back to the Shen family immediately now, it would mean that she, Shen Li, had admitted the crime of having a tryst with a man and could only solve it privately!
Naturally, she couldn't let Mrs. Shen's plan succeed. "Aunt, there's no need for this! Just right, there are so many people here now. Why doesn't aunt tell me in detail how I had a tryst with someone?
"Who is the person I had a tryst with? Did anyone see it? What improper things happened between us? Or, is there any evidence to prove our tryst?"
Now that Shen Li listed these questions one by one, it really surprised Mrs. Shen. She didn't know what Shen Li was up to.
"Li'er, this is not the time to be willful. You'd better go back to the mansion with me quickly! We'll make plans for this matter later! Don't worry. With your uncle and aunt here, we'll definitely handle this matter well for you!"
"Yes! Sister, you'd better go back to the mansion quickly! Mother and father will handle today's matter clearly."
Shen Li simply ignored this mother - daughter pair. She just turned around and walked to the door. She said to the common people who were watching the fun outside the courtyard gate, "This matter happened here, and you've all seen it! So today, I, Shen Li, am here. I'd like everyone to be a witness. I wonder if you're willing!"
Most of the on - lookers around were the common people living nearby, or the peddlers and passers - by on the street. Now they saw that the rumored eldest young lady of the Shen family actually stood up and asked them to be witnesses.
Relying on the large number of people and the psychology of not being afraid of causing trouble when watching the fun, they all shouted that they were willing.
"Everyone knows that even when a county magistrate judges a case, he needs both human and material evidence to sentence a criminal. Today, someone keeps saying that I had a tryst with someone here, but words alone aren't evidence. I also want to prove my innocence here!"
Then, Shen Li turned to Mrs. Shen and said, "Why doesn't aunt show the evidence now? If the evidence is conclusive, I, Shen Li, will admit it. If aunt can't show the evidence, it's slander!
"Then I'll go to the front of the Jingzhao Mansion and beat the drum of grievances, telling my injustice and suing aunt for slandering me. I'll ask the prefect of Jingzhao to make the decision for me. How about it? What choice will aunt make now?"
Mrs. Shen's hands under her sleeves were tightly clenched, but on her face she showed a sad look: "Li'er, we're all a family. Aunt is completely thinking about you! Why do you keep forcing aunt? Aunt doesn't want to make this matter a big deal! You'd better stop quickly and go back to the mansion with me!"
"Humph! If aunt really means well for me, why don't we just talk it out now and handle today's matter clearly?" Shen Li looked at Mrs. Shen and Shen Miao, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two of them. "Is aunt afraid now and doesn't dare to clarify it? Or is she feeling guilty and that's why she doesn't dare to say it?"
Mrs. Shen still looked at Shen Li and said, "Since this is the case! Then let's clarify the matter today!"