Hearing this, Song Huaizhi was slightly stunned. All the words in his mind got stuck in his throat. He subconsciously turned to look at Xu Fanglian. Unexpectedly, Xu Fanglian was also looking at him at that moment. Seeing the expression on Song Huaizhi's face, she thought he was worried that she might be swayed by this villain's instigation. So she gave him a comforting smile, took a few steps forward, came in front of Song Huaizhi, and said to him, "Huaizhi, you don't need to care about what these people say. We've all seen what you've done."
After saying that, Xu Fanglian looked at the shopkeeper lying on the ground again and said coldly, "Don't blame me for not showing old kindness. Not only did you embezzle while in charge, but you even tried to slander Huaizhi in front of me."
"Shopkeeper, you said that you've worked hard for so many years. Do you still remember that more than a decade ago, during the famine year, you brought your family to seek refuge with the Meng family, but were driven out by the late Mr. Meng?"
As Xu Fanglian spoke, her tone became colder and colder. There was a hint of indescribable regret on her face. She walked straight up to him, looked into his eyes, and said, "It was I, Xu Fanglian, who spoke up. Considering that my daughter Yuyu had just been born and was in poor health, I wanted to do some good deeds for her, so I helped you out."
"I never thought that I was the one who let the wolf into the house. Fortunately, we discovered it today, or else a great disaster would have happened."
After Xu Fanglian finished speaking, she saw the shopkeeper staring blankly at her. A few tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, his face turned purple, and his mouth opened and closed.
"Alas! I said that the Meng family are all kind - hearted people. How could they do such a thing!"
Seeing this, a by - stander patted his chest and said to the person beside him in a much louder voice.
"Come on!" Several people who were also watching the excitement couldn't stand it anymore. Hearing this, they all burst into laughter, gave him a disdainful look, and said, "Your mouth is really like the shopkeeper's. You say different things to different people. You didn't talk like this just now."
"Exactly!" Someone echoed, "You just said that you never expected the Meng family to be so heartless as to deal with an old employee."
"You! You..." The man blushed with embarrassment. He stammered but couldn't come up with a word. So he quietly pretended that he hadn't said anything and slunk out of the crowd in a hurry.
The people around looked at him mockingly and pointed at his back, whispering to each other.
Meng Ruyi listened to the discussions of the crowd and looked at the bullet - screen. She felt that they were very similar, with no big difference. At first, the bullet - screen was full of malice. When she was in trouble, people on it seemed to be watching a show and made malicious sarcastic remarks about her.
However, the bullet - screen seemed to have changed now. Maybe because it had been a long time, those who remained were people who were friendly and interested in her or Song Huaizhi. The rest had gone to "other perspectives" and would come back from time to time to make some negative comments, which always caused a stir.
It was also a good thing. At least she could now make use of this kindness to do something. And seeing fewer scolding words could also make people feel better.
The shopkeeper was then grabbed under the armpits by the servants and pulled up to be taken to the yamen.
Before they had taken a few steps, the shopkeeper seemed to wake up from a dream. He turned around and screamed, "Madam! Miss! Young Master Song! Please forgive me this time! I'm old and confused!"
"Madam! You helped me once back then. I beg you, can you forgive me one more time!"
Meng Ruyi frowned and subconsciously glanced at Xu Fanglian.
"Madam! I have old and young dependents. If I lose this job, my whole family will starve!"
"Madam!"
Meng Ruyi motioned for the servants to stop. She walked towards the shopkeeper with a calm look on her face and light steps.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper's eyes suddenly lit up. His eyes were full of hope as he looked at Meng Ruyi, completely different from the haughty look he had when she first came. He put down his pride and almost knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness.
"Since you know that my mother has been kind to you, why did you do such a thing?" Meng Ruyi looked at him.
Although she was shorter than the shopkeeper, when she stood in front of him, he felt as if he was looking up at her. It made him shiver all over, and he could only stand there stupidly.
"Look." Meng Ruyi smiled. Her voice was like a cold and shining blade scraping on the shopkeeper's heart. "Now you still want us to forgive you. How hateful and ridiculous."
"First, you were disloyal. Over the years, you've amassed wealth through this shop and even bought a nice small house in a good location. You're better off than many people. Second, you repaid kindness with enmity and didn't care about the kindness of the Meng family at all. Your actions were extremely vicious."
Meng Ruyi spoke in a clear and logical way, which made everyone present can't help but look at her with new respect. They no longer underestimated this rarely - seen eldest daughter of the Meng family.
"Third." Meng Ruyi continued. Looking at his red - rimmed eyes, she sneered and said, "You have hands and feet, and so do your family members. I've never heard that any of you are seriously ill. So why would you starve if you lost this job?"
After Meng Ruyi finished speaking, she said to the servants, "Cover his mouth and take him to report to the authorities."
"Yes." The servants quickly took out a piece of cloth from somewhere, covered the shopkeeper's mouth, tied a knot, and carried him away.
The shopkeeper was still struggling, but he could only be carried away. The on - lookers were all talking in low voices, with looks of amazement on their faces. Their eyes were full of curiosity as they looked at Meng Ruyi.
Meng Ruyi sighed. She didn't expect that such a thing would happen as soon as she went out today, and Song Huaizhi also rushed over.
She wondered if she had delayed Brother Song's business today.
Thinking like this, Meng Ruyi walked towards Song Huaizhi and Xu Fanglian and said to them, "Mother, Brother Song, how about we go to the teahouse next door and sit for a while? Wait until the on - lookers have mostly left, and then we come back to check the accounts."
"Okay." Xu Fanglian agreed and led the two of them to the teahouse next door.
After the incident was over, Meng Ruyi looked at the on - looking crowd and felt a bit dazed.
It was almost noon. The scorching sun was shining brightly overhead. The sunlight was so strong that it made people feel dizzy and their eyes hurt.
Meng Ruyi was dazzled by the sunlight and subconsciously closed her eyes. In the blink of an eye, when she opened them again, she felt something covering her eyes, bringing a bit of coolness.
She looked up and saw a pair of fair and slender hands in front of her. The fingers were well - defined and looked as clear and bright as jade under the sunlight.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Meng Ruyi standing there stunned, Song Huaizhi said, "It's too hot. Walk faster. Be careful not to get heatstroke."
After saying that, he frowned, took out a fan from somewhere, and handed it to Meng Ruyi gently, saying, "Let's go."
"......Okay."
Meng Ruyi replied and took the fan.
Although the fan was covering her face, Meng Ruyi felt her face getting even hotter. Waves of heat made her feel like she was in a steamer. She couldn't catch her breath, and her heart was pounding.