Chapter 1239: Chapter 1241: The speaker is unintentional, but the listener is intentional_1
But coincidentally, Yang Chuxia hadn’t expected that the girl’s sister-in-law would turn out to be the one, who originally was the miraculous helping sister-in-law between the eastern and western parts of Yangdong Village.
Watching the sisters-in-law embrace each other, Yang Chuxia couldn’t help but sigh; it was truly not easy for a younger sister-in-law and an elder sister-in-law to get along so well.
Looking at the girl, she didn’t seem to be a mere sister-in-law, but rather a daughter.
"Madam, I really have to thank you this time. If not for you, my little sister-in-law would have been in trouble."
"You don’t have to be polite. In such a situation, anyone else would have also lent a hand, let alone that this is something that the Lord County Magistrate should be taking care of. No need to talk of thanks, protecting the local people is his duty after all," she said.
At this point, she asked the elder sister-in-law another question, "Do the villagers know about this incident? Also, why hasn’t your family reported this to the county government?"
This was exactly what puzzled her; according to the elder sister-in-law, the younger one had been missing for two or three days, yet they hadn’t reported it to the officials.
If it weren’t for the genuine affection inadvertently shown between the sisters-in-law, she would have suspected that the elder sister-in-law might have colluded with someone to harm her own younger sister-in-law.
Hearing this, the elder sister-in-law shook her head bitterly, "They don’t know, the villagers still don’t know about it. After my sister-in-law disappeared, I hurried home to tell my family, and we dragged our relatives to help in the search, not daring to let the villagers know. We were afraid that if we found my sister-in-law and brought her back, everyone would find out that she had been abducted, and then her reputation would be damaged. As you know, Madam, once a girl’s reputation is tarnished, it’s hard for her to talk about marriage, and it would affect our whole family’s prospects for arranging marriages for both the men and women."
"That’s why we didn’t dare to report to the officials, but our relatives have all gone out to look," she added.
Tsk, it came down to the issue of reputation again. People in ancient times took their reputation very seriously; it was a historical issue that might be irreparable.
"If no one knows, then just let it be. When you go back, don’t mention this to anyone; just say that your younger sister-in-law went to visit relatives outside and has returned."
After pausing, Yang Chuxia asked again, "Has your family made any enemies?"
"Enemies?" The elder sister-in-law thought for a long time but really couldn’t come up with anyone, "No, although I can be a bit harsh with my words, it all happens within the village. Even if we argue and have a tussle, it wouldn’t lead to kidnapping, would it?"
Yang Chuxia couldn’t agree with this. Some people may appear open and straightforward, dismissing conflicts with a smile, but behind the scenes, they wait for a chance to put you in a life-threatening situation. She had seen too many of such people.
The results of the subsequent investigation proved her point.
When dealing with others, watch what you say and leave some room for thought, because often the speaker means no harm but the listener takes it to heart. A casual remark can turn into mockery and scorn in the ears of someone who is petty, and just like that, a grudge is formed.
The details of the incident were clarified three days after the girl returned to Shoutao Village.
The two men who escaped were quickly captured and brought to justice.
And that familiar-sounding old woman.
Was it any wonder she sounded familiar? They were all from the same village; it was just that they had little interaction with her, which is why she didn’t remember at first.
The cause of the incident turned out to be remarkably simple: it was all because the elder sister-in-law had said, "What a good daughter, so caring and close to the heart."
It was a very ordinary statement that normally wouldn’t imply anything derogatory, but the issue depended on who was listening.
This particular listener was from a well-known family in Shoutao Village that had no sons.