Chapter 139: A Thief in the House

Lin Miaomiao was truly speechless at the situation. Seeing the village head approach, Li Yanhe stepped forward and said, "Village head, please identify whose family she belongs to and have her husband take her away."

Li Yanhe kept his lips pressed together, devoid of any smile, his presence commanding a subtle sense of authority that brooked no insolence.

Hu, the woman who had been making a scene, had stopped her wailing and rolling on the ground. It was clear she was somewhat afraid of the village head. However, when her eyes fell upon the fine cloth of Lin Miaomiao’s garment, a look of greed instantly ignited within them.

Noticing Hu’s fixated gaze, Lin Miaomiao felt unsettled. She silently retreated behind Li Yanhe. Having grown accustomed to the power struggles of the imperial court, Li Yanhe had not missed that look. He narrowed his eyes and said to the village head, "Although my family has fallen on hard times, I still have connections with the local constabulary in town."

Seeing that Li Yanhe was becoming genuinely displeased, the village head cast a glance at Hu, who was still wallowing on the ground with a greedy expression fixed on the clothes.

The village head cleared his throat and said coldly to Hu, "Our village has been poor for so long that we haven't seen clothes without patches in ages."

As he spoke, a villager shoved Hu’s husband forward and urged, "Hurry up and drag your wife away. If this drags on to the county magistrate's office, it won't look good for anyone."

Hu’s husband, Li Dayong, upon hearing the villagers, walked over to his wife and slapped her across the face. "You wretched woman! What are you making a scene for? You’ve shamed me completely!"

Watching Li Dayong strike his wife, Lin Miaomiao was struck by how low the status of women truly was in this ancient era.

Li Yanhe glanced at Li Dayong and said coldly, "That’s enough. If you must beat her, do it at home. Don't put on a show in front of me."

After saying this, Li Yanhe put an arm around Lin Miaomiao and addressed the surrounding villagers: "It is not that our family cannot afford a meal or cannot afford to host guests. But I am not willing to tolerate those who brazenly scheme against us or shamelessly attempt to freeload."

With those cold words, he gently guided Lin Miaomiao back home. The stark contrast in his demeanor left the local women watching Lin Miaomiao with a mix of envy and ulterior motives.

Lin Miaomiao and Li Yanhe had a simple lunch, and in the afternoon, they took a carriage to tour the nearby villages. After they left and returned home near dusk, they discovered their door had been forced open.

Having a background as a soldier, Li Yanhe became instantly alert the moment he saw the door, pulling Lin Miaomiao behind him. Entering the courtyard, they saw that the lock had been pried open.

Li Yanhe grabbed a wooden club from the ground and stepped into the house, only to find it ransacked. Many of Lin Miaomiao’s clothes had been stolen. Most absurdly, when they reached the kitchen, they found that the fresh vegetables and pork Lin Miaomiao had bought were also gone.

Looking at the mess, a smile touched the corner of Lin Miaomiao’s lips. She said to Li Yanhe, "I'm truly speechless. Are we saying our house has been burglarized?"

Li Yanhe was taken aback, then shook his head with a wry smile. "Judging by the current situation, it appears our house has indeed been burglarized."

Lin Miaomiao looked at him and said, "Report it to the officials. Let them keep a record. Even if we don't have direct evidence against anyone, once reported, the culprit will be wary and perhaps won't dare to steal from us again."

Li Yanhe hesitated briefly, then nodded. "Tomorrow, I will ask the village head to sell us a larger plot of land so we can build a better house."

Lin Miaomiao shook her head. "No need. If we were only after a fine house, why would we have come here?"

Li Yanhe nodded, turned, and left the courtyard. Lin Miaomiao remained seated, motionless.

When Li Yanhe returned, he was accompanied by several constables. They entered the courtyard and conducted a thorough inspection. Because Li Yanhe had moved so quickly, no one had expected an outsider to report the matter to the authorities so readily.

By then, the entire village had gathered at the small courtyard. Lin Miaomiao sat to the side without a word, while Li Yanhe stood silently beside her, holding her hand to reassure her.

Hu, standing in the crowd, was incredibly nervous. As the constables finished their inspection, Lin Miaomiao stepped out from behind Li Yanhe.

Li Yanhe said to one of the officers, "We were burglarized just after moving in. We haven't touched anything in the house since we discovered the theft. The thief clearly left tracks, and although it is getting dark, it is obvious that my wife’s clothes were stolen."

Li Yanhe then smiled at the officer. "The clothes aren't worth much, but I suspect the thief must be a woman."

After she spoke, many women in the crowd glared at her in displeasure. Lin Miaomiao smiled at the officer and continued, "It is quite late. Let us just file a report with the authorities for now. I realize that without catching the thief red-handed, it is difficult to prove who did it. Besides, one needs evidence to make an accusation. Let this be the end of it for now. However, if our home is burglarized again, I would not mind inviting you gentlemen back to visit. Thievery often becomes a habit; today it is my home, tomorrow it could be someone else's. Eventually, the culprit will be caught. And by the time they are caught, it will be too late. We have filed a report today, and it is on record. The thief will inevitably face time in prison."

The officer, hearing these words from the noble lady, broke into a cold sweat and wiped his brow with a handkerchief. He replied respectfully, "Please rest assured, Madam. We will do our best to investigate who entered your home. Even if we cannot find the thief immediately, justice will eventually prevail. We have taken the evidence back with us and will investigate the village in the coming days. If we find the culprit, we will certainly send them to jail. After all, stealing a lady's clothes is a clear attempt to ruin her reputation."

Lin Miaomiao said nothing more, and Li Yanhe added, "We leave it in your capable hands."

Exhaustion began to show on Lin Miaomiao’s face. Earlier that day, she and Li Yanhe had been touring the nearby villages to understand the local poverty. Li Yanhe had used the guise of buying grain to inquire about crop yields, which were found to be very low.

Furthermore, the grain here was remarkably cheap. Observing the crops, Lin Miaomiao was reminded of the vegetable oils used in the modern world. Lowering her gaze, she said to Li Yanhe, "Look, we mostly consume lard. We could plant crops to extract oil, such as peanuts." As she spoke, she unearthed a peanut from the soil. Li Yanhe took the muddy object from her hand.

He tilted his head and asked, "What is this?"

"A peanut," Lin Miaomiao replied. Li Yanhe brushed the dirt off to reveal the nut inside.

"This is called a peanut? And it can be used to extract oil?" he asked. Lin Miaomiao nodded. "Yes, it can be used to make peanut oil."

After exchanging a look, the two of them took an ox cart home. Though the cart was comfortable enough, the sensation was much like a long train ride; sitting for too long made one's seat ache, and the journey was tiring.

Li Yanhe, feeling sorry for her, tucked her arm into his and said to the constables, "It is late. You two should head back."

Once they had left, Li Yanhe turned to the gathered villagers and said, "The matter has been filed with the authorities. Everyone, please disperse."

After closing the gate, several women nearby looked at the clothes Hu was wearing and scoffed, "Don't go getting yourself thrown into jail over a stolen outfit."

Hu snapped back, "What? You didn't take anything?"

"We didn't take any clothes," one of the women retorted, "and besides, you were the one who pried the door open. What does that have to do with us?"

Hu, always sharp-tongued, began to scream at them, "Hmph! If we’re going to jail, we’re all going together! Stop pretending to be saints. I opened the door, but you all rushed in afterward. Don't think I don't know that you lot stole the steamed buns and vegetables from their kitchen, too!"

The women began to bicker and fight in the village square. Hearing the commotion, the village head rushed over and shouted, "Return everything you stole and apologize!"

The women grumbled reluctantly, "But if we return them, won't we have to go to jail anyway? Besides, they’re from the city—would they even miss such trifles?"

The other villagers looked on with disdain, turning to the women’s husbands. "Our village may be poor, but I never expected you to be unable to manage your own wives. Allowing them to steal is a disgrace to our village."

The three women looked at each other, suddenly silenced. Even the usually brazen Hu, seeing the dark, furious expressions on her husband’s and the village head’s faces, finally shut her mouth.