Chapter 147: The Alias Was Exposed

Li Yanhe was working nearby when he immediately saw Lin Qi. Thinking something was wrong, he asked Lin Qi, "What happened?"

Lin Qi respectfully replied, "This afternoon, I spoke a few words with Madam, and then the women in the village started spreading rumors."

"Madam was a bit angry and, after reprimanding those women, asked me to come to the county office to report the matter."

Upon hearing this, Li Yanhe's expression suddenly darkened, becoming grim and forbidding. He said to Lin Qi, "I'll go back with you."

Meanwhile, Lin Miao Miao and Hu San sat in the courtyard waiting for Lin Qi to fetch the officers, but no matter how long they waited, Lin Qi did not return.

The women who had been speaking ill of Lin Miao Miao sneered disdainfully and muttered quietly among themselves, "Who does he think he is? Does he think the county office is his family's business? Since ancient times, the government has been strict; no matter how wealthy his family is, they can't keep summoning the officials like this."

These women seemed to believe Lin Miao Miao was merely bullying others by borrowing authority, and their confidence grew as they spoke ill of her with increasing vigor.

Lin Miao Miao found their childishness rather amusing—these people were even more immature than children.

She remained silent, and seeing her composed demeanor, the women looked down on her even more. At that moment, Madam Hu joined the group of gossiping women.

With Madam Hu's presence, the women grew even more animated in their slander. Cui Hua and Er Ni, standing nearby and overhearing the insults against Lin Miao Miao, were so angry their faces turned pale.

Cui Hua stepped beside Lin Miao Miao, raised her voice, and said slowly, "Sister, don’t worry. The innocent will be cleared. The case has already been reported. Though the officials may come slowly, they will come."

Cui Hua’s voice was naturally loud, and when she mentioned that Lin Miao Miao had reported to the authorities, the women’s expressions abruptly darkened.

One of them snorted coldly at Lin Miao Miao, "We’re just speculating, but seeing you making such a fuss, you must be hiding something."

Another woman added, "Exactly. In our village, we say whatever we want, but we’ve never seen anyone so pretentious before."

"There must be something behind all this—why else make such a big deal, calling in officials so publicly? If the government knew what you were accusing them of, they probably wouldn’t even accept your complaint!"

Their words grew increasingly harsh and unreasonable.

The village chief, upon hearing this, initially thought Lin Miao Miao was overreacting and that the village women just loved gossiping. Their mouths were loose, always talking about others’ affairs, so there was no need to take it seriously.

But seeing how the villagers’ attitudes were increasingly siding with those women, Lin Miao Miao drew a cold smile and looked up at the crowd, saying, "You think I’m making a fuss?"

"That’s because you spread slanderous rumors, defame others, and make baseless assumptions about their lives. You treat everything as trivial, but today, all your words have been repeated over and over."

"Those who know the truth understand that I have done nothing wrong. Those who don’t might think I’m secretly consorting with men under the guise of discussing business."

She addressed the villagers plainly, "You think this way because you are ignorant."

"What you consider trivial is never trivial. What you consider important is never truly important."

After saying this coldly, the village chief suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He realized that Lin Miao Miao was not originally from their village.

From the beginning, the village chief suspected that Lin Miao Miao and Li Yanhe were not merely a fallen merchant couple from the city but men and women of exceptional talent.

However, after spending some time with them, the chief found they had no airs about them and even brought them meals, blending in as if they were villagers themselves. Gradually, the chief himself forgot his initial suspicions.

Today, when Lin Miao Miao got angry and sent someone to report to the authorities, the chief suddenly realized that this family must have some connection with the government.

When he saw those women still verbally attacking Lin Miao Miao, the chief snorted coldly and shouted at their men, "Are you all dead? Your wives can’t keep their mouths shut, and you don’t know how to teach them properly?"

At his words, some men who had been hiding in the crowd stepped forward and slapped the gossiping women twice each.

The women immediately fell silent and obediently stood behind their husbands.

Just as the chief was about to speak kindly to Lin Miao Miao, the sound of a gong came from outside the village, and a tall, majestic horse galloped swiftly into view.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the striking horseman, and only then did they notice that the man from Lin Miao Miao’s household was dressed in fine silk and satin.

Li Yanhe quickly walked over to Lin Miao Miao, pulled her into an embrace, and in a low, hoarse voice said, "Miao Miao, you’ve been wronged."

After Li Yanhe removed his coarse clothes and donned the silk robe, standing atop the tall horse, everyone finally realized that Lin Miao Miao and Li Yanhe's identities were far from ordinary.

At that moment, a carriage suddenly burst in from behind Li Yanhe. It was clearly a carriage reserved for nobility.

Two young men, identical in appearance, stepped down from the carriage and walked to Lin Miao Miao’s side, one following the other.

"Sister, I heard someone was slandering you. I want to see who dares to defame my sister."

Lin Langze spoke these words. Lin Langluan stood silently beside him, saying nothing but casting a cold glance at the crowd before addressing Lin Miao Miao in a loud voice, "Why suffer in such a small village? These villagers are ungrateful."

Upon hearing their words, Lin Miao Miao’s expression changed sharply. Lin Langluan and Lin Langze immediately realized they had spoken out of turn.

Although Lin Miao Miao said nothing, the sudden change in her expression meant that she would surely reprimand them later.

She patted Li Yanhe’s arm, then looked up and said softly, "I haven’t suffered any grievance."

Hearing this, Li Yanhe hugged her tenderly and ordered the gossiping women, "Seize them and throw them in jail."

As soon as he spoke, the soldiers who had rushed in captured the women, and the scene instantly erupted into chaos.

Lin Miao Miao raised her hand and said to Li Yanhe, "Forget it. Just give them a few lashes to teach them a lesson. There’s no need to imprison them."

Upon hearing this, Li Yanhe suddenly understood something. He glanced at the village chief, whose eyes betrayed his deep respect.

Lin Miao Miao then addressed the three men, "Let’s go. We’re going home."

Everyone present was stunned, except for Hu San, who quietly watched everything unfold and bowed respectfully in the direction Lin Miao Miao and Li Yanhe were leaving.

The Li family village had undergone a complete upheaval. Everyone understood now that the couple who appeared to be fallen merchants were far more than they seemed.

Yet, the villagers never saw that couple again. Even the clothes and belongings from their small house were taken away, leaving it spotless, as if no one had ever lived there.

Of course, this was all in the past. Lin Miao Miao, Li Yanhe, Lin Langluan, and Lin Langze climbed into the carriage.

Lin Miao Miao glanced at Lin Langluan and Lin Langze, her voice calm and devoid of warmth as she asked, "Who taught you to say those things?"

"Though people are born unequal, Heaven cherishes life and others’ lives must be respected."

"Also, if you have the ability, you should not look down on others from a high place but use your strength to help them."

"You are merely lucky—luckier than these poor villagers. If you were placed in this mountain village, you wouldn’t live better than these people."

Lin Miao Miao’s voice carried a hint of anger. Lin Langluan lowered his head, saying nothing.

Seeing her two brothers hanging their heads in shame, Lin Miao Miao sighed and said, "Enough. Think carefully about what I said."

Pouting, Lin Langluan looked up and said slowly, "I only got angry because I heard someone say you didn’t keep to the proper ways of a woman. That’s why I lost my temper. Sister, can you please not be mad at me?"

He spoke each word carefully. Lin Miao Miao found this amusing and shook her head.

She told them, "They’re just jealous, that’s why they speak so recklessly."

After she finished, Lin Miao Miao suddenly reached out and said to the three men beside her, "Now that our disguise is gone, we can’t return to Li family village anymore."

The three men suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.

"Sister, what’s a disguise?" Lin Langze, the smarter of the two, changed the subject.

Lin Miao Miao looked at him and explained slowly, "A disguise is another identity—a different name and background from your original one."

Lin Langze nodded and said, "Then I’ll get myself a disguise too."

Lin Miao Miao burst out laughing and shook her head. "You little brat, what do you need a disguise for?"

Hearing her tone, Lin Langze felt a little annoyed and said, "Sister, I’m not a kid anymore."

Lin Miao Miao studied her two younger brothers carefully and suddenly realized that, in this ancient era, they were already at the age for marriage.

Li Yanhe seemed to understand what she was thinking. Raising his eyebrows, he said to Lin Langluan and Lin Langze, "You two should play around for another two years before marrying, just like your sister and me. Take your time to find someone who truly suits you."

Lin Langluan and Lin Langze immediately nodded and said, "Yes."

Lin Miao Miao never expected that her two-month stay in Li family village would stir up such a mess.