Sun i coldly looked at Old Lady Wu and said, "Fine. If you say I stole it, then let ask you: where would I hide such a large piece of at after stealing it? Don’t tell I ate it raw on the spot?"
Old Lady Wu was montarily stumped before retorting, "You hid it yourself! How would I know where you put it? Perhaps you gave it to your daughter to take to the school."
At the ntion of her daughter, Sun i beca visibly upset and retorted angrily, "Nonsense! The mutton you gave was only this much. You claim I coveted the mutton upon seeing it? It sounds more like you’re describing yourself—stealing what’s under your own care and then crying ’thief!’ Fine, since you’re determined to accuse today, let’s call in Country Gentry Wei and report this to the authorities. We’ll see what the judge at the County Governnt Office has to say!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a few students ran off to fetch Old Master Wei.
"What? Report to the authorities?" Upon hearing this, Old Lady Wu grew obviously nervous. She had thought Mrs. Sun was just a country bumpkin. She assud Mrs. Sun would be easily intimidated by her threats and obediently hand over so money to avoid trouble. She never expected Mrs. Sun to dare to report to the authorities.
"Yes! Report to the authorities! Let’s go! We’ll take this to the court at the County Governnt Office!" With that, Sun i grabbed Old Lady Wu and started to drag her out.
Frightened, Old Lady Wu tried to yank her hand free, but Sun i’s grip was too strong. She struggled to break free, stubbornly insisting, "You can’t deny this! You think I’m afraid of you? Even... even if I stand before the judge, I’ll say the sa thing! You stole the mutton!"
At this point, Zhao Zhitong’s eyes darted around, and he suddenly shouted loudly, "Wei Shulan, go quickly and find your uncle to report this to the authorities! We’ll protect the scene and make sure the thief doesn’t get away!"
Wei Shulan understood imdiately and replied loudly, "Absolutely! How dare she steal mutton from my family! We’ll have the magistrate give her a good spanking!"
With that, she winked at Zhao Zhitong and dashed out.
"You—you little wench! Who are you calling a thief?!"
Old Lady Wu cursed as she tried to stop Wei Shulan, but Sun i held her fast. Unable to break free, panic set in. If she was punished by the magistrate by being flogged with planks, she might not die, but she’d surely lose a layer of skin!
Just then, Qiao Muchen suddenly pointed at Old Lady Wu and shouted, "Look! There’s mutton stuck in her teeth! She’s the one who stole the mutton!"
Old Lady Wu was terrified. She hastily covered her mouth. She hadn’t even eaten yet, so how could there be mutton in her teeth? By the ti she realized this, however, it was too late.
Qiao Muchen stepped forward and shouted, "I was tricking you! There’s no mutton on your teeth! You’re acting guilty, which ans you stole the mutton! If I’m not mistaken, you probably haven’t dared to eat it yet. If soone searches her house now, they’ll definitely find the stolen goods and catch her red-handed!"
Just then, Country Gentry Wei arrived and overheard this. He promptly sent soone to search Old Lady Wu’s house, and indeed, they found the mutton hidden in a jar.
The servant who found the mutton wore a surprised expression. "Master, she hid it so well! It took us a while to find it. We finally found it under a table, in such a big jar. Not only was there mutton, but also chicken, lons, and fruits. I suspect these weren’t co by honestly either."
Obviously, this wasn’t the first ti she had stolen at.
At this mont, Old Lady Wu collapsed to the ground, crying and repeatedly pleading for rcy, "Master, I was wrong! I was montarily blinded by greed and made this mistake. Please spare this once!"
Old Master Wei snorted coldly and ordered her to be taken away.
This farce was resolved just like that. What awaited Old Lady Wu was a flogging and expulsion from the Wei family.
Sun i continued to serve the children als as usual. But after cleaning up the kitchen, she found Country Gentry Wei and quit her job at the school.
Country Gentry Wei was quite shocked and wondered if it was because of Old Lady Wu. He assured her that he would punish Old Lady Wu severely for it.
Sun i shook her head and said, "It’s not because of this. Actually, I’ve been aning to tell Old Master Wei. My family is now in the tofu business, and with the busy farming season approaching, we’ll need all hands on deck at ho..."
She really was reluctant to leave this job, but her family also needed her.
Before she could finish, Country Gentry Wei indicated that he understood.
He had heard that the Zhao Family had recently divided the household, the man of the house had an injured leg, and they would undoubtedly need more help during the busy farming season. So, he agreed imdiately and even offered Sun i a full month’s wages. He only expressed his regret, saying that the children all loved the als Sun i cooked.
Sun i didn’t refuse the offer and smiled. "Old Master Wei, I’ll leave once you find a replacent. If the school still needs in the future and things at ho are manageable, I’ll be happy to return."
Zhao Zhitong didn’t know about his mother’s decision to quit her job yet. At the ti, the three little ones were squatting under a large phoenix tree in the schoolyard, their heads close together, chatting.
After lunch, the students were free to move around in the schoolyard, but they were not allowed to do dangerous things, such as climbing trees.
Having been lectured by the Teacher, Zhao Zhitong no longer climbed trees in the schoolyard, and he certainly wouldn’t do so now.
At this ti, the three children were squatting together, discussing the incident of Old Lady Wu framing Zhao Zhitong’s mother.
Zhao Zhitong said to Qiao Muchen, "You were like the judge in your father’s books today, very impressive."
Qiao Muchen blushed upon being praised, his little face filled with pride, yet he said modestly, "Not really. I’m still a long way from being like the judges in the books. However, I will study hard and strive to beco a judge like those in the books."
Wei Shulan seed a bit confused. "What judge?"
So, Zhao Zhitong told Wei Shulan about Qiao Muchen’s father and the storybooks. "Judges are amazing! They catch bad guys, clear the nas of the innocent, and speak up for the common folk. They’re truly admirable people. Qiao Muchen wants to beco an amazing judge just like his father in the future!"
Wei Shulan listened with wide eyes. "Wow, that’s so cool!"
Zhao Zhitong looked as proud as if she were talking about himself. "Right? But I also have a great goal. I want to beco a very powerful physician, an ’angel in white’ who saves lives and heals the injured."
Although Zhao Zhitong didn’t fully understand what an ’angel in white’ was, since he was using the term to describe his own aspirations, he figured it had to be a good one.
Wei Shulan’s little face turned red. "Then what should I be in the future?"
Zhao Zhitong said, "Don’t you want to be as skilled as Master Lu Ban?"
Wei Shulan’s face turned even redder. "M-? Can I really? That sounds so difficult."
Zhao Zhitong patted Wei Shulan on the shoulder confidently. "You certainly can! Grandpa Bai said that we should have lofty goals. As long as we study hard, we can definitely achieve them. Isn’t that right, Qiao Jiaojiao?"
Qiao Muchen nodded. "...Yes, Zhao Zhuangzhuang."
Grandpa Bai thought, ...
Seeing their conversation straying further and further into the absurd, Grandpa Bai kindly reminded them, "Tongtong, weren’t you going to analyze today’s ’case’?"
Zhao Zhitong suddenly rembered and quickly changed the topic. "Oh yes, Qiao Jiaojiao, you said you had so doubts about today’s ’case’. What are they?"
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