Qiao Zhuang’s eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Ying, and third daughter-in-law, Jiang Ye, hurriedly ran to the road and started asking around for Qiao Yu’s whereabouts. If they could not find Qiao Yu, the two of them would have a hard time when they returned home.
“Sister-in-law, do you think Qiao Yu really stole something from someone else and hid it away?” Jiang Ye asked.
“I can’t say for sure. In any case, if she didn’t do it, why would people talk so much about it? They make it sound like it’s real,” Liu Ying said after thinking for a long time.
The two of them made their way to the entrance of the village as they could not find Qiao Yu even after searching the entire village. Both women were so tired that they sat under the tree to rest. They still had to continue the search later and if they did not succeed, they would have to go from house to house to ask.
“Sister-in-law, if we still can’t find her, we’ll get a beating when we get back. What can we do?” Jiang Ye asked anxiously.
Liu Ying was anxious as well. Although she did not hate her third sister-in-law, she was a little annoyed by Jiang Ye’s simple-mindedness. Although her second sister-in-law, Wang Qin, was conniving and always scheming against the rest of the family members, Wang Qin was a smart person and easy to talk to. On the other hand, although Jiang Ye was honest, she was so honest that she had become like a fool.
“Stop being so noisy! Aren’t we looking for her! Even if we really can’t find her, Father won’t blame us. If she has already run away, who can find her?” Liu Ying frowned and glared at Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye stopped talking and looked around silently, afraid that she would say something that would anger Liu Ying.
“Sister-in-law, do you think Qiao Yu is already at home? Or perhaps she’s at someone else’s house.” Jiang Ye said.
“She? She wouldn’t dare to go home, but like you said, it’s not impossible for her to go to someone else’s house. That kid next door has liked Qiao Yu for a long time. Don’t tell me she is hiding at his house,” Liu Ying said as she looked at Jiang Ye in shock.
The two of them immediately went to look for Qiao Yu. If she was really at the house of the kid next door, things would get out of hand. It would not sound right if an unmarried girl went to the house of an unmarried man to eat and drink for free. If word got out, all the women in their family would be mocked and ridiculed. This matter must be handled properly.
The fact was that Qiao Yu did not go to anyone’s house, but she did not stay idle either. While going to work, she secretly slipped away and went to Qiao Mei’s house to wait for Qiao Mei to head out so that she could cause some sort of accident and make Qiao Mei fall or get injured. She thought it best if she could put some scratches on Qiao Mei’s face.
Qiao Yu waited there leisurely the entire day but did not manage to do anything and could only go home to find something to eat. Before she could enter the house, she saw her eldest and third sisters-in-law running out in a panic and heard her father cursing in the house. She got so frightened that she turned around and ran away, not daring to go home at all.
Liu Ying and Jiang Ye searched the entire village but could not find Qiao Yu, and they could only go home nervously. As soon as they entered the house, Qiao Zhuang looked at the two of them.
“Where is she?” Qiao Zhuang said.
“She… Father… We didn’t… didn’t find her…” Jiang Ye stammered as she stood at the door.
Liu Ying hid behind Jiang Ye and did not dare to make a sound, afraid that she would be implicated if she moved.
Sure enough, just as Jiang Ye had said, Qiao Zhuang picked up the big tea pot beside him and threw it at them.
“What’s the point of coming back if you can’t find her! What’s the use of having you around! Useless things! You have mouths to eat but all the food is wasted on you!” Qiao Zhuang pointed at the door and berated them.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
The two of them cowered at the door in fear. They would be faulted if they went out, but if they did not go out, they would get beaten up. It was a dilemma for them. At this moment, the eldest son, Qiao Fu, and the third son, Qiao Wang, did not dare to save their wives. Anything they did at this time would make Qiao Zhuang unhappy. It was quiet in the house and no one dared to do anything as any little noise would attract Qiao Zhuang’s attention.
Qiao Yu waited in the mountains behind her house and only returned home quietly in the middle of the night. She pushed the door open a little and saw that there was no light in the house, so she thought that everyone was asleep.
“Sigh… Fortunately, they’re all asleep…” Qiao Yu was about to close the door softly and return to the west room when the house was suddenly brightly lit with the entire family sitting near the fireplace.
Qiao Yu nervously turned around and stared at the group of people near the fireplace. She was really like a lamb entering a tiger’s den and could neither run nor walk away. She could only watch helplessly as Qiao Zhuang walked up to her with a big stick.