"I..." Wang Wu swallowed hard, "I mean..." He then confessed the incident about him trying to force himself on Guan Qingyue, which happened when he fell while fleeing and got stabbed by something.
Immediately, a buzzing arose among the onlookers, and their expressions turned sour.
"Can’t you speak more clearly?" Yang Ruxin frowned, "Tell me, did you manage to do it or not?"
"No... no, I was about to start when you hit me..." Wang Wu hurriedly shook his head.
"Still planning on getting married?"
"No." Wang Wu shook his head again, "I will take a detour from now on..."
Yang Ruxin nodded toward the people around her then stepped back.
The news about Wang Wu wanting to marry Guan Qingyue had already spread, and nobody was able to keep Guan Qingyue’s suicide a secret. Everyone put two and two together and understood what must have happened. Now, with Wang Wu’s confession, it was confirmed.
Worries began to surface among the villagers. Didn’t every family have a daughter? The previous behavior of Wang Baozhu had already made it hard for the villagers to hold their heads up high, and now, Wang Wu’s attempted rape...
Voices started suggesting that such a family couldn’t stay in the village anymore...
Yang Laoguan’s expression had been dark throughout. Such an incident in the village was a disgrace.
"You bastard, you almost killed my sister..." Guan Qingshu, appearing out of nowhere, suddenly charged over and threw a punch at Wang Wu, who was still lying on the ground.
Wang Wu’s eyes quickly turned dark with a bruise.
The villagers who had been discussing the incident fell silent at once, astonished at Guan Qingshu’s actions. Known for his gentleness, never before had they heard him raise his voice, let alone hit someone. It must have been the anger that drove him—he, too, would be enraged if his sister were so violated...
Stunned by the punch, Wang Wu covered his face, unsure of how to react.
Though his own hand hurt from punching, Guan Qingshu bit back the pain without showing it.
However, Yang Ruxin frowned, thinking to herself what a fool he was, not choosing to use a tool to strike with. Now, after that punch, it would probably be days before he could hold a pen again.
But Qingshu stepped forward to the village chief, bowed, and said, "Village Chief, such a person does not deserve to stay in our village. The saying goes, ’A leopard can’t change its spots.’ People like him will never change for the better, and he will surely harm others in the future. Therefore, I humbly request the Village Chief to remove this person from our village..."
As soon as he spoke, the villagers who had been talking amongst themselves fell silent.
Being simple villagers, they all knew the Wang family was no good, and while they agreed with scolding and punishing them, driving them out seemed too much... With no village to belong to, one becomes like a rootless duckweed, eventually dying without a place in the ancestral graves...
"Head of the family..." Lin Yue’e panicked upon hearing this, "This..."
"We were wrong..." Wang Sheng also began to fear, knowing that being expelled meant having no place to stay, and he quickly knelt down, "We will definitely control our children better from now on... Brother Li, I beg you, please show us some mercy... I..." Then he suddenly turned, grabbed Wang Wen, and dragged him down to his knees before slapping him across the face.
Wang Wen’s face immediately swelled and reddened.
Even though he felt humiliated and resentful, Wang Wen endured it and bowed his head.
"Yes." Lin Yue’e followed suit, kneeling down, "Scholar Guan, it was our foolishness, please be magnanimous... Consider whatever we said before as nonsense..."