Grandma Qin was horrified. "You're spouting nonsense!"
Aunt Qin smirked in secret.
She continued to add fuel to the fire. "Chief Wang, you heard it yourself. This child raises wolves, a public menace! They'd even carry off the very grandmother who raised her."
"It's only because those wild wolves weren't hungry, otherwise they would have eaten the old woman long ago. As her family, how can we rest easy with such a menace in our midst?"
"She's an ungrateful brat! She was the one who ordered the wolves into the village. Because of her, my husband lost a hand, and my daughter hit her head so badly she's still in the city recovering!"
Meanwhile, Shen Ningning's big, watery eyes were filled with confusion.
She looked at Lai Zi.
She didn't understand why a man she'd never met before would step forward to slander her.
Some villagers started pointing and muttering. "No matter what, the Qin Family raised her until she was four. How could she treat them like enemies?"
Others stammered, "Yeah, no matter how much Aunt Qin beat her, she shouldn't repay kindness with hatred."
"Sigh!" Lai Zi fanned the flames. "She knows she's an orphan. You can never truly tame one of them."
Grandma Qin immediately covered Shen Ningning's ears.
"How can you people be like this! Are you trying to hound us to our deaths?! Good heavens, is there any justice left in this world?"
Aunt Qin sneered from the side.
'Any fool knows that supporting me might earn them a favor from Landlord Du.'
'But what's the use of testifying for Shen Ningning, that fatherless, motherless wild child?'
'A conscience? In these times of famine, a conscience is the most worthless thing of all!'
Chief Wang, who had been silent until now, remained suspicious.
His gaze swept over the secretly triumphant Aunt Qin, then to the grandmother and grandchild clinging to each other fearfully.
Shen Ningning's small, fair face was dominated by a pair of large, clear, and pure eyes. The little girl herself seemed dazed.
Chief Wang's own young daughter was about Shen Ningning's age, and he felt a stir of compassion.
"Aunt Qin," he asked, taking the initiative, "when you reported this, you said you found eggshells in the mountains, which made you suspect your mother had been dragged away?"
Aunt Qin nodded at once. "Yes, that's right. The area is deserted. Besides my mother, who else could it be?"
The moment the words were out, Aunt Qin realized she had misspoken.
She quickly shut her mouth, her gaze dropping guiltily.
Chief Wang had already guessed part of the truth.
He said sternly, "An old woman who has trouble even walking on her own—why would she go deep into the old forest? And if she was really dragged away by wolves, why would there be eggshells left behind?"
Aunt Qin opened her mouth several times. "Well…"
Seeing right through her, Chief Wang rebuked her angrily, "You speak with such certainty, yet your story is full of holes! There's clearly something wrong here. Men! Take her back to the government office and interrogate her properly to get to the bottom of this!"
The turn of events was so sudden that Aunt Qin and Uncle Qin were momentarily stunned.
"Chief Wang, I've been wronged! You've made a mistake! It was this damn girl who let the wolves hurt people! How did this turn into me lying? You should be interrogating her!"
Chief Wang was unmoved and waved for his men to take her away.
Suddenly, a horse-drawn carriage stopped outside the wicker fence.
The villagers immediately cleared a path, all of them very familiar with this carriage.
Lai Zi scurried forward, fawning. "Landlord Du, sir."
Landlord Du descended from the carriage. His sinister gaze swept across the crowd, and Chief Wang immediately led his men forward to pay their respects.
Just as he was about to explain the situation to Landlord Du, he saw the landlord raise a hand to stop him.
"I was briefed on this family's matter on my way here. The Qin Family is related to me by marriage. You can't handle this carelessly."
Chief Wang cupped his hands, a bad feeling rising in his heart.
"Landlord Du, the facts of this case are truly strange. They are accusing a four-year-old girl of using a wolf pack to injure people, and their words are far-fetched. That is why this subordinate wished to take her in for questioning."
Landlord Du stared at Chief Wang. "What is there to question? Isn't the situation clear enough already?"
"The important thing isn't whether someone is lying. The fact is that a wolf pack attacked the village! The fact is that people were injured!"
"The Qin Family's adopted daughter, Shen Ningning, runs with wolves and is known to be vengeful over the smallest slight. It's hard to say whether she'll lead the wolves back into the village for revenge in the future."
"Faced with such a threat, instead of dealing with it for the sake of the people, you're putting the cart before the horse and trying to take away an innocent person. Chief Wang, you are truly muddle-headed!"
Chief Wang frowned. He felt Landlord Du's words were a gross distortion of the facts.
He was about to argue his case based on reason, but Landlord Du took a step closer and said in a low, cold voice, "You have an old mother and young children at home. It's not worth risking your whole family for an orphan girl you don't even know. Am I right?"
This was a blatant threat!
Chief Wang froze as if struck by lightning. He stared at Landlord Du, whose eyes were filled with cold calculation.
How could a lowly arrest officer like him go head-to-head with a rich and powerful Landlord?
His conscience waged a brief, tumultuous war. In the end, Chief Wang lowered his head. "As the Landlord commands."
Landlord Du let out a short, mocking laugh. With his hands behind his back, he swaggered over to Aunt Qin.
He gave the order: "Tie up Shen Ningning and beat her to death with clubs! Prepare for the wolf pack's retaliation—station archers in ambush all around. We will take this opportunity to wipe them all out in one fell swoop and eliminate this problem for good!"
Several of Landlord Du's trusted men stepped forward and seized Shen Ningning.
Grandma Qin rushed to protect her but was dragged away by Uncle Qin.
"Ningning is innocent! Sir! Oh, sir!" Grandma Qin cried ceaselessly.
Shen Ningning paid no mind to her own safety.
The moment she heard them say they were going to attack the wolf pack, she snapped back to her senses.
The little girl opened her mouth and bit down hard on the back of the hand holding her.
"AHHH—!" The man cried out in pain and let go.
Shen Ningning scrambled to her feet and stumbled away, trying to run.
'I have to warn Langlang! He absolutely must not risk coming here!'
"Get her! If you dare let her escape, you'll take her place!" Landlord Du said viciously.
'This little brat saw my secret. She absolutely cannot be allowed to live!'
Grandma Qin lunged forward and grabbed one of the men by the leg. "Ningning, run! Don't look back! Don't ever come back!"
However, just as Shen Ningning ran out of the fenced yard, Lai Zi stuck out his foot and tripped her.
The little girl fell to the ground in a heap.
Just as Landlord Du's men were about to grab her, and just as Shen Ningning was about to escape into the Immortal Realm, a swift horse came galloping towards them, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Stop! Stop right there!" a guard on horseback shouted sternly, brandishing his scabbard.
Landlord Du took a few steps forward, squinting to get a better look.
'Who's here to ruin my plans?'
The horse stopped in front of Shen Ningning.
The little girl lifted her small, dust-streaked face. The guard dismounted and immediately helped her to her feet.
"Are you Shen Ningning?"
The little girl's eyes were still filled with wariness and fear, but she slowly nodded.
The guard breathed a sigh of relief. "Miss Shen, our master has been looking for you!"
Everyone present was stunned.
At that moment, more guards on tall horses rode up, followed by a carriage.
The villagers hurriedly cleared a path.
The spacious carriage came to a steady halt, and the first person to alight was Granny Chen.
Granny Chen pointed at the Qin Family's home. "County Magistrate, this is the place! This is where Ningning lives!"
The County Magistrate?!
The carriage curtain swayed, and a dignified, gray-haired old man stepped out.
Shen Ningning tilted her head up, looking at him with her watery eyes.
'Huh?'
'Isn't this the old grandpa who got bitten by a snake?'
The moment Landlord Du saw the County Magistrate, his face darkened.
The County Magistrate, Fu Yuansong, held a higher rank than him. He was not someone to be trifled with.
'How could a little orphan girl possibly know the County Magistrate?'
"Little benefactor." Fu Yuansong walked over to Shen Ningning, his heart filled with emotion as he knelt to look her in the eye. "This old man has finally found you."