CHAPTER 143: CHAPTER 143: THE MORE SHE SAYS, THE MORE MISTAKES SHE MAKES—THIS WRETCH SET HER UP

Pei Shu’er turned around, holding Ma Dagou in her hand.

"If you want to survive, you better start searching properly."

"If you can’t find it, our third house can retreat safely, since we still have the crops from the back mountain. At worst, we’ll just pay all the taxes. But you all won’t have such good luck."

Ma Dagou was terrified. Before he could speak, Pei Shu’er picked him up like a chick.

Plop!

Pei Shu’er actually threw him into Yuhua Lake!

Ma Dagou’s face turned pale. Choking on water, he pleaded and cried.

"Miss Pei, you can’t drown me. If you kill someone, there’s no way out for you either."

Pei Shu’er smiled and said, "There are shallower parts of Yuhua Lake. Go down and see if there are any radishes inside."

After saying this, Pei Shu’er looked at Tang Qingrou, who was watching her with a smirk, as if waiting for her plan to fail.

If Pei Shu’er was truly trying to deduce the truth from micro-expressions, she would let Ma Dagou up now.

After all, there wasn’t a hint of a flaw on Tang Qingrou’s face.

But she truly intended for Ma Dagou to search thoroughly.

In this Yuhua Valley, she figured if anything was hidden, it would be in this lake water.

Hearing this, Ma Dagou felt a bit of melancholy. This Miss Pei really does things on a whim.

Who would throw radishes into a lake? The water is flowing; the radishes would be swept away.

Isn’t there nothing left to eat?

But with her glaring fiercely from the shore, Ma Dagou didn’t dare to defy, and obediently continued searching.

He first held his breath, sank to the bottom, and when he ran out of air, resurfaced—repeating this for a while. All he saw was water; there wasn’t a trace of a radish.

Disappointed, he stood up. "Miss Pei, there’s really nothing..."

Tang Qingrou sighed with grievance, "Sister-in-law, I’ve told you long ago that there’s nothing. Why don’t you believe me?"

"Wasting our time is a small matter, but wasting Lord’s time is a big thing. How can you trouble Lord with things that aren’t real?"

Liu Xu, angered by Tang Qingrou’s smug face, yelled harshly, "Tang Qingrou, shut up! How dare you call Shu’er sister-in-law? You’ve already been removed from the family record!"

Tang Qingrou’s expression paused, an expression of extreme embarrassment and pain flashed by, quickly followed by a cold sneer as she stood by Niu Er, arms crossed, waiting for a joke.

Pei Shu’er ignored Tang Qingrou and quietly watched the lake surface, then asked, "Is there anyone who’s good with water?"

Two henchmen from the third house came out, both former soldiers.

She said, "You guys stretch your bodies first. If you find anything on this dive, I’ll give each of you a tael of silver."

Saying this, Pei Shu’er leaned in close. The two smelled the fresh scent on her body.

Pei Shu’er whispered something to them, and they nodded shyly, blushing.

"Heir’s wife, understood."

The two quickly jumped into the water. For a long time, the water surface was calm, and they didn’t resurface.

After the two changed their breath four or five times, they slowly swam to the center of the lake, and Tang Qingrou’s complexion finally changed.

Later, the duration of their submersion got longer and longer. When they resurfaced again, they exclaimed in surprise.

"Heir’s wife, we found it! There really is a water cave in Yuhua Lake."

Pei Shu’er smiled, took a bundle of rope from behind her, drank a sip of Spiritual Spring Water, and threw it mightily towards them.

The two caught the rope and sank to the lake bottom, then shouted towards the shore.

"Everyone can pull the rope now."

Soon, a sack full of white radishes was pulled out.

Tang Qingrou’s expression turned ghastly pale.

As soon as Pei Shu’er threw Ma Dagou into the lake, she was already somewhat panicked.

When Pei Shu’er looked her way, she felt she was being bluffed.

So she acted indifferent.

The result wasn’t a bluff. This vile woman had really confirmed the radishes were in the lake and had people search the water.

When Ma Dagou said there was nothing, she thought Pei Shu’er would give up.

Instead, this vile woman sent more adept swimmers down to search and even specifically looked for the water cave.

In Yuhua Lake, only Niu Qian and Niu Hao, along with her, knew of the water cave.

She’d hidden it in such an unimaginable place. How did this vile woman figure it out?

Pei Shu’er looked at those kneeling on the shore and smiled as she spoke.

"It seems only our third house has planted radishes in this mountain range, while others don’t have radish seeds. These radishes must be the ones we lost from our third house."

Tang Qingrou laughed, "Why only your third house? We also have radishes in Yuhua Valley."

Pei Shu’er raised an eyebrow, smiling as if surprised.

"Everyone’s crops are registered by the government officers. If Yuhua Valley has radishes now, then it means you stole our radishes to use for seeds."

After saying this, she covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"That’s also a crime, you know."

Tang Qingrou was stumped and eventually fell silent.

The more she spoke, the more mistakes she made. This vile woman, Pei Shu’er, was always setting a trap for her!

The people from the third house looked at Pei Shu’er with a little admiration on their faces.

Pei Shu’er looked at those who had been chased out of the Deserted Mountain, her expression turning cold.

"Now, with both people and evidence, I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourselves. Go into the lake and retrieve those radishes. I’ll have someone watch you."

"If the yield doesn’t match my previous estimate, expect to have your hands and feet cut off and be thrown out to distract the enemy."

Upon saying this, Pei Shu’er smiled coldly.

"Perhaps at that time, you might still manage to kill a few enemies and get a promotion in the army."

When Pei Shu’er said this, everyone felt a chill down their spine.

With hands and feet cut off, how could they kill enemies? They’d likely get killed themselves.

Who dares to delay now? If these radishes are truly washed away by the river, what will happen to them?

Fortunately, the radishes were packed in large sacks, and in the water cave, the radishes were retrieved bag by bag.

The radishes were soon retrieved, and Pei Shu’er looked at the two people in the water.

"Go down and check if there’s anything else. I’ll make you braised pork later."

Their eyes lit up, and they jumped into the lake without any hesitation.

They dove into the water cave and looked around.

After finding no more white radishes in the water, they came up to report to Pei Shu’er.

The government officers weighed the radishes, which matched the previously estimated weight by Pei Shu’er.

Pei Shu’er told the Lord, "My Lord, now that the radishes have been recovered, such behavior can’t be condoned. Otherwise, who will honestly grow their own crops and not just resort to stealing?"

The government officers had no intention of letting them off lightly. Hearing Pei Shu’er’s words made them even more inclined to punish them severely.

With that, those involved dared not argue further, quickly kneeling and begging for mercy.

"My Lords, we were also deceived by Tang Qingrou. She instructed us to steal radishes and promised to protect us."