The three children walked over, having just finished their meal, confusion evident on their faces. Dabao realized that the men present all looked serious. He pulled at the hem of Qi Qingyao's dress with his tiny hand. "Mother?"

Xiaobao looked at everyone's expressions dubiously. He asked softly, "Were you having an argument with someone just now?"

​​

Qi Qingyao said calmly, "No, I didn't argue with anyone. It's just that he was ready to renege on the pact and I taught him a lesson!"

Everyone was speechless.

She did teach him a lesson.

Erniu had eaten her fill. She was a little oblivious to the current circumstances and disregarded everyone's gazes completely. She said cutely, "Mother, where are we staying tonight?"

Qi Qingyao asked her with a smile, "Have you all eaten?"

"We have." Erniu blinked her large eyes.

"We should return then," Qi Qingyao said.

"Where to?" Dabao asked.

"To the inn back in town," Qi Qingyao said.

Qi Qingyao bade farewell to the village chief and the entourage boarded the carriage. Before departing, Qi Qingyao looked at the weather and told the chief that she would return after three days.

Ma Sanye responded with a smile and, with the other villagers, sent Qi Qingyao's group off.

After the carriage had traveled a distance, everyone surrounded Ma Sanye.

"Village Chief, about this…"

"Stop talking about it!" Ma Sanye interrupted the man, who was preparing to launch into a tirade.

Everyone looked at one another, wanting to speak up, but ended up swallowing their words.

Ma Sanye looked at everyone meaningfully and sighed. After that he said, "He agreed to the bet."

"He, Zhang Tieyuan, and his family signed a pact."

"But…" Old Wang began again.

Ma Sanye's gaze swept over him. "Eleventh Daughter was right. If he proclaims himself to be a gambler and yet doesn't have the courage to shoulder the consequences, then he has no right to gamble. He wanted to take the money and leave after he won, but he did nothing but throw tantrums and complain after he lost. He's been coddled so much that he's made this a habit…"

Everyone was speechless.

It sounded correct, but everyone had assumed that the resolution would be more courteous as they were all fellow villagers.

What Qi Qingyao did, taking his land away…

Ma Sanye knew what everyone else was thinking. "He refused to admit to the bet when he lost. If he won, would he not have wanted the 1000 taels Qi Qingyao offered?"

Everyone fell silent.

After a while, Ma Sanye looked at the evening sky and said, "I think Old Zhang will never gamble again in the future."

With that, he turned and headed home.

Old Wang and the others stood outside in the freezing cold. They shuddered, rubbing their palms together. As they headed back to their homes, they chattered among themselves.

"This young woman is really ruthless," they could not help but exclaim.

"Such ruthless actions, really…" They had to admit, even as grown men, they would not be capable of doing the same.

"I wonder where she learnt all that from..."

"She was not that ruthless actually," Old Yang could not help but retort.

"Really?" Everyone looked at him with doubt.

"Didn't she give Zhang Cuiyun two taels as compensation for the produce? Two taels are a lot. They can live at an inn or temporarily stay with their relatives. They can easily rent a place with the money and start a small business. If they opt not to, and head to Qingzhou City instead, they can seek out a rich family and work as servants. After all, Old Zhang's son, daughter-in-law and daughter are still young, and they still don't have children as of now. The monthly pay should be more than enough. If they want to live on, there's always a way," Old Yang analyzed.

Everyone was speechless.

After listening to Old Yang's words, they felt like Old Zhang and his family would indeed not end up dying out on the streets.