The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

Chapter 216: Losing Face

Ding Gaochang, his voice shaking with fury, commanded, “Arrest this brute and interrogate him thoroughly along with Qi Shen, and treat them harshly. Let them understand the consequence of harming others!”

“Yes!” The bailiffs and government officials readily responded.

During the whole Water Ghost fiasco, they had been held hostage by the cunning of these two men and had been unable to take any action against them. They felt utterly helpless, but now that the truth had been revealed they were eager to bring the deceivers to justice. The officials felt enormous relief, their pent-up resentment was finally vented. They seized Qi He and took him away.

The villagers, having witnessed this spectacle and Qi He’s confession, were left staring in stunned silence.

It was all a lie, a deception.

These two men were impostors.

The so-called true men they had been following simply turned out to be gamblers who had lost and were trying to swindle them of their money.

There was no Water Ghost nor was there any ghost claiming lives. All that existed were two fraudsters who had duped an entire village.

And they, the villagers, had been completely oblivious to all this. In their ignorance, they rallied behind the fraudsters to get the Government Office involved, accused the bailiffs, and abused the government officials. They had even accused Daya of being heartless for refusing to become the bride of the Water Ghost.

Weren’t they the epitome of those being sold gleefully count their very own losses without even noticing?

This…

This was utterly humiliating.

“As you all witnessed, this was nothing more than a deception by two tricksters to steal your money. There is no such thing as a Water Ghost, and the idea of a Water Ghost taking a wife is but an absurd tale,” Ding Gaochang declared before the crowd, “You need not live in fear of a Water Ghost. But in the future, you should be more discerning and be wary of such frauds.”

On hearing Ding’s words, the villagers – who already felt abashed – felt even more mortified. Their faces turned tomato-red, as if they were about to bleed.

“But…” A villager stood up to question, “earlier, that true man demonstrated the trick with copper coins in hot oil, drawing water with a bamboo basket, and standing chopsticks in water…”

“Are they all lies too and have nothing to do with his prowess? We all witnessed these things with our own eyes…”

“Indeed.”

“Indeed.”

There were a few who echoed, nodding in confusion. After all, they had seen these things with their own eyes; surely they could not have been mistaken.

Ding Gaochang raised his eyebrows ever so slightly.

As he had expected, the conversation inevitably led to this point. Fortunately, he was prepared for it.

“Be patient; allow this maiden to explain everything.”

Ding Gaochang nodded at Zhuang Qingning.

It was time for her to stage her performance.

Zhuang Qingning, standing off to the side with her face veil being a silent onlooker all this while, had already prepared everything. She stepped forward with few government officials following her, carrying the items Zhuang Qingning had asked them to prepare.

A hot coal stove had a small pot on it.

Steam was rising from the pot and soon the bubbling started, indicating it was boiling.

Zhuang Qingning dropped a prepared copper coin into the pot. The coin, with a splash, fell to the bottom.

Recognising that she was about to publicly demonstrate the trick of retrieving a copper coin from hot oil, the villagers immediately gathered round to watch closely.

“As you can see, this indeed is a boiling pot of oil, and there is a copper coin in it. I am now going to retrieve the coin.”

Zhuang Qingning announced, before rolling up her sleeves and swiftly putting her hand into the bubbling pot. She quickly retrieved the copper coin and held it up for the crowd to see.

“Here it is, a copper coin from the boiling oil.”

The villagers were all taken aback. They looked at each other in silenced, not able to utter a word for a moment.

“And this is a task that anyone can perform.”

Zhuang Qingning threw the copper coin back into the pot. An official rolled up his sleeves and retrieved the coin from the pot post which, the coin was again put back into the pot, and another official retrieved it…

Observing the officials casually retrieving the coin from the pot – as if it was just another mundane chore like scooping water from a tank – left the villagers dumbfounded.

“As you can see, anyone can do this,” Zhuang Qingning said. “You all can give it a try.”

“Us?” The villagers were again startled. Some of the faint-hearted instantly declined, but a daring one approached to gingerly dip a hand into the pot.

“Huh?” The villager who reached into the pot was initially stunned, then laughed as he scooped out the coin and held it up excitedly. “Truly, this oil pot isn’t hot at all. It is just like warm water. The trick of retrieving a coin from the oil pot is a fraud!”

“The boiling oil isn’t hot?” Someone asked in amazement. They were all puzzled as they looked at the perfectly fine hand and arm of the villager who had dipped it into the boiling pot.

“Naturally, it’s not hot,” Zhuang Qingning answered. “The pot is not filled solely with oil, but with vinegar underneath and oil on top.”

“Oil is lighter, and floats on top while vinegar, being heavier, settles at the bottom. And these two liquids do not mix. When both are poured into the pot, the vinegar sinks to the bottom while the oil floats on top. As vinegar heats quickly, it seems as though the oil is boiling when in reality it’s the vinegar that’s boiling and creating bubbles. So, when you dip your hand into the pot at this moment, the oil isn’t hot and you can easily pick up the copper coin.”

“If you still don’t believe it, you can try it at home. You’ll understand everything. Besides this trick, some people use only oil and genuinely heat it up. But they apply a layer of wax on their hands. When they swiftly dip their hand into the pot, the wax doesn’t melt right away and protects the hand from the heat, preventing any burns.”

“So, if you see such tricks in the future, don’t believe the performer possesses any special abilities or regard it as something extraordinary. It is simply trickery.”

Once Zhuang Qingning finished her explanation, the villagers suddenly understood.

“So, that’s how it is.” “It was a deception all along.” “Had we known earlier, we wouldn’t have fallen for the liars’ tall tales…” The villagers discussed among themselves, expressing their regrets.

Even Ding Gaochang agreed, “So, that’s how it is.”

He was curious about the trick of retrieving a copper coin from boiling oil. Now that he understood that it was a mere deception, he chuckled wryly. He now knew that he had to personally verify if he found anything unusual next time. That might reveal the whole trick.

While Ding Gaochang was mulling over these thoughts, Zhuang Qingning had already brought out a bowl and chopsticks.

“As for the trick of making chopsticks stand in water, there is not much to say,” Zhuang Qingning stated, demonstrating with the chopsticks in the bowl, “As long as the base of the bowl and the chopsticks are flat, they will stand.”