mtl008 Chapter 104 She's the real jinx
Chapter 104 She's the real jinx
In the main hall, several villagers from Qingliu Village knelt on the ground and begged, their voices rising and falling.
"My lord, my lord."
"Sir, we are willing to tell the truth, please spare us." Guo Da and Zhao Jinhua knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
The jailer told them that those who falsely accuse others would be punished with flogging, caning, or imprisonment at best, and exile, military service, or execution at worst.
They are afraid!
Feng Wuliu and Liu Xianglan also knelt down, especially Liu Xianglan, who was almost in tears, "Sir, we dare not deceive you anymore, please forgive us."
The others joined in, pleading, "Sir, please spare us! We have families to support..."
Li Huaiyuan coldly surveyed the crowd. "Silence!"
No one dared to utter another sound.
They were all ordinary people from the lowest social class, and the highest official they had ever seen was a county magistrate.
Li Huaiyuan said, "Now you know fear? How dare you still distort the truth and implicate others?!"
Guo Da crawled forward two steps, trembling. "Sir, we have no choice..."
"Tian Bonian is our village chief; he's Tian Zhongqing's older brother..."
"We dare not refuse to cooperate. If we don't, how can we maintain our standing in the village in the future?"
As soon as he said this, the other villagers echoed his sentiments.
"Yes, sir, we had no choice..."
"Shut up!" the constable shouted.
Everyone quieted down.
Li Huaiyuan frowned slightly as he looked at them. "Now, tell me what you know."
“Sir, I’ll speak first,” Zhao Jinhua said, eager to tell everyone, “the Tian family’s affairs were all done by Tian Zhiyuan and Madam Lu.”
"Tian Zhiyuan has to come to the county town to work before dawn."
"Back when their family was farming..."
“Every day after working in the county, Tian Zhiyuan would go to the fields to work for two hours.”
"Every day, Mrs. Lu does laundry, cooks, goes up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, fetches water, feeds the chickens, sews, cleans, and takes care of the children..."
"She also had to take care of Tian Zhongqing and Wang Shi..."
Liu Xianglan was afraid that she would tell everything, so she quickly reached out and grabbed Zhao Jinhua, "Sir, I'll talk, I'll talk too."
"The clothes worn by the Lu family were all hand-me-downs from the Tian family, washed white."
"The blankets they used were also stiff and moldy."
"And... they ate the leftovers."
"besides..."
"Also... they felt that after Tian Zhicheng passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, he would go out to take up an official post and should not take the Lu family as a burden."
"Selling Tian Tian was to get rid of a burden first."
"Later, when Tian Tian drowned herself in the river, they shouted that it was bad luck and forbade Lu Shi from taking Tian Tian home, forcing Lu Shi's family to get out of Tian's house."
Liu Xianglan lived in front of the Tian family's house and overheard a lot of things.
"The reason they are targeting the Lu family this time is because they know that the Lu family owns a shop in the county and they want to take it over for themselves."
"Liu Xianglan, what nonsense are you talking about?" Upon hearing this, Wang Yulan lunged at Liu Xianglan.
Liu Xianglan hid behind Feng Wuliu, saying, "I'm not lying, I heard it clearly."
"It was Wang Xiuying who instigated you!"
Wang Xiuying was taken aback and rushed over as well, "Liu Xianglan, what nonsense are you spouting?"
When did I encourage her?
"It was her own idea! What does it have to do with me?"
Wang Yulan paused, looking at Wang Xiuying in disbelief.
"Wang Xiuying?!"
"You?!" Wang Yulan grabbed Wang Xiuying's hair. "What did you say? You were the one who instigated me, and now you're denying it?"
"Didn't you tell me that such a big shop would lose hundreds of taels of silver if it was delayed by even one day?! Now you're denying it? And you're even blaming your mother-in-law?!"
"All my efforts to consider you have been for nothing! You! You!"
Wang Xiuying struggled to break free from her grasp. "Think of me?"
"Tian Zhigao and that bitch Guo Xiuyun got together and even had two bastard children. You don't kick her out, and you expect me to put up with it? Is this what you call considering my feelings?"
The constables originally came to break up the fight, but they didn't know how or which side to pull.
Just as I was struggling with this, Wang Xiuying's words completely stunned me.
Guo Xiuyun... is Tian Zhicheng's wife.
Tian Zhigao had an affair with Guo Xiuyun and they had two children...
Uh, uh.
The onlookers outside the hall covered their mouths and stared wide-eyed.
What did they hear? !
Is this something they can hear?!
Li Huaiyuan was so shocked that he stood up...
"Guo!" Tian Zhongqing, who had been standing proudly like a rooster, bristled and shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Are you crazy? Or are you still half asleep?"
"When has anything like this ever happened in our family?!"
Everyone...
Trying to cover it up only makes things worse! Too late, isn't it?
But soon someone analyzed the even more explosive problem.
"Tian Zhongqing drove the Lu family out..."
"But Lu's children are his biological granddaughters and grandsons."
"correct."
“The other children are all the children of Tian Zhigao, his stepson.”
"Oh my god, isn't this like inviting a wolf into the house?"
"Tian Zhigao is an ungrateful wolf, and his mother is an even more ungrateful she-wolf!"
"That's right, Tian Zhicheng is also Wang's son, but he suffered such a huge loss that he had to swallow it down, my God!"
"Tian Zhongqing is really unlucky to have married such a second wife."
“Wang even called Lu a jinx, a cursed woman who brings bad luck to her husbands. I think she’s the jinx.”
"She directly cut off Tian Zhongqing's retreat."
"They don't care at all, and they're even trying to cover it up."
Tian Zhongqing's face flushed red and then turned pale, but he still insisted, "Nonsense, nothing like that happened in my family."
Everyone...
"Maybe he thinks that if he doesn't admit it, then it never happened."
"Isn't this..."
"He who tries to cover his ears to steal the bell."
Tian Zhongqing: "..."
"Sir, this matter has nothing to do with the case!"
Li Huaiyuan nodded. "This matter is unrelated to the case..."
"Wang Xiuying, just tell me, who came up with the idea of suing the Lu family?"
Wang Xiuying's hair was pulled into a mess by Wang Yulan, making her look like she had a bird's nest on her head.
"Your Excellency is asking you a question, why aren't you kneeling down!" The constable finally came to his senses.
Wang Xiuying knelt down with a thud, "Yes..."
She came to her senses and glanced at Wang Yulan with a hint of lingering fear...
"It was my idea..."
If she doesn't admit to this, her in-laws might really divorce her.
The third son is about to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, and he will soon be able to enjoy a life of comfort.
She cannot be divorced.
"Your Honor, it was this woman who instigated her mother-in-law to file a complaint against Madam Lu."
"It's because this woman is jealous that the Lu family has earned money..."
"That's why she instigated her mother-in-law to falsely accuse the Lu family."
Wang Xiuying gave Wang Yulan a pitiful look, then prostrated herself on the ground, "My lord, I know I was wrong, please forgive me."
"I will never dare to do it again."
"Please, Your Honor, spare my life, this humble woman."