Wang Yuhuan sighed and burst into tears. Chunlong knelt beside Yuhuan and saw that she was in so much pain that he felt even more sad. Sun Youfa shouted, "The two of them committed adultery and conspired to commit adultery. Let's confront each other quickly. Who is the murderer? If they don't kill him, don't blame me for the punishment."
Sir, God is aware of Xiaosheng’s behavior, and I only hope that my late brother and sister-in-law will appear, catch the murderer, and redress the injustice of the wronged people.
Sun Youfa slapped the gavel suddenly. He was so bold and dared to trick his officer into using clever words to take it down and hit him three hundred times. This witch wanted to hit him one hundred and fifty.
Several thugs rolled up their sleeves and were about to grab it.
Stop it, I did it. Yang Chunlong looked at Yuhuan and saw that she was going to be punished. He knew that the woman's skin was weak and could not bear it, so he wanted to suffer this unjust injustice alone and shouted, "Sir, I am a murderer."
Sun Youfa frowned and thought, and asked, since you are the murderer, why don't you hand over the head?
Poor Yang Chunlong, who had not committed any murder, could not hand over his head, so he was beaten severely, with bloody scabs sticking to his clothes, and was imprisoned in a dark prison in the southeast of the city. Yuhuan was spared from torture and was put into a small cell next to Yang Chunlong. Sun Youfa gave Yang Chunlong three days to hand over his head, otherwise he would be tortured.
The guard's name was Wu Liang. He had triangular eyes and a wolfish heart. He often ate royal grains and shaved off the people's fat, turning himself into a fat pig. At this moment, he wanted to make a fortune by taking advantage of Yang Chunlong's trouble. He looked at Yang Chunlong and said, bitch, I have a way to make you die happily and avoid these tortures. When Chunlong heard this, he held back the pain, knelt in front of his knees and said, begging for mercy.
Don't do this, as long as you obey me and give me four hundred taels of silver, I will find the two heads for you. When the time comes, if I say a few words of kindness in front of the county magistrate, you will die smoothly.
Thank you, Xiaosheng. Yang Chunlong immediately asked the soldier for pen and paper to draft a family letter.
Chi Jia Shu rode a black horse, and Wu Liang rushed to Yangjia Village in Shaxian County that day. He tied his horse to a tree stump in front of the village and asked an old woman, who was Chunlong's mother, Mrs. Zhang. When she heard that her son had a family letter, her haggard cheeks immediately filled with joy and asked, where is my son Chunlong now? Wu Liangliang gave her a letter from home and said it will become clear after you read it.
Mrs. Zhang, who was illiterate, took the chrysanthemum to her daughter-in-law in the inner room and said happily, "My son has come home to write a letter, please read it to me quickly." Ju Hua recognized a few characters, opened the letter and read it, and was about to read aloud when suddenly her eyes filled with tears and she touched her face and cried. Knowing that something was wrong, Zhang's expression suddenly changed and she asked, "How is Chunlong?"
He entered the cell, and someone framed him for a murder case, and now he was asked to hand over two heads... Ju Huayan was already sobbing, and Zhang was wandering around the room in confusion.
My son suffered a misfortune, my son was wronged and cried loudly and repeatedly. Wu Liangliang stayed in the main room and no one offered him tea to sit down. An unknown fire had already burst into his chest, so he roared like thunder and quickly took the four hundred taels of silver and set out on the road——
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stopped crying. Mrs. Zhang was confused and looked at him. Juhua read the family letter and knew the contents in detail. She choked and wiped her tears. She walked up to him and knelt down on her knees. She said that the uncle should calm down and that the slave family would sell the house and property. I will also get four hundred taels of silver back and deliver them to you, hoping that you will do your best to help the officials in distress.
If the silver is not paid within two days, the official torture will be merciless. Wu Liangliang said fiercely.
Mrs. Zhang didn't understand, thinking that if she paid the four hundred taels of silver, her son would be saved, so she endured the grief and crossed the threshold, knelt down next to her daughter-in-law, looked at Wu Liang and said, "Sir, as long as my son is saved, the old woman will kowtow and beg along the street." I also need to get four hundred taels of silver.
Stop talking nonsense, time is tight, I will count the silver in person. Wu Liangliang was still roaring fiercely.
When the license was pending, Wu Liangliang came up with a crooked idea to sell their family's house and property to Liu Dakun nearby. Liu Dakun only offered 320 taels of silver, Wu Liangliang took them all, led the horse and was about to leave, but turned back and said, "I owe you 80 taels of silver and I have you to deliver it within two days, otherwise Yang Chunlong's life will not be saved." After saying this, Wu Liangliang mounted his horse, whipped his whip, and disappeared into the thick night.
After discussing it, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law set off overnight. It's early winter and the night is bitingly cold. Juhua was young and could bear it, but Zhang was old and her body was still trembling even though she was wearing a patched thick cotton jacket. Juhua took off the package from her back, put it on her own back and said, Auntie, you are so old, it is best not to go. I just rested temporarily at my neighbor Yang Liu's house, so that I could have someone to take care of me. I could make a living after I saved up all the money and brought back the officials.
She concluded that even if Chunlong was paid in full, his life would still be in danger if the injustice was not resolved. Thinking of this, I couldn't help crying.
Mrs. Zhang said sadly, as long as I have a breath, I will crawl to see my son. She coughed, a mouthful of phlegm stuck in her throat, and she couldn't spit it out for a long time. Juhua helped her gradually to the front of a mountain. Zhang had escaped the Qing soldiers in this area when she was young, so she was quite familiar with the terrain. Juhua said, "Juhua, there is a Dragon King Temple on the mountain. I wonder if it has been demolished now?" Let's go up the mountain and have a look. If the temple is still there, let's rest for a while before leaving!
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law entered the temple along the gray mountain road. It was quiet and dark inside. They entered a dirty and narrow house and sat down holding on to rocks and other objects. At this moment, the muscles and intestines were ringing like drums, the chrysanthemums were opened and the parcels were taken out, and a handful of dried sweet potatoes were taken out to share with the mother-in-law.
In the early morning of the next day, there was still no one in the temple. All that could be seen was: withered stems, yellow leaves, old and ruined, and birds fighting with each other and the wild wind blowing. Juhua found a wooden stick for her mother-in-law to carry out of the temple, and walked forward with difficulty. Seeing that she was coughing and moving slowly, she expected that it would not take a day or two to meet Chunlong who was in trouble in a different place, so she said, "Aunt, it's best if you are in the temple." Rest and go down the mountain feeling better.
Mrs. Zhang also felt that her energy was low, so she replied, "Chrysanthemum, hurry up and get the money and send it to you in time. There is only one day left, don't let me drag you down." With tears in her eyes, Juhua untied a package and hurried down the mountain, passing through villages and towns. Along the way, she stretched out her hand to beg and expressed her sorrow to people wearing ceremonial masks.
Mrs. Zhang sat on the roadside of the mountain, watching her daughter-in-law's shadow disappear, panting, her eyes blurred by tears: Alas, I am dying of tuberculosis, I wonder if I will ever be able to see my ill-fated son.
The cold mountain wind blew toward her, and her body trembled and coughed. Her gray and groggy head leaned weakly against the same cold package, and gradually a bit of warmth that resisted the cold filled her whole body. Just leaning on it, a white-hot winter sun suddenly rose from the top of a mountain like a package, weaving its brilliant light into a natural brocade quilt and covering her body. The heat gave her vitality.
She raised her head, picked up the package, and walked to the foot of the mountain step by step with a wooden stick, each stone step undulating with her determined footsteps. She was about to beg and leave when she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves. She raised her head and a red horse had appeared at the entrance of the village. From a distance, she knelt on the ground and looked at the burly man riding towards him and shouted, "This big brother,... Please be kind and donate some money to save lives.
The man approached and reined in his horse. When he saw the old woman weeping, there must be a reason. He asked, "Madam, there are no wolves, tigers, leopards, nor strong men blocking the road. Why are you calling for help?"
My eldest brother doesn’t know that my son Chunlong has been involved in a lawsuit out of town recently.
Oh, are you Yang Chunlong’s biological mother?
Old woman, how do you know?
I am the Mr. Wang who taught your son.
During the conversation between the two, Mr. Wang immediately got off his horse and helped her up, saying, Madam, why is your son in a lawsuit?
She cried and explained how Wu Liangliang brought a letter saying that Yang Chunlong had caused a murder case and that he could save his life by paying the government 400 taels of silver. Mr. Wang burst into tears and shook his head and said, "I don't believe that disciple Chunlong would cause a murder case. Someone must have harmed him." Auntie, it's important to save people. Even if you get eighty taels of silver, it won't be enough for you to travel in a day or two.
