At this time, Liu Yuanlin, whose face was pale and his mouth was black, could no longer speak. Ma Shuqin wanted to pick him up and ask the doctor to rescue him, but her slender body had no strength at all. Although there was no one around in the orchard, she still shouted, "Brother Yuan Lin fell from the tree..." After several screams, Liu Yuanlin fell in a pool of blood next to the plum tree and was on the verge of stopping breathing, but his eyes were still open, as if he was looking at Ma Shuqin, looking very scary.
Ma Shuqin didn't want to stay or run away, so she had no choice but to circle in the orchard, looking in the direction of Taohuawu Street and screaming, "Someone fell to death in the orchard..."
After a while, several people on the street heard the sound and came over. While crying, Ma Shuqin pointed to Liu Yuanlin's bloody body next to the plum tree and said that he climbed up the plum tree to pick plums, but unfortunately fell down and died.
Some of the visitors knew Ma Shuqin and the deceased Liu Yuanlin. One was the daughter of Yuan Ma from Nancun, and the other was the son of Liu Yuan from Beicun. They also knew that they were engaged, and Ma's family had accepted a horse-drawn gift from Liu's family. Their wedding is scheduled for the sixth day of May.
The big day is not far away now, but who would have thought that this tragic incident would happen. Many people came to look at Liu Yuanlin's body lying next to the plum tree, but no one helped to take the body away. Ma Shuqin was frightened and grieved, and cried loudly in front of many people.
At this time, someone saw the scene of the incident and ran to Beicun to deliver the letter. This bad news was like a bolt from the blue, causing Liu Yuanwai, an only son, to almost collapse mentally. His burly figure suddenly became very fragile. He could not stand, his body was trembling, and he was about to fall.
The butler Xu Youcai, who was following him like a bodyguard, supported him silently. He didn't let go until he sat down on an imperial chair in the hall. I also heard Liu Yuanwai say, hurry up...
Xu Youcai understood what he meant and immediately prepared a carriage as a funeral carriage, with the messenger sitting on the carriage to guide the way. In about half an hour, Liu Yuanlin's body was brought back from the orchard at the north end of Taohuawu Street, where the accident occurred, and spread out in front of the court. The crowd watching all looked solemn, and Liu Yuanlin's wife's wife was crying loudly, and she was extremely mournful.
Unbeknownst to Yang Ren, Liu Yuanlin's ghost, who came with the body, found that Ma Shuqin did not come to accompany the funeral and was very unhappy. Although Liu Yuanlin is considered an adult according to his age, he is still unmarried in the eyes of adults.
There is a local custom that when a child dies, the body is not left overnight, and no coffin is prepared. Instead, a frame similar to a coffin is nailed with wooden boards to bury it, and it has to be sent up the mountain to dig a pit overnight for burial.
Liu Yuanwai did not follow all customs. He treated his dead son as a dead adult. He spent money to buy a cypress coffin for his son to "sleep"; he also invited an undertaker from the streets of Taohuawu to perform plastic surgery on his son's body. He carefully stuffed his son's bloody intestines into his torn belly, then sutured them back together, and then buried his body.
However, Yuan Liu's family did not let their son's body stay overnight in front of their home. Instead, they carried it up the mountain for burial overnight.
Just as dissatisfied as Liu Yuanlin's ghost, Liu Yuanwai discovered that during his son's funeral, not only did his in-law Ma Yuanwai not come to mourn, but Ma Yuanwai's daughter Ma Shuqin also did not come to accompany the funeral.
Moreover, it had only been a few days and before the "first seven" were completed, Ma Yuanwai asked someone to return all the betrothal gifts, which made Liu Yuanwai very angry.
He would rather ask someone to file a lawsuit and seek an explanation. One is to comfort his son's spirit in heaven, and the other is to vent his anger on our Liu family.
In fact, there was a reason for him to file a lawsuit. I heard that his son fell from a tree while picking plums for his future daughter-in-law, Ma Shuqin, and died. Then Ma Shuqin must bear the corresponding responsibility.
Liu Yuanwai thought so and did the same. He asked someone to write a complaint and submitted it to the county government. The complaint stated: It seems that Liu Yuanlin climbed a tree and fell to death by himself. In fact, it can be said that Ma Shuqin harmed her. dead.
He unfortunately died while climbing a tree to pick plums for Ma Shuqin. It can also be said that he gave his precious life to satisfy Ma Shuqin's need to eat plums.
But Ma Shuqin was so cold and ruthless. During the funeral of Liu Yuanlin's body, she didn't even hit anyone when she saw him. Even if he did not come to accompany the funeral, he would not explain the reasons or apologize to the deceased's parents. Such unkindness and injustice aroused the public indignation of the Liu family and everyone. Therefore, Liu Yuanlin's parents strongly demanded that Ma Shuqin pay 1,000 copper coins to appease the deceased's family. Calm down the trouble. I beg the county magistrate to render a just verdict.
After the county magistrate saw the complaint, he sent a government official to bring Ma Shuqin from the countryside to the county government office for questioning and questioning. Ma Shuqin sometimes nodded and sometimes shook her head, but rarely spoke.
Her parents who accompanied her said, Shuqin, you have to speak, otherwise you will suffer the disadvantage of being mute. The county magistrate said, Ma Shuqin, what do you mean by shaking your head? Don't shake your head, just say it.
Ma Shuqin wiped her tears and said that what Liu Yuanwai's complaint said was true. The little girl was guilty and she didn't want to argue, she just wanted to plead guilty. The reason why I did not go to the funeral was because I felt that I would not have the dignity to meet the family of the deceased. What I meant when I shook my head was that the Liu family wanted me to compensate 1,000 copper coins, but I couldn’t afford it myself. They had to ask my parents to take it on their behalf, and I couldn’t bear it. My parents had provided me with food, clothing, and everything else since I was a child. My parents have been so kind to me, but I haven't repaid them at all. Now that I have caused such a big disaster, I really feel ashamed to ask my parents to bear the responsibility that should be borne by me.
The county magistrate felt that Ma Shuqin had a good attitude in pleading guilty. From her words, it could be heard that although she had no choice but to get involved in the matter, she did not avoid it, but blamed herself too much, and showed a true and kind heart of filial piety.
So, the county magistrate asked, since you can't come up with money to compensate the Liu family, and you won't let your parents come up with money to compensate you, what do you think I should do as the county magistrate?
The little girl is willing to go to jail in order to repay the 1,000 copper coins demanded by the Liu family. Wangxian County Grand Master made a ruling. When Ma Shuqin said this, she knelt down and kowtowed.
The county magistrate stretched out his hand and raised it slightly, signaling Ma Shuqin to get up. Ma Shuqin stopped kowtowing, but still knelt and said, "Master, if you don't obey the little girl's orders, it will be difficult for the little girl to obey your orders."
The county magistrate was shocked and said sternly, this case can't be solved by kneeling down and confessing, so get up quickly.
Ma Shuqin then stood up, dusted her knees, and waited for the county magistrate's fair judgment.
The county magistrate stroked his black beard lightly and considered the civil case. He thought that according to Liu Yuanwai's complaint, asking Ma Shuqin or Ma Yuanwai's family to compensate 1,000 copper coins was not much, but it was inappropriate because Liu Yuanlin climbed a tree and fell to his death. He himself must bear the main responsibility for the accident caused by carelessness, and Ma Shuqin can only bear the subsidiary responsibility.
According to what Ma Shuqin said, she would rather go to jail than pay compensation. But jail is a mandatory punishment for those who break the law and are guilty. Obviously, as far as Ma Shuqin is concerned, her behavior is at best unethical and not a crime, so it is impossible to sentence her to prison.
However, it would be unjustifiable not to impose certain financial penalties on Ma Shuqin. Therefore, the county magistrate thought over and over again, spread out the paper on the table, and wrote a short article similar to a mediation letter. Then he put down the pen, raised his head, looked at Ma Shuqin, Liu Yuanwai and other parties involved, and the family members of both parties present in the courtroom and said, this case I plan to handle the civil case this way and order Ma Shuqin to erect a monument in front of the tomb of Liu Yuanlin who unfortunately died.
In addition, starting from next year, Ma Shuqin must go to burn incense and worship every Qingming Festival to comfort the souls of the deceased and obtain forgiveness from the family members of the deceased. If both parties agree, come up and sign the pledge immediately.
Liu Yuanwai, who was in front of the hall, thought this was a good idea. He was about to stand up, salute the county magistrate, express his agreement, and sign the mediation letter. However, Ma Shuqin said nothing, and went directly to the table where the county magistrate was sitting. She reached for a pen and was about to sign and sign.
Ma Yuanwai, who was sitting in the back row of the court, suddenly stood up and stopped him. Shuqin, please be patient, I have something to say as a father.
The county magistrate then raised his hand to signal to the horsemen: Say——
Ma Yuanwai did not speak immediately, but bowed to the county magistrate and Liu Yuanwai one by one, then stood up straight and said, "With all due respect, the first thing the county magistrate said is that our Ma family should erect a stone tablet for Liu Yuanlin who unfortunately fell and died." Yes, it can be done.
Article 2: Asking my daughter Ma Shuqin to burn incense and pay homage to him every Qingming Festival is possible. But has the county magistrate thought about it? After all, my daughter Ma Shuqin did not marry Liu Yuanlin before he was alive, and she is not from their Liu family. Wife, I’m afraid it’s not appropriate to do this.
Besides, my daughter Ma Shuqin is going to get married. If she does this, it will have an impact on her future marriage. Think about it, once our Ma family has a son-in-law, it will be hard to accept if she goes all the way to a cemetery that has nothing to do with her family every year during the Qingming Festival.
At this time, Liu Yuanwai said unhappily, in this case, our Liu family does not need the Ma family to come to my son's grave to erect any monuments or sweep the tomb, so let the Ma family pay for it!
The county magistrate made a gesture to signal Mr. Liu to shut up. But Liu Yuanwai had already said what he needed to say, and the county magistrate did not deny him. Instead, he remained calm, turned his attention to Ma Shuqin, and asked, "What do you think?"
Ma Shuqin, who had stood here for a long time, did not answer immediately. Instead, she tightened the brush she had already held in her hand, signed the mediation letter, dipped her thumb in the red mud on the edge of the table, and then continued the mediation process. Putting fingerprints on the book is also called a calligraphy stamp. Then he pushed the mediation document towards the county magistrate and said, "Master, I agree."
Shuqin, didn’t you hear what I just said? The horseman asked with a frown.
Hearing this, daddy, don't worry about your daughter's marriage. Ma Shuqin said, I think about it this way. Since my husband can like me, he won't care about it, not to mention it is something that can be said clearly. If my husband can't understand and tolerate this, I would rather never marry.
The horsemen sitting on the side of the court were silent. Liu Yuanwai was still standing in front of the hall hesitating, occasionally looking sideways at Ma Yuanwai's face. The county magistrate looked at him with eyes as sharp as lightning and said, Mr. Liu, do you agree or disagree?
Liu Yuanwai did not answer, but responded with action - he quickly walked over and signed the mediation document.
Ma Yuan's wife kept her promise, and on the eve of Qingming Festival the next day, a tablet with "Liu Yuanlin's Tomb" engraved on it was erected in front of his tomb.
Ma Shuqin also came to burn incense and pay homage. Members of Liu's family had no words to say after seeing him. But during the Qingming Festival in the fourth year, Ma Shuqin, who had married out of town, never came here to worship again. Perhaps as time went by, Yuan Liu's family no longer cared about this matter.
Who knows? The living do not care, but the dead do. On the following Tomb Sweeping Day, the deceased Liu Yuanlin became resentful when he saw that Ma Shuqin, whom he loved during his lifetime, never came to visit his grave. He gritted his teeth and said sternly, Ma Shuqin, as long as I have the chance, I will kill her. A whole you.
