Not long after, Li Zheng indeed sent someone to ask Jiang Sanlang to go to the Xiangtang Hall for questioning.
Jiang Dalang went with his third brother, leaving his second brother to stay and take care of Yingbao and Dalu.
The Xiangtang is the place where Li Zheng and the township officials work. Today, Li Zheng will interrogate the offenders here.
It was getting dark now, and lanterns were hung high in the courtyard of the Xiangtang, with several torches placed around it, illuminating the entire courtyard.
There were a lot of people squatting beside the courtyard wall. They were all jointly insured household heads of the three criminals. There were twenty or thirty people in total.
Some heads of households were too old, so their sons were punished instead, and each received twenty spanks.
Since the number of villagers is limited, people have to queue up to play the game.
For a moment, the yard was filled with the sound of crackling wooden boards hitting flesh, and screams of pain.
Jiang Sanlang walked into the main hall with the support of his elder brother, and met Li Zheng with his fists clasped.
Li Zheng asked him to tell the story from beginning to end, and also asked a document to be recorded in court, and then checked with the confessions of the three robbers.
After confirming that they were correct, Sun Lizheng sentenced the three offenders to compensate Jiang Sanlang for a total of fifteen taels of silver for his medical expenses. These fifteen taels of silver must be delivered within a time limit, otherwise they will be severely punished.
Tu Da was very happy and immediately asked his family to bring him five taels of silver, which he personally presented to Jiang Sanlang, "You are a young man who has failed to teach your son well. Please forgive me, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Sanlang took the money expressionlessly and said quietly: "It doesn't matter whether I forgive you or not. The public will make its own decision."
Anyway, he will not forgive these people. If he dares to do evil to his father and daughter, he will pay the price.
The remaining ten taels were left by Chen Sansan and Chen Luer's family.
But Chen Sansheng's family was completely bare, and his mother-in-law was pregnant, so she couldn't get out a penny.
Sun Lizheng asked the ten households in his family's joint guarantee to jointly contribute the money. Anyone who dared not pay the money after the due date would be punished until the money was paid in full.
Chen Ergou, who was squatting at the door, saw that he could still be like this, so he had a weird idea.
He also claimed that his family had no money and could not even afford a penny.
Sun Lizheng sneered, slapped the table and said, "Well, let the ten households in your joint guarantee jointly contribute the money."
When the ten households heard this, they hated Chen Ergou so much that they all secretly gritted their teeth and promised not to let his family have an easy time in the future.
Among these ten households was Chen Changping's father, Chen Laoshuan.
Chen Laoshuan, who is also fifty years old this year, was forced to take off his pants and lie on a bench and was beaten twenty times in public. He felt that he was completely humiliated, and then he was asked to come up with another five hundred yuan. He was so angry that he vomited blood.
But it’s impossible not to get out.
So he asked his younger son to go home and get the money and hand it over to Sun Lizheng.
After being slapped and fined, Sun Lizheng let him go as a matter of course.
Chen Laoshuan was carried home by his younger son Chen Changhai.
He was angrily cursing along the way, scolding Sun Lizheng and Muramasa for being ungrateful, and scolding Chen Ergou for not being a thing.
"Sure enough, it's not like a family doesn't stay in the same house. Look what Chen Ergou has done! From a young thief to a robber, he is a good example for his father!"
Speaking of which, Chen Ergou was somewhat related to Chen Laoshuan, but I didn't expect that he would be so shameless and ask his family to contribute money to his family.
"It took eight lifetimes of bad luck for our family to jointly insure with his family. Changhai, tomorrow you go to your cousin's house and ask him to change us to another jointly insured household." Chen Laoshuan said angrily.
Chen Changhai said angrily: "Father, you can change it if you want. Who dares to get involved with Chen Ergou's family now? Let me tell my uncle to drive his family out of the village quickly."
It's really a disaster that has lasted for thousands of years. Chen Ergou's father was a habitual thief. He was so old and celebrating the New Year, he actually stole the chicken cooked in the neighbor's pot, and was caught red-handed.
Alas, it just so happens that my family has a joint guarantee with someone like him.
When Chen Laoshuan returned home, he lay down on the kang while Chen Feng gave him medicine.
"You said Chen Lv'er couldn't think of anything else and hangs out with the street gangster Chen Sansheng. Now it's great. Chen Ergou finally gave birth to a son. If he doesn't have a daughter, he will be sentenced. Tsk tsk..."
Chen Fengshi murmured, but also complained: "It's the same with your cousin. How could you let someone beat you like this? You won't be able to get on the bed for several days."
Chen Laoshuan's cousin is Chen Changsheng, the village leader of Xichen Village, and he is also the one who pushed them out as co-insurance households.
For this reason, Chen Laoshuan was also very unhappy.
If you don't show any kindness at all, make him lose money and be embarrassed, what kind of relatives are you?
Huh! When it is my turn to be Muramasa, I will definitely let him experience what it means to be unkind.
…
During the garrison, Jiang Sanlang returned home holding his sleeping daughter.
Chun Niang quickly stepped forward to pick up her daughter and put her on the kang.
"How are you? Is the injury serious?" Chun Niang touched her husband's head.
"Fortunately, it's okay." Jiang Sanlang took out a bag of silver from his arms and handed it to his wife, "This is the compensation awarded to me and Bao'er by Li Zheng, a total of fifteen taels."
Chun Niang took it, put it aside, and asked: "How were those who harmed you punished? Shouldn't they be fined and let go?"
"I haven't let him go. He said he would be sent to the county government early tomorrow morning to be punished by the government."
After all, Li Zheng is not a public office official and does not have the right to sentence criminals, but he can still fine him some money or beat him a few times.
Chun Niang felt relieved, put the money away, and asked:
"Have you eaten yet? I'm warming dinner in the pot. Do you want some?"
"I've eaten, the chicken porridge I had at my eldest brother's house."
Jiang Sanlang said to his wife again: "Bao'er is not in good spirits today. Langzhong Li said that she might be frightened, so he prescribed a tranquilizing medicine for her to drink.
Let Bao'er sleep with you tonight, and you can take care of me while I go to the west room."
"Okay." Chun Niang picked up the oil lamp and led her husband to the west room. "You sit down first, and I will bring you hot water."
Jiang Sanlang nodded, took off his shoes and sat on the edge of the kang. His head felt heavy and he wanted to sleep.
After a while, Chun Niang brought him hot water to wash his face, and then went to get a basin of water for his feet.
After Jiang Sanlang washed up, he lay down directly to sleep.
He lost too much blood today, his whole body felt cold, his eyelids were trembling, and he might faint if he didn't sleep.
At this time, Chun Niang brought another bowl of golden ear porridge and insisted that he finish it before going to bed.
Chun Niang covered her husband with a quilt and then returned to the east room. She brought a basin of water to her daughter to wash her face and hands, and then fetched water to wash her feet.
Ying Bao's eyelids moved slightly, she was falling into a dream of her past life.
In the twelfth lunar month of winter, when she came back from doing laundry by the river, her biological mother, Han, who had always looked down upon her, went out of her way and invited her into the house and took out a gorgeous dress and a pair of foot bells for her to put on.
Ying Bao took the skirt and shook it open to take a look, her face darkened.
The material is thin, the skirt only reaches the calf, and there are long tassels hanging from the waist. It is a dance skirt worn only by Hu Xuan dancers.
"Ying'er, we have a distinguished guest at home today. Didn't you learn the Hu Xuan dance at Wuchun Academy? Let's give a demonstration to the guest."
Ms. Han shouted "Ying'er", which probably made even her feel awkward, and the motherly smile she pretended was particularly fake.
"Whether your father can be an official depends on this distinguished guest, so you must behave well and never offend the distinguished guest."
Ying Bao threw the skirt in her hand on the table and sneered, "Why don't you let your second daughter go? I'm ugly and I'm afraid of staining the eyes of your distinguished guests."
She had frostbite on her hands, feet and face. If she wore such a thin dress in such a cold weather, she would be scolded by others even when she walked on the street, let alone dancing in front of men.
What kind of demonstration is just to sell her again.
What kind of person has she not seen in Wuchun Academy all these years? Fortunately, she has a good relationship with Sister Wen and is young, so she was not pushed out early by the dance class leader.
Unexpectedly, her own mother redeemed her to please the nobles.
