The county magistrate felt his injustice and heard his story from childhood to adulthood. He believed that the root of the problem lay with Xu's parents, but the death of the elder son Xu was indeed his doing. A life for a life.
On the day of the formal trial of the second son Xu, many onlookers came. As the second son Xu took this opportunity to gradually reveal his youthful grievances, he stunned Xu's parents. They never expected their son's hatred for them to be so great.
Wu Lian'er sneered and left the courtroom. Human joys and sorrows are not shared. She was even a little elated. She had never expected to get out of this matter unscathed. This matter had once weighed heavily on her heart, and she dared not mention it, fearing she would be implicated. From now on, she could openly tell everyone that the death of the elder son Xu had nothing to do with her. Although no one had said it to her face, she knew they suspected her in private.
As a result, the second son Xu was sentenced to death by beheading in the autumn. Wu Lian'er did not go to watch the spectacle. After all, she still had feelings from her youth. They had truly loved each other once, but it was all defeated by reality. She heard that Xu's parents had collected his body, and that his son was very filial, weeping in the mourning hall and refusing to get up. From then on, there was no longer the young man whose eyes would light up when he looked at her. She quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and admonished herself to look forward.
As soon as she thought of the culprit who had caused her all this suffering, she could not help but resent him in her heart. It seemed that the lesson she had taught him last time was not profound enough. She, Wu Lian'er, was not so easily defeated. Prepare to face the consequences.
When Li Changqing heard that Wu Lian'er had been acquitted, he had a bad premonition. He rushed to find Wu Caiwei and stared at her fiercely, "You did it on purpose, right? You deliberately said those things to guide me to accuse Wu Lian'er to avenge you. Now she's acquitted, and she'll definitely deal with me next. No matter how much you hate me, you wouldn't want to see me die, would you?"
Wu Caiwei naturally denied it and asked suspiciously, "What did I say? What does your life or death have to do with me?" After speaking, she directly threw a basin of dirty water on him.
Li Changqing was drenched like a drowned rat. He spat out the water that had entered his mouth, feeling disgusted. He pointed at her angrily with his hand, unable to speak for a long time.
"I told you not to come to me, but you wouldn't listen. This time it's dirty water, next time it might be sewage." Wu Caiwei casually put down the basin and clapped her hands, triumphant.
Li Changqing returned to his home with heavy steps, looking at the dilapidated house and contrasting it with his mother. He regretted it deeply.
Just then, a group of fierce-looking men arrived. They sized him up and then said, "You are Li Changqing?"
Li Changqing swallowed and said obsequiously, "Yes, may I ask your business?"
Li Changqing was exceptionally polite, as these people looked like trouble.
"We're here to inform you to move out of this house this afternoon, otherwise our men will not be polite." The person behind him waved his club and glared at him with fierce eyes, scaring Li Changqing greatly.
"This is my house. I don't remember selling it. If you dare to forcibly occupy a civilian residence, I will report it to the county magistrate." Li Changqing was extremely flustered, but he did not forget to threaten them. Although he did not want to admit it, he had to say that since this county magistrate arrived, the people in the county felt that life had hope, because he was the fairest and truly worked for the common people. He would definitely handle such matters.
"Don't try to scare us. If I'm not mistaken, you were with Fatty Liu last night, right? Today Fatty Liu mortgaged this deed with your fingerprint to us. If you have any issues, go find him."
"I didn't. I don't even know the Liu fatty you're talking about..." At this point, he suddenly remembered something. Last night, he was drinking himself to oblivion in a small tavern. He didn't know when a plump man sat opposite him. The man was very persuasive and spoke directly to his heart, making him shed tears uncontrollably and pulling the man to drink with him.
When he was drunk, he vaguely saw the other person take out a piece of paper, smash the wine cup on the ground, pick up a shard, and slash his finger vigorously. Blood flowed, and he pressed it on the paper without hesitation. At that time, he was almost unconscious and wanted to resist but had no strength.
The leader looked at the change in his expression and knew that something must have happened last night. But it had nothing to do with him. "It seems you remember. Then hurry up and move. Don't make us do it ourselves."
Li Changqing immediately caved in, wishing he could slap himself. Why did he go drinking? Now he had no place to live. He quickly begged, "Brother, can you give us some time? We don't know where to live in such a short time. We can't be homeless, can we?"
"That's not our concern. Even if you die outside, it's your own fault. If you can't hold your liquor, don't drink. Stop talking nonsense. We'll take action this afternoon." The thugs behind him nodded in agreement, echoing him in unison.
Li Changqing wanted to step forward to stop them but dared not. He could only watch them leave. Liu Wenwen sat on the ground, weeping bitterly, "Life is unbearable. Money is gone, the house is gone, and even food is gone. Why is my life so hard?"
"Cry, cry, cry, all you know is to cry. If it wasn't for you strongly advising me to contact the Li family and return to the Li family, would it have hurt mother's heart? You would have been a rich wife long ago." Seeing her like this, Li Changqing was furious. For the first time, he felt that his mother's idea was right. This woman was too proud and ambitious, always coveting things that didn't belong to her, and ended up with nothing.
"I don't know who secretly contacted the Li family when we didn't know each other, and accepted their money with peace of mind. I don't know who pushed the situation forward without a second thought when others wanted to harm your mother. Now you regret it and push all the blame onto me. Are you still a man?" Not to mention Li Changqing, even Liu Wenwen regretted it. If she had been honest and content to be the daughter-in-law of the Wang family back then, wouldn't she have been the eldest young madam of the Wang family? Instead of being like this now, a stray dog.
The couple was speechless for a moment. It wasn't that Li Changqing didn't want to retort, but he was afraid of angering her. After all, the evidence she held would plunge him into an abyss of no return. The second son Xu was beheaded for harming his brother, but he wanted to harm his mother and actually caused his father's death. He was a disloyal and unfilial person and would be spurned by the world.