Chapter 129 The Final Ending 2 (Two Chapters Combined into One) ◇

◎Jinjiang exclusive◎

The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is said to be the day when the gates of hell are wide open, and it's also the day with the most yin energy of the year. According to custom, people are not allowed to go out at night on this day, as it's said that it's easy to attract unclean things...

But just as dawn was approaching that night, while it was still dark, a group of men, women, old and young came running to the gate of Yingtian Prefecture, shouting in unison that they were innocent from a distance, which scared the several yamen runners guarding the gate of Yingtian Prefecture.

They all thought it was a ghost that had wandered around and forgotten the time, and was locked outside the ghost gate before returning to the underworld! They were so scared that several people raised their weapons!

When I got closer and shone a lantern, I saw shadows on several people, and then I was sure they were real people! They looked like a family!

Upon inquiry, it turned out that this group of people had come to file a complaint, alleging that their grandson was disobedient, imprisoned, and abused! The person they were accusing was a high-ranking official, the third-rank commander of the Longxiang Battalion—Zhou Jin!

………

Because Zhou Jin, whom Mr. and Mrs. Zhou wanted to sue, was a third-rank official, Yingtian Prefecture transferred the case to its immediate superior, the Dali Temple, for handling on the same day it took over the case.

On July 16, the Dali Temple officially opened a trial for the case, which naturally attracted many people to watch. It was not because the people in Kyoto had nothing to do all day and used watching the trial as entertainment, but in Dayan, if someone was found guilty of disobedience, the punishment would be a serious crime, with a minimum of forty lashes and a maximum of exile and beheading!

Moreover, once a person is convicted of disobedience, his character and behavior will be questioned. Not to mention being an official, even if he walks among the crowd as an ordinary citizen, he will be despised!

Furthermore, the accused was Zhou Jin, the newly appointed commander of the Longxiang Camp by Emperor Chengqian...

This upstart was promoted three levels in a row for his contribution in saving the emperor, and then he married the number one female war god of Dayan, which really left a deep impression on the people of Kyoto!

Everyone still vividly remembered the grand wedding last year when he married General Mu. It had only been so long, and he was being sued by his own grandparents?!

Everyone couldn't help but wonder, could this person be a piece of shit? He looks okay on the outside, but inside he's a disobedient and unfilial person?!

Therefore, this case successfully aroused the interest of the surrounding people, and they all rushed to watch the trial.

Zhou Jin was summoned directly from the Dali Temple camp outside the capital by Dali Temple officials, but upon arriving in the courtroom, he remained silent, only kneeling there with his neck stiffened stubbornly. When questioned by Dali Temple officials, he neither admitted his guilt nor offered any defense...

When everyone saw this, they found it even more strange and thought, is this person stupid?

At this point, even if someone is truly guilty, they should at least offer a few words in their defense! Could it be that he knows his crimes are so heinous that he feels there's no room for excuses?

But Zhou Jin's actions only intensified the arrogance of Mr. Zhou's side. Zhou Zhu, representing Mr. Zhou, even produced a petition that she had spent a day writing in court. It was a lengthy and eloquent statement, drawing on past and present events, and using flowery language to recount Zhou Jin's disobedience and unfilial behavior, how he had abused his power to oppress them. Finally, he delivered an impassioned closing speech...

Even if some of the onlookers didn't quite understand what he said, they probably understood the meaning of his complaint, which was that Zhou Jin's evil deeds were rare in ancient and modern times, but his grandparents still had compassion and could not bear to let their grandson bear the name of being unfilial, so they were willing to give him a chance... As long as Zhou Jin pleaded guilty in court and promised to reform in the future, he would still be their good grandson!

But after he finished speaking, when the presiding judge asked Zhou Jin what he thought, Zhou Jin remained silent. However, the veins on his neck tightened and his teeth chattered. It was obvious that he was very angry!

The onlookers were even more confused when they saw this! Some kindhearted people couldn't help but feel anxious for him, thinking, this is not the time to be stubborn! No matter what, he has to speak up for himself! Otherwise, if he is really convicted, then it will be all over...

At this moment, Mu Qingni arrived with Zhou Po! Seeing Zhou Po's hair disheveled and hurried appearance, it was obvious that he was captured by General Mu on short notice!

In other words, General Zhou and his wife likely hadn't anticipated being sued for disobedience by their own grandparents! Otherwise, they wouldn't have hired a lawyer so suddenly...

…

As expected, Zhou Po stood in the position of Zhou Jinfang's lawsuit when he entered the hall. He was now a fifth-rank scholar in the Hanlin Academy. Because he had passed the imperial examination before his exile, his status as a scholar was restored when he was promoted to the editor of the Hanlin Academy by Emperor Chengqian.

Last year, while still in office, Zhou Po took part in the imperial examination again as a juren, and ranked 35th among the jinshi, so naturally he could meet officials without kneeling!

The appearance of Zhou Po made Zhou Zhu, who belonged to Old Man Zhou, feel a huge pressure immediately. Facing Zhou Po, the former grandson of Lord Zhou and a man who was much better than him, he always felt ashamed and dared not look him in the face!

Even now, this guy can still beat him with his strength!

Zhou Po didn't have a lawsuit draft as ornate as Zhou Zhu's. He didn't even have time to write a draft. After entering the hall and greeting the presiding judge, he stood there and asked Zhou Zhu directly:

"Although I haven't heard your complaint just now, since you are accusing Zhou Jin of disobedience, I think it must be all about how Zhou Jin is disobedient and unfilial?!

Let’s not talk about those things for now. I just want to ask you, you are helping your grandparents to sue your cousin Zhou Jin, then as the eldest grandson of the Zhou family, how have you been filial to your grandparents over the years?

And how did your father and second uncle do it?! Why don’t you tell us first?!

Zhou Zhu...

"We...our two families have always been by our grandparents' side. Isn't that enough?!"

"Sitting on one's lap and letting one's parents enjoy the company of their loved ones is indeed a form of filial piety."

Zhou Po first confirmed his words with a smile, and then said,

"But as far as I know, from the time you were born until now, you haven't earned a penny for your grandparents, right?!

And before you moved into Zhou Jin's house, you were still relying on your grandfather, who was in his seventies, carrying a load on his shoulder and doing small business in the streets to support your studies and food, right?!

This... can't be considered as letting your grandparents enjoy a happy family life! !"

"I was doing that... to get a good degree, so I could... to revive my family business..."

Zhou Zhu quickly argued after hearing this:

"I have already passed the imperial examination and will be filial to my grandparents when I pass the imperial examination!

On the other hand, Zhou Jin, who has clearly become an official, has ignored his grandparents in the past few years. Not only has he never looked for them, but now he is also being unfilial, abusing, imprisoning, and scolding them! What is a grandson supposed to do?!

Zhou Zhu retorted, trying to change the subject, not wanting Zhou Po to keep talking about him!

But Zhou Po refused and asked again:

"So you're admitting that not only have you never been filial to your grandparents, but you've even been relying on them to support you? Even though you're two years older than Zhou Jin!? You're the eldest son and grandson who should be taking care of their grandparents more than him?!"

Zhou Zhu...

"Zhou Jin is powerful now, and richer than me, so he should be more filial to his grandparents!"

"Haha, I've lived for so many years, and I've never seen anyone like you talk about your own incompetence so confidently! You're truly—shameless!

Are you still thinking that since Zhou Jin is capable, it's only natural for him to support your family?!"

Zhou Po sneered and said sarcastically, which immediately caused a burst of laughter from the onlookers outside. Zhou Zhu also blushed in embarrassment from the laughter...

Zhou Po paused, and waited until the laughter died down before turning to the presiding judge.

"Reporting to the Lord, several years ago, Zhou Jin's third branch had already separated from the other two branches! I also brought the separation documents with me."

As Zhou Po spoke, he took out a document from his bosom and presented it respectfully. After the Dali Temple officials compared the fingerprints and verified the authenticity, he said:

"Sir, the document clearly states that the Third House, where Zhou Jin is, will give Old Master Zhou and his wife a lump sum of 100 taels of silver for their retirement. From now on, all support for them will fall to the First and Second Houses, and will have nothing to do with the Third House!

Therefore, there is no point in Mr. and Mrs. Zhou suing Zhou Jin for ignoring them!"

Upon hearing this, the chief judge of the Dali Temple shouted at Mr. Zhou and his wife:

"Since Zhou Jin's third house has already separated from you, and your support arrangements have been settled, why are you suing him?!"

"Replying to the Lord, although I did sign the document, I was forced to do so because Jin'er's second aunt was plotting to harm them.

Although his second aunt had died because of this, Jin Ge'er still had a grudge against his eldest uncle and second uncle's families, and insisted on dividing the family property.

At that time, the child looked very fierce. In order to prevent him from doing something, I had no choice but to agree to his request and reluctantly divided the property between them!

At that time, I felt sorry for their family of orphans and widows, and was afraid that they would have a hard time making a living in the future, so I suggested not letting them have one room to support us in our old age!

As for the one hundred taels of pension silver, I just filled it in randomly. At that time, our entire clan was in exile. How could Jin's mother and his wife possibly have money to give me? Could they have dared to keep it for themselves?!"

As for the document, Mr. Zhou had already thought of an excuse and felt it was unrealistic to deny it. However, as long as he was sure that he had not really received the one hundred taels, the document would be just a piece of blank paper and would be worthless.

After hearing this, the officials from the Dali Temple asked Zhou Jinfang whether he had given the silver.

"My Lord, the silver was indeed paid in person. My uncle Zhou Ruiquan was the witness, and my father was also present. As for the one hundred taels of silver, it was loaned to Zhou Jin by Song Yi, the yamen runner who was in charge of escorting us!

Song Yi is waiting outside the court. If Your Excellency wishes to verify this, you can summon him to the courtroom."

Zhou Po had long expected that Mr. Zhou would deny accepting the money, so when he came over, he sent someone to call Song Yi over as well...

Mr. Zhou...

…

Because of Song Yi's testimony, the Dali Temple finally determined that the family division document was valid...

"Even so, the division of the family was out of helplessness and necessity. Now my grandfather doesn't want to divide it anymore and wants the whole family to live together, so why not?!!"

When Zhou Zhu saw this, she immediately used her filial piety to suppress him...

Zhou Po smiled when he heard that. He took out the documents of division of the family just to prove that Mr. Zhou and others did not keep their promise, that's all!

Sure enough, as soon as Zhou Zhu finished speaking, before Zhou Po could say anything, some people outside the hall started shouting in disapproval...

"Since there's a document to separate the family, it's General Zhou's duty to support you. How dare you sue him?!"

"That's right...! When he was in trouble, you separated him from me. During his exile, you knew he had no money but still wanted a hundred taels from him. Now that he's doing well, you say you don't want to separate him anymore. How shameless!"

The people outside the door also started to talk...

"Sir, please understand! This is all Zhou Jin's evil scheme! He has been abusing us in the name of supporting us!

Two months ago, he ordered his grandparents to beat us both up! A few days ago, he even locked us all up. If we hadn't escaped, we'd probably have been killed by him by now!"

Seeing that her eldest grandson was speechless after being scolded, Mrs. Feng quickly jumped out and cried.

Zhou Jin still said nothing, Zhou Po asked calmly:

"Do you have any evidence for what you said?"

Feng family??!

Their injuries have all healed, not even a scar remains. How can she have any evidence?!

"Hehe, if you randomly accuse someone of a crime without any evidence, you will be charged with false accusation! Even if you are Zhou Jin's grandmother, you can't just talk nonsense like that, right?!

As far as I know, you two elders moved into Zhou Jin's residence over three months ago. If Zhou Jin was abusing you, then why did you allow Zhou Jin to take your son and his family in as well a month later, thus walking into his trap?!

If Zhou Jin imprisoned you, then why were you still able to manage the household for Zhou Jin? And even attend banquets on behalf of him and his wife?!"

Zhou Po stared at Mr. and Mrs. Zhou and said, and when Feng was about to refute, he turned around and immediately shouted to the judge:

"Sir, we have more evidence to present!"

After hearing the judge say "yes", Zhou Po waved his hand, and Nanny Yang came in with a few women who looked like shopkeepers, holding account books.

"My Lord, this is the account book I just found from the mansion showing the expenses incurred by the old master, the old mistress, the first master, the second master, and others after they were taken into the mansion by our master. Please take a look!"

Feng et al…

…

"After the old man and his wife entered the mansion, they had twelve sets of head ornaments custom-made at Linglongfang, spending a total of 2,100 taels! They also had dozens of ornamental fan leaves and other pieces costing 1,700 taels. They also had 35 bolts of brocade custom-made at Jinxiufang, which, including the labor, totaled 270 taels...

The eldest and second masters spent a total of 172 taels of silver at Yanchun Tower, Xinfeng Courtyard, and other places for two months... The eldest young master, under the guise of a gathering with his peers, withdrew a total of 220 taels of silver from the accounting office... The eldest lady..."

After the judge summoned her to the court, Madam Yang took the list in her hand and read it aloud, concluding:

"Not counting minor expenses like food and entertainment, over the past two months, the old master and his companions have spent nearly five thousand taels of silver. These are the receipts for their purchases, and the shopkeepers of various places can testify to the truth of what I say."

Nanny Yang held up the bills in her hands and knelt on the ground to speak.

The women behind her also knelt down in the tunnel.

"The owner of Linglongfang/Jinxiufang/Yanchunlou... can testify!"

After the yamen runners handed over the bills and they were checked and found to be correct, the people outside the door started to cheer again!

Oh my god! They spent over five thousand taels in just two months! That’s over five thousand taels! They think five taels is too much for two months!

Some people sympathize, while some people can't help but feel jealous, thinking that being an official is the fastest way to make money!

The Zhou family had only worked for a few years, and they had already earned so much money! If they remembered correctly, when their daughter was engaged to Prince Rui, the family was still living in a rented small courtyard!

Some people couldn't help but wonder, where did all this money come from? It's impossible to save so much money just by relying on salary, right?!

When Madam Yang saw everyone's reaction, she immediately knelt down and started crying...

"Sir, because the cost was so huge, at the end of the month when the shops came to settle their accounts, our master had no choice but to secretly borrow three thousand taels from Prince Rui.

I thought that since the old master and the old lady had just arrived, they had bought more things, but they wouldn’t do that in the future...

As a result, the account was short of more than two thousand taels in the second month. There was no other way, so the master had to talk to our young lady again to fill the hole!

After hearing this, the people outside felt relieved. That’s right, General Zhou has no money, but his brother-in-law and wife are very rich!

But at the same time, he sighed and said that General Zhou was unlucky to have to deal with such a family. He had a good life before, but because of these people, he had to borrow money from everywhere!

"Your Excellency, please understand. Our master couldn't bear the huge expense, so he couldn't help but say a few words to the old master and the old lady.

Unexpectedly, they angered us. Not only did they make a scene in the mansion, they also threatened to sue our master for disobedience! Our master was so annoyed by them that he hid in the military camp...

But I didn’t expect that they would actually come and complain!

But…but, my Lord! Even if our master contradicted them, it was our master's fault! But our master was also forced to do so!

Not to mention that our family isn't wealthy, even the wealthy and powerful wouldn't spend money like this! ?

Put yourself in their shoes. If your parents and family spent this much money, could you afford to support them?! As a result, our master was falsely accused of disobedience just for giving them some advice... woo woo..."

The presiding judge...

He can't even afford it! He only earns a little over a hundred taels a month, and usually has to rely on his parents for support!

At this moment, he had the same idea as the people outside the door, that is, it was a blessing that he didn't run into such a group of ancestors!

"Didn't you, old man, say that all you wealthy families behave like this? You rushed to make clothes and fill us with jewelry?! Why are you biting us back now?!"

After hearing what Madam Yang said, Feng immediately became anxious and couldn't help but step forward to grab her!

Seeing that she was being stopped by the yamen runners and couldn't reach her, Madam Yang hurriedly moved forward and let her grab her hair and pull it. Then, after the yamen runners pulled her away in the hall, she cried again with her messy hair on her head:

"Old Madam, I did follow the master's orders and bought you headgear and clothes when you came, and cleaned up the largest room. But... doesn't that prove that our master really wants to be filial to you?!

To please you two, our master has let you take charge of the household! What else do you two want from our master?!

You beat and scold me whenever I'm not happy, and we, the masters, have endured it all without daring to say a word against you! But why can't I get even a little bit of your love and affection back?!

Woohoo! ...I'm afraid there's no one in the whole world as biased as you two elders, right?! You eat our master's food, live in our master's house, and yet you're still obsessed with teaming up with your eldest and second sons to empty our house! !?

Our master was simply advising the two of you to spend less, and you're actually accusing our master of disobedience?!

Don't you know how serious this sin of disobedience is? !

Do you really have to force our master to lose everything and then embezzle and accept bribes for you?!"

Madam Yang cried out to Feng with a look of grief on her face,

Zhou Po on the side...

Well, it seems that it doesn’t matter whether he comes today or not. As long as this nanny is here, everything is enough!

…

"You bought us a lot of things, but you've already taken them all back! We didn't even leave anything behind! How can we say we emptied your house?!"

Seeing that her mother-in-law was suppressed by Nanny Yang and had no power to resist, Sun, who was standing by, also became anxious and joined in the shouting.

"You know whether you brought anything out or not. With so many things, it's impossible for you to hide them. As long as the officials go to those pawnshops and gold shops to check if you have secretly sold our things, won't everything be clear?

Sun! I dare to say this today. If I can’t find out, I will lose my head today! Do you dare?

Nanny Yang was quite polite to Madam Feng, but to Madam Sun? Damn her!

Sun...

Mu Qingni, who hadn't said a word from beginning to end...

She was very grateful to the princess for giving her such a nanny.

…

The final result was that the Dali Temple naturally determined that Mr. Zhou and others were guilty of false accusations without any evidence!

But they were at a loss as to how to sentence them. Others could easily explain it, as these old couple were Zhou Jin's grandparents after all. They couldn't be sentenced to beatings and jailed just because they sued their grandson!

Just when the presiding judge was in a dilemma, Zhou Jin, who had not spoken for a long time, suddenly spoke up and said to him with a wry smile:

"Don't worry, sir. I'll resign immediately and take my grandparents back to Liaodong. My family still has a hundred acres of land there, which is more than enough to support us all!"

After saying that, he turned to Mu Qingni who had been standing next to him and said,

"Madam, why don't we..."

"Stop talking! I won't divorce you! If you decide to go to Liaodong, I will resign and stay with you!

If you don't want to use my dowry, then I will return it to my parents and go farming with you!"

Everyone...

The presiding judge...

Is this a matter of whether to farm or not? You two resigned your posts to farm, and now Shangrao is sparing me?

So, he immediately slammed the gavel and said angrily:

"This judge declares that Mr. and Mrs. Zhou Ruifu and Mrs. Feng are disrespectful and unkind to their elders. They took advantage of their status as elders to do whatever they want and falsely accused their grandson Zhou Jin.

The Third Branch of the Zhou Family, to which Zhou Jin belongs, is hereby ordered to completely sever all ties with them! From now on, the birth, old age, sickness, and death of the two will have nothing to do with the Third Branch of the Zhou Family!

If you come to bother me again in the future, I will immediately exile you three thousand miles away!

Zhou Wangzu, Zhou Wangye and others, not only have no ambition to make progress, but also instigated their parents to falsely accuse their nephew. Now each of them will be punished with fifty lashes of the cane to serve as a warning to others!

Zhou Zhu has the title of scholar, but he has lost all his dignity and is shameless. He is now sentenced to have his title of scholar stripped and be fined fifty lashes!

In addition, several people took advantage of Feng's role as Zhou Jin's housekeeper to enrich themselves and squander the money at will!

Each of them is ordered to pay Zhou Jin's family 500 taels of silver, to be repaid within three months. If they fail to pay, they will be punished with 50 strokes of the cane, and so on, until they pay it back!"