Chapter 33 Paying the Price

Lord Wei was almost melted by her adorable appearance.

He smiled slightly and gently patted the wooden box.

"Once this case is judged, it will be closed, and I can let you take the silver notes."

Li Nanke blinked her big eyes.

"Your Honor is such a good man, Your Honor, please make the judgment quickly."

Both Song Hui and Madam Zhang looked extremely grim.

This case absolutely cannot be closed now. If it is closed and a criminal record is created, the Song family's reputation will definitely be affected once the news gets out.

If this were to further jeopardize the careers of the men in the family, it would be a loss that outweighs the gains.

Song Hui quickly gave a wink to the servants she had brought outside.

The servant understood and ran away in a flash.

Soon, the servants brought back four thousand taels of silver.

Song Hui stuffed the silver note into Song Yi's hand.

"Sister, take this four thousand taels. Use it to bribe the people who need it, and try to get your husband out as soon as possible."

"This case...look, you've got the money, and your family even gave you an extra four thousand taels. Just drop the case."

She knew that Song Yi was always soft-hearted, and now that she had received the money, if she lowered her stance a little, Song Yi would naturally be willing to drop the case.

Zhang felt the same way, and she held Song Yi's hand, sobbing softly.

"When I first married into the Song family, you were less than half a year old, such a tiny child. I watched you grow up little by little."

I taught you how to walk, how to talk, and how to conduct yourself in the world. What your sister has had all these years, you will surely have too.

"You have what your sister doesn't; Mother truly treats you like her own child."

"Good child, your father has always taught you that money is just an external thing, so don't let it bother you."

That would damage our mother-daughter relationship. We're the real family, aren't we? If anything happens in the future, won't you still need to rely on your family?

Zhang looked at Song Yi earnestly, and as usual, first pleaded for her, then used words to put her down.

In the past, Song Yi would always obediently give in whenever she heard such words.

After all, a married woman always needs to rely on her maternal family.

Finally, Zhang gave Song Yi instructions in a very natural tone.

"Listen to me, go and ask Lord Wei to drop the case. As for those unruly servants, I'll deal with them myself when we get back and avenge you."

With her eyes bulging like walnuts, Song Yi used almost all her strength to suppress her trembling.

In the past, when she heard her stepmother say these things, she would feel guilty, panic, and obey.

But today, it seems that the fog in her mind has been lifted, and she feels much clearer.

Hearing his stepmother's words again, they took on a different meaning, and he began to understand some of the things he couldn't comprehend before.

Her stepmother taught her how to speak and how to conduct herself, but she still repeatedly embarrassed herself at different banquets, becoming a foil to her younger sister.

It turned out that it wasn't because she was stupid, but because of her stepmother's "deliberate" teaching.

Yes, she was taught from a young age that money is an external thing, but if she really considered money an external thing, why did her stepmother go to such lengths to seize her shop?

That was the money she used to save her husband's life.

Song Yi closed her swollen eyes, a chill rising from the depths of her heart making her tremble all over.

"Mother, the adults said that once the case is closed, we can get the silver notes to save Father."

Suddenly, her arm was shaken, and her daughter's clear voice rang out.

Song Yi lowered her head and met her daughter's clear eyes.

Her daughter hugged her tightly, looking at her with a face full of trust.

Suddenly, Song Yi felt an overwhelming surge of courage in her daughter's gaze. No matter how vicious her stepmother and sister were, she still had her daughter and her husband.

With a cold expression, she withdrew her hand, hugged her daughter tightly, and turned to look at Lord Wei.

"Please, Lord Wei, make the decision. We urgently need money."

Both Zhang Shi and Song Hui's expressions changed at the same time.

Zhang, in particular, grabbed Song Yi's arm so hard that her nails almost dug into Song Yi's flesh.

The voice had a slightly sharp edge.

"I told you to withdraw it, withdraw it, Song Yi, you've got it wrong."

Song Yi opened her swollen eyes, looking completely bewildered, and burst into tears as soon as she opened her mouth.

“What did Mother say? I... I don’t understand. I am just a woman. When I see an official, I will let the official decide.”

These are all things my mother taught me... taught me, Mother, was I wrong?

Zhang's family...

He gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, "I told you to take it back."

Song Yi continued to cry.

"Sir...can't you take back what you've decided? Mother, why don't you ask the sir? I don't understand."

Zhang was speechless.

For the first time in her life, she loathed Song Yi's weakness and tendency to cry, to the point that she even began to wonder if she had made Song Yi too foolish.

Song Hui's face was very ugly. She wanted to step forward to persuade him, but before she could speak, she heard Lord Wei slam the gavel heavily.

"quiet!"

"This official hereby pronounces judgment that Qian and Manager Liu are wicked servants who deceived their master, embezzled the master's money, and flattered a new master. According to the laws of the Great Chu."

Qian and Manager Liu were immediately beaten to death, Zhang Jiulang received thirty strokes of the cane and was imprisoned for one month.

"Guards, carry out the execution immediately. Please have Madam Song and Madam Zhang observe the execution to prevent such wicked servants from appearing in the household again."

This statement is practically a direct accusation that the Song family was lax in managing their subordinates.

Zhang was so angry that her lips trembled.

Mother Qian, Manager Liu, and Zhang Jiulang were forced onto the torture bench while crying and screaming.

Especially Qian's mother, who had burns on her face and had been beaten on the back, was already in a terrible state. After a few more blows from the bailiffs, blood mist welled up in her eyes.

Blood began to flow from her seven orifices. She raised her head and stared intently at Zhang Shi, her eyes filled with unyielding regret and hatred.

And so, little by little, he breathed his last.

Zhang was so frightened that she turned pale and her body went limp. If Song Hui hadn't been supporting her, she would have fainted long ago.

Song Yi was also trembling with fear, but she still insisted on blocking Li Nanke, not wanting her young daughter to be frightened.

She didn't notice that Li Nanke was leaning against her, his grape-like eyes calmly looking outside through the gap in her arms.

She had witnessed in her dream that her grandmother and father were beaten to death by the yamen runners in the same way.

Now it's the bad guys' turn.

She will make them pay the price, little by little.

After the execution, Zhang was practically dragged and carried away by Song Hui.

Li Nanke took the wooden box containing the silver notes from Lord Wei, revealing two small dimples.

"Sir, you are such a good person."

Lord Wei was amused by this remark once again.

Countless people in the entire capital city cursed him, but this little girl kept calling him a good person.

Hmm, the little girl has good taste.

The Song family.

Zhang was carried into the room in a daze.

Song Hui fed her a few sips of warm water and watched her drift off to sleep.

As soon as she fell asleep, she was plagued by nightmares and kept muttering in her sleep.

"Help, I'm not going to kill you."

"Get away from me, don't get me into trouble."

She woke up screaming from a nightmare, her clothes soaked with cold sweat.

"Mother, don't be afraid, you're just having a nightmare."

Song Hui hugged her and gently patted her back.

Zhang nestled in her daughter's arms, and it took her a long time to gradually come to her senses. She murmured, "I never thought that after scheming for half my life, I would be schemed against by someone else."

Thinking of the wooden box I handed over, it hurt like my own flesh was being cut off.

Unable to contain her anger, she complained to Song Hui: "Who told you to take that box to the yamen? It contains my savings that I've accumulated over the years."

I just denied it in front of Lord Wei, and you immediately produced the money. Isn't that a slap in my face?

Song Hui disagreed.

"It's better to be slapped in the face than for the whole family to lose face. Mother doesn't know that Wei Yan is a very difficult person to deal with. If we don't hand over this money today..."

He will definitely bring people to search our house, and once the house is searched, there will be too many things that are hard to explain.

Mother, have you forgotten that there's more than just this box of silver notes in the house, there's also...