The next morning, Lin Xihe was still in a sweet dream when Ling Shuang hurriedly woke her up.

"Miss, a group of people have arrived outside. They say they want to see you," Ling Shuang said, her expression slightly anxious.

Lin Xihe, still sleepy-eyed, rubbed her eyes and muttered curiously, "Who would come looking for me? Who could I possibly know in this capital city?"

"Those people claimed that they used to be General Lin's subordinates. They came today specifically to invite you to watch a convicted woman being executed, or something like that." Ling Shuang recalled the jumbled words of those people and extracted the key information to tell Lin Xihe.

"Why are these people coming after me? Can't I refuse?" Lin Xihe looked troubled, clearly unwilling to get involved in such matters.

“Those people are refusing to leave, saying they’ve followed General Lin for many years and that you absolutely have to go and see for yourself.” Ling Shuang sighed helplessly.

Since things had come to this point, Lin Xihe had no choice but to get up and change her clothes, even though she was very unwilling.

When she arrived at the main hall, she saw many people standing there. When they saw her come out, they all started to speak.

"Miss Lin has arrived."

“Miss Lin, let’s go together now. That vile woman is about to be beaten to death.”

"That Moon Maid is truly shameless."

Before Lin Xihe could understand what was going on, she was surrounded by several ladies in the crowd and walked out of the mansion.

Along the way, the women chattered incessantly, and Lin Xihe finally managed to glean some clues from their conversation.

It turned out that she was a widow who had been widowed for many years, and her husband had been dead for eight years.

In the past eight years, the pension money for her husband's death has been used up by her seriously ill mother-in-law. In recent years, the woman has made a living by selling tofu pudding, and her mother-in-law's condition has gradually improved. She is also raising her husband's six-year-old sister.

However, recently, simply because she had the idea of ​​remarrying, she was accused of being promiscuous, unfaithful and impure by her husband's fellow villagers, who even threatened to drown her in a pig cage at the ancestral hall.

Lin Xihe initially thought the woman had committed some unforgivable crime, but she never expected it to be for this reason.

She had been walking slowly with the crowd, but upon hearing this, she immediately ordered a carriage to be prepared and headed straight for Zhensheng Village, which they had mentioned.

Several women from the same village followed behind the carriage.

Led by them, Lin Xihe headed straight for the ancestral hall.

Upon arriving at the ancestral hall, one sees a woman tightly bound to a wooden stake. The woman's head is bowed, and her lips are dry and cracked, clearly indicating that she has not eaten for a long time.

"Old Hu, this is General Lin's daughter. We've invited her here," said the village woman who was with us.

The old man, known as Old Hu, walked out shakily with a cane and bowed to Lin Xihe.

“Miss Lin, her husband Erhu died fighting alongside General Lin in the southern frontier. Now this wretched woman actually wants to abandon her mother-in-law and younger sister to remarry! Miss Lin is here today, and she can also serve as a witness for General Lin. We, the brothers who have followed him through thick and thin, must not allow such a vile woman to treat us like this.” As he spoke, Old Hu struck the ground hard with his cane a few times.

Lin Xihe looked around at the dozens of people in the ancestral hall, including men, women, young and old. Next to her sat a woman in her forties, holding a little girl in her arms.

This scene made her feel a chill run down her spine.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and asked, "How old is this woman who is tied up?"

"Twenty-two."

How long have you been married?

"Nine years," Old Hu answered crisply.

"Married at thirteen, widowed at fourteen?" Lin Xihe stared wide-eyed, her face full of disbelief.

"Exactly."

"So what exactly did she do wrong?"

“She seduced a man and abandoned her mother-in-law and younger sister,” Old Hu continued, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt for the bound woman.

"And who is this?"

Lin Xihe pointed to the person sitting not far from the wooden stake. Everyone else was standing, but this person was sitting with a child in his arms. He looked like the so-called "victim".

"This is Erhu's mother, and the one she's holding in her arms is Erhu's younger sister. Alright, Miss Lin, now that things have been explained, let's join together to drown this wretched woman in a pig cage."

After Old Hu finished speaking, the crowd around him echoed his words, shouting in unison, "Drown her! Drown her!"

"Fellow villagers, please calm down. I haven't finished asking my questions yet," Lin Xihe raised her voice and shouted to the crowd.

"Is there anything else you wish to ask, Miss Lin?"

"Don't rush, Old Hu. It will be quick." Lin Xihe said, then walked straight toward Erhu's mother.

Yue Niang, who was tied to the wooden stake, glanced at Lin Xihe, then lowered her head weakly, thinking to herself, "Just another person to come and see how I'm going to die."

She had been trapped here for three days, and was exhausted both physically and mentally. She even felt that dying sooner might be a relief.

"Mother of Erhu, I heard that your health has been poor these past few years. Are you feeling better now?"

Erhu's mother didn't know why Lin Xihe asked this, but to emphasize her pitiful situation, she quickly replied, "My body... I've had a persistent cough all year round, and when I cough, it's bloody. I can't get out of bed for twenty days a month. My life is truly miserable!"

As Erhu's mother spoke, she raised her hand to wipe away her tears.

Seeing this, Lin Xihe immediately interrupted, "Stop, stop! Your daughter is six years old now, isn't she?"

"Yes...yes?"

"Then your cough is probably a postpartum illness," Lin Xihe said, deliberately raising her voice.

"What did you say?"

"Think about it, you can't possibly give birth to a daughter while you're unwell, can you? Since your cough and inability to get out of bed is a postpartum illness, why is your daughter-in-law so unlucky to have to take care of her mother-in-law who is suffering from postpartum illness?" As soon as Lin Xihe finished speaking, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

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