However, Shen Qing would not be fooled by his few words of complaint, nor would he feel the slightest sympathy for him.
Speaking of suffering, who isn’t suffering? Shen Zhiwei just didn't get as much attention from his parents as Shen Zhigao, and that's where his defense broke down. What about him? As a boy in this family, he didn't even have enough food to eat and his clothes were patched up. Wasn't he living worse than Shen Zhuang and Shen Xiaojuan? So what should he do? According to Shen Zhiwei's logic, shouldn't he kill both Shen Zhuang and Shen Xiaojuan?
Ask Shen Zhiwei if he is willing?
But now he really wants to kill all the people in the Shen family! A room full of filthy and rotten stuff that trapped him and his mother for more than ten years and also cost his brother his life!
Shen Qing stood up and kicked Shen Zhiwei far away. The people watching the excitement in the yard immediately let out a suppressed cry of surprise. Shen Qing just sneered: "Do you still think you are tragic? You killed Shen Zhang and harmed my mother, Li Jiaofeng, and Shen Qiang, all because of your parents' injustice? Do you think you are very pitiful?"
Shen Zhiwei was kicked in the chest by him and fell to the ground. He lowered his head and kept coughing.
"You are just a despicable coward." Shen Qing looked down at him, "You think your parents are partial to the eldest brother, if you have the guts, go and argue with them, if you are angry, kill them, if you don't have the guts, just bear with it; if you can't bear to kill your parents, and you think Shen Zhigao is blocking your way and bullying you, if you have the guts, kill Shen Zhigao - after all, you dare not do anything, you only go after irrelevant women and children, and you are still feeling wronged!"
Shen Zhiwei's face turned red, and it was unclear whether he was coughing or embarrassed: How dare he kill his parents? Those are his parents! As for Shen Zhigao, he was also his brother, but Miao and Li Jiaofeng were different, they were just outsiders who married in...
Although he felt many grievances in his heart, he still habitually obeyed his parents and brothers. He never dared to resist them and only dared to attack women and children who were lower in rank than him in his opinion.
Shen Qing no longer looked at Shen Zhiwei. It's useless to explain everything to this kind of villain. As long as he doesn't want to face his mistakes, he will immerse himself in the belief that he is wronged and does bad things because others force him to do them. It's a waste of time to talk to him no matter how much you talk to him.
He turned his gaze to Zhao Youdang and his wife.
Wu Guixiang immediately understood and said, "Now that the facts are clear and Shen Zhiwei has confessed to his crimes, let's deal with him according to the village rules." She pinched Zhao Youdang with her hand, and Zhao Youdang hummed reluctantly: "Yes, that's right."
Mr. and Mrs. Shen were suddenly shocked: "What village rules? This is our own business, there is no need for the village to interfere!"
Old man Shen said with a stern face: "Chen Zhang is our child, Shen Zhiwei is also a member of our Shen family. In the end, it is our own business. No one else can interfere! If you want to intervene as the village chief, will you also punish those who gave birth to girls and boys in the village and lost them in the mountains according to the village rules?" He glared at Zhao Youdang and said, "When your father was alive, he never stretched his hands so far!"
Today, Old Man Shen and Old Lady Shen were really angry with Shen Zhiwei! They hated him for killing Shen Zhang - although they had now completely fallen out with Miao and Shen Qing, in the hearts of Old Man Shen and Old Lady Shen, Shen Zhang was truly the most perfect precious grandson, and even the current Shen Qiang and Shen Zhuang could not catch up with him. Miao taught him a few words casually, and he could learn them after one or two times. In the eyes of Old Man Shen, Shen Zhang was smarter than Miao Tongsheng, the child prodigy from Shiqu Village!
Such a precious grandson might have brought good fortune to their family and earned the title of a student or a scholar, but he was killed by Shen Zhiwei! Look at Miao, who is now wearing gold and silver jewelry and looks more than ten years younger, beautiful and well-dressed; and Shen Qing, who has a noble aura and has won the favor of noble people and has earned countless money.
If it weren't for Shen Zhiwei's harm, Miao and Shen Qing would still be members of the Shen family, and all the money and wealth would also belong to the Shen family!
However, what made them hate Shen Zhiwei even more than Shen Zhang’s death was that Shen Zhiwei actually dared to harbor resentment towards his parents and question them. He was disrespectful and unfilial! Even his life was given by his parents. Their parents provided him with food and helped him get married since he was a child, and raised him until he grew up. Yet he dares to resent his parents!
But even though they hated Shen Zhiwei so much, they didn't want him to die at all. Because for parents in this era, their children not only have an emotional connection with them, but are also their natural "slaves". As long as Shen Zhiwei is alive, they have one more "slave" to support them. Otherwise, the land in the family cannot be cultivated even by the two brothers and Shen Zhuang. If Shen Zhiwei is gone, how will they live?
Old man Shen is so old, but he still has to work in the fields at this age. That's really hard!
They don't want Shen Zhiwei to die, not because they still have any feelings for him or are reluctant to let him go, but because they just want their later years to be more comfortable!
However, before Shen Qing could say anything, Shen Zhigao jumped up first: "Dad, Mom, he killed Xiao Zhangzi, and he also killed my two unborn babies. If it weren't for Qiangzi's good luck, I would have no descendants. Why are you still protecting him? Are you not dealing with him according to the village rules?"
Shen Zhang is not only Miao's son, but also Shen Zhigao's son, the most proud boy! After Shen Zhang passed away, he drank to drown his sorrows many times. For a few years, he had no choice but to be nice to Shen Zhuang for his own future. Who knew that Shen Zhiwei was the culprit who killed his son!
Now that the murderer is right in front of him, how could he be willing to let him go!
Old man Shen was furious: "Shut up, what do you know?" He coughed twice, and his throat was hoarse: "This is your own brother!"
Shen Zhigao's eyes turned red, like a mad bull going mad: "But he is my own son! I want him to pay with his life!"
As he spoke, he picked up a bench in the room and threw it hard at Shen Zhiwei, ignoring the scolding and attempts to stop him by Old Man Shen and Old Lady Shen. Shen Zhuang and Zhao Aiye, who were standing by, burst into tears out of fear. Although what Shen Zhiwei said today made Zhao Aiye very sad, he was her man after all, and Zhao Aiye would definitely not let him die. While crying, she struggled to get up, found a pair of scissors, and cut the rope on Shen Zhiwei: "Dad, run away and find a place to hide first. I will bring Da Zhuang to find you later!"
He could see clearly that things were different now. No matter how eloquently Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen try to defend themselves, this matter will not be resolved peacefully today since Shen Qing is here! The village chief's wife had already been bribed by Shen Qing, so whatever he said was the truth! The only way for them to survive is to leave the village and make a living somewhere else!
The two of them were still young, and Chen Zhuang had grown up. The family had hands and feet, and had gotten rid of the two old people and their uncle's family. As long as they were willing to work hard, they would not starve to death. Maybe they could even save enough money to redeem Xiaojuan. If Shen Qing could make a fortune by selling firewood after leaving the old Shen family, then surely their family of three could do the same!
So what if Shen Zhiwei doesn't love him. What kind of love do the couples in this village have? They just live together. As long as a man is good to you, he is really good to you, no matter why!
However, Shen Zhiwei did not run away as he wished. Perhaps it was Shen Qing's despicable cowardice and the advice he gave that irritated him, Shen Zhiwei touched his forehead.
There's a break there, caused by Shen Zhigao hitting it with a stool just now. Shen Zhiwei looked at the blood on his palm, snatched the scissors from Zhao Aiye's hand, turned around and pounced on Shen Zhigao.
Everything happened unexpectedly. It was Zhao You who reacted first, screaming, "Pull them apart, quick!"
But at this time, Shen Zhiwei was already blood-thirsty, and his hands could only repeat the white knife in and the red knife out. The patrol team that came this time consisted of only two half-grown boys besides Miao Yu. They had never seen such a scene before. Who would dare to step forward in such a situation? In the end, Shen Qing took a few steps forward and narrowly snatched the scissors from Shen Zhiwei's hand. After a few more hits, Shen Zhiwei curled up like a shrimp. Miao Yu then rushed over with his men and tied up Shen Zhiwei tightly again.
"Let him sink into the pond." Shen Qing had a cut on the back of his hand and bled a little. "It's right where Shen Zhang drowned, in Chentang."
This time, no one dared to say anything. Old Lady Shen threw herself on the ground, hugged Shen Zhigao, and burst into tears: "What happened? How could this happen... What evil did our Shen family commit..."
Don’t you know what evil you have done? Or until now, I still don’t realize that I have done something wrong? Shen Qing sneered and looked down at Shen Zhigao who was lying on the ground.
Shen Zhigao had seven or eight holes pierced on his body. Fortunately, five or six hits landed on unimportant parts of his body, such as his arms and thighs. He was hit once on his shoulder and stomach, but they didn't seem to be vital parts, so he shouldn't die for a while. But combined with the previous cut from Shen Zhiwei, he bled a lot, and his whole body looked like a blood gourd.
Shen Qing weighed the bloody scissors in his hand and smiled at Shen Zhigao. This smile looked a bit ghostly and scary to Shen Zhigao and the people watching nearby: "That's good. I've paid you back with my life. I really don't owe you anything anymore."
The farce finally came to an end at this moment. Old Lady Shen sat on the ground next to Shen Zhigao, crying and begging. One of the neighbors could not bear it any longer and ran to ask an old man in the village who knew some traditional Chinese medicine to stop the bleeding. Zhao Youdang then asked Zhao Shitou to drive their mule cart to the village to ask for a doctor.
"Lock him up in the workshop, tie him up tightly, and have four people watch him. No one else can see him. Especially you!" Zhao Youdang pointed at Zhao Aiye and said, "You stupid guy, if you hadn't let him go, how could such a big thing happen?!"
Although Zhao Aiye was also shocked by Shen Zhiwei's behavior, he was determined to make it happen at this point: "What's wrong with stabbing him? He deserves it! You didn't intend to give my man a chance to live from the beginning. Now it's not a loss to stab one, and it's a profit to stab two! What's the big deal? This is a big deal for you, but it's a great pleasure for me. I've finally avenged my daughter's being sold!"
Zhao Youdang was choked by him and didn't know what to say. He pointed at the two husbands who were watching the fun in the yard and said angrily: "Take him away and send him back to his mother's house. Take good care of him and don't let him run around these few days!"
Not long after, Zhao Aiye and Shen Zhiwei were taken away separately. Mother Shen no longer cared about what would happen to Shen Zhiwei, her natural slave. The eldest son, whom she cared about the most, was lying on the ground with blood oozing out of several holes on his body. But Old Man Shen didn't say anything this time. Zhao Youdang felt it was a little strange. He turned around and saw that the old man had been choked by phlegm and had been unconscious for some time.
"Isn't this just causing more trouble?! Quickly, two people come and pat him!" Zhao Youdang was really overwhelmed at this moment. Shen Qing and Miao stood in the corner watching. They originally hated the Shen family very much, but now seeing that everyone of them had suffered retribution, Miao did not feel as happy as expected. She was still filled with pain and disappointment.
"Don't look, Mom, let's go. Whether they are dead or alive, it has nothing to do with us." Shen Qing said while supporting Miao. The result he wanted has been achieved, and the truth has become clear. Seeing the Shen family struggling to survive under his nose, he does not feel happy either. He just feels annoyed and depressed.
Finally, Miao looked deeply at the faces of each member of the Shen family for a while before nodding, saying hello to Wu Guixiang and leaving.
Not long after they walked out, Li Jiaofeng came out with the child in her arms. She hesitated for a long time, but didn't know what to say. She had dared to try to negotiate terms with Shen Qing before, but now she looked frightened. After a long while, she stammered, "...You said that if I help you, you will give me a way out."
Shen Qing nodded. Li Jiaofeng did make some efforts to catch Shen Zhiwei and find out the truth about Shen Zhang's death. After coming to the old Shen's house, she has always stood on Shen Qing's side. Regardless of the effect, Shen Qing is a man who does what he says.
"What do you want?"
Li Jiaofeng shrank her neck and stopped talking. In the past, she only knew that Shen Qing was a fierce guy, but today she saw with her own eyes that Shen Qing beat his own father, kicked the door, kicked over his own uncle, and snatched a knife with his bare hands... In Li Jiaofeng's eyes, Shen Qing had become a somewhat terrifying existence. If she had known from the beginning that Shen Qing was so capable, she would never have dared to choose Shen Zhigao.
If I had known earlier... Thinking of what happened to the Shen family after her death, Li Jiaofeng felt so regretful.
People really shouldn't do bad things. This is all her retribution.
Shen Qing didn't have the patience to argue with her. He was not in a good mood at the moment. He casually took out a small piece of silver from his arms, which looked like two or three taels: "If you want to leave the old Shen family, I can talk to the village chief and let Shen Zhigao divorce you. After that, you can take this silver and go back to your mother's house or your original place. It's all fine." He glanced at Li Jiaofeng and said seriously: "This is because of your efforts this time, so we are cooperating. But this child has nothing to do with me, and I will definitely not care about him in the future. As for you, we are still strangers with a feud."
Li Jiaofeng's heart sank. Her unrealistic idea was ruthlessly shattered by Shen Qing. She smiled bitterly in her heart, took the silver, shook her head, and bowed awkwardly to Shen Qing: "Thank you very much."
Then he turned around and went back to Old Shen's house.
She was originally married from another village, and her parents treated her averagely, otherwise she would not have stayed in Lantang Village to find a new husband after her husband died. However, after she remarried, her ex-husband's brothers took back her house because she became a member of a different family after she remarried.
She didn't have Shen Qing's courage, so she lived alone with her child after the divorce. Her child is sick. Even though the silver given by Shen Qing is not a small amount, it is enough for a farmer to spend for half a year. But medical treatment is really expensive and it won't last long.
If only she had not remarried, Li Jiaofeng thought. She adopted a child from her late husband's family, or picked one up from somewhere. People often abandon their children in the countryside. It doesn't matter if she picks up a girl or a boy. Why does she have to marry again and steal someone else's boyfriend?
Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world.
She returned to old Shen's house. She could only return to old Shen's house. Everyone under this roof has let Shen Qing and Miao down. Everyone has suffered retribution, and she cannot escape it. Being trapped here, taking care of a sick child and a family of demons, was her retribution.
At noon two days later, Shen Zhiwei was publicly drowned in a pond in accordance with village rules. There were quite a lot of people watching, and many people from other villages came from far away to watch the fun after hearing the news.
Shen Qing and Miao did not go to see it, but just brought some tribute paper money and burned it on Shen Zhang's grave.
Many people went to the yard of old Shen's house to watch the excitement that day. The inside story had already been spread widely, but the grievances of Shen Zhiwei and the partiality of old man Shen and old lady Shen were completely hidden in the process of spreading, and it eventually became a story of murdering brother's offspring in order to seize the family property.
Are there any bad parents in this world? If parents are partial, then they are partial. How can we as children complain? Most people in the world want to be parents, and given their stance, they naturally won’t agree with Shen Zhiwei’s ideas and sufferings. But at the same time, Shen Qing, who beat his own father and verbally instigated his own uncle to kill his grandparents and his own father, was also kept at a distance by the villagers.
These people all sympathize with the poor people, and sometimes they don't distinguish between right and wrong. When Shen Qing was pitiful, he cut off all ties with the Shen family and refused to acknowledge his biological father. Others also just scolded the Shen family for being good-for-nothings and saying they deserved it.
But when it came to the Shen family's turn to be pitiful, everyone seemed to have forgotten how harshly the Shen family had treated Shen Qing before, and they only remembered that Shen Qing now beat his own father, kicked his uncle, and kicked his grandfather's door.
The Shen family is indeed in a pitiful situation now. The lives of Old Man Shen and Shen Zhigao were saved, but Old Man Shen held his phlegm for too long and nearly suffocated to death. After he was rescued, he had hemiplegia caused by a stroke. Half of his body was paralyzed and he couldn't speak clearly. He drooled when he opened his mouth. Only Old Lady Shen could take care of him at all times.
Shen Zhizhong had been stabbed so many times and now he can only lie in bed. As the weather gets warmer day by day, he has to change the dressings frequently to prevent the wounds from festering. Li Jiaofeng took Shen Qing's money and didn't tell anyone. She just hid it and prepared to leave it for Shen Qiang. There was a sick person and an injured person in the family, and the money from selling Shen Xiaojuan was soon spent. With no other choice, Old Lady Shen finally sold two acres of land.
Both parties were busy, no one went to see how Shen Zhiwei died, and no one went to collect his body. Shen Zhuang is a grown up boy, but he just cries like an idiot without any idea. Zhao Youdang called a few young men and found a random place in the mountains to bury the man hastily.
After Zhao Ai Ye was sent back to the Zhao family, the Zhao family immediately arranged another marriage for him far away from Lantang Village. The marriage was with an old widower on the other side of the mountain. Just wait for Shen Zhiwei to die here and then send him over. Shen Zhuang wanted to visit his mother, but was driven out by the Zhao family twice.
Zhao Aiye cried so much that her eyes were almost blinded, but she was unable to see Shen Zhiwei for the last time.
"My brother, I'm not letting you see him for your own good!" Zhao Aiye's mother sighed, "Don't worry about your parents and brother's cruelty. I know you have a good relationship with your brother-in-law, but people are destined to die. Every time you see him, you'll be heartbroken. If you see him being... how can you bear it? Look at how powerful Shen Qing is, like a living devil. How did you treat him in the past? When he comes to his senses, won't he take care of you too? It's not that I'm cruel, but if I don't marry you away, I'm afraid your life will be in danger!"
This is also the general impression of Shen Qing among the people of Lantang Village today. Everyone who was watching the fun in the yard of old Shen's house that day saw Shen Qing kick Shen Zhiwei away, snatch the scissors with his bare hands, and smile at Shen Zhigao with blood on his hands. It was really scary.
In the past, even though Shen Qing worked for a nobleman and opened a workshop and his status was different, the villagers would often greet him when they saw him and still feel close to him. Now when they see Shen Qing, they all avoid him. Only those who are familiar with Shen Qing can remain normal.
"I don't know what they are afraid of! They have never done anything wrong in their lives and are not afraid of ghosts knocking on the door in the middle of the night. They are so scared. I don't know how many bad things they have done behind the scenes. They feel guilty!" Second Aunt Lian can't stand those gossipers in the village. She gets indignant when they mention them.
Shen Qing didn't care: "It's good this way. From now on, I'll see who dares to work in the workshop without doing their best and slacking off?" Shen Qing used to hope that others would be more afraid of him. He established his prestige when he hunted the wild boar. Now, people like Wang Liuzi no longer dare to jump around in front of him, which is considered a good thing.
"This is different from hunting wild boars." Second Aunt Lian was unhappy, but she didn't say anything more unpleasant behind Shen Qing's back: Many people attacked Shen Qing's character behind his back, mainly saying that he was unfilial, but in the final analysis, it was still about beating his own father.
Why don’t they say that it was Shen Qing who saved Shen Zhigao’s life? If Shen Qing hadn’t snatched the scissors away, Shen Zhigao would have been stabbed to death by Shen Zhiwei!
"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore." Aunt Lian grabbed a handful of melon seeds and talked about something happy: "My brother from my mother's family came to see me and told me that Miao Qiuduo had left."
This is the two sides of the rumor. It was a big deal that Shen Zhiwei was arrested in the countryside. Many villages knew about it and came to watch the fun. People in Shiqu Village also knew about it. Similarly, some rumors also spread to several surrounding villages. Shen Qing is so powerful. He beat his own father and forced his own uncle to death without any mercy. How could he take her, his aunt whom he hasn't seen for many years, seriously? After Shen Zhiwei's death, Miao Qiuduo's family left the next day: "I don't know if she went back to the city or somewhere else. My family members think she's ridiculous when they talk about her. What, don't relationships need to be maintained? She hasn't been back for more than ten years, and she never gave her a single New Year gift. Now that she's back, she wants this and that. What kind of married girl is like this!"
Miao is now very disappointed with her sister: "Just leave. I will just assume that my sister has married far away and I have no news from her. I will just assume that she has never come back and I will just ignore her from now on."
As they were talking, Shen Qing suddenly saw Lian Rong running into the yard crying, but she stopped when she reached the door of the house, and finally sat in the yard crying with her head buried. Shen Qing felt puzzled. Lian Rong was a straightforward girl who always said whatever she thought. What she said was a bit disrespectful, which was quite interesting. If you were bullied by your friends and felt wronged, you would have gone into the house to complain. Why did you hide and cry secretly?
He was curious, so he took out two pieces of cake. Miao and Second Aunt Lian were talking in private and didn't pay attention.
"What's wrong? Why don't you go into the house when you're crying like this?" Shen Qing wiped her face with a handkerchief and handed her the pastry. Lian Rong took a bite and found the sweet pastry filled with date paste and honey. It tasted so sweet that she felt much better.
"What's the use of going into the house? My mother will be angry for nothing if she sees me, and she can't vent her anger on me." Lian Rong wiped her face like a little calico cat.
Shen Qing was even more surprised. Second Aunt Lian is the type of person who would fight and pull hair from people in the village over a disagreement. Is there anyone that Second Aunt Lian cannot anger?
"It's my great aunt!" Lian Rong burst into tears again. "It's my birthday today, and my grandma steamed a bowl of eggs for me. This is the rule in my family. Every child can have a bowl of eggs on his birthday."
In the past, this delicacy could only be enjoyed once a year, especially for a girl like Lian Rong! Beat three eggs into a bowl, steam them until they are tender, and then add a little sesame oil and autumn oil to them. This is a special honor for the little birthday boy. But life is better now, and Lian Rong is not so craving for eggs anymore.
Aunt Lian and Miao were good friends, and she often brought Lian Rong to play. Miao liked this little girl very much, and gave her all the cakes and snacks in the house, and often invited her to dinner. She ate a lot of the fat chicken ribs, and now she was not disappointed at all: "I ate a few bites, thinking of leaving some for my nephew. But when my sister-in-law came back with Qiao Ge'er, the remaining half bowl of eggs was gone, and my aunt took it to Lian Bao to eat!"
Lian Rong's tone was bitter and hateful: "Lian Bao is a boy, he is different from a worthless girl like me. He can eat an egg every one or two days, but he still comes to snatch the egg I can only eat once a year!"
Shen Qing deeply understood Lian Rong's anger. This is not just about half a bowl of steamed eggs, this is clearly intentional bullying. But it was indeed not easy to complain to Second Aunt Lian about this. The two sisters-in-law already had many conflicts, and Second Aunt Lian knew that Wang was not a good person without her complaining. Can I beat Wang up after I sue Second Aunt Lian? It just adds to Second Aunt Lian's troubles.
"Happy birthday," Shen Qing touched Lian Rong's head, "Sister Rong has grown up and become sensible. She knows how to be considerate of her mother. She is really a good girl. Stay at my house for dinner today. I will make you an egg feast."
Unexpectedly, Lian Rong pursed her lips again and took out a straw thing from her bosom: "It's all about this. After I found out that the eggs were gone, I was so angry that I argued with my eldest aunt. As a result, she deliberately stepped on the birthday present my second brother gave me and broke it! Then she pretended to be hypocritical and said that she didn't see it and didn't mean it! Bullying a child is really bad!"
This is really too much! Shen Qing took the thing from Lian Rong's hand. No wonder he couldn't tell what it was. It turned out that it had been stepped on by someone. But if you look closely, you can still see that it is a straw butterfly shape, the straw fibers are tied tightly together very neatly and delicately, but now it has become a flat piece.
Lian Rong thought of something and looked at Shen Qing with burning eyes: "Brother Qing, aren't you the living devil? Take her away for me!"
Shen Qing: “……?”
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