Shen Qing snapped out of her daze: "Where to?"
"Shanghai."
Shen Qing thought for a moment and shook his head: "Now is not the time."
Just then, Chunju opened the door and came in. Hearing this, she exclaimed excitedly, "Young mistress, going to Shanghai is wonderful! There are so many opportunities in Shanghai! I've heard there's money everywhere!"
Cheng Zhiwen tucked Shen Qing's clothes in, instructed Chunju to take good care of Shen Qing, and then went out.
In the following days, he would appear every time Shen Qing needed to change her dressing, and after changing it, he would hurriedly leave again.
Shen Qingcheng lay in bed all day, and could only ask Chunju, "What has Second Young Master Cheng been busy with lately?"
Chunju said, "I don't know what Second Young Master Cheng is busy with, but I heard from Old Xu that Second Young Master Cheng will wait until you are completely recovered before leaving Jiangzhou."
Shen Qing nodded without saying anything.
Chunju then asked, "Young mistress, now that we've left the Gao family, who will we rely on?"
Shen Qing laughed: "Rely on yourself? Rely on who?"
Chunju dismissed it as a joke.
These women, illiterate and ignorant of the law, could only hide under the wings of men, bearing children and managing household chores.
How can I live without a man?
Shen Qing knew perfectly well why she thought that way, but she didn't have the energy to correct her right now, so she asked instead, "What day of the month is it today?"
"It's the third day of the Lunar New Year, young mistress."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qing's lips curled into an indescribable smile.
...
The next day, while Shen Qing was still resting in her room, Chunju rushed in and said, "Young mistress, something terrible has happened! Soldiers have gone to the Gao family to arrest people!"
Shen Qing opened her eyes, pondered silently for a moment, then got up to change her clothes.
Chunju quickly stepped forward to serve her, and asked softly, "Would you like to go for a walk?"
"Yeah, let's go join in the fun."
They slowly walked towards the Gao family's house on the next street, and from a distance they could see a large crowd gathered in front of the Gao family's house.
"I heard that because the monthly interest wasn't paid, Master Zhao has come to take back the house!"
"Didn't Grandpa Gao adopt his grandson? Isn't he going to help pay the monthly interest?"
"He probably forgot. Isn't Master Zhao waiting for this day?"
Shen Qing listened calmly as Gao Liu was handcuffed and escorted into the prison cart.
The prison cart slowly made its way toward the county government office, and Shen Qing, supported by Chunju, followed it to the main entrance of the courtroom.
Just like what happened to her before, Gao Liu was forced by the bailiffs to kneel in front of the county magistrate, with her two-year-old son Gao Che in her arms.
She pleaded with the county magistrate through tears, "Your Honor, please spare me! This old woman truly didn't know about the monthly interest payment date. My daughter-in-law has always handled it; this old woman really had no idea..."
The county magistrate slammed his gavel down: "Gao Liu! I ask you, do you currently have five hundred taels of silver to pay the monthly interest?"
Gao Liu cried, "My daughter-in-law took all the money, and I have no money left..."
Just two months ago, the county magistrate had been humiliated by Shen Qing and was still angry. Upon hearing Gao Liu's words, he immediately roared, "If the Gao family had agreed to mortgage the house to the creditors before, why would they have to come to court today? You audacious shrew, your whole family is wasting my time!"
After saying that, he grabbed a handful of divination sticks and threw them on the ground: "Give me a good beating!"
He was taking back the anger he had suffered at Shen Qing's hands and retaliating against Gao Liu Shi.
The bailiffs obeyed the order and quickly brought over a long bench. They took Gao Che from Gao Liu's arms, then laid her face down on the bench.
As soon as the board fell, Gao Liushi screamed shrilly.
Shen Qing clenched her teeth and turned her face away.
She knew what that board felt like; one hit could send you to heaven.
Lady Gao was already sickly; she would have died in two or twenty strokes.
"Oh my god..." Gao Liu cried out in agony, "I don't want to live anymore! Let me die..."
The constable held up the board expressionlessly, and just as the second blow was about to fall, Shen Qing stepped out from the crowd: "Wait!"
The magistrate looked over, recognized her, and was so angry that his beard bristled. He slammed his gavel down and said sarcastically, "Shen, this case has nothing to do with you. You'd better not get involved, or I have plenty of ways to deal with you."
Shen Qing smiled easily: "I have not broken the law, and I have nothing to do with the Gao family. On what grounds will you deal with me, sir?"
The county magistrate choked on his words, then flew into a rage!
He had never been challenged in such a way, losing face so badly that he wished he could drag Shen Qing out and behead him immediately.
He slammed the gavel down forcefully, his eyes wide with rage, and shouted, "Guards! Drag Shen out and give her twenty strokes of the cane!"
The order slip had just been drawn and hadn't even been thrown to the ground when the clerk jogged up and whispered a few words in his ear. His furious face immediately fell.
Seeing this, Shen Qing couldn't help but wonder, who was putting pressure on him to let him go?
Just then, she heard the county magistrate order the bailiffs to continue beating Gao Liushi. She quickly stood next to Gao Liushi and said, "Sir, Gao Liushi is already half-buried in the ground. It's only a matter of time before she dies. Why are you in such a hurry to beat her to death in court and add another life to your hands?"
The crowd began to discuss it quietly.
The county magistrate's eyes darted around as he scrutinized Shen Qing: "What's your idea?"
"Your Excellency, Gao Che is just a two-year-old toddler. He won't amount to anything in the next ten years and can be disregarded. Gao Liu and Gao Che are both puppets of Gao Laosan. Gao Laosan had already planned that once I left the Gao family, he would use Gao Che as the heir to repay the 100,000 taels of silver owed to Master Zhao, and then naturally take over everything in the Gao family. Gao Laosan is capable of repaying the 100,000 taels, so Master Zhao will definitely not get the Gao family's house."
Upon hearing this, the county magistrate realized that Shen Qing already knew about his conspiracy with Master Zhao to seize the Gao family's house.
He had to adjust his attitude in time and pretended to be a notary, saying: "Gao Laosan can repay the money, and his grandson has been adopted by the Gao family. So it is normal for him to handle the Gao family's affairs on his behalf before his grandson comes of age."
Shen Qing: "Then this month's interest should be paid to Gao Laosan, and Gao Liushi should not be punished with that beating."
The county magistrate then realized he had fallen for her trap, and his face immediately changed. But he could only keep his word, so he had no choice but to order Gao Liushi's release.
Gao Liushi collapsed to the ground, groaning incessantly.
As Shen Qing approached and listened, he felt that the sound seemed to come from hell, sending chills down his spine.
She gestured for Chunju to help Gao Liushi up.
Gao Liushi was so weak that she couldn't stand up, so Chunju had to carry her on her back.
She lifted her eyelids slightly, peeking at Shen Qing through a slit. Suddenly, her eyes widened, filled with tears, it was unclear whether it was from grievance or some other emotion.
Shen Qing picked up Gao Che and, together with Chunju, led Gao Liushi out of the county government office.
As soon as he stepped outside, he encountered Gao Laosan, who had rushed over.
He snatched Gao Che from Shen Qing's arms without even glancing at Gao Liu Shi, who was hanging on Chun Ju's back.
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