When Xu Lanyin went to the kitchen to wash dishes, Zhao Wu followed her in. He whispered, "Master Min Hu returned to the provincial capital this morning." His tone was very disappointed. He added, "I will work hard and strive to serve under him. Master Min is a capable and good official with a bright future. If I can establish a good relationship with him, it will be easy to enter the Six Gates."
Xu Lanyin said, "The more capable an official is, the more he appreciates and likes capable subordinates. You must not only practice martial arts well, but also learn to analyze cases. Keep an eye on the Yiju Restaurant. If you make a major discovery and achieve great merit, Lord Min will definitely transfer you to work for him."
The Yiju Restaurant incident wasn't over yet, and Xu Lanyin hoped Zhao Wu would remain in Nanping County. If they could take down the Yiju Restaurant sooner rather than later, not only would Zhao Wu achieve great success, but the butterfly's wings would also help the Min family live longer. Xu Lanyin hoped that the good official would live a long and healthy life.
The next morning, Wang Sanni and Wang Jincai, dressed in plain clothes, carried a basket of food and headed for the county town. Because of what had happened at home, they didn't dare ride in a donkey cart, fearing that others would look down on them.
They arrived at the opposite side of the county government office, where Zhao Wu was already waiting. Wang Sanni no longer approached Zhao Wu as she had done before, but instead followed behind Wang Jincai with her head down, not daring to look at him.
Zhao Wudao said, "Let's go."
They walked to the right side of the county government office, entered the prison gate, and went directly to the inner prison where female prisoners were held.
The inner prison looks like a courtyard house, with ordinary cells on the east, west and south sides. There are two windowless cave-style cells on the north side, which are used to hold female death row prisoners. Wang Po was imprisoned here.
Zhao Wu bowed and smiled at the jailer Jiang, "Uncle Jiang, they are Mrs. Wang's family."
Wang Jincai bowed deeply to the jailer, then presented a large handful of silver, including small ingots and broken silver, totaling about ten taels. He handled Old Man Wang's funeral, bought some gifts for the people who helped him, and left a little for living expenses, taking almost all of his money.
Jailer Jiang's face was full of smiles. He took the silver and said, "Let's go."
He took them to the north cell, and Zhao Wu stood outside without going in.
The death cell was pitch black, with only a palm-sized skylight on the roof letting in some sunlight. The strong smell of dampness was mixed with a unpleasant stench. Currently, there was only one prisoner imprisoned here: Wang Pozi.
They came to the outside of the iron gate and saw an old woman crawling on a pile of grass through the iron railings. Although they couldn't see her face, they knew it was Wang Po from her figure.
Wang Sanni burst into tears and held the iron railing and called out, "Mom, Jincai and I are here to see you."
Wang Jincai also started crying and called out, "Milk."
Mrs. Wang turned around and saw that it was really her daughter and grandson, dragging themselves to the door. She confessed honestly and was spared severe punishment, but she still received twenty strokes of the cane for her initial false confession.
Because she had an injury on her butt and couldn't sit, she knelt on the ground, reached out her hands from the iron railing and pulled Wang Sanni and Wang Jincai, and they all cried together.
Because they had received money, the guards kept a distance, allowing them to talk in private.
Wang Sanni took a large bowl from a basket and placed it outside the iron gate. Inside the bowl was a roasted chicken. She cried, "Mom, why did you do that? Dad is dead, and you're doing this again. Our family is broken up."
Mrs. Wang stopped crying and said bitterly, "I have no regrets about killing that damned devil. If he hadn't died, he would have beaten me to death, and the family would have broken up. Now that both of us old guys are dead, the family is at peace."
Wang Jincai cried, "Grandma, you can't die..."
He hated Old Man Wang since he was old enough to understand things, and more than once he thought about running away with his mother when he grew up. Although he was angry that Old Man Wang wanted to put the blame on his mother, he didn't want Old Man Wang to die either, because this grandmother was really good to him.
Mrs. Wang stroked Wang Jincai's head, wiped the tears from her own face, and whispered to Wang Sanni, "Sanni, listen carefully! Before your eldest brother returns, quickly ask someone to transfer the 45 acres of land and house under that dead man's name to Jincai. Don't let Jincai go with your eldest brother or sell his property. The woman your eldest brother married later is vicious and hasn't brought any money home in the past two years. They also have a son, and they're controlling all the money. Jincai is in trouble." She then said to Wang Jincai, "My dear grandson, no matter how your father and that wild woman try to coax you, you can't go with them. You must stay in the countryside to mourn for your grandfather for three years, and then mourn for me for another three years. No one can object to this. In six years, you will be grown up, and you can marry a wife in the countryside and live with your silly mother. You must be good to your aunt, and when she gets married, give her ten acres of land as a dowry..."
Although Wang Po was sentenced to be cut off from the family, she could not enter the ancestral tomb and her tablet could not be worshipped by future generations, but if her descendants were filial and wanted to observe mourning for her, no one else could interfere.
Every time Mrs. Wang gave an instruction, Wang Sanni and Wang Jincai would cry and agree.
They talked for about a quarter of an hour, and then the jailer came over and said, "It's time to go."
The cries of several people became louder. Wang Jincai stood up and took a few steps. Wang Sanni's hand was held by Wang Po, so she didn't stand up. She felt that Wang Po had something to say to her in private.
Mrs. Wang whispered in Wang Sanni's ear, "I buried a hundred taels of silver next to the pigpen in the backyard. If Jincai is obedient and gives you ten acres of land, you and your family will share half of the silver. If he is like his father and doesn't give you the land, you can take all the silver to your husband's family. I'm going to die, don't spend money on me anymore." Her voice became louder. "Look for an honest and decent man. Be more careful. If your man is not easy to take care of, find a way to divorce him quickly. Don't be like your mother, who ended up like this. Also, you must not be a concubine. A concubine suffers more than Jincai's mother and I."
After saying that, he retracted his hand.
Wang Sanni and Wang Jincai left crying.
The two followed Zhao Wu out of the cell, and Wang Sanni asked Zhao Wu to help transfer the land and yard under the name of Old Man Wang to Wang Jincai. She had paid someone to send a letter to her brother a few days ago, and she wanted to complete this matter before her brother returned.
Zhao Wu nodded in agreement and asked them to bring the deed to him tomorrow. He would take them to find a clerk to handle the transfer procedures.
Wang Sanni and Wang Jincai knelt down and kowtowed to Zhao Wu again. They didn't expect that this matter could be accomplished so easily.
Zhao Wu said, "Live a good life in the future. Don't be like your grandparents. The evil they did harmed the whole family."
Wang Sanni and Wang Jincai agreed while wiping their tears.
Zhao Wu was very satisfied. His kindness and effort could bring hope and a way out to others. He was so moved by his own actions that he was moved.
On the way back to the village, Wang Jincai said regretfully, "Aunt, it would be great if Uncle Zhao could be my uncle. He's a good man and capable."
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