14 Chapter 14
◎A hero's origin is not questioned, and a sword's use is not questioned◎
If June is not hot, the crops will not grow. If the bed is too hot to lie on, only crops will grow in the fields.
After coming here, Cheng Mu has been living in the market and has never been to the fields, but she can predict this year's harvest based on the weather and solar terms. Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood, and if the weather is good, there will be a good harvest.
The days in June were so hot that it was unbearable. There was not a breath of wind inside or outside the house. She missed modern air conditioning very much. There were many ice sellers on the street and a lot of iced drinks. She had to eat them once a day. She would buy some ice and put it in the house to make herself feel better and sleep at night.
During this month, she tried her best not to see Jiang because Jiang liked to stare at her belly. The weather was hot and the clothes were thin, so the chance of her fake belly being discovered was a bit high. Fortunately, the clothes in this dynasty had no waists and the long gowns with front opening reached to the ankles, so there was still a way to cover it up.
She made a belt that looked like a waist bag, stuffed cloth into it, and could stuff more cloth into it as the month got bigger. She tied a knot at the back of her waist and wore it when meeting people, which was convenient to put on and take off.
During that visit with Jiang, her sharp eyes didn't notice anything wrong, so I was fine. She just said your belly is only this big this month, so it's probably postpartum.
Jiang came to her and said that it was cool on the farm and her mistress asked her to stay there for a few days.
Yesterday, she came back from the farm and brought a melon.
Cheng Mu asked Mu Yun to hang the melons into the well to soak them. After breakfast that day, the hottest time of the day arrived. Cheng Mu called Mu Yun and asked him to pull the melons soaked in the well out so that they could eat them.
The melon is not big, only about the size of two fists put together, and its color is as green as jade. You can smell its fragrance through the skin, and you can imagine how sweet it is. When you cut it with a knife, it makes a crisp sound. It has a thin skin.
This variety is good. If you plant it, she can eat a lot. Cheng Mu warned, "Be careful to collect the seeds."
Mu Yun took a wooden spoon to scrape it out. He was about to scrape out all the pulp and seeds, but Cheng Mu stopped him, "Let me do it, the cantaloupe pulp is the sweetest. Don't waste it. Let's all have a taste."
After cutting into eight petals, I carefully scraped off any seeds I could from the sides of each petal with the tip of a knife. "Just spit out the rest. The flesh is delicious. Let's enjoy."
After taking a bite, the flesh was crispy and sweet, juicy, and had a refreshing and non-sticky taste. Cheng Xi couldn't help but nod.
"To relieve the summer heat, take a few out and sell them tomorrow."
"I definitely like the one in Hulu Lane in the east of the city that I went to yesterday."
Mu Yun went to the East Market several times to sell the food and vegetables in the space. He said that they were produced on the farm, and the fruits and vegetables looked good and were easy to sell. He also sold them from door to door and had a few regular customers. If he had good things, he could just knock on the back door.
"What's going on outside?"
Cheng Mu listened carefully and heard a commotion coming from the alley across the two walls, including crying and shouting, and the sound of orderly footsteps.
Mu Yun picked up a piece of melon and said, "I'll go take a look."
Cheng Mu always felt that the high-pitched shouting that sometimes rose and sometimes fell was from Jiang. Was Jiang angry with someone? That wouldn't have brought so many people to the alley.
Mu Yun returned and washed his sticky hands with water from the basin. Cheng Mu stared at him. His chest heaved as he reported to her in a calm voice, "Gui'er has killed someone."
"ah?"
Cheng Mu was quite shocked. What did he say? Gui'er killed someone? She killed someone!
"What happened? Did you have a conflict with anyone?" Was it manslaughter or excessive self-defense?
Mu Yun reported to her in detail the news he had just heard.
Aren't Jiang's men guarding a farm forty miles outside Puyang City for the wealthy Yang family? The man Gui'er killed was the young master of the Yang family, and this young master of the Yang family was the bully who killed Gui'er's father and brother more than a year ago.
Cheng Mu suddenly realized, "So she was sharpening her knife just to wait for this bully." She just didn't know if they knew about the relationship between Jiang and the bully when they rented the house from Jiang's family, whether they were just waiting there or they met him by chance.
Earlier, Jiang was in the shop and Gui'er was still sharpening her knife when a short, fair-skinned young man came over. He was wearing brocade clothes and was in his early twenties. Jiang recognized him and called him "Yang Wulang".
Yang Wulang entered Jiang's shop, picked up a stool, sat at the cross end, and told Jiang about her family's affairs on the farm. Yang Wulang was domineering and Jiang kept trying to be careful. Yang Wulang said some scary words and Jiang kept begging for mercy. Then Gui'er stood in front of Yang Wulang with a knife.
Yang Wulang asked her what she was going to do, and Gui'er replied, "A hero is not judged by his origin, nor is a knife sharpened by its purpose." Yang Wulang mocked her, "Are you going to chop someone else up?" Gui'er said, "Even if I chop you up, it would be justice. Do you remember the father and son who were beaten to death on Zhimen Street a year ago? They were my father and brother. Give me your lives!"
Gui'er suddenly swung her knife wildly. Yang Wulang fell to the ground in fear. He kicked out a stool to block and swung his fist. Gui'er dodged quickly and slashed at his neck and throat with the knife. Yang Wulang fell to the ground and spurted out a pool of blood. The servant who followed him turned pale with fear and ran away while shouting "Murder!"
Jiang was so frightened that she was like a weak shrimp, unable to move. She stared with a pair of horrified eyes and almost fainted.
Because the knife didn't hit the vital parts, Yang Wulang was still making "Ha-" and "Ha-" sounds like a broken bellows. Gui'er rode on him and chopped him off with several knives, chopping off Yang Wulang's head. The blade of the knife bent, so she threw away the knife, picked up the head, and went to the county government office covered in blood to surrender herself.
Mu Yun said, "After Aunt Jiang came to her senses, she kept crying and cursing. Someone had died in her room, and it was the young master of the landlord's family. She threw all of Gui'er and the others' belongings out. Aunt Yu just cried and let her beat and scold her. Gui'er was shackled and brought in by the government officials. They examined Yang Wulang's body on the spot and took the witness's confession. The Yang family also arrived."
If Jiang Shi doesn't let Yu Shi go, then the Yang family won't let Jiang Shi go either. Her husband's job will also be in jeopardy.
Mu Yun wanted to go out and have a look, Cheng Mu thought for a while and said, "You should bring Aunt Yu home first." Jiang's place couldn't accommodate her, and she couldn't let her live on the streets.
The alley was still bustling with people coming to watch the fun.
By the time the sound faded away, an hour had passed. Cheng Mu kept looking towards the door, wondering why Mu Yun hadn't returned yet.
When Mu Yun returned, he was alone. Cheng Mu asked him, "Where's Aunt Yu?"
"She was also going to jail. She was taken away by Master Lin."
"That's good. Captain Lin is protecting her, so the Yang family can't take their anger out on her."
Mu Yun said, "The Yang family took their anger out on Aunt Jiang and beat her half to death."
"Ah?" Cheng Mu gasped. "The government doesn't care? Where is Aunt Jiang now?"
"The government can't do anything about it. The Yang family is her employer. The reason they beat her up was that she went to the farm to steal things a few days ago. Now that Aunt Jiang is at home, the Yang family probably won't let her husband and son go."
"What's going on?" Cheng Mu asked, "Have all the onlookers left? I'll go check on her."
Mu Yun first went to the front door of the house to check and make sure that there was no one in the alley, then turned back to call Cheng Mu.
Cheng Mu walked out of the house and walked quickly to the door of Jiang's house. The door of the shop was installed, but the front of the shop was in a mess. There were bloodstains on the door and the ground. Yu's things thrown out by Jiang were scattered on the ground. Some of them were stepped on and some were picked up.
Mu Yun opened the door of Jiang's house. Cheng Xi entered from the main gate and went around to the back door of Jiang's shop. A strong smell of blood rushed over. She didn't know how tragic the situation was inside, but the smell had not dissipated for such a long time.
Jiang sat on the ground with her hair disheveled, sobbing. She looked up and saw Cheng Mu coming over, and she started crying out loudly, "Madam Cheng, wow—"
Cheng Mu wanted to help her sit up, but couldn't. Jiang kept pulling her and crying. Cheng Mu gave Mu Yun a wink, and Mu Yun helped Jiang sit on the bed.
"She and her mother have ruined my family. How can I treat them? Madam Cheng, please judge for yourself. They want to seek revenge. They are all evil-minded, all evil..."
Jiang kept crying and cursing until her voice was hoarse. Cheng Mu failed to persuade her, so she sat on a stool facing the bed for a while. When Jiang's husband and son came back, she said goodbye and left.
Outside, he picked up all of Yu's things and packed them into a bundle.
Mu Yun asked her, "Do you want to send it to Aunt Yu?"
"She left with your master. Your master should know where she is." Cheng Mu handed him the bundle. "Go to the government office to find your master and give him the things."
Cheng Mu handed four taels of silver to Mu Yun and said, "Please ask your master to take care of Gui'er."
Mu Yun carried his bag and went to the county government office to find Captain Lin.
Everyone they met along the way was talking about the murder case in Baoqing Hutong. A policeman in front of the yamen recognized Mu Yun and knew that he had lived in that house before. When he saw him coming to see Captain Lin, he enthusiastically asked another policeman to pass the message and chatted with Mu Yun himself.
He said that the woman, covered in blood after murdering someone, had come to the government office to confess, and in court she had also accused the young master of the Yang family. Her father and brother had been beaten to death by the young master, and she had sworn to heaven to kill her enemy. Today, her vengeance had been avenged, and she had asked the county magistrate to punish her according to the law.
Because she was a heroic woman who surrendered herself to the authorities, the county magistrate spared her the torture at the entrance, and instead put her in a long shackle, sent someone to escort her to the scene for examination, issued a written charge, and put her in the death row.
Mu Yun asked him if he could visit him in prison, and then Captain Lin arrived.
The two spoke alone.
Mu Yun said that Cheng Mu brought four taels of silver to bribe the jailer. When he handed the silver over, Captain Lin pushed it back and asked him again, "Are you going to visit the prison?"
"Uh... um." Captain Lin didn't answer, so Mu Yun had to take care of it himself.
Captain Lin said, "Take Yu with you."
Yu emerged from behind the pillar and bowed, "Thank you, Madam Cheng, for your kindness."
Captain Lin called a policeman to lead the way. Mu Yun walked ahead with gritted teeth. After walking for a while, he looked back and found that Captain Lin had not followed him.
Remembering that the bag he had given to Yu was still on his back, he took it off and handed it to Yu, "These are the only things I picked up from you."
Yu took it and said thank you in a low voice.
Mu Yun knew that she was sad, but he couldn't say anything to comfort her.
Inside the prison, Yu and Gui'er hugged each other and cried. Yu said to Gui'er, "Go with peace of mind. Mother will be here soon."
Before leaving, Mu Yun invited Yu to meet Cheng Mu, but Yu only wanted to stay at the county government office. "True love is revealed when one is in trouble, but I cannot repay Madam Cheng's kindness. In my next life, I would rather be an ox or a horse."
Yu knelt down at the gate of the county government office and refused to leave.
Mu Yun returned home and told Cheng Mu everything truthfully.
After hearing this, Cheng Mu said, "Mother and daughter are indeed determined to die."
At the same time, the magistrate of Puyang City was writing an official document with his legal advisor, changing Zhao Guier's murder case to Zhao Guier's revenge case. "The Book of Rites, Quli Shang, says, 'One cannot live under the same sky with his father's enemy. One cannot fight against one's brothers' enemies. One cannot be enemies of friends from the same country... Filial piety is the most important of all virtues. Zhao Guier committed a crime to avenge her father and brother, and it was justified..." The county magistrate remembered that Zhao Guier was a filial and heroic daughter, and wanted to protect her. He carefully considered the words and reported the matter to his superiors for a decision.
His superiors did not dare to handle the matter on their own and reported it up the chain of command.
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