A dozen or so constables, carrying bundles, with long knives at their waists and whips in their hands, escorted a group of prisoners out.
The prisoners included men, women, and children, totaling more than thirty, all of them disheveled and ragged.
Fortunately, they still had a pair of intact shoes on their feet; otherwise, it would be hard to say whether they could have made it to the southwest in this condition.
Jiayin sat in the Marquis's lap, leaning against the carriage window, craning her neck to look out, and whispered, "Father, are all these people going to the southwest?"
The Marquis shook his head and replied with a smile, "No, they will only travel along the route within the city, so that the people can see it more often and set an example for others. After leaving the city, there will be carriages, but not many. People will still have to take turns getting off and walking, and take turns getting on the carriages to rest."
Jiayin nodded, her eyes wide open, and continued watching the excitement.
Seeing that she didn't seem afraid, the Marquis didn't stop her. Whether it's good or bad, children need to see and hear more so they can become more familiar with and understand the world.
Flowers grown in a greenhouse are lucky to never experience wind and rain, but who can guarantee that wind and rain will never come?
Even someone as powerful as him couldn't guarantee anything; he could only hope that his child would be strong and intelligent.
Old Mrs. Li gripped the basket tightly in her hands, staring intently at the young female prisoners in the line.
She wanted to find Wang E, but she didn't know her at all.
Fortunately, she wasn't the only one who hated Wang E.
The crowd, which had been quietly watching the spectacle, suddenly became noisy after a woman in a baggy gray coat walked out.
"Look, that's Wang E!"
"Serves her right, this is the end she deserved!"
"That wicked woman! There is no woman in the world more vicious than her. She would even kill her own husband!"
"Maybe her father forced her to come home because she was the one who pressured him... She couldn't get married herself, so she thought of harming others!"
“You wicked woman, look over here!” a woman shouted.
Wang E was initially timid and hesitant, but when she suddenly heard someone calling her from the side, she instinctively looked up.
As a result, a handful of rotten vegetable leaves were thrown directly at her!
"Haha, hit her! That's so satisfying!" The plump woman laughed, hands on her hips. "These past few days, I've been listening to storytellers at the teahouse, and the more I listened, the more I wanted to give that vicious woman a good beating. Today, I've finally gotten my revenge!"
The others laughed along, and then more and more people picked up whatever was at hand—clods of dirt, vegetable leaves, even horse manure—and threw them at Wang E.
"You wicked woman, get out of here! Die in the southwest and never come back!"
"With someone like you in Xindu, you've really made us all lose face!"
"Beat her! A theatrical troupe has already rehearsed and is going to perform in another city. Because of this vicious woman, we've lost face in the whole world!"
"What's the point of living for such scum!"
"Why don't you just die and go find your father in the eighteenth level of hell!"
Wang E covered her head and sobbed incessantly after being beaten. Occasionally, she would risk her life to look up and search through the crowd, hoping to find a member of her clan.
Unfortunately, she waited in prison for many days, but no one came. How could a miracle happen at this point?
She gritted her teeth in hatred. She used to call her "sister" all the time and always talked about how close the two families were. Now she doesn't remember anything, does she?
Her father left her 20,000 taels of silver. If he had used half of it to bribe officials, she wouldn't have been sent to do hard labor and suffered such public scorn!
Despair and fear drove her to a sudden madness. She glared at the surrounding crowd and cursed, "Get out! What right do you have to hit me! Who do you think you are! My uncle is Wang Bowei. Even if I'm sent to do hard labor, I'm still the eldest daughter of the Wang family! You all wait and see. Maybe the Wang family is watching you right now, remembering each and every one of you. You'll all be in trouble someday!"
To be honest, her words really scared everyone away.
After all, no one had any deep-seated hatred towards her; they just couldn't stand it and were acting in the name of justice.
It's fine to vent your anger or join in the fun for a while, but it's not worth it if it really causes trouble for yourself and your family.
In an instant, nothing else hurtled towards Wang E.
Feeling she had subdued the crowd, Wang E became even more arrogant, raising her head and shouting, "What my father did has nothing to do with me. As a woman, I can't even decide whether I marry out or move in with my husband's family. I don't want to treat my husband's illness because I don't want him to leave my side. Even if I'm wrong, it's because I love him too much. What does it have to do with you?"
“It has nothing to do with them!” Old Mrs. Li, carrying her basket, stepped out of the crowd and stood opposite Wang E. Her expression was as cold as ice. She said clearly and distinctly, word by word, “But it has something to do with me!”
Wang E was taken aback for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "Who are you, and what is your relationship with me?"
Old Mrs. Li took a deep breath, took two steps forward, and suddenly raised her hand, slapping her hard several times, both forward and backward, with a crisp sound.
Wang E was knocked to the ground with a heavy blow, seeing stars, and her cheeks visibly swelled up.
She tried to struggle, but the old woman stepped on her.
"Wang E, open your dog eyes and see clearly! I am Li Zhensheng's mother. Who in the whole world has more right to hit you than me!"
Li Zhensheng's mother?
Grandma...Grandma?
Wang E suddenly deflated, hugged Old Lady Li's leg and cried bitterly, "Mother-in-law, I was wrong. After you vented your anger by hitting me, please help me persuade my husband to forgive me, okay? Waaah, I don't want to do hard labor!"
"And Cat Brother and Li Brother, they must be crying if they can't see me! Please, Grandma, for their sake, save me! Waaah, I'll never do it again! I'll work like a slave to repay the Li family!"
Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, Old Lady Li pulled an egg from the basket and smashed it into her face.
The egg exploded, emitting an extremely foul stench that almost made her vomit.
She was about to speak when another one came flying at her!
Soon the rotten egg soup enveloped her from head to toe, leaving not a single clean spot; she truly stinked for miles around!
The people nearby were so choked by the smell that they all took several steps back, but they couldn't bear to leave the scene. They held their noses and refused to disperse, and even stood by to cheer on the old lady.
"Aunt Li beat her! That vicious woman has caused Master Li so much suffering!"
"Yes, hit her! Hit her!"
After smashing the rotten eggs, Old Lady Li slammed the basket down on Wang E's head, panting heavily. "I've been drying these for half a month, just so you could taste this! You still want to come into the Li family? I'd rather die than let you see my son and grandson again! Keep dreaming!"
"Waaah," Wang E finally caught her breath, coughing and crying at the same time, "Go ahead and kill me if you dare! I'm Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er's mother. They'll feel sorry for me and avenge me when they find out!"
Having said that, perhaps because she truly missed her son, she began to wail again, "My sons, I miss you all so much! You must avenge me!"
Old Mrs. Li gritted her teeth in hatred and kicked her twice in the face. "You love your son, but when you harmed my son, why didn't you think more about it? My son had just passed the imperial examination and was ruined by your family. Do you know how I, a widow, survived with three boys?!"
"More than ten years! I've cried myself blind! You bitch, you deserve to be struck by lightning and killed!"
The old lady trembled with anger and reached behind her back to pull out a kitchen knife.
Everyone gasped in shock, thinking the old woman was going to kill someone, but before they could stop her, she had already swiftly cut off one of Wang E's ears and thrown it aside along with the kitchen knife.
"You wretch, I'm sparing your life today for my grandson's sake, but I'll leave a mark on you! So that when you're struck by lightning, you won't accidentally injure anyone else!"
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