Chapter 21 Who Are You? Xie Suzhou's feet were unsteady. He looked at Su Cheng and when he saw that she was fine, his rapidly beating heart gradually calmed down.
"Sir Wang, I want to seek justice for the Su family." Xie Suzhou lifted his long gown and slowly knelt down, but his back remained straight.
Wang Lin frowned, his eyes wandering between him and Su Cheng, and asked in a deep voice, "This matter has nothing to do with you. You said you wanted to redress the grievances of Xiao Su, so what is your relationship with her?"
"She's my sister-in-law. How could I not step forward when my family is in trouble?" Xie Suzhou lowered his eyelashes and spoke slowly. "I can testify that Su Guocai deceived my eldest sister-in-law and seized our property without paying her back. Su Tian forced her daughter to take valuables from her husband's family and pocketed them, leading to her being beaten. They deserved it."
"You're talking nonsense!" Su Guocai denied it flatly, his face fierce. "Your family got the land back and took advantage of it. Su Cheng married into your family, so naturally you favor her! How can your testimony be trusted?"
"That's right, County Magistrate, you can't just believe their one-sided story!" Yu Baiting wiped her tears and cried on Tian's body, "Even if Su Cheng had a little conscience, she couldn't beat her own mother like this, right? Such a fierce woman, County Magistrate should punish her severely!"
"You're right!" Tian struggled to sit up from the ground, looking at Su Cheng as if she were looking at an enemy. "You beat me so hard that I couldn't get out of bed for the whole day. You're such a ruthless person! I gave birth to you and raised you, but not only do you have no filial piety at all, you even beat me and your brother like this!"
From beginning to end, Su Cheng only said the first sentence.
The gavel slammed down, and the Su family members suddenly stopped talking, looking at the seat of honor with dissatisfaction.
Wang Lin sighed softly, his eyes fell on the woman on the side, and whispered, "Xiao Su, I'll give you a chance to explain."
Su Cheng slowly raised his eyes, his expression surprisingly calm, "Sir Wang, in court, are we following the law and reason?"
Wang Lin nodded, "Of course."
"The Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues say that the father is the guide of the son. If the father is unkind, the son will flee to another place. The son is the father's hope. If the son is not upright, the father will be killed for the sake of justice." Su Cheng lifted his long sleeves, revealing the old scars on his arms. "The wounds on their bodies are just paying off their debts."
The white arms were covered with scars, which had long since healed but still left deep marks.
Xie Suzhou's breath was caught, his eyes fixed on her exposed forearm, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
"From childhood to adulthood, they have beaten me countless times. When they are happy, they scold me, and when they are unhappy, they beat me. If you don't believe me, Lord Wang, you can go to Sujiazhuang and ask. Who in the village doesn't know that my life is more bitter than bitter melon?"
Su Cheng raised the corners of her lips, her smile bitter. "I thought everything would be fine after I got married, but they were like leeches that I couldn't get rid of, desperately trying to squeeze every drop of blood out of me. Before I got married, they tortured me, and after I got married, they wanted to hollow out my in-laws."
"I married into the Xie family as a second wife. My husband died early, and I raised his two children with great perseverance. Yesterday, the three Su family members used the same trick again, tricking me into handing over my daughter. They wanted to marry the Xie family child to the deceased son of Mr. Qiu in town as a ghost marriage." Su Cheng raised her eyes and stared at the man sitting there. "When they do evil, they don't care whether the child is their own or not. They are so extreme that even rabbits bite when they are cornered. Why can't I fight back?"
"If I could, I would like to cut off all ties with them."
Wang Lin was deeply shocked. He looked at the Su family in disbelief and asked in a deep voice, "Is what she said... true?"
"Of course not!" Tian knelt on the ground and waved her hands repeatedly. "My Lord, you can see clearly. Who hasn't beaten their children? It's not just her. My son has been beaten too!"
As she spoke, Tian rolled up Su Guocai's sleeves and took a closer look. His arms were white and plump, and he didn't look like he had been beaten, but rather like he had enjoyed happiness.
Su Guocai looked embarrassed, pulled his arms out of his mother's arms, and covered himself with his sleeves guiltily.
"Well...his injuries should have healed." Even though she knew she was in the wrong, Tian still pretended to be doing it for Su Cheng's own good. "How could a mother truly abuse her daughter? I felt sorry for my daughter. She became a widow right after getting married, raising someone else's child for nothing. It just so happened that Mr. Qiu was arranging a marriage for his son, and the girl from the Xie family was of the right age. I thought it would be a good opportunity, so I rushed over to help them get together."
"Who knew... I would end up with injuries all over my body." Tian pursed her lips, eager to ask for benefits, "Sir, County Magistrate, Su Cheng is already a wife of the Xie family. She beat us mother and son like this. I only want the Xie family to pay thirty taels, and I will agree to a settlement."
Tian held up three fingers, as if she had suffered a great loss.
"You dare to have evil thoughts about other people's children? You are so arrogant and disregard the law and this official!" Wang Lin slammed the table and stood up, anger rising on his cheeks. "You are the evil ones who are the first to complain. How dare you! Come, take the Su family away. Tian and Su Guocai will be caned twenty times. Su Yu is pregnant, so she will be slapped twenty times!"
"Wha...what?" Tian's eyes widened, not believing her ears for a moment. "Sir, did you make a mistake?"
"Tian, five more strokes! Dismiss!"
Wang Lin waved his sleeves and left, wishing he could get as far away from this family of crazy bastards as possible.
The screams of the Su family rang in his ears. Su Cheng straightened his sleeves and walked out of the government office.
Xie Suzhou followed her quietly, keeping an eye on her expression.
"You came here running?"
Her sudden question stumped Master Xie.
Xie Suzhou's eyes were a little evasive, and his ears were red. "The oxcart only runs twice a day. If I don't run... I can't catch up..."
"Are you worried about me getting into trouble?" Su Cheng chuckled, seemingly unaffected by the Su family. He raised his hand and placed it on his shoulder, gently smoothing his messy clothes. "Those bastards couldn't move me, but you, a frail scholar who hasn't worked in the fields at the age of 22, suddenly ran out so far. I'm afraid you won't even be able to walk the next day."
Xie Suzhou lowered his eyes and looked at her. From this angle, he could only see her long eyelashes.
"Who are you?"
Su Cheng was stunned for a moment, her hands froze while she was straightening his clothes. She looked up at him and smiled suddenly, "Are you running away like an idiot? I'm your sister-in-law."
Xie Suzhou pulled the corner of his mouth and murmured, "Really?"
But the Su family before this could not read a single word.
All the way back to Xinghua Village, the two of them kept an arm's length apart and didn't speak again until they saw Xie Cuicui looking out the door of her house with an anxious look on her face.
"Cui Cui?" Su Cheng walked over with a doting smile on his face. "Why are you standing outside the yard like an idiot?"
Seeing her family, Xie Cuicui's eyes were filled with tears and she cried into Su Cheng's arms, "Mom, Second Uncle, you are finally back!"
The smile froze on her face, and Su Cheng tightened his grip on her shoulders, "Why are you crying? Tell mom, who wronged you?"
Xie Suzhou's face also turned cold, his eyes falling on the little girl's red and swollen eyes, "It looks like this is not the only time you've cried, Cuicui, who bullied you?"
"No one bullied me." Xie Cuicui cried breathlessly, wiping her tears with her small hands. "Zhou Beibei said bad things about mother and was thrown into jail. Aunt Liu said she would lock her up for three days. Uncle Zhou was so angry that he cut off Third Uncle's medicinal herbs!"
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