"What is that sound?" Song He'er asked.
After thinking for a while, Song Xiaoyu said, "The situation seems a bit off. I'll go knock on the door first."
Although Zhang Xiu'e usually had a bad temper, she still cared about Song Xiaoyu. Seeing him about to knock on the door, she quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't be rash, perhaps... take another look..."
"What are you looking at? If we wait any longer, are we supposed to just stand here and watch them come out on their own? Zhao Changming is a cunning and shameless man. Who knows what heinous things he's doing in there? Don't worry, I'll go check it out!"
As she spoke, Song Xiaoyu released Zhang Xiue's hand and approached the door step by step.
Before she could even touch the door, a loud crash came from the front, as if something had fallen off the bed.
Why are you making such a loud noise?
"How was I supposed to know this old hag was so heavy? If you ask me, I'd just burn her in the yard. Why go through all this trouble!"
"This is your own mother! You burned her body! How could you be so heartless!"
"It's not that I'm heartless, but since she's already dead, why should I care what happens to her body!"
"Let's just pack the body into a sack and throw it off the cliff. Burning a dead body isn't as simple as cooking a meal. The yard will be filled with thick smoke, which might attract attention! It's better to avoid trouble. Hurry up!"
"Damn it! What bad luck! Ever since I ran into those meddlesome people from the capital, I haven't been able to get over this!"
Hearing the conversation inside, Ruizhen instantly understood everything. It turned out that the old woman Zhao Changming had brought back that day had passed away, and the heartless couple were plotting how to dispose of the body.
If it were a normal birth, aging, illness and death, then the funeral arrangements would be handled normally. Why is it being done secretly now? Could there be some hidden reason?
Ruizhen seemed to have thought of something, and despite Song Xiaoyu's attempts to stop her, she pushed open the door and rushed in.
"Zhao Changming, do you have any humanity left? It's one thing to be heartless to me, but how can you be so cruel to your own mother! You will be punished!"
The sudden outburst of insults startled the beautiful young woman inside.
Song He'er peeked through the crack and saw a young and beautiful woman standing next to Zhao Changming. She was wearing a pink long robe with a light touch of makeup on her face.
In this impoverished place, where people can barely feed themselves, it is astonishing that this person still has rouge and powder to adorn themselves.
Looking further down, you can see an old man who is as thin as a skeleton, with a pale face and sunken eyes. Half of his body has been stuffed into a sack, with only his shoulders and head sticking out.
"You... how did you get in? What do you want?" Mei Jiao'e stammered, hiding behind Zhao Changming.
When Zhao Changming saw that the person who came was Ruizhen, and that she had brought a group of helpers, he was immediately furious.
"You bitch, what are you doing here? My mother died, I can do whatever I want with her!"
"You...you are disgusting."
"What? You weren't going to raise her anyway, so her death is just what you wanted, saving you the trouble of taking care of her! Speaking of which, she used to make things difficult for you quite a bit, so you should feel gratified and happy that she's ended up like this!"
Song Xiaoyu stepped forward and threw a punch at Zhao Changming!
"I'll beat you, you disloyal and unfilial bastard! You've lost your humanity, you don't deserve to live!"
The beautiful young woman next to her immediately sat down on the ground and started crying, "Help! Someone's hitting someone in broad daylight!"
Zhang Xiue picked up a tattered piece of cloth from the ground and stuffed it directly into the woman's mouth.
"What, do you want people to see how you two adulterous lovers killed your own mother?"
"Waaah~"
The woman, her mouth gagged, sobbed for a long time but couldn't utter a single word.
Zhao Changming was beaten black and blue, it seems that Song Xiaoyu really went all out this time.
This man was utterly despicable; he not only abused his wife and children, but he even mistreated his own mother.
Even after death, they didn't give him a proper burial, instead thinking of ending his life in an extremely cruel way; they were truly beasts.
"If I kill you today, it will be as if I am doing justice for Heaven!" Song Xiaoyu was usually a gentleman, but today when he beat Zhao Changming, he completely disregarded etiquette and beat him with fists and feet, leaving the other party with no power to fight back.
Zhao Changming wanted to fight back, but with Tian Niangzi and Zhang Xiu'e holding him back, he couldn't cause any trouble and could only take the beating.
After a moment, he began to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.
"Stop hitting me... I... I can't take it anymore!" With that, he vomited a mouthful of blood.
The woman next to her thought she was going to die and cried even harder.
Zhang Xiu'e released him, letting him lie weakly on the ground, barely clinging to life.
"Today I only broke a few of your ribs and crushed your foot bones. I didn't damage your internal organs. The blood you're coughing up is just from your lost teeth. Stop pretending. You're not going to die anytime soon!"
Zhao Changming was still crawling on the ground in pain. He had been pampered here for so long and had never suffered any hardship, so he naturally couldn't bear this little bit of pain.
Although Song Xiaoyu was a civil official, he still had some tricks up his sleeve when it came to dealing with local thugs and ruffians.
This situation caused Zhao Changming immense pain; even though the pain kept him awake at night, he couldn't see anything amiss from his skin.
"You... dare to openly oppose me in Xinzhou... cough cough cough, I suppose your identities aren't simple either... this hurts so much!"
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