There is a saying that goes, you will never know the pain unless you are whipped.
There is no such thing as empathy in this world. Those superficial consolations will only cause secondary harm to the victims.
If she were in her shoes, if her sister, who she depended on for survival, was murdered, she would do everything she could to make the murderer's entire family be buried with her!
If the masters of the Cui family deserved their fate and the servants were innocent, then weren't the dead housekeeper Zheng and others innocent too?
There is no such thing as fairness in this world. It’s just tit for tat!
Chen Zhao, however, remembered that he would be gone for several days and was worried about the city, so he told Yang Lihua, "Sister, I'm afraid I won't be able to come for three to five days. Take Zhuzhu with you and don't go out much. Even if you do go out, bring guards with you. If anything happens, be sure to send someone to the farm to find me!"
Yang Lihua nodded and replied, "Okay, don't worry. We two mothers can't help, but we won't be a hindrance either. Just focus on your own matters. When you have a result, send a message to me so I don't have to worry about it!"
Chen Zhao nodded and left the city with Chen Ruiyang, who had saluted.
Two days passed in a flash, and Cui's mother and son followed her family to settle down on the farm.
The Cui family's farm was not as big as the one purchased by the Sixth Prince, but it still had a hundred acres of land and dozens of farmers.
The winter scenery wasn't as beautiful as the summer, but it had the advantage of a wide view and the air was a bit fresher than in the city. So, the Cui family, young and old, were all very happy, looking around and walking around, and by dusk they were all tired.
The farmers sent some vegetables, two wild rabbits and a pheasant, and they barely arranged two tables of special meals.
The Cui family members sat at two tables, one for men and one for women. The fat boy Zheng Yan had another quarrel with his cousin over a chicken leg.
My little cousin is also favored on weekdays and is never polite when speaking.
"Your last name isn't Cui, and it's fine if you just stay at our house, but you even followed me to the farm! Get out! I don't want you living in my house! The chicken legs are all mine!"
Zheng Yan didn't feel guilty either, and shouted even louder than him, "This is my mother's home, it's my home! I want to eat the chicken legs, eat them all, and not leave any for you!"
Seeing that the two boys were about to fight, Mrs. Zheng quickly acted as a peacemaker and gave each of her grandson and granddaughter a chicken leg to calm down the "war."
Mrs. Cui had only one son, and usually felt very sad. Seeing her son crying while eating, she naturally felt uncomfortable. But because of her mother-in-law, she didn't say much.
When she goes to bed at night, when her husband is around, she starts to put on eye drops.
"Master, my younger sister has been staying at home these past few days, and there's been a lot of chaos everywhere. It's really noisy. I'm not afraid of anything, but Mom is old after all. Mom had a serious illness after Dad passed away, and now it's like this again, I'm really worried that Mom will collapse. The New Year is coming soon, and if Mom... I really won't be able to rest easy for the whole family."
Boss Cui is also not someone who can stand on his own feet. Previously, because his father was around, his job went smoothly. Now that his father is gone, he feels something is wrong, just like Zheng Bingyi.
He was worrying about whether to find some good things to send to Shangguan, when he suddenly heard his wife say this, and remembered something.
"I've been hearing gossip from the government office lately. It seems my brother-in-law recently captured a merchant and claimed him as his uncle. A lot of people are laughing at him behind his back! I remember that woman in the north and her family... weren't they all dead? How come another brother suddenly appeared, and even that snob Zheng Bingyi begged him to recognize him as his relative? There must be something fishy going on!"
"Ask your sister tomorrow, and be careful that Zheng Bingyi doesn't have any ulterior motives. He was raised by our father, and if he dares to be ungrateful and treat your sister badly, I won't forgive him!"
Mrs. Cui didn't expect that she could hear some gossip by secretly complaining. Thinking of her sister-in-law's usual proud look, she was happy to make things difficult for her.
So, she happily accepted the task, "Okay, I'll ask my sister a few questions tomorrow and let her be on guard."
After the couple finished talking, they went to sleep. They had some plans in their half-awake state, but they didn't know that no matter how many plans they had, they would never have the chance to realize them.
In the dead of night, a group of more than thirty horse bandits brazenly broke into the village and headed straight for the owner's house. Some climbed over the wall, some opened the door, some killed, some set fire, with a clear division of labor and extreme skill.
You can tell at first glance that he is a killer who often does these kinds of things, and he shows no mercy at all!
Some of the Cui family members who were sleeping were hacked to death in their beds, while others who were awake and heard the noise simply ran to the yard to be stabbed elsewhere.
Cui and her son were sleeping in the side room of their mother's yard. Before they knew what was happening, bandits broke in.
The sharp knife flashed, and the neck felt cold, not painful but despairing.
Cui clutched her neck tightly, wanting to say something, but unable to. For some reason, she suddenly thought of the woman in the north, the woman she both resented and feared...
When that woman was killed by the bandits, was she also at a loss as to what to do?
Unfortunately, before she could figure it out, she lost consciousness...
The fire quickly shot up into the sky, and everyone in the house went to see the King of Hell. Some farmers wanted to come over to see and help put out the fire, but the horse bandits were holding knives and riding on tall horses. No matter how brave they were, they didn't dare to come out!
When faced with life, most people will retreat!
The horse bandits stood in front of the house in a show of force, but when they saw that most of the house had been burned, they ran away shouting and screaming.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they left the village, they were blocked by a group of over a hundred people. The bandits were so frightened that they turned around and tried to escape, but they were also blocked from behind.
Bows were strung and arrows fell like raindrops. The bandits' flesh and blood bodies could not stop them at all, and they fell off their horses screaming!
The executioner who just held the scythe of death, in the blink of an eye, became a ghost. It can be seen that things in the world are unpredictable!
The leader of the horse bandits was smart enough to hide under the horse's belly and escape with his life, but he could not escape being caught.
Chen Zhao and a commander walked in front. The commander kicked the bandit leader and said, "You've done something bad, so don't try to make excuses. Tell me who the mastermind is. I'll spare your life and send you to hard labor, otherwise you'll be cut into pieces and suffer the consequences. Don't blame me for not warning you!"
The bandit leader was also a smart man, so he knew he was being tricked. Although he was unwilling to accept it, his life was more important.
He started yelling, "It was an official named Zheng from the government office. He paid us five hundred taels of silver to come and kill people. He asked us to kill everyone and set a huge fire. After the job was done, he would give me another five hundred taels!
I was afraid of being plotted against, so I had my men follow his leader and find out where they came from. I was absolutely right!
"I was bribed, I was just following orders! Spare my life!"
Commander Chen Zhao looked at each other and laughed.
Chen Zhao saluted and said, "My followers happened to be passing by and overheard the bandits plotting. I was worried I had misheard, but I didn't expect them to actually come and commit the crime. Unfortunately, I was too late to report it to the authorities, so no one came to rescue me in time. However, thankfully, the mastermind was identified, and the victims can finally rest in peace."
"I'd like to trouble you, General, to apprehend the principal offender. But I've heard that officials are all scholars, and they're very eloquent. I wonder if they can just shirk their responsibility with a few words?"
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