96 Happy New Year
◎This is Ye Yunzhao's first New Year in Lingnan County◎
"Liu Yamen! Liu Yamen, please help me plead with County Magistrate Ye. I really didn't steal. I... I..." Uncle Zhao hurriedly grabbed Liu Mazi's hand and stammered for a long time, "I'm borrowing it. Yes! I'm borrowing it! Xia Hua is our Zhao family's daughter-in-law! Even though she and my Dashi are not together, I'm still her father! Liu Yamen, please..."
His absurd remarks were so sincere and eloquent that Liu Mazi was so angry that he waved his hand, flung him away, and glared at him: "If you continue to talk nonsense, you will go to jail!"
"I... I..." Uncle Zhao squeezed out two tears and dared not speak anymore. He could only follow them back to the county government office obediently.
He walked as slowly as he could along the way. Liu Mazi, who hadn't slept well for two consecutive nights, lost his patience. When he reached the dungeon in the county government office, he pushed him angrily, "Hurry up and get in!"
Uncle Zhao stumbled into the dungeon. Seeing they had locked the door with an iron chain, he quickly stood up and rushed over: "Where's County Magistrate Ye? Why did you lock me up in jail? I'm innocent! I'm innocent! Let me out!"
With a "click", the sturdy brass lock was closed by Liu Mazi. He ignored his shouts, yawned to himself, turned around and left, leaving Uncle Zhao crying in the dungeon.
A remote and small place like Lingnan County should not be able to build a dungeon, nor is it qualified to dig and build one.
However, when the retired emperor was young, this place was located in a remote area and bordered the barbarians, which caused unrest for several years. Therefore, a dungeon was specially dug and built to detain those who committed heinous crimes.
After that, the new emperor ascended the throne and sent famous generals to guard the border. However, within five or six years, the area around Lingnan County had become very stable, so the dungeon had not been used for nearly ten years.
Ye Yunzhao had only been in office for half a year, and theft and selling at low prices had already occurred under his jurisdiction. This was something she couldn't just ignore. She had someone go down and check it out yesterday. Perhaps because it had previously held serious criminals, the equipment inside was all made of metal and hadn't been used for ten years, so it was surprisingly intact.
She specifically told Liu Mazi that if they caught Uncle Zhao in the act tonight, they should first lock him up in the dungeon to scare him, and she didn't believe he would have the courage to keep quiet.
The dungeon had no windows, so there was no daylight. A single oil lamp lit at the end of the corridor. Having not been used for ten years, the bloody scent of torture still lingered in the air. Perhaps it was because of the excessive bleeding that it had seeped into the bluestone floor.
The smell of blood mixed with dust, and the light stretched Uncle Zhao's shadow very long and large. He was lawless just now, but now he was shivering and curled up in a corner of the cell.
After an unknown number of hours, the dungeon door suddenly opened, and the bright light of the sky revealed a figure. Uncle Zhao then realized that it was already three quarters past four on the second day.
Ye Yunzhao ordered someone to bring him out. On the way to the second hall, Uncle Zhao had completely lost the arrogance he had last night. When he arrived at the second hall, he saw Xia Hua already standing beside him.
Ye Yunzhao sat in the upper seat and slammed the gavel. His usual talkative expression was gone, and he said in a deep voice, "Tell me, what happened last night?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Hua knelt down, completely changing her indecisive appearance from the previous night. She pointed at Mr. Zhao standing beside her and said confidently, "Sir, I have something to complain about. He climbed over the wall into my yard last night and stole the woven mushrooms from my mushroom shed. Several county yamen runners are witnesses, and the neighbors I saw last night are also witnesses!"
As she spoke, the mushrooms in her backpack fell to the ground. Pointing at the wilted mushrooms, she added, "He stole these last night. Everyone present saw it!"
"Bang!" Ye Yunzhao slammed the table and said to Uncle Zhao, "Do you plead guilty?"
Uncle Zhao wanted to nod uncontrollably, but then quickly shook his head and defended himself, "No, no, Your Excellency is wise... She is my daughter-in-law, we are family, how can there be any talk of stealing words..."
His voice got lower and lower, which made Xia Hua angry and anxious. She hurriedly said, "I'm not! We are not family!"
"Why aren't you, you know..."
"Bang!" Ye Yunzhao slammed the table heavily, "There's no room for loud noises in the courtroom!"
She changed the subject, pointing at Xia Hua, and said, "You say you're not family, but as far as I know, you and Zhao Dashi are husband and wife, and you have a son and a daughter. Since he is Zhao Dashi's biological father, how can you say you have no relationship?"
Upon hearing Ye Yunzhao's words, Master Zhao immediately perked up. He glanced at Xia Hua and said confidently, "Your Excellency is wise! This girl is from my family. I took her, not stole her as she said!"
Xia Hua stared at Uncle Zhao intently, tears streaming down her face. "I did marry Zhao Dashi, but he enlisted in the army just three months after our marriage. He later died on the battlefield. He then said I had killed his son and kicked me out! He even said the child in my belly wasn't of the Zhao family's bloodline!"
Although I, Xia Hua, am a woman, I also have dignity and will not allow others to slander me! I have long severed all ties with them! How can we call them a family?
Uncle Zhao immediately waved his hands: "No! No! Sir, you must not believe her one-sided words! I have never..."
Ye Yunzhao sneered, "Oh? You don't admit it? Why did I witness something in Xixiang when I first took office that you vehemently denied? Could it be that I am dazzled?"
“I…I…”
"Tell me! How many woven mushrooms did you steal!" Ye Yunzhao demanded as the gavel slammed down. "Where did you sell all those woven mushrooms? How much was the stolen money? Did you pay the mushroom tax imposed by the county government? Tell me! Tell me everything!"
Seeing that he was still hesitant, Ye Yunzhao gave a look to the yamen runners beside him, and one of them immediately said, "Sir, those who refuse to confess despite irrefutable evidence can be punished."
Before Ye Yunzhao could speak, upon hearing this, Uncle Zhao immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy: "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything..."
Liu, the yamen runner, and two others returned to Mr. Zhao's home. Fortunately, Mr. Zhao was known for his thriftiness, having spent only a dozen or so wen of his earnings. The three searched Zhao's house thoroughly, recovering nearly a hundred wen from thirteen locations. Xia Hua thanked Ye Yunzhao profusely for the money and even stole five wen from it for tax, which she paid to the county government.
As for the people who had been involved in the cheap sale of the weaving mushrooms, Uncle Zhao spilled the beans and told them everything. The county yamen runners arrested them that same day and imprisoned five or six of them in ordinary cells. After ten days, each family had to pay a ten-cent bond before they could be released.
After this incident, the custom of selling woven mushrooms at low prices in Xixiang was completely stopped. Many officials and wealthy families in Yuezhou City also knew that people in Lingnan County had picked a lot of woven mushrooms this year, but naturally no one knew the secret.
*
Before I knew it, it was the last day of the year. It seemed like overnight, the wild plum trees on the mountains all blossomed, the air was filled with a faint fragrance, and the earth covered with snow also had a little more color.
Thanks to the cultivation of the weaving mushroom, the people of Xixiang finally enjoyed a long-awaited good New Year. Two days ago, every household cut pork and refined lard, and some even fried a large basket of radish balls. Although Ye Yunzhao didn't fry the oil, he enjoyed a feast. Aunt Wang, Liu Dazhuang, the rather sassy Xia Hua, and many others sent home-cooked food to the county government office.
The village head of Xixiang came to express his gratitude twice, and the village head of Dongxiang came to cry three times, all of which were nothing more than accusing her of favoritism towards Xixiang and insisting that Ye Yunzhao immediately promise to support Dongxiang. Although it was a headache for her, she was happy in her heart. Only such a person could shoulder the heavy responsibility of the village head.
Near the end of the year, Ye Yunzhao finally had some free time. He went to the county school to play with and teach the girls for a few days. He was very happy.
In these noisy yet leisurely days, Ye Yunzhao finally tasted some of the joy and satisfaction she had experienced in her previous life helping the poor. In her spare time, she stayed indoors, spending the whole day in her yard feeding chickens and playing with fish. Yes, she even raised fish.
She had mentioned it earlier, unintentionally letting Chen Jingshan hear about it. He'd found a huge rock somewhere and had a stonemason chisel it out bit by bit, perfect for a stone fish pond. His hands were covered in scars, so it was obvious who had done the chiseling. Ye Yunzhao was so engrossed in the joy of having the large fish tank that she didn't notice any of these details.
Since she didn't notice, he naturally wouldn't say it on his own initiative.
This was Ye Yunzhao's first New Year in Lingnan County. Perhaps because of this, the people in the county government secretly dressed up without her knowledge...
Ye Yunzhao had originally planned to wait until the first day of the Lunar New Year before going out. However, on the evening of New Year's Eve, when the sky was still bright and rosy, Xiao Chunhua knocked on the door and called out to her, "Sister Ye! Sister Ye! I want to stay up with you tonight!"
She has a baby voice and is very cute.
Except for Zhuang Xue and Chun Hua, everyone in the county government office had probably gone home to celebrate the New Year. Ye Yunzhao thought about it and thought it would be nice for the three of them to stay up all night. She smiled, opened the door, bent down and replied, "Okay..."
Before she could finish her words, she was startled by the red in front of her. The county government office, which was deserted and lonely in the past, was now covered with many couplets and red blessings.
Ye Yunzhao walked forward in a daze. The black characters on the red paper were so powerful and vigorous, like iron-stroked and silver-hooked characters. It was truly beautiful! She recognized it; it was the handwriting of County Magistrate Han.
In addition, there are many lifelike window grilles on the windows, including the Three Friends of Winter, Magpies Welcoming Spring, and Pine and Crane Prolonging Life. She was surprised by them when Xiao Chunhua suddenly ran over and pulled her forward. Only then did Ye Yunzhao realize that there were actually vivid human portrait window grilles in front of her.
Xiao Chunhua pointed to a window grille and said sweetly, "Sister Ye, look."
Ye Yunzhao looked up and felt that it looked familiar. He was suddenly stunned and said in disbelief: "This, this, is this cut of me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the laughter of several people behind him.
"Liu Yayi, it seems that the haircut is still not similar enough. County Magistrate Ye actually doesn't believe it." Zhuang Xue said with a smile.
Liu Mazi also laughed and said, "It's been too long since I've cut hair, so my skills are not so good anymore! I hope the magistrate won't blame me."
Ye Yunzhao opened his eyes wide and looked at him, then looked at the window paper-cut, as if to confirm again and again: "You actually cut this? It looks like it! It looks like it!"
Seeing her reaction, Zhuang Xue said to her, "When I found out yesterday that he had this skill, my reaction was exactly the same as yours now!"
"Alright, alright. Don't forget there's a table of food and wine set up in the empty courtyard of the county office." County Magistrate Han stroked his beard. "Let's go! Let's stay up together!"
"Stay up all night? Isn't it me and Xue Niang?" Ye Yunzhao was stunned and asked, "Are you guys going too? Aren't you going home for the New Year?"
Liu Mazi said with a silly smile: "County Magistrate Ye, what nonsense are you talking about? Today is your first New Year in Lingnan County. Of course we have to stay and celebrate with you!"
He changed the subject: "But there are only a few of us. The other yamen runners have all been sent back. County Magistrate Ye, you don't think it's too few, do you?"
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao hurriedly shook his head: "How can it be too little? Let's go and stay up all night!"
Several people rushed to the empty room, and Ye Yunzhao fell behind with a bit of melancholy. While staying up all night to welcome the New Year, she suddenly recalled the memories of staying up all night with her parents in her previous life. She had been "dead" for more than half a year, and she wondered if her parents were still sad?
Zhuang Xue slowed down her pace and walked side by side with her. She tilted her head and smiled:
"County Magistrate Ye, don't miss home, we are all here."
This was Ye Yunzhao’s first New Year in Lingnan County.
It was also her first New Year in this strange world.
【Author’s words】
County Magistrate Xiaoye: "I miss home. I really miss home."
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