Chapter 541: Capturing a key piece of information
Shi Yuqing said: "When my husband was passing by, my father pushed me into the water. He knew that my husband was a good man and would not stand by and watch me die."
"The water was very deep. I couldn't swim, so I sank little by little."
"Just when I was about to die, my husband rescued me."
"My father found the right opportunity and showed up to accuse my husband of being a hooligan. He used my husband's reputation as a threat and demanded a huge amount of money as compensation from the Fang family."
"My husband is a good man, but he's never one to be bullied. My father tried to blackmail him, and he gave him a good scolding. In the end, he spent ten taels of silver to force my father to sell me to the Fang family."
When Shi Yuqing said this, she smiled and said, "My husband is really a very smart man. This is the first time I've seen my father so frustrated and helpless."
"My husband successfully obtained my indenture contract. After seeing my name, he was silent for a long time."
"It happened to rain that day, and after the rain the sky cleared up with a rainbow."
"He said, 'Shi Jiannu' doesn't suit me, so from now on I'll be called Shi Yuqing.'"
"My husband bought me just to help me get rid of my father completely. After buying me back, my husband returned the indenture to me and set me free."
"I don't want to leave. My mother-in-law and father-in-law are both very, very good people. I have a very good life in the Fang family. I am willing to stay, even if I have to work like a slave."
"The Fang family didn't treat me like a slave. They treated me like a family member. They are really, really nice."
Shi Yuqing had tears in her eyes: "How lucky I am to have met such a good family."
Fang Chensheng sniffed: "Sister-in-law is also a very good person."
Shi Yuqing: "Later, I married my husband."
"Three years ago, my husband went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and we waited at home for news on his success."
"We didn't wait for our husband, we waited for an assassin."
"Those assassins killed everyone they saw, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my second uncle, my second aunt..."
"They're all dead."
"They were all killed."
Shi Yuqing's tears flowed down.
"Chensheng and I survived because my father won some money gambling those days and used it to drink and eat meat. He got extremely drunk and on his way home he stepped on a rock and fell into the river and drowned."
"I didn't want to take care of his funeral, but my mother-in-law and father-in-law tried to dissuade me, saying that the dead are the greatest. I'm his only daughter, so burying him properly would be the end of our relationship in this life."
"I will take Chensheng home to attend the funeral."
Shi Yuqing explained, "The custom over there is that when the father-in-law is placed in the coffin, the son-in-law must perform the half-son ceremony. If a married daughter returns home alone to attend the funeral, it will cause gossip."
"My mother-in-law loves me and doesn't want people to think that I am looked down upon in my husband's family. My husband is not at home, so she asked Chen Sheng to go to the funeral on his behalf."
"After the funeral, it was already dark. The road was difficult to walk on, and the wind was strong and cold. For safety reasons, Chensheng and I decided to return early the next morning."
"When we return the next day..."
Shi Yuqing choked up and couldn't say any more.
Fang Chensheng lowered his head and sobbed, his hands clenched tightly.
Xie Yingmian and the others did not say anything, waiting quietly for them to digest their emotions.
Shi Yuqing calmed down for a long time before continuing, "The Fang family was wiped out. Chen Sheng and I are the only two survivors. We went to file a complaint, and the county magistrate, who was friends with my father-in-law, told me that he would conduct a thorough investigation and reassured me."
"After investigating for a few days, the county magistrate told us that he couldn't handle the case and asked us to file a complaint with a higher authority. The county magistrate was a good official and gave us a letter of introduction and all the conveniences he could."
"We went to the prefecture with the letter of introduction. When the prefect learned that my husband was Fang Chenjing, the first in the prefectural case, he became very gentle."
"But later, our petition was withdrawn, and we were turned away when we went to the government office."
"I refused to give in. I knelt in front of the government office and refused to eat or drink."
"The prefect sent someone to tell me that he couldn't do anything about this unless I went to the capital to file a complaint."
"He advised us not to sue anymore, saying that surviving was more important than anything else."
Shi Yuqing's tears and snot were running wildly, and she couldn't stop sneezing.
She was too embarrassed to wipe it directly with her sleeve and felt a little awkward.
Tamamo tactfully handed over the handkerchief.
"Thank you." Shi Yuqing adjusted her expression and continued,
"Shangjing is too far away from us. We have no relatives or friends. Let alone filing a complaint with the emperor, even walking to Shangjing is difficult."
"We're at our wit's end."
"We can't just let this go. My father-in-law, mother-in-law, uncle, and auntie couldn't have died in vain. I'm going to seek justice for them even if it costs me my life."
"Just then, I suddenly remembered that when my mother was still alive, she said she had relatives in Shangjing."
"We sold our property and came to Shangjing with the bronze mirror my mother left me."
Shi Yuqing trembled as she spoke.
Only after arriving in Shangjing did she realize how big it was.
They are so small, as small as an ant or a speck of dust.
They were cheated, beaten, and driven away.
Over the past year or so, they have tasted all the bitterness of life.
Xie Yingmian captured a key piece of information.
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