Chapter 793: It’s Hard to Change One’s Nature (5 more chapters for the reward from the book friend “Jinyiwei: Rongrong”)
He walked home with the basket and money, determined to live a good life in the future. However, the two houses were only a few hundred steps apart. As he walked, Baldy's hands felt hotter and hotter as he touched the money. He subconsciously put the money that he had intended to give to his parents into his arms.
He felt that his luck today was the best in recent years. After all, not only did he get an extra basket of ginger, but he also got ten more cents. Maybe his luck would really turn around and he would win?
Baldy walked quickly home, handed the basket in his hand to his parents, then went back to the house to grab the last handful of money, gathered his clothes and went out.
When Baldy's father saw this, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going out for a walk. I won't be back at night."
When Baldy's father heard this, his face looked a little ugly. Usually when he said this, he was going to gamble. He hurriedly chased after him, but could only see Baldy's back. He stomped his feet in anger and couldn't sleep for another night.
As soon as Lai Tou left, the Zhou family gathered together again to continue the meeting, not knowing that Lai Tou went to gamble after leaving them.
Old Zhou carefully recalled the scene when his younger brother returned that year, frowning and saying, "He was very happy when he came back, so it's possible that he met an acquaintance on the road and said hello."
Qian said, "He's been gone for six or seven years, and he's completely changed. Even if we saw him, we wouldn't recognize him. When we held his funeral the other day, almost all his relatives and friends came to visit, but we never heard anyone mention seeing him that year."
"Besides, it happened over ten years ago. Even if we met, we would have forgotten it long ago. Why would we bring it up now?" Qian said, "I'm afraid County Magistrate Yang said that just to scare the bald man."
Zhou Silang looked around and asked, "How did County Magistrate Yang know about my uncle?"
Qian sighed and said, "I'm afraid the problem lies in the funeral notice."
She asked doubtfully, "Do you think the family of Zhou Yin, who died in Shangzhou, has been found, so..."
Old Zhou pressed his head in frustration and said, "At that time, I was only thinking about giving him a proper burial."
"What are you afraid of?" Qian glared at him and said, "If that's the case, we're not afraid anymore. If the government comes to our door, we'll just say we know nothing. If they tell us it's our Zhou Yin, we'll just accept it."
Zhou Dalang said, "Baldy is too panicked. Lord Yang is so smart, will he be able to figure out something?"
Qian gritted her teeth and said, "As long as no one confesses, they have no evidence. It's just speculation, and they can't do anything to us."
Zhou Wulang asked, "Mom, do you really trust Baldy? What if he tells you?"
"If he had told, would we still be sitting here?" Zhou Silang glanced at him and said, "The bald man definitely didn't tell. Since he didn't confess even after being beaten, he probably won't do so in the future. Besides, County Magistrate Yang isn't in the county right now."
Old Zhou asked, "Where did he go?"
"Manbao said that County Magistrate Yang is getting married and has to go back to the capital. He's probably on his way now."
Old Zhou's family all breathed a sigh of relief. Since the person was not in the county, there was no need to worry for the time being. They could also take a break and think about how to answer if County Magistrate Yang came to ask them.
The Zhou family relaxed, and Qian said to Zhou Silang, "You should go to Yizhou City to accompany Manbao tomorrow. Keep a close eye on her and don't let her be deceived by County Magistrate Yang."
Zhou Silang: "Mother, Manbao doesn't know anything. What could Lord Yang possibly lie to her about?"
Qian thought so too, but still said, "You should take care of Manbao and keep her away from Lord Yang and Lord Tang."
Zhou Silang agreed with a bitter face, feeling that the task was very difficult.
After everything was discussed, everyone went back to their rooms to comfort their wives. Zhou Silang was able to deal with Fang easily, but Zhou Wulang was a little flustered.
He was very young when his uncle left and he hardly remembered him. The reason he knew he had an uncle was because his parents and brothers often talked about him and Lao Liu in their ears.
They said that the only reason they survived when they were children was because their uncle brought back a bag of wheat from outside.
So he always knew that he had a younger uncle, and twelve years ago, his younger uncle returned home with his wife and children in glory, bringing them a lot of delicious food, fun things, and beautiful fabrics to make clothes, so he liked his younger uncle very much and really remembered him.
From then on, his family no longer mentioned his uncle. All his memories of his uncle were from family members when he was younger. When his wife asked him about him, he couldn't talk about his uncle, and he couldn't find an excuse for other things, so he could only remain silent.
Lu Zhi was so angry that she scratched him a few times, and only then did she vent her anger.
Qian didn't care about what happened in her sons' rooms. She spoke confidently in front of them, but she was also a little nervous in her heart.
As soon as she returned to the house, Qian lit three incense sticks, knelt respectfully in front of the portrait of Tianzun, kowtowed and burned incense, hoping that Tianzun would bless her and help her escape danger this time.
Old Zhou sat aside and sighed, "It's been twelve years. Manbao is about to grow up and get married. How could this matter still be brought up?"
Qian looked up at the portrait of Tianzun and asked after a while, "Do you believe what the government said?"
"What?" Old Zhou didn't understand for a moment.
"Do you believe what those officials said twelve years ago? The second brother is a bandit."
"I don't believe it," said Old Zhou. "How can a bandit marry the daughter of a scholar?"
"..." Qian said, "I believe in the character of the second brother. He is not that kind of person."
"Exactly. How could I not know my brother? He only helps people, not harms them like this."
"So, what do you think? If this gets out, can the government give Second Brother some justice?" Qian said, "And the people who killed Second Brother and his wife back then, they should be allowed to rest in peace, right?"
Old Zhou was stunned and couldn't help but whisper, "Are you crazy? It's been so many years, how can we investigate this? And the officials who identified Zhou Yin as a thief had already stamped the document. They are officials who will definitely trust officials more."
"But County Magistrate Yang seems alright, and he's friends with our Manbao."
Old Zhou remained silent.
He didn't say anything. Instead, Qian sighed and shook her head, saying, "Forget it. We have a family to support, and we have the entire Qili Village behind us. If County Magistrate Yang can really help the second son clear his name, that's fine. But if he can't..."
Then the entire Qili Village would be dragged down by her. Even if Qian was unwilling, she couldn't be so confident.
The entire village has kept the secret for their family for so many years. It doesn't make sense that they would be implicated by her in the end.
Qian suppressed this delusion and looked towards the Heavenly Lord again. She kowtowed and muttered, "Please, Heavenly Lord, bless me. This time, County Magistrate Yang won't be able to find out anything."
Good night, we will continue to add more tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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