But the thought of her parents deceiving her with fake property deeds filled Bai Ruixue with resentment.
At this moment, she was in a dilemma. She wanted to go home, but she didn't want to go home in such a sorry state. It would make her seem like a fool for having gone to such lengths to marry He Tian, running off to town alone and severing ties with him, only to end up like this.
"What should I do? Where should I go from here..." she stared blankly at the rafters, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
After Jiao'er was interrogated, Zuo Li arranged for her to sit down and rest.
Compared to Shen Jiading and his group who were severely tortured, her treatment was far better.
She is, after all, a woman.
She was heavily pregnant.
It's also based on witness testimony.
"I've already arranged for my men to rescue your husband and mother-in-law. Don't worry, rest here for a while." Zuo Li's voice was gentle, a far cry from his stern demeanor just moments before.
"Thank you very much, sir. Thank you for your great kindness."
Jiao'er looked grateful.
Actually, my heart was filled with resentment.
It's certain that the He family's house won't be returned, since He Tian did indeed mortgage it to the gambling den. At most, he won't have to pay back the 95 taels of interest.
But the heavens have already fallen.
The child in her womb is the only offspring of the He family, and what if she gives birth to a boy?
That's the only son of the He family!
When she went to the gambling den, she saw with her own eyes that Bai Ruixue had started bleeding and was bleeding a lot.
His clothes were disheveled.
It's obvious what happened between her and Shen Jiading; the baby is definitely lost.
No one can threaten her position anymore, but Jiao'er is not happy at all. The house is gone, the money is gone, and He Tian is crippled. A cripple cannot take the imperial examination. So when her child is born, there will be no place to live. How can she turn things around?
Jiao'er was sitting in the county government office and Bai Ruixue was lying in the clinic, both of them lost in thought.
The two were worried about their respective futures.
————
October 5th.
The area outside the Shuangqiao Town county government office was packed with people.
A row of people were kneeling in the hall.
The leader was Shen Jiading. In just a few days, he lost a lot of weight, and his face and body were covered in bloody wounds. Judging from his listless appearance, he had suffered a lot of torture.
"Your Honor, I beg you to do me justice! Shen Jiading has been lending my husband money at exorbitant interest rates. He only borrowed fifty taels, yet he's trying to seize our shop. He's tampered with the contract, demanding an extra five taels for every day he's late! Even a god couldn't pay that! My family has relied on this shop for generations. After he took it, my in-laws died of grief, and my husband's legs were broken; he's practically a cripple now. Shen Jiading has committed countless evils, sending thugs to stake out our door every day, afraid we'll report him to the authorities. Heaven has eyes! Shen Jiading has finally met his end! This kind of man deserves to be torn to pieces! I beg Your Honor to cut off his dog's head and make amends for my in-laws' lives!"
The old woman kneeling in the hall complained to Magistrate Lu.
She wept bitterly.
His emaciated figure and aged face brought a pang of sorrow to everyone's hearts.
"Your Honor, my son was also driven to his death by him. My son was well-behaved from a young age, honest and upright all his life, and never did anything wrong. My family made a living by selling food. That day, he was delivering food to the gambling den when Shen Jiading arranged for someone to set up a gambling den, which made my son addicted to gambling. My son followed him like a demon, losing all the family's money. Not only that, he also lent my son a hundred taels of silver, and with the interest compounding, he actually wants our family to repay him three hundred taels. Where is justice?!"
My old man was beaten to death by the gambling den's thugs for resisting. His body was dumped somewhere in the wilderness. Your Honor, look at my eyes! I'm completely blind. He blinded me with incense. He was afraid I'd come to the county office to file a complaint. Thank God, I managed to make my way back to Jiashu County from Sui County on my bare hands. The guards at the city gate led me here. I want to sue him! Shen Jiading beat my old man to death, drove my son to his death, and my daughter-in-law and granddaughter are nowhere to be found. My family is ruined!
Another elderly woman of similar age then began to cry out.
She looked even more pitiful.
Her face was sunken and haggard, and her pupils were like black holes, frighteningly dark, without a trace of light. Her hands were like rotten old tree trunks, her palms covered with cracks and bloody wounds.
She's so thin she's almost unrecognizable.
They're worse off than beggars.
Upon hearing her utter the words "family destroyed and people killed," Magistrate Lu couldn't help but tear up.
“My husband is the same. Shen Jiading set him up and ruined him, teaching him to gamble. He squandered all our family fortune. Now Shen Jiading has his eye on our ancestral home, lending money to my husband at exorbitant interest rates. Now our whole family is reduced to sleeping on the streets. Shen Jiading has countless lives on his hands; he has killed so many people—”
"My two daughters have been sold to brothels in other counties by Shen Jiading. I beg you, magistrate, please save my daughters! I beg you—"
"......."
In the hall, one after another, the unfortunate people knelt on the ground, begging Magistrate Lu to do justice for them.
Some of them are blind, and some are disabled.
He seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing to hit his head until it bled.
Moreover, they were all old women, including Song Shi, who was the only one with all her limbs intact, although the large bump on her head had not yet subsided. Song Shi knelt with them, crying and pointing at Shen Jiading while cursing him.
The men had mostly been crippled by Shen Jiading's men, lying to the side like living dead. He Tian was no exception; his two arms and one leg were bent outwards in a strange position. Although he was lying down, his groin was unusually flat, and there seemed to be bloodstains on it.
He Tian stared blankly into space. If it weren't for his open eyes and breathing, everyone would probably think he was a corpse.
As for the younger women, they were all sent to brothels by Shen Jiading, or their whereabouts are unknown.
Magistrate Lu was so angry that his face turned ashen, and he gripped the gavel tightly with his right hand.
"Smack—"
"You audacious Shen Jiading, what was your agreement with me when you came to Shuangqiao Town to open a gambling den? How dare you commit so many heinous and despicable acts in secret! You deserve to die! With so many witnesses, I'd like to see how you still try to deny it!"
The gavel slammed down.
The people in the hall kept their mouths shut.
Calm down.
This was the first time Magistrate Lu had ever been so angry. He actually got up from his seat and kicked Shen Jiading several times, causing Shen Jiading to vomit a mouthful of blood.
That's when I felt relieved.
The people outside cheered loudly.
After Magistrate Lu returned to his seat.
Shen Jiading's time to die has come.
However, the case was too serious and had such a bad influence that it had to be reported to higher levels. As a mere county magistrate, he had no authority to handle it.
"Guards, temporarily imprison Shen Jiading and the others. Confiscate all the money from Shen's gambling den and shut it down! It is forbidden to open again! Not only that, all gambling dens in Jiashu County are to be removed from the county. No gambling den is allowed in Jiashu County from now on! Anyone who dares to lend money at exorbitant interest rates will be severely punished, ranging from imprisonment to beheading!"
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