Chapter 73
When Chen Dabao arrived at the county government office, he was almost in a panic. Seeing that everyone had arrived, he resumed the court proceedings.
"Chen Dabao, someone is accusing you of encroaching on someone else's ancestral home. Do you agree or not?"
Upon hearing the reason, Chen Dabao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wondered where this bastard had come from to falsely accuse him. He immediately shouted, "Sir, I'm innocent! That's my family's homestead!"
"Since you claim it's your family's homestead, do you have a deed?"
Chen Dabao was stunned. From the time Chen San died to the time Chen Qing ran away, they had searched the house for the deed, almost tearing the house down, but they still couldn't find it. However, thinking that Chen Qing was probably dead outside, they stopped looking.
Chen Dabao said, "Of course there's a contract..."
"What kind of contract could you possibly have?" Chen Qing had been waiting in the courtroom, but Chen Dabao, who had just entered, only glanced at him and did not recognize him.
Because Chen Qing wasn't wearing a headscarf in court, Chen Dabao only noticed him after he spoke. Before the bailiffs could react, Chen Dabao rushed up to Chen Qing: "You're the one who framed me? What kind of person are you!"
He tried to punch Chen Qing in the face, but Zhou Yuan punched him to the ground, and then the constables held him down.
The magistrate was furious. This man dared to lay a hand on someone right in front of him; he was utterly lawless! "Chen Dabao!"
Chen Dabao then realized he was in the wrong place, and he quickly kowtowed to admit his mistake: "I don't know what grudge this person has against me, that he would dare to falsely accuse me. I acted rashly in a moment of panic..."
Chen Qing did not reveal his identity. The county magistrate said, "The clerk has already verified that the land where you are currently living belongs to Chen San. Chen San passed away many years ago and only had one son. This land now belongs to Chen Qing."
Chen Dabao immediately said, "Sir, Chen Qing is dead!"
Zhou Yuan frowned as he listened. Chen Dabao kept mentioning death, which was really unlucky.
“If Chen Qing is not here, you should still report this matter to the yamen, and the yamen will take back this plot of land,” the magistrate said.
Chen Dabao was stunned. They were just ordinary people, and no one in their family was literate enough to know the law. All they knew was that the house was unoccupied, so they could move in.
"Chen Dabao, you have occupied another person's house and shown contempt of court. I hereby sentence you to fifteen strokes of the cane and order you to immediately move out of the house."
Chen Dabao argued, "Sir, my third uncle said before he passed away that he would give us the house, but they died suddenly, so they didn't give us the deed."
“My father never said he would give the house to you.” Chen Qing really didn’t want to listen to Chen Dabao’s words. He called him Third Uncle when there was something to gain, and Chen San when there was nothing to gain.
Chen Dabao then noticed Chen Qing, and after looking at him for a while, he could barely make out that it was indeed Chen Qing's outline: "You? Chen, Chen Qing?"
"It's me. I'm here to get my things back. What's the problem?" This time, Chen Qing didn't let Zhou Yuan stand in front of him. This was his family matter, and of course he wanted to resolve it himself. Zhou Yuan standing behind him gave him great courage.
As soon as Chen Qing finished speaking, an old woman rushed towards him. She reached out to slap Chen Qing, but Chen Qing grabbed her hand tightly.
"You little slut! You dare to come back, you unfilial and disrespectful wretch! You come back and don't even come to pay your respects, and you even dare to take your own brother to court. I'll beat you to death!" The person who came was Chen Qing's grandmother, who had wanted to marry Chen Qing off to an old widower more than ten years ago.
She glared angrily, and despite her advanced age, she was remarkably robust, with a fierce and mean expression on her face.
This face was once Chen Qing's nightmare. She never gave him a kind look when he was a child, and she often beat him after he argued with his brothers. She also pinched him with her long fingernails behind his father's and stepfather's backs.
Chen Qing used to be really afraid of her, but now that Zhou Yuan is behind him, he no longer needs to be afraid of this old lady who is over fifty years old.
"I'm just taking back my father's things, how is that unfilial and disrespectful! If I let you take my father's things, that would be truly unfilial!" Chen Qing shook off her hand. "This is a courtroom. You lay a hand on me here, do you want to be locked up for a few days too?"
The old lady of the Chen family looked at Chen Qing in front of her. More than ten years had passed, and his appearance seemed to have not changed much, but it also seemed to have changed a lot. There was no longer any timidity in his eyes, and she was afraid that he was no longer easy to control.
"Silence!" The magistrate's brows furrowed deeply. "Anyone who causes trouble in court again will be imprisoned for five days!"
Even if Old Mrs. Chen was unreasonable, she wouldn't dare to offend the official.
She and Chen Dabao's wife knelt on the ground, wailing and crying, "Your Honor! That land clearly belongs to my family. What's wrong with letting my grandson live there?"
"That's the imperial court's territory. How can you claim it as your own?" After witnessing the farce in the courtroom, the magistrate's initial bias towards Chen Qing shifted even further. "The plaintiff has a deed from the imperial court. I will judge this case based on that."
"You!" Old Mrs. Chen pointed at the county magistrate, "I refuse to accept this!"
The magistrate really didn't want to get entangled with this family: "I have already pronounced the verdict. If you are not satisfied, you can go to the prefectural city for a retrial."
Soon, yamen runners began to beat Chen Dabao with a cane, showing no mercy no matter how much Old Madam Chen cried and wailed.
Zhou Yuan protected Chen Qing, who stood in front of Lin Shi and said, "I think tomorrow is an auspicious day. You'd better move out of my house tomorrow."
After saying that, Zhou Yuan put his arm around Chen Qing and led him out of the county government office. Old Mrs. Chen was jumping up and down cursing behind them, but Chen Qing pretended not to hear it.
As they walked out of the county government office, Chen Qing seemed to have lost all his strength. If Zhou Yuan hadn't been holding him, he probably would have fallen. Zhou Yuan simply picked him up and said, "Aqing was really amazing just now."
Chen Qing's eyes immediately reddened. He put one arm around Zhou Yuan's neck and wiped away his tears with the other: "Maybe it's because she's getting old. I don't think she's that scary anymore."
Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "Of course, she's just an old lady."
“Give them a day, and we’ll go back to take back the house the day after tomorrow. Not only will we take back the house, but we’ll also give Father and Uncle a grand funeral.” Zhou Yuan carried him back, not caring about the stares of those around them. “What are your thoughts on taking back the house?”
Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we let Aunt Du stay at her house? There are three people in her family. I think Brother Du will get married eventually, so it would be good for them to live together separately."
“Aqing is always so considerate,” Zhou Yuan said. “After we finish dealing with these matters, shall we go home? It’s almost the Ghost Festival, and this time only Mother can go to pay respects.”
Chen Qing leaned against his chest: "And Li Xin, I guess her belly is pretty big now, I wonder if she's used to it. Qi Shuning is also going to prepare for the exam, I wonder if she can manage on her own."
Although Chen Qing was born on this land, the small village nestled against the mountains and by the river is now his home.
He was a little worried: "Will things go smoothly the day after tomorrow? There are so many of them, and there are only two of us..."
"Don't worry, we have people too."
Chen Qing looked at him with some confusion: "Where did this person come from?"
“Meng Qi and the others,” Zhou Yuan said, “Before entering Xiaxi Prefecture, I left a message for them along our escort route, asking them to come over after completing this escort mission.”
Although he couldn't handle these people alone, Chen Qing was worried that he might get hurt, so he simply called for reinforcements.
Moreover, this trip here won't be in vain. The things in Xiaxi Prefecture are very rare, and they should sell very well back there. The few times he wandered around the prefectural city earlier weren't for nothing either.
Various gemstones, all kinds of utensils, blankets and sleeves made of animal furs—these are things you can't find where they are.
Sure enough, Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi arrived with a caravan the next day. They seemed to be a little unaccustomed to the sandstorm. Meng Qi's face was red and peeling. They didn't know how to apply oil, so the group of them arrived with tattered faces.
Chen Qing was both anxious and amused, so he took the initiative to go out and buy clam oil for them, leaving them at the inn to discuss things.
"My God, we didn't even feel this bad when we were fighting." Meng Qi touched his face, which burned with pain. "Chen Qing was born in a place like this."
"Brother, you didn't just call us here so we could take some stuff back to sell, did you?"
Zhou Yuan briefly explained the situation to them, and Meng Shuanzi slammed his fist on the table: "I knew it! How did Chen Qing end up in our area from so far away? So that's how it is."
"We'll all go and support him the day after tomorrow."
"Thank you all." Zhou Yuan bowed to them.
“What are you talking about?” Meng Shuanzi said. “We call this punishing evil and eliminating harm.”
Chen Qing bought out all the clam oil in the store, gave one to each person, and told them how to apply it: "It will be fine in a couple of days. If you are still not used to the wind and sand, you can wrap it with a headscarf."
Everyone waved their hands, saying, "We're all grown men, so it's okay to be a little rough around the edges."
A day later, Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing back. It was almost the Ghost Festival in July, the perfect time to hold a funeral for the two elders. However, they had been gone for so long, and they didn't know where to find someone to prepare the banquet. They would have to trouble Aunt Du with these matters.
They went to Aunt Du's house first. Chen Qing explained their purpose to her. Aunt Du hesitated for a moment, then said, "Xiao Qing, although your two uncles have fallen out now, they still stick together when something happens. You and your husband are just the two of you, so you probably can't win against them."
Chen Qing shook his head: "It's alright, we have quite a few people, and our relatives have come too."
"That's good. I'll go and contact someone to prepare the banquet for you," Aunt Du said. "But if you're in a hurry, I doubt there will be any good deals; they're all quite expensive."
Chen Qing shook his head: "Auntie, money is not a problem."
They didn't enjoy much in life, and it took so many years to make up for it with the posthumous honors, so of course they should be treated well.
They sat at Aunt Du's house for a while before heading back home. But when they got to their door, Chen Dabao, who lived there, hadn't moved out. He was still lying in bed recovering from his injuries and was determined not to leave. What could a little guy like Chen Qing possibly do?
"Haven't moved yet?" Zhou Yuan opened the door. "If you don't want to move it yourselves, then I'll help you."
"You dare!" Chen Dabao was incredibly arrogant even when he wasn't in court; he acted like a tyrant throughout the entire village.
Zhou Yuan sneered, and without caring about anything else, he picked up Chen Dabao, who was lying paralyzed on the bed, with one hand and threw him out.
Then the people from Mengqi Escort Agency arrived. They were experts at packing things up, and they quickly cleared everything out of the room. Zhou Yuan originally wanted to smash everything, but Chen Qing said that smashing things might cost them money, so apart from throwing Chen Dabao out, everything else was carefully packed away.
When Lin returned, a group of tall, burly men were standing at the door, and Chen Dabao was just thrown on the ground.
"Aaaaaah!" she screamed, "Robbers!"
Meng Qi, always quick-witted, said, "We came with an imperial decree; we just want to take back our brother-in-law's house."
Then the镖局 (escort agency) people threw all their belongings a little further away. Meng Shuanzi, having somehow found a handful of pomelo leaves, lit them with a tinderbox and began performing a shamanistic ritual inside the house: "Get rid of bad luck, get rid of bad luck..."
Lin gritted his teeth in frustration. He helped Chen Dabao up and headed to the Chen family home. At this point, the only solution was to bring the Chen family members to make a scene.
Meng Shuanzi clapped his hands: "Everyone, cheer up, a chaotic battle is about to begin."
After all, the escorts were all seasoned travelers, and each of them carried swords and knives.
When Lin and the Chen brothers arrived in a menacing manner, they saw rows of gleaming knife tips in front of Chen Qing's house.
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