Because he never steals much each time, he is only given a few lashes and then released. He really doesn't learn his lesson.
"Take them both back to the yamen! Little...little girl, you come with me too!" the head constable said to Gu Lili.
Gu Lili nodded and prepared to follow the yamen runner.
Unexpectedly, Niu Cuihua saw a crowd gathered here and went over to watch the commotion, which was seen by Gu Lili.
"Sir, it was that woman who ordered these two to rob me of my money!" Gu Lili shouted angrily, pointing at Niu Cuihua in the crowd.
No wonder Niu Cuihua is so brainless; the instigator even had the nerve to come and join in the fun. Wasn't she just walking into a trap?
Seeing Gu Lili pointing at her, Niu Cuihua turned to run away.
Without saying a word, the constables rushed forward and subdued him.
Niu Cuihua was pinned to the ground, howling, "It wasn't me! I didn't send anyone to rob this brat of her money!"
The constables ignored Niu Cuihua's explanation. This woman was obviously suspicious; if it wasn't her, why was she running away?
The bailiffs pinned Niu Cuihua's hands behind her back and led her toward the yamen.
This was Gu Lili's first time seeing an ancient government office. Magistrate Yang was sitting in front of the judge's desk, striking the gavel with a blow that inspired awe. Gu Lili knelt down as well.
"Who is this person in the hall, and what is the matter?" Magistrate Yang asked.
Gu Lili spoke up, "Your Honor, I want to sue Niu Cuihua of Gu Village for instigating others to rob me of my money!"
Upon hearing this, Niu Cuihua immediately knelt down, crying, "My lord, I'm innocent! This little slut is framing me!"
Magistrate Yang, looking at the grumbling and frowning Niu Cuihua below, slammed his gavel and roared, "You audacious woman! How dare you make such a scene in court! What kind of decorum is this!"
Niu Cuihua was so frightened that she immediately fell silent, lowered her head and glanced at Gu Lili with eyes that seemed to be filled with poison.
Seeing that Niu Cuihua had quieted down, Magistrate Yang then turned his attention to Zhang Gouzi and Li Liang.
Although Zhang Gouzi and Li Liang's faces were still burning with pain, they were now able to open their eyes.
"Is what this little girl said true?" Magistrate Yang asked.
When Zhang Gouzi heard the magistrate's question, he knelt down and said, "Your Honor, it was this woman who came to us, saying that this little girl has money on her."
Neither Zhang Gouzi nor Li Liang tried to deny it; they told the whole story in detail.
Based on their experience of visiting the yamen so many times, if they tried to argue, Magistrate Yang and his men would be even harsher.
Seeing that the two of them had confessed honestly, Niu Cuihua was a little dumbfounded.
How could they confess so easily? What should we do?
Magistrate Yang slammed his gavel, startling Niu Cuihua.
"You woman, tell the truth!" Magistrate Yang roared.
Niu Cuihua had never seen anything like this before and was completely terrified.
She didn't answer Magistrate Yang's question. Instead, she crawled to her knees in front of Gu Lili and cried, "Lili, I'm your second aunt! Please speak up for me, or I'll definitely be beaten to death!"
Gu Lili couldn't help but look at her with disdain. When she wanted to harm her, why didn't she think of her second aunt?
She knew perfectly well that the siblings relied on this little bit of money to live, yet she repeatedly instigated people to rob them. She was truly shameless!
"I don't have a second aunt like you. Besides, Gu Jingsheng and I have already written a letter of severance, and I have nothing to do with your family anymore. On the contrary, you have repeatedly instigated others to steal my father's pension. What are your intentions?" Gu Lili said coldly.
Gu Lili calmly and respectfully recounted to Magistrate Yang everything that Niu Cuihua's family had done to them.
When she talked about how Li Xihua was starved to death after they seized Gu Shan's pension, she couldn't help but cry.
The area in front of the county government office was filled with onlookers. After hearing Gu Lili's story, many people couldn't help but wipe away their tears.
Even worse, some people spat directly at Niu Cuihua, and if the constables hadn't stopped them, they would have wanted to beat her up.
Magistrate Yang frowned as he listened. He had not expected that people would starve to death in his jurisdiction.
Although Donghai Town is not wealthy, the years of favorable weather have kept people from starving.
Moreover, the person who starved to death was the widow of a hero who sacrificed her life for her country.
Zhang Gouzi and Li Liang were filled with regret. Although they were petty thieves, they still deeply admired a hero like Gu Shan.
He immediately made up his mind that he would never do such a thing again.
Niu Cuihua retorted, "You little slut, you're talking nonsense! Your father died, and all the food and clothes you had were provided by us, weren't they? Didn't we pay you back the money later?"
Gu Lili was so angry she almost laughed. She retorted, "The food you're talking about, is it wild vegetable porridge mixed with bran? The clothes you wear, are they the old clothes you all didn't want anymore, which my mother then altered for us? Ha! And then she gave them back to us? Are you referring to when my mother starved to death, when I was about to starve to death, or when you had your brother come to steal from us in the middle of the night and got caught red-handed!"
"That's how everyone eats!" Niu Cuihua still wouldn't give up, muttering cautiously.
Those listening nearby couldn't stand it anymore and spat, "Pah! My pigs even eat with noodles on their rice! How dare you say that!"
Magistrate Yang grew increasingly angry as he listened, and immediately sent men to summon Gu Jingsheng and his family to the county office for questioning.
Gu Lili originally thought that ancient times were places where human life was treated like dirt, but she did not expect that Magistrate Yang would take this matter so seriously.
In order to get Gu Jingsheng's family here as quickly as possible, Magistrate Yang even instructed his yamen runners to hitch up their own carriage and go to fetch them.
Gu Jingsheng, Old Madam Gu, and Gu Chuan had just returned from the fields when they were escorted onto a carriage by two yamen runners.
To be honest, this was the first time the three of them had ever ridden in a carriage, and it was the county magistrate's carriage.
Although they didn't know why the magistrate wanted them to go to the yamen, picking them up by carriage couldn't be a bad thing.
One constable was driving the carriage, while another constable sat to the side with a cold face, holding his sword and staring at the three of them.
Since no convictions had been made, the three were not tied up at this time.
"May I ask, sir, what business does the magistrate have summoned us for?" Gu Jingsheng asked, bowing respectfully.
The constable said coldly, "You'll find out when we get there!"
Gu Jingsheng felt a vague unease, but Old Madam Gu didn't care about that.
He lifted the carriage curtain and revealed his old face.
At this time, it was the time for villagers in Guzhuang to go home for dinner after working, and the road was filled with two or three villagers.
Grandma Gu poked her head out arrogantly and greeted people.
"Uncle Village Head, where are you going?"
"Hey, Auntie, you're back from work?"
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