Chapter 321 Dogs Fighting Dogs
After Xu Huaining's verdict was announced, Xu Chenglin felt somewhat uneasy.
Despite being so young and having such a bright future, he chose the wrong path and ruined his future.
Seeing that Xu Huaining showed no remorse, Xu Chenglin decisively put away his regret and wished that the Xu family had no such person.
Hearing her father-in-law's loud and forceful curses, Sheng An breathed a sigh of relief and asked Xu Jinnian in a low voice, "Will the government inform Qingzhou about what Xu Huaining's family has done?"
Xu Jinnian nodded: "Yes, the crimes committed by the three of them and their punishments will be clearly recorded in their ancestral home."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An felt a pang of worry for the Xu clan chief: "The clan chief is getting old; I wonder if he can withstand it."
The clan has finally produced two Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), both of whom are serving as officials in the capital. The entire Xu clan will benefit from this, and at least in the Qingzhou area, no one will dare to provoke them.
Now that Xu Huaining has committed a capital crime, Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua will also not have a good end, which is a huge blow to the Xu family.
The clan leader, who is wholeheartedly devoted to the family, must be feeling incredibly distressed.
Hearing his daughter-in-law's words, Xu Chenglin was not worried at all: "If one is gone, there's still one left. The ones who should be most upset are Xu Laoda's and Xu Guilian's families. They can no longer rely on Xu Huaining's power to act arrogantly."
When Xu Huaining was still a scholar, the Xu family, including the eldest son of the Xu family and Xu Guilian family, often used his name to gain benefits.
Later, when Xu Huaining passed the imperial examination, he became even more arrogant. Relying on his ignorance as a country bumpkin, he dared to act as if he were their son who had passed the examination.
Now that the people they relied on have fallen, they're probably afraid of being laughed at even when they go out.
Grandpa Sheng concluded: "One should not be arrogant, but live a normal life with a calm mind."
Xu Chenglin wholeheartedly agreed: "That's how it should be. After Jinnian becomes successful, I might brag to others, but I wouldn't dare to act recklessly just because I have an official son."
Besides, now that they live right under the emperor's nose, any slight disturbance could be used against them, so he wasn't foolish enough to invite trouble for his family.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng thought so too.
Seeing the high level of awareness among the three elders, Sheng An was deeply moved.
As the saying goes, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. They have three precious elders in their family, which is a blessing for her and Jin Nian.
Xu Huaining's fate was sealed, and a few days later, Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua were also tried in court.
It is true that Xu Laosi murdered Liu Huazhi and Ma Dahua. He was convicted of murder and, unsurprisingly, was sentenced to beheading.
Feng Lianhua was an accomplice and was sentenced to twenty years in prison and sent to a mine in Northwest China for forced labor.
In court, Feng Lianhua cried out loudly, "Injustice! Your Honor! It was Xu Laosi who killed them all! I didn't kill anyone! I don't want to go to jail! I don't want to be sent to the mine for forced labor! Waaah..."
She's over forty and has only a few years left to live, but being sent to a mine in the Northwest means she probably won't live more than a few days.
God is unfair! She only had a few days of good life before she had to die. Why?
The Prefect of the Capital did not allow Feng Lianhua to cause a scene in court. He ordered his men to gag her and escort her back to prison along with Xu Laosi, who was like a dead dog.
Unable to accept this fact, Feng Lianhua lunged at Xu Laosi, punching and kicking him.
"It's all your fault, you wicked devil! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this state. You're the one who deserves to die!"
Xu Laosi, in pain, suddenly lunged forward and kicked Feng Lianhua hard in the stomach:
"You wretched woman, you jinx! It's because your womb is useless and didn't give me more sons that I placed all my hopes on that bastard. Otherwise, why would I kill someone for him!"
Feng Lianhua suffered a severe abdominal injury and vomited a mouthful of blood, collapsing to the ground unable to get up.
Xu Laosi felt that wasn't enough, so he kicked her a few more times, cursing as he did so:
"You jinxed star's idea was also yours! If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have offended Xu Jinnian, and I would still be respected in the village because of my uncle's status. It's all your fault, you jinxed star, that I've ended up like this!"
The more Xu Laosi cursed, the more he hated Feng Lianhua, pushing all the blame onto her, while claiming that he was completely innocent and had done nothing wrong.
Feng Lianhua's vision blurred with pain. Looking at Xu Laosi's hideous face, she felt a desolation in her heart and wondered what the meaning of her life was.
Her husband was incompetent and heartless, and her son was cold-blooded and callous. She spent half her life scheming and plotting, only to end up with nothing and being sent to work in a mine.
If she could do it all over again, she would never marry Xu Laosi. She would only want to find a reliable man, have a few children, and live a peaceful and ordinary life.
As Xu Jinnian said, the crimes committed by the family of three and the punishments they received were clearly recorded and sent to the Qingzhou government office by fast horseman from the capital.
Upon receiving the message, the officials of the prefectural government were not only shocked, but also sent someone to deliver the news to Xujiaba.
Upon receiving the news, the clan chief was so excited that he closed his eyes and fainted.
His son quickly pinched the man's philtrum and finally managed to wake him up. The clan chief collapsed to the ground and wept bitterly, "Foolish! Foolish child..."
Xu Huaining was raised by the clan chief. In the clan chief's eyes, Xu Huaining was gentle, polite, and talented. He never imagined that Xu Huaining would commit arson, murder, or cheating in the imperial examination.
Other villagers present couldn't help but shed tears. It was not easy for the clan to produce a pair of golden phoenixes, but one of them was not only a fake phoenix, but also committed such a serious crime, bringing shame to the entire clan.
The villagers were only thankful that Xu Jinnian, their phoenix, hadn't gotten into trouble; otherwise, without him as their support, they would have suffered countless more mistreatments.
The clan chief was stronger than others imagined. After weeping, he immediately summoned the villagers to discuss whether to raise money to go to the capital and bring back the remains of Xu Huaining and his son.
Although the father and son committed serious crimes, Xu Huaining had once brought glory to the clan. If they could not return to their hometown and be buried in the ancestral grave after their death, they would become lonely ghosts and would not receive offerings from their descendants.
The villagers felt ashamed and that it was too costly, so they did not approve of traveling all the way to the capital to collect the bodies of the father and son and bury them in the Xu family ancestral graveyard, lest it disrupt the feng shui.
Among them, the strongest opposition came from Old Xu.
The reason is simple: Xu Laosi is his own brother, and Xu Huaining is his own nephew.
After such a shameful incident, people from other villages would laugh at Xujiaba, and people from this village would laugh at Xu Laoda's family.
Old Master Xu was more than happy that the clan chief would expel the father and son from the clan, so as not to tarnish their family's reputation.
In the end, the clan chief overruled the objections of the others and decided to have his own son lead the way to the capital to bring back the ashes of the father and son and bury them in a plot of land next to the ancestral graves.
As a result, the villagers no longer objected.
Afterwards, the clan chief summoned the entire village several times, telling them to take Xu Huaining and his son as a warning and not to act arrogantly and cause trouble for Xu Jinnian just because someone in the clan was an official.
If he finds out that someone is acting recklessly, he will exterminate their entire family and drive them out of the village.
After this happened several times, the villagers became much more obedient.
Even the few scoundrels who had previously been arrogant and domineering outside have now obediently stayed in the village to farm.
Sheng An and the others, who were far away in the capital, were completely unaware of the clan leader's actions. It was only after some time, when they received a letter from the Zhang family, that they learned of the clan leader's good intentions.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com