Chapter 213 Sacking
After Xu Laosan was arrested, the team that went to Qingzhou to investigate also returned.
After a flurry of activity at the government office, a notice clarifying Xu Jinnian's situation was posted the next day.
Those who were following this matter had only one thought after reading the notice.
It's such a misunderstanding, such a terrible injustice!
Xu Jinnian, who was falsely accused, is so wronged!
The students who sat in protest at the entrance of the government office, demanding that the prefect severely punish Xu Jinnian, were incredulous: "How could this be? How could this be? How could he be innocent!"
Some people believe everything they hear, while others have a clear and discerning mind.
Seeing these students who looked as if they had lost their parents, those who had not participated in spreading the rumors mocked them relentlessly.
"Tsk tsk, the truth is right in front of you and you still don't believe it! It seems that you two are already so eloquent at just three months old, and you're so materialistic and greedy that you're willing to be adopted by your rich second uncle. You're practically a once-in-a-millennium genius!"
"Hey, don't insult geniuses. No genius is as jealous as them. They're not confident they can pass the imperial examination, so they try every means to drag those who might pass into the mud."
"Forget it, there's no need to argue with a bunch of idiots. What if I get infected by their stupidity?"
"That's true. People this stupid should just go home and nurse. If Scholar Xu investigates, they might not be able to go home."
"..."
These sarcastic words were like sharp thorns, piercing the hearts of these students, making it impossible for them to stay any longer. In the end, they covered their faces with their sleeves and quickly fled.
They wouldn't come out until the results of the provincial examination were announced.
They hated Xu Laosan, the culprit who fabricated the lies, to the extreme, wishing him dead immediately.
Some of them knew they were in the wrong and dared to admit their mistakes, wanting to go to Xu Jinnian's house to apologize.
They simply didn't know where Xu Jinnian lived, and couldn't even find the gate to his villa. They had to ask others for information about Xu Jinnian's whereabouts, but they still couldn't find out.
Xu Laosan wasn't the only one arrested; more than a dozen students who had taken advantage of the situation were also brought to justice.
The actions of these people had a terrible impact and almost ruined a promising young talent.
To quell the situation and make an example of someone, with irrefutable witnesses and physical evidence, the culprit, Xu Laosan, was sentenced to ten years in prison and will be sent to the mine three days later.
Xu Laosan is already fifty years old, and under the heavy forced labor, he most likely won't come back alive.
The dozen or so students who had taken advantage of the situation also received their due punishment. Although they were not stripped of their Xiucai (a degree in the imperial examination system) titles, they were barred from taking the imperial examinations for the rest of their lives.
His promising future was ruined.
But no one will sympathize with them.
On the day the verdict was handed down, Xu Huaining, filled with deep sorrow and confusion, went to the prison to visit Xu Laosan, who seemed to have aged considerably.
At this moment, Xu Laosan still held onto hope. Seeing his nephew whom he had doted on since childhood, he pounced on him and grabbed his hand: "Huaining, save your uncle! You have to find a way to save your uncle!"
Xu Huaining looked troubled: "Third Uncle, it's not that I don't want to save you, but things have come to this point, and I have no other choice."
Upon hearing this, Xu Laosan became even more agitated:
"Yes, you have it! The influential person you've befriended can definitely get Uncle San out of here! Go write a letter to that person. Uncle San doesn't want to die! Uncle San doesn't want to be worked to death in the mine!"
Xu Huaining's face darkened, and he slowly withdrew his hand, saying emotionlessly, "You are a busy person, how could I disturb you for such a trivial matter?"
Xu Laosan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
It was a trivial matter, but it concerned his life. In Huaining's eyes, it was a trivial matter.
Xu Laosan twitched the corners of his mouth, unable to believe that his nephew was so heartless: "Huaining, for the sake of how much your uncle has treated you like his own son all these years, write a letter to help your uncle. Your uncle will remember your kindness for the rest of his life."
Xu Huaining shook his head, a look of pity on his face: "Third Uncle, you're getting old."
Xu Laosan understood his unspoken meaning, his whole body stiffened, and he stared at him intently, as if he were seeing this nephew for the first time.
Xu Huaining stood up and looked down at him:
"Out of consideration for our relationship as uncle and nephew, I will choose an auspicious burial site for you in the future and offer you more incense as a way of repaying the kindness you have shown me over the years."
An old man who tries to take advantage of someone's kindness to demand that he support him in his old age is better off being buried sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, the old man was useless and failed to help him bring down Xu Jinnian, wasting the 100 taels of silver he had given him to win people's hearts and spread rumors.
However, the result is not bad now; at least we've gotten rid of this useless burden.
"You ungrateful wretch!"
Xu Laosan finally saw Xu Huaining's true colors. He pounded heavily on the cell door with both hands, his eyes bloodshot as if he wanted to devour someone: "How could you do this to me? How could you do this to me..."
Hasn't his third uncle treated him well all these years?
Whenever I get something good, I send it to him immediately.
Over the years, he worked himself to the bone, draining all his married daughters dry, just to support his education, advancement, and the achievement of official rank to bring glory to the family. But when the time came, this is how he treats him.
Xu Laosan couldn't accept this fact, and his gaze towards Xu Huaining was filled with intense hatred: "You'll get your retribution for treating me like this, you will definitely get your retribution!"
Xu Huaining chuckled, took one last look at Xu Laosan, and left without looking back.
He never believed in karma or retribution.
"Come back! Come back here right now!"
Xu Laosan screamed in anguish, but could only watch helplessly as Xu Huaining disappeared into the distance of the prison cell.
At that moment, he regretted it; he thought of his own son whom he had abandoned.
"Jin Nian, Father was wrong, Father knows he was wrong. You're not a cursed star, you're not, you're not—"
His heart-wrenching cries echoed throughout the cell, but his remorse was destined to go unanswered and unforgive.
The government's impartial handling of the matter was exactly what Sheng An and Xu Jinnian had expected.
The fact that Xu Huaining couldn't get in made Sheng An feel very uneasy.
“That scheming dog is the best at pretending. Without his instigation, would Xu Laosan have the brains to do this? I can’t sleep well now that he’s escaped like this.”
Sheng An lay on Xu Jinnian's chest, gritting her teeth. Seeing that the man seemed indifferent, she couldn't help but pinch his cheek harder.
"He's like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce and bite you at the right moment. Why aren't you worried at all?"
Xu Jinnian gave his wife face and immediately showed an indignant expression upon hearing this: "I am anxious, but I have no evidence, so this is the only way for now."
Sheng An felt a mix of emotions, but then a thought popped into his head: a way to vent his anger.
Xu Jinnian could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her expression: "Find an opportunity to put a sack over his head?"
"You understand me so well!" Sheng An excitedly pounded the bed and kissed the man's lips hard: "Just putting a sack over his head isn't enough, we also have to break one of his legs!"
Xu Jinnian pressed the back of his wife's head against his chest, closed his eyes, and gently returned the kiss.
Suffocated by the kiss, Sheng An, still dazed, didn't forget the important matter: "Tell me quickly, is it okay or not?"
Xu Jinnian couldn't help but chuckle and kissed her cheek again: "Okay."
Sheng An was in high spirits: "There's no time like the present, let's choose the day the results are released, and then we'll put sacks on them together."
It's not appropriate to leave this to Li Tian and the others; it's safer and more satisfying to do it myself.
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