Chapter 188 Return
Upon receiving news that Liu Erleng had been arrested at Liu Huazhi's house, Sheng An breathed a long sigh of relief and thanked the two brothers, A Tu and A Shui, in front of him.
"Thanks to you all, we were able to catch Liu Erleng so quickly this time."
The two brothers grinned from ear to ear, and Ah Shui waved his hand modestly: "Coincidence, it's all a coincidence, hehe!"
Seeing how happy they were, Sheng An smiled as well and took out the silver he had prepared in advance: "You two brothers provided important clues, here is twenty taels of silver, as a small token of my appreciation."
Seeing so much silver for the first time, Atu and Ashui couldn't help but swallow hard, at a loss for words: "Too much..."
Sheng An shook his head and pushed the silver towards the two of them again: "It's not much. You two are at the age to get married. Use this money to repair the house and find a reliable matchmaker to arrange a marriage. There are many places where money will be spent."
The wanted poster stated a reward of ten taels of silver, but the clues provided by Atu and Ashui led the authorities to arrest Liu Erleng and also uncovered Liu Huazhi. The extra ten taels of silver were considered an additional reward.
Ah Shui was more astute than Ah Tu. Realizing that Sheng An intended to help them, he thanked her gratefully, saying, "Sister-in-law, we brothers accept the money. Please feel free to ask us for anything in the future!"
Atu may be a little tongue-tied, but he can still mimic what a parrot says: "That's right, from now on, if your sister-in-law needs anything, just call us brothers!"
Sheng An nodded in agreement: "Okay."
The two brothers hid the silver and left Shengyuan happily.
Liu Erleng's arrest was a great joy, but the thought of Liu Huazhi being involved made Grandma Sheng very angry: "I never thought she was so wicked. If Liu Erleng had escaped this time, I don't know how he would have retaliated against our family."
Grandpa Sheng's stern face said, "She deserved to be arrested. The less of such a wicked person there is, the more peaceful the world will be."
Grandma Sheng instructed her granddaughter, "An'an, don't be soft-hearted towards this woman. Whether the authorities beat her or send her to jail, she deserves it."
Sheng An was speechless: "Grandma, from the moment she harbored Liu Erleng, she was my enemy. How could I be merciful to my enemy?"
Grandma Sheng touched her little face, her voice full of affection: "My An'an is the kindest-hearted girl. I'm just afraid that you might have good intentions towards the enemy."
Sheng An: "..."
The milk has such a thick filter on her that she doesn't even recognize the words "kind-hearted" anymore.
Xu Chenglin warned, "This woman is Xu Huaining's lawfully wedded wife. If she goes to jail, it will inevitably affect Xu Huaining's future. Xu Huaining is concerned about this, and he will probably try his best to get her off the hook."
In the past, Xu Huaining wouldn't have had this ability, but now that he has a scholar who values him highly, it wouldn't be difficult to exonerate Liu Huazhi. He could get her out by spending a large sum of money.
Sheng An frowned: "Given the current situation, he should divorce Liu Huazhi."
Xu Chenglin shook his head: "Before the incident, he divorced Liu Huazhi, so it wouldn't have hindered his future. But now..."
Sheng An nodded: "Let's see. If he really helps Liu Huazhi get away with it, we'll find a way to solidify Liu Huazhi's charges."
Liu Huazhi's actions crossed her bottom line, and this time she would not let her escape punishment no matter what.
The next morning, officials came to Shengyuan and explained to Sheng An that Liu Erleng had been arrested and that he, along with seven other accomplices and the woman who had harbored him, would be tried in court three days later.
Sheng An thanked the official and handed him two taels of silver, saying, "I wonder what will happen to this woman."
The officials, having received a bribe, were quite happy to reveal trivial information: "Liu Erleng is a serious offender, and this woman will at least be sentenced to three years of hard labor."
Labor was very hard; there was always work to be done all day long.
If you're unlucky enough to be assigned to a mine, it's hard to say whether you'll even make it back alive.
Of course, prisoners who were usually sent to the mines had committed very serious crimes, and Liu Huazhi's crime of harboring criminals did not meet the requirements for forced labor in the mines.
Sheng An thought the three-year sentence was reasonable, smiled and thanked the officers before sending the man away.
She will definitely attend the public trial in three days.
Before the public trial could even begin, Xu Jinnian returned from Nanjing, travel-worn and exhausted.
Although they had only been separated for a little over half a month, Sheng An felt that a very long time had passed, and she was almost unable to recognize it.
Looking at his stunned wife, Xu Jinnian felt a strong pang of sadness in his chest. He slowly stepped forward and hugged her tightly: "It's only been half a month since we last met, and An'an doesn't even remember her husband?"
Sheng An snapped out of her daze and punched him in the chest with her fist: "I don't have dementia."
After saying that, her eyes welled up with tears, and she couldn't help but bury her face in the man's chest and punch his back twice: "You said you'd be back in half a month, but you're two days late, and everyone at home was so worried."
Xu Jinnian quickly apologized: "It's my fault for making An'an worry."
As he spoke, he lowered his head and gently pecked her lips, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.
The two embraced quietly for a long time, until Sheng An's legs were sore that she could hardly stand. She pushed the man away, looked him up and down, and occasionally pinched his leg. Finally, she came to a conclusion: "You've lost weight."
Xu Jinnian's eyes darkened, and his voice became somewhat hoarse: "Where have you lost weight?"
When he asked that question, Sheng An knew he had ill intentions, and glared at him irritably: "Go take a shower, you smell."
The claim that it smelled bad is an exaggeration. The teachers and students chartered a boat for the round trip, and the boat was spotless, so there was no odor.
Sheng An always felt unclean if he didn't wash up after returning from a long trip.
Xu Jinnian knew her habits, so he didn't say anything, but just kissed her red lips deeply, then took a clean set of clothes and went downstairs to take a shower.
During the shower, the man shamelessly made the excuse that he hadn't brought a towel to dry himself, and asked Sheng An to bring it in for him.
Sheng An had no doubts. As soon as he slipped his hand through the crack in the door, a large hand reached out and pulled him inside.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was in the small building and no one would come in for the time being, the two of them made a lot of noise inside, which made Sheng An soaked and he had to take a shower as well.
After they finished tidying up, Sheng An dried Xu Jinnian's wet hair while telling him about the major events that had happened at home since he left: "...Tomorrow is the public trial. If you have time, come with me to the yamen."
Xu Jinnian's expression was very bad, and he held her hand with lingering fear: "Were you frightened?"
Sheng An truthfully replied, "I was quite frightened and had nightmares for several nights in a row. Fortunately, I wasn't so scared after all the people were caught."
After saying that, she shook the man's hand: "Now that you're back, I'm even less afraid."
Xu Jinnian felt a surge of tenderness in his chest, and he embraced his wife, whom he had been longing for day and night, and kissed her again: "From now on, your husband will never be separated from An'an for so long again."
Sheng An chuckled: "You're going to take me with you to the provincial examination? You're probably the first person to do that."
Xu Jinnian smiled and patted her head, his eyes filled with tenderness: "Why not? A day apart feels like three autumns. This time, I've been separated from An'an for seventeen days, and I've missed you for seventeen autumns."
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