Chapter 88 Ancient World: Stepmother (5)
"Li Fusheng's family has three male members, and one of them needs to perform corvée labor this year. Have you discussed who should go?"
Two officers stood at the door, glanced at the Li family members, and spoke in an official manner.
All eyes turned to the Li family members.
silence.
An awkward silence.
No one in the Li family spoke; Changqing stood there like a mute, head bowed.
Zhao Lianhua couldn't help but tug at Chang Qing's sleeve, signaling him to speak quickly.
"Mom, why are you pulling me?"
Changqing finally spoke, but his words caused Aunt Dongzhi, who had come to watch the commotion, to burst out laughing. Fortunately, there were officials present, otherwise, she would definitely have said something.
Zhao Lianhua was so embarrassed that she just wanted to find a hole to crawl into. At the same time, she was furious. Her son was indeed useless; he didn't know what to say in important situations.
Li Fusheng felt as if he were on a hot plate, with officials and the clan chief watching, and others eager to see what would happen. He just hoped that Zhao Lianhua would speak up quickly and finalize the matter of Changqing's forced labor. After all, he was just a stepfather, and it would seem rather heartless for him to speak up.
Li Xiangling glanced at Changqing with surprise. With so many people present, she didn't say anything sarcastic.
Li Huanxi, the younger sister, was trying to suppress her laughter.
Now, she truly believes that her brother has no intention of being forced into labor; otherwise, given his honest and simple nature, he would have immediately come forward to admit it.
"you,"
Just as Zhao Lianhua was about to speak, the clan chief behind the official snorted impatiently.
"Fusheng, didn't your family discuss this beforehand?"
If he keeps dragging his feet at this point, won't he lose face as the clan leader?
Li Fusheng looked at Changqing.
The meaning is quite obvious.
So the officer went over and asked.
"Hey kid, how old are you this year?"
There's nothing we can do; Changqing is short and doesn't really look sixteen.
Swish, swish, swish.
All eyes turned to Changqing, especially Zhao Lianhua, whose gaze was fixed on him with a mixture of expectation and warning.
Under everyone's gaze, Changqing reached up and touched his head, revealing a simple and honest smile.
"Sir, would you like to hear the truth or a lie?"
boom!
Upon hearing this, Li Fusheng felt as if something exploded in his head, causing his body to sway involuntarily.
How can you speak like that in front of officials? Isn't that courting death?
Even the Li clan patriarch behind the official changed his expression drastically, glaring fiercely at Li Fusheng. How did he raise his child? How dare he make fun of the official!
Zhao Lianhua's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She looked at Changqing as if she had seen a ghost, opened her mouth to scold him, but couldn't find her voice in front of so many people.
Aunt Dongzhi was also surprised, but as an observer, she was not worried. Noticing the expressions of Li Fusheng and Zhao Lianhua, she felt a sense of satisfaction.
The officers took in everyone's expressions, and one of them twitched his lips into a mysterious smile.
"Oh? If you're lying, how old are you?"
"Just turned sixteen!" Changqing said without hesitation.
Zhao Lianhua swayed and almost fell over, but Li Xiangling quickly caught her.
"mom!"
She shouted, but her eyes were fixed on Changqing with a fierce glare, the warning clear.
Hahahaha.
The two officers laughed. It seemed that this family had not only failed to reach an agreement, but also had internal conflicts. This was quite interesting.
One of them glanced at the distraught Li Fusheng and Zhao Lianhua, stepped forward, and looked at Changqing.
"Who taught you to say that? Was it your father or your mother?"
He didn't ask what the truth was. Obviously, anyone could see that the boy was a bit silly, and that wasn't his concern. What he cared about was instigating and deceiving the officials.
Changqing will continue to play dumb to the very end.
He scratched his head: "I have two fathers, one of whom has passed away. Then, my mother found another father. As for who taught me to say that?" He glanced at Li Fusheng and then at Zhao Lianhua, shrank back, and shook his head repeatedly: "I can't tell you that!"
Okay, okay!
The officials were so angry they almost laughed.
Is this how you play it?
"Li Fusheng! How dare you!"
An official suddenly shouted, startling the entire Li family into kneeling down. Changqing was a beat slow to react, and it was only after his sister pulled him down a couple of times that he hurriedly knelt down.
However, the focus had shifted away from him at this point.
Both officers stared at Li Fusheng with fierce eyes, which made Li Fusheng sweat and almost wet his pants. He could only kowtow repeatedly.
"Master Chao, Fu gave birth to him..."
Chief Li wanted to step forward and plead for leniency.
"I...I...I taught the child to lie. I'm just a woman who doesn't know anything. I offended the police officer. It's all my fault!"
At the critical moment, Zhao Lianhua's spirit of self-sacrifice kicked in. She crawled forward on her knees and kowtowed repeatedly, so hard that her forehead bled.
"Enough!"
The officer waved his hand impatiently, "Li Fusheng, who's going to help you if your house collapses? Think it through before you answer, don't waste our time."
Li Fusheng's heart was pounding like a drum.
"I, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, the officer made the final decision: "Alright, that's you then. Meet at the village entrance this afternoon!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Li Fusheng's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.
Zhao Lianhua fared even worse; she fainted with a thud.
"father!"
Li Xiangling screamed and rushed forward to help Li Fusheng.
Changqing, standing to the side, seemed to be in a daze, standing there for a long time before suddenly slapping his forehead. "Oh dear, we haven't gone to chop firewood or cut grass yet today! Little sister, let's hurry up and get to work, or Mom will scold us."
Without saying a word, he grabbed Li Huanxi and ran away.
Aunt Dongzhi brought her people to see the spectacle, snorted, and left satisfied.
Li Fusheng, his body limp, was helped into the house by his daughter, Li Xiangling. His mind was in turmoil, and he couldn't care about anything else; all he could think about was the forced labor he was supposed to perform.
On the hard stone slab at the entrance, only Zhao Lianhua remained lying there.
Li Xiangling was not about to kindly help her into the house. At this point, she had not yet accepted her stepmother. In her mind, this stepmother was a bad woman who had brought her child to steal her benefits.
Zhao Lianhua was unconscious for about half an incense stick's time before she slowly woke up. Then, she found herself still lying on the ground. After a moment of stunned silence, she hugged her knees and burst into tears.
"Hey, if you're awake, come help me pack!"
Li Xiangling poked her head out of the house and called out impatiently.
Zhao Lianhua choked back a sob and stood up with a limp. She was heartbroken, but even more furious was that her own son wouldn't listen to her.
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