Lin Chunmei, shackled and handcuffed, cried her heart out and refused to follow the constables.
"Don't force me to use force!" Officer Tan shouted sternly.
Lin Chunmei offended a powerful figure whom even the county magistrate couldn't afford to offend, so Officer Tan and the others showed her no mercy and treated her extremely roughly.
When the government officials tried to take Lin Chunmei away, no one in the Lin family dared to stop them.
Elders Lin Qi and Lin Sanjin were so angry they nearly vomited blood, feeling that their Lin clan was truly experiencing a run of bad luck. Even though they didn't want to get involved with Lin Chunmei, her accident affected the entire clan, and as elders, they had to find out the whole story. So, they had no choice but to go along.
As soon as they left, the villagers began to discuss among themselves, all wondering: Who exactly did Lin Chunmei abduct?
"How vicious for such a young age! How could someone do something so insidious?"
"We'll have to tell our kids to be careful from now on. It's really unlucky to have someone like that living next door."
"They say it's child abduction, but I haven't heard of any families losing children recently!"
"Could they be abducting people from nearby villages?"
...
The villagers' discussions rose and fell. Lin Lizhi, who had slept at the Lin family's house last night, suddenly remembered that Yang Cui had gone to her house to look for Er Ya and San Ya yesterday, and her daughter Pu Xiangjuan had not returned yet. Could there be a connection between them?
Lin Lizhi became increasingly uneasy, so she immediately followed after them, intending to ask Lin Chunmei. However, just as she reached the village entrance and was about to ask, she encountered Cen Xiao and Yang Cui riding up on horseback.
"Lin Chunmei!"
Yang Cui immediately dismounted and walked over. When Lin Chunmei saw Yang Cui, she was shocked: Why does Yang Cui look so intact? Why did she come from the direction of Anjia Village?
As Lin Chunmei was still in shock, Yang Cui dismounted, rushed over, slapped her across the face, and angrily shouted, "Where are Er Ya and San Ya?"
"You...you're actually alright!" Lin Chunmei stared at Yang Cui with a sinister look.
"I'm fine. Did I disappoint you? Er Ya and San Ya, where did you take them?"
Lin Chunmei smiled smugly: "I'm not telling you!"
Lin Qi and Lin Sanjin never expected that things would be related to Yang Cui again! Nothing goes smoothly for the Lin family when they encounter Yang Cui; one bad thing after another happens, as if Yang Cui came specifically to harass the Lin clan!
"Once you get to the county jail and are subjected to severe torture, will you still be so stubborn? Lin Chunmei, do you know how the yamen usually interrogates prisoners?" Yang Cui said, "They'll beat your buttocks until they're bruised and battered, break your fingers with clamps, brand your face with iron blocks, and pull out your fingernails and toenails one by one, or prick your fingers with needles. Then we'll see if your stubbornness prevails or the yamen's torture is more severe!"
Yang Cui rattled off all the methods of dealing with people in period dramas, and just hearing about these punishments sent chills down one's spine.
Yang Cui added, "Don't worry, once you're inside, I'll make sure someone 'takes good care of you,' making you wish you were dead!"
Lin Chunmei panicked and became frightened!
Yang Cui definitely has the ability, what should we do? What should we do?
Lin Sanjin said sternly, "Yang Cui, are you trying to abuse your power? Our Lin family has already fallen to such a state, why are you so persistent? Why make things difficult for a child?"
"I made things difficult for her? Old man Lin, why don't you ask her what good deeds she's done!"
Lin Qi suddenly remembered what happened yesterday and felt a sense of foreboding.
Yang Cui continued, "Lin Chunmei, Qin Fengming has already confessed everything. Do you think I would report to the authorities without evidence? Even your father couldn't kill me. Do you think you're more powerful than your father? Tell me where Er Ya and San Ya are now. If you go to the county jail, you can suffer less!"
Lin Lizhi asked, "Did something happen to our Xiangjuan too? She didn't come home all night yesterday. Chunmei, tell me quickly!"
Suddenly, Lin Chunmei glared at Yang Cui with resentment and screamed hysterically, "Why? Why did you have to hurt me? You killed my grandfather, put my father in jail, and ruined my reputation! You bitch, why don't you just die? Why are you still alive!"
Seeing her like this, Lin Lizhi panicked and grabbed Lin Chunmei: "Where is Xiangjuan? Tell me quickly! Did you sell her?"
Lin Sanjin and Lin Qi were shocked!
"That's your own fault! We could have lived in peace, minding our own business, but your Lin family went too far! Lin Chunmei, tell me right now, where is the child? Otherwise, I'll tear off your fingernails and soak you in salt water! I'll make you wish you were dead!"
"Did you really do this?" Lin Qi and Lin Sanjin could hardly believe it!
Lin Chunmei didn't speak. In front of them, Yang Cui handed a heavy purse to Tan, the head constable, and the others, saying, "Brother, please do me a favor and pull out her fingernails!"
Officer Tan accepted the silver, and immediately two constables went over and restrained Lin Chunmei.
"No! No! No! Ah..." Officer Tan picked off one of Lin Chunmei's fingernails, and Lin Chunmei let out a painful scream.
Lin Lizhi, Lin Qi, Lin Sanjin, and the others were also horrified. They had only heard of such torture before, but they never expected to witness their own clansmen and descendants suffering such torture in this way.
Constable Tan: "You say it's not too late now? Once you get to the county jail, the torture will be a hundred times more painful! Think about it, if you had ten fingers and ten toes, could you endure this kind of pain twenty times?"
"I'll talk, I'll talk, sob sob sob..." Lin Chunmei, "Wang Po from Ruyi Alley in the east of the city... go find her..."
Cen Xiao immediately led Yang Cui on a fast horse into the city, heading straight for Ruyi Lane.
Lin Lizhi questioned Lin Chunmei: "What about my Xiangjuan? Did you sell her too?"
"I didn't... I didn't sell her. She helped me lure Er Ya and San Ya away."
Upon hearing this, Lin Lizhi felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. She never expected that her daughter was also involved in this matter. If this got out, the reputation of the Pu family would be ruined, and none of their children would be able to have a good future or a good marriage. Therefore, she absolutely could not admit to this!
"It's enough that you're the bad one, don't try to frame my child! You've definitely sold my child too, you slut! If I don't find my daughter, I'll beat you to death!"
After saying that, Lin Lizhi hurriedly ran towards the county town, knowing that her daughter had most likely been arrested as well.
Lin Sanjin was furious and rushed over to give Lin Chunmei a good beating: "You brat! Of all people to mess with, you had to pick on Yang Cui. Don't you think our Lin family is chaotic and miserable enough already?"
"Don't you know your own limitations?" Lin Qi was also quite angry.
Once this gets out, even fewer people will want to associate with them. If a family loses a child, they will definitely blame the Lin family for child abduction. This will incite public outrage!
Lin Sanjin and Lin Qi were most worried that this matter would also affect Lin Shikang!
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