Xiao Zhengde was speechless as he looked at the five hundred copper coins.
"This amount of money is barely enough to cover food and lodging for the next few days. The young men in the village can only do their best to find out what they can."
He's really worried himself sick about that family!
Old Man Xiao knew, of course, that this amount of money wouldn't solve anything, but if he really needed it to ransom someone later, he had to save the money for when it was most needed! So he said sheepishly.
"I'm afraid the younger generation will have to put in some effort! With such a big incident involving the fourth son, I'm worried there will be many expenses later!"
Xiao Zheng simply ignored him, as if he were trying to take advantage of him to steal his money!
When Xiao Dayong saw that the old man had only taken out five hundred copper coins, he knew that it might not even be enough to go to Tai'an Prefecture. So he said that he was going to the Cao family, which was a shorter journey, and that he would go home and take some copper coins with him.
Xiao Zhengde's son, Xiao Wenli, and two young men from the village also embarked on their journey to Tai'an Prefecture.
The servants of the Cao family were unaware that Cao Cheng'an had been arrested. Upon hearing Xiao Dayong's words, they panicked and immediately sent men to follow Xiao Dayong to the county to gather information. When they arrived in the county, they learned that Yonghe County was about to undergo a major upheaval, and the county magistrate had been stripped of his official robes and taken away!
Fortunately, the Cao family members were worldly-wise and knew that the trouble they had caused couldn't be covered up by the county's connections. They immediately drove the donkey cart back to report the situation to Master Cao. Upon hearing this, Master Cao was so anxious that he stamped his feet, but he couldn't ignore the fool he had raised. So he quickly put some money in his pocket and took a few people to Tai'an Prefecture in person.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to tell Xiao Dayong
"This matter is probably going to be difficult. Those who have been involved in cheating in the imperial examinations have always suffered greatly, if not death. Don't waste your breath on me. Go home and ask your father for advice!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dayong bid farewell to Master Cao and ran home without saying a word.
Old Mr. and Mrs. Xiao have been extremely anxious these past two days. Over the years, they have focused all their attention on Xiao Yuanhang, hoping to bring glory to their family and live a life of luxury with him. Now, all their hopes are about to be dashed. After just one night, both of them have developed mouth ulcers.
The two pregnant women, Xie Yujiao and Qiu Hong, lived in Xiao Yuanhang's courtyard, in the opposite room. Qiu Hong had known about Xie Yujiao for a long time, but she didn't take it seriously at all. With a place to stay and someone to do her laundry and cook for her, she ate on time and slept whenever she wanted, without feeling uncomfortable at all.
Xie Yujiao couldn't take it anymore. Thinking about Qiu Hong living in the opposite room, she cried all night. The next day, her eyes were swollen like walnuts. That slut was really something. She couldn't beat her or scold her. Xie Yujiao was angry but there was nothing she could do. She ran back to her parents' house early in the morning without even eating breakfast.
When Grandma Xiao heard about it, she cursed her as a jinx and then ignored it. She was too busy worrying about her own son to care about her!
Just as Old Mrs. Xiao was pleading with everyone for Xiao Yuanhang to be safe and sound, and for all to be a misunderstanding, and for fear that someone had framed her son, Xiao Dayong returned, panting heavily.
“Father, Mother, I went to the Cao family. I went with the Cao family to the county school and county government office to inquire. They even stripped the county magistrate of his official robes and took him away. Cao Cheng’an was also arrested and taken to the Tai’an Prefecture government office. The Cao family took the money and tried to redeem him.”
Uncle Cao asked me to come back and tell you before he left that this matter is probably difficult to handle. If you still want to save Fourth Brother, take the money and hurry to the government office to try and get him released. See if you can use the money to offset some of his punishment. If you wait too long and he's sentenced, money won't be of any use!
Xiao Dayong had only heard that a beating could be partially offset with silver, but that depended on the offense. If it was petty theft, fighting, or other minor incidents that didn't result in death, then of course one could pay some silver to gain the other party's forgiveness and reduce the punishment. But none of the things Xiao Yuanhang did could be settled with money!
When Old Man Xiao and Old Mrs. Xiao heard this, their hearts ached!
She loves her son dearly, but she also cares about money.
He asked, trembling.
"How much money would it take to get the fourth brother out?"
"How would I know? It depends on the situation! Anyway, this is the information I've gathered. If you don't believe me, just wait for Wenli and the others to come back and ask them."
I've been running around for two days, I'm exhausted and hungry. I'm going back to rest first, you two can discuss it!
Xiao Dayong has now learned to take care of himself; he left after saying that.
Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao paid even less attention. They wanted to go to Tai'an Prefecture, but they were also worried about the money. After discussing it back and forth, they decided to wait two more days. Anyway, the Cao family had already sent people. The two families were related by marriage, and the Cao family couldn't just ignore their in-laws.
Moreover, people from the village have already gone there. Let's see what Wenli and the other young men say when they return. What if the Cao family manages to get everyone out of trouble? Wouldn't that be a complete waste of money?
Meanwhile, when Xiao Wenli and two young men from the village arrived in Tai'an Prefecture after enduring wind and rain, the news of Xiao Yuanhang and his group was already circulating widely. Before they could even inquire, they had already heard most of the details while sitting down to eat at a noodle stall!
"Have you heard? There were two scholars in Yonghe County who not only copied their classmate's essays, but also pushed his father off a mountain and killed him!"
"Yes, not only did he kill someone's father, but he also crippled that classmate! Oh dear! These scholars can really cause trouble when they want to!"
"Didn't they say they were sentenced? They stripped him of his official titles and gave him a good beating!"
"What do you know! I went to see it that day. The verdict wasn't finished yet. They've already punished him with a cane and stripped him of his academic titles. That's for cheating on the imperial examinations. The case of harming people hasn't been investigated yet!"
"Yes, I was there that day too. That guy surnamed Xiao probably got stubborn and kept making up stories, refusing to admit anything. His excuses couldn't fool us, but we didn't have enough evidence, so we couldn't do anything about him. It's so infuriating!"
"Don't be angry. The governor arrested their accomplices that very day. After the trial, they're all out. Just you wait and see, those two will get their sentences!"
As Xiao Wenli and his companions slurped their noodles, they listened to the discussions of the customers around them. Hearing that Xiao Yuanhang had also harmed someone, they broke out in a cold sweat. The two young men next to them also spoke angrily.
"If Xiao Yuanhang really does something so despicable, why should we bother running around for him in the wind and snow? Just let the governor behead him!"
Our Phoenix Mouth area hasn't produced a single murderer in hundreds of years! I'd be ashamed to even know him!
"Exactly, Wenli, look at what he did! Copying someone else's policy essay is shameful enough, but he also caused that person's family to be ruined. I'm so angry just hearing about it!"
Xiao Wenli also felt it was bad luck; how could the Xiao family produce such a scoundrel?
But having followed Xiao Zhengde in handling village affairs since childhood, he was ultimately more steady and composed.
"Since we're already here, and the Liu brothers work in the yamen, let's go ask them and find out what really happened. If it's true, we'll take the news back and pretend we don't know this person. If it's not, we won't wrongly accuse him!"
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