Chapter 144 Ming'an County is not peaceful
On this day, more than twenty local gentry and wealthy merchants in Ming'an County were arrested on charges of treason.
The local gentry association was thrown into chaos.
Since Xu Hengzhi took office here last year, he has been controlled like a grandson in every way. This time, however, he used iron-fisted methods to send more than 20 people to prison, and they were sentenced to serious crimes, including the death penalty.
This was something they had never imagined.
"Has Xu Hengzhi gone mad! How dare he!"
"What does it have to do with us that the government sends those peasants to grow medicinal herbs?!"
"Since when buying a mountain has become illegal!"
But when they found the latest laws, they discovered that the charges were true.
Anyone who disrupts people's livelihoods or seeks personal gain will be convicted of harming the country.
However, the severity of the crime varies, and it depends on how the magistrate decides.
Everyone knows that prison is not a place to stay. Twenty heads of families were arrested, and their families spent money that very day to make inquiries.
Xu Hengzhi accepted all the gifts with a smile but refused to release the person.
Then they started spending more silver, but some families began to fight amongst themselves.
Finally, one family was released after they had spent half of their fortune.
Once one opens, another will follow.
The alliance was divided and began to fall apart.
This group includes many local strongmen and influential families.
Most frighteningly, there are rumors that the alliance is connected with mountain bandits.
That's why Xu Hengzhi acted as a grandson for a year!
Naturally, some people were angry about the act of sending money to Xu Hengzhi.
Black Tiger slammed his hand on the table, his face trembling with menacing bulge.
"He's trying to destroy us, you bunch of idiots!"
"But it's true that I broke the law, and people have to come out eventually. The sooner I come out, the less I'll suffer," someone said helplessly.
Black Tiger's eyes were sinister.
"My sworn brother was definitely killed by that bastard Xu Rui!"
"I'll send a message to my elder brother right now!"
"Xu Hengzhi, I'll make you spit it all out the way you swallowed it!"
"You'll experience the pain of losing a child too!"
...
Inside the prison cell.
Wan Yuting spent a large sum of money to come and visit.
Overnight, only a few black hairs could be found on Wanji Mountain, and he looked utterly dejected.
He was not yet fifty, and just a month ago he was still dressed in fine clothes and in good health.
Wan Yuting had never seen his father so down on his luck in his entire life.
He was filled with grief, "Father."
"Your mother..."
Seeing Wan Jishan's searching gaze, Wan Yuting felt a surge of resentment.
She didn't come!
Wanjishan's shoulders slumped even more.
“Ting’er, it’s because your father was too hasty that he caused this trouble. You are better than your father. In the future… manage the business well and take good care of your mother.”
"Father, someone went out and spent 30,000 taels of silver..." Wan Yuting told him the information he had gathered.
Thirty thousand taels of silver.
Goods from twelve shops.
"Ting'er, don't rush, wait a little longer."
"father……"
Wan Jishan raised his hand to stop him: "Ting'er, listen to your father."
“Go back and give Liu some money to get rid of her. As for Yu Xiao… he has always lived in our house and only sees Liu once a month. He has no mother-son relationship with her.”
If you're going to raise him, send him to the estate and make sure your mother never sees him again.
If you don't want to raise him, find him a family to live with...
"In this life, I have wronged your mother; you must not harbor any resentment towards her."
...
Wanjishan gave many instructions.
Wan Yuting listened somewhat absentmindedly.
He was thinking about going back and selling the shop to raise 30,000 taels of silver, or he could ask Lu Qingqing to help him make a connection and plead with Xu Rui on his behalf.
Even as he was dying, he was still thinking about how to persuade his mother one last time.
His mother was really bad at managing the shop; she fired several managers as soon as she took over...
The dark dungeon was like the maw of a giant beast, suffocating with stench.
Inside one of the cubicles, a disheveled man was talking in his sleep: "Sis, please let my brother-in-law get me out of here..."
I'm so hungry.
"They even hit me."
"Quickly, tell your brother-in-law to bring the money..."
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps sounded.
Several yamen runners ran over.
"Quick, someone inside has hung themselves from the iron bars!"
"Who? Which one? The master said not to let them die!"
"That guy surnamed Wan, Wan Jishan! His son just gave him money to be taken good care of!"
...
Wanji Mountain?
The man woke up with a chill.
Isn't Wanjishan the brother-in-law who wouldn't let him call him brother-in-law?
That's impossible! He's a big shot in Chang Le Town, how could he be in jail!
It's definitely another Wanjishan!
"Let me out! Let me out! My brother-in-law is Wan Jishan. He's rich. He'll give you lots of money!"
Several constables carried a corpse out.
"Pah! Your brother-in-law is dead, no one can save you now!"
The corpse's head drooped, meeting Liu Lei's horrified eyes.
Dead!
Dead!
Wanjishan is dead!
No one can save him!
Having just been released from prison, Wan Yuting now takes a look back at Wan Jishan's confession.
After finishing, a layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on my back.
Dad just confessed everything, as if he's not going to come out again!
In the distance, yamen runners came chasing after them.
"Wan Yuting! Go back and acknowledge your father—"
...
At the same time, Madam Wan, who was looking at the account books, felt a sudden pang of heartache.
She was in so much pain that she bent over, and her face turned deathly pale for a long time.
"Madam, what's wrong? Didn't Doctor Qingqing say you wouldn't have any lasting effects?"
The young maid, Mingqiu, was worried and panicked.
Madam Wan shook her head.
She didn't know why it hurt so much just now.
Thinking of Wanjishan in prison, my heart ached again.
"Madam, I'll send someone to fetch Doctor Qingqing!"
Mingqiu ran out.
Lu Qingqing arrived at the Wan family's house soon after.
Mrs. Wan no longer had heart palpitations, but a strange anxiety made her feel unwell all over.
"Worry weakens the heart; one should relax."
Lu Qingqing also knew that the Wan family had run into trouble and that their shops had all been closed.
Aside from giving Madam Wan a few acupuncture treatments to relieve her depression, he didn't say much else.
Just as she was about to leave, the butler stumbled in.
"Madam! Master—"
That's all!
...
Ten thousand exquisite courtyards, with green shade and flower paths where colorful butterflies flutter.
A body covered with a white sheet was placed on the central cobblestone ground.
Wan Yuting's dark eyes looked at Madam Wan, who was running out.
"Mother, there's no need to worry anymore. You really will never see each other again in this life."
Madam Wan's eyes widened as she rushed over and lifted the white cloth.
Looking at the person who was silent and whose face was bluish-purple.
What came to mind were scenes from their youth.
In the warm spring sunshine, willow branches sway in the breeze.
Cicadas chirp in the summer, and children frolic in the shade.
Autumn brings bountiful harvests; we climb the wall to pick pears.
As winter snow falls, we embrace each other.
Madam Wan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Madam!" Mingqiu cried out.
Lu Qingqing quickly gave her an emergency pill.
But it was pulled apart from behind by a strong force.
Wan Yuting, his face grim, snapped at Mingqiu, "Hurry up and help Madam back!"
The young master Wan, who always had a smile on his face, was gone.
Lu Qingqing sensed a hostility.
“Miss Lu, you were the female doctor back then, weren’t you? You cured the magistrate’s son’s illness.”
Lu Qingqing did not deny it.
Wan Yuting stood with his back turned, his spine stiff.
The voice was suppressed and cold.
I advise you to stay away from him.
Ming'an County is not as peaceful as they thought.
The previous magistrate was very obedient, yet he still couldn't keep his own concubine.
"Be careful not to get yourself into trouble."
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