If I add money to become a layman, I can cultivate immortality

Chapter 159 The Injustice and the Debt

When Zhang Sheng died, the happy event turned into a mourning event.

The villagers were not surprised by Zhang Sheng's death, after all, he had been ill in bed for a long time.

It's just a pity that Qin...

However, just a few days after Zhang Sheng was buried, a piece of news spread, causing a sensation among the people in all directions.

It turned out that it was the Qin family who was so fierce that he hung himself from a beam and left a last word saying that he was buried in honor of his husband.

As soon as the news spread, the people couldn't help but talk about it. Many people were moved by Qin's loyalty, especially those scholars who rushed to write poems, articles and biographies for him.

When the news reached the county government, the county magistrate couldn't help being surprised. He immediately reported it to the government office, saying that he wanted to commend the Qin family and build a chastity memorial arch for the Qin family.

After all, for the government, this is a great opportunity to earn reputation and gain political achievements.

After all, the imperial court was also keen on promoting martyrs.

The county government quickly received approval from its superiors, and the chastity memorial arch was quickly erected. The magistrate personally came to unveil it with a group of squires and entourage.

Unexpectedly, when the cloth covering the memorial arch was lifted, the words engraved on it turned out to be bright red, and there were still strands of blood-like liquid soaking down the writing.

Such a strange phenomenon made everyone's hair stand on end, and they quickly covered the archway with cloth.

However, although the archway was covered, it could not cover the public's mouth.

After all, in addition to people from the government, there were many people present that day. Rumors were spread all over the place.

After Ding Xiu heard about this strange thing, he couldn't help but go to check it out. Sure enough... there was something wrong.

That night.

Ding Xiu appeared on a slope to the west of the village. This was the village cemetery.

"Come out, don't hide."

Ding Xiu shouted softly at a crooked-necked tree.

After a while, a woman's figure finally appeared in front of Ding Xiu.

This woman is none other than the deceased Qin.

However, she did not come back from the dead, she is just a ghost now.

After revealing her body, Mrs. Qin bowed to Ding Xiu with a sad expression on her face: "Meet the Master."

Ding Xiu asked: "The strange behavior at the Chastity Arch was caused by you, right?"

Mrs. Qin did not deny it, and replied: "Yes, it is indeed my concubine."

"Why? That was the archway built for you."

Hearing this, Mrs. Qin couldn't help but burst into tears and choked up: "I have no face to accept it..."

"Is it possible that you have some difficulties? Feel free to tell me."

Qin hesitated for a while and finally explained the whole story.

When the family learned about Zhang Sheng's situation, they secretly asked the doctor. The doctor also told him that Zhang's life was probably short.

The mother's family then discussed with the Qin family and wanted to cancel the marriage.

But Mrs. Qin disagreed. She was a conservative woman at heart and didn't want others to gossip, so she eventually married into the Zhang family.

But what she never expected was to step into a pit of fire.

Let’s start with Zhang Sheng’s mother.

Zhang Sheng lost his father when he was young, and it was his mother Liu who raised him.

At first, Mrs. Liu was considered honest and spent all her energy on raising her son, farming and doing housework.

Slowly, as her son grew up, Ms. Liu began to feel a little empty in her life.

After all, she is still young, in her 30s, and her appearance is not bad, so she can be considered outstanding in the countryside.

Because of this, some men in the village always flirted with her intentionally or unintentionally.

Some men in particular like to work in the fields with bare arms. Whenever this happens, Mrs. Liu always likes to take a few sneaky glances.

At night, I started tossing and turning and thinking wildly.

Once, a woman from the village came to the door and said that she had a distant relative who had been single and hardworking, but her family was a little poor.

If Mrs. Liu is willing, she can arrange a match and let the other party come to take care of Mr. Liu and his wife.

As a result, Zhang Sheng disagreed. Although Liu was dissatisfied, she had nothing to do. After all, her son had grown up and was engaged.

But some things will always come when they are supposed to come.

One day, the county government sent people down to collect food supplies. Among them was a scribe named Wan Shan.

Scriveners are not officials, but officials in the six offices of the third class of the county government.Of course, his status is still higher than that of ordinary government officials. After all, the three squads and six rooms are an important part of the county government, just like the three provinces and six departments of the imperial court.

This Wan Shan was a well-known pervert. After meeting Mrs. Liu, he fell in love with this woman at first sight.

Although Mrs. Liu is not as pretty as the kiln girls in the city, she has a unique charm of a country woman, with a plump figure and spring eyebrows.

Wan Shan is a veteran of flowers. When he inquired secretly, he learned that Liu had been widowed for more than ten years, and he was even more secretly happy.

Sure enough, Wan Shan rolled into the haystack outside the village with Mr. Liu without any effort.

Take what you need.

At first, Wan Shan probably just wanted to eat some wild vegetables, and then left after eating.

But he didn't know what kind of magic power the Liu family had, which actually made him reluctant to part with him.

The people in the village soon learned about the two of them, and couldn't help but talk about it. However, Mrs. Liu looked like a broken person, and openly went in and out with Wan Shan, looking very proud of herself.

After all, she couldn't tell which official was which, and which was official. She only knew that Wan Shan was in charge of affairs in the yamen, and that was the official.

She had finally climbed to such a high branch, so naturally she wanted to please him in every possible way.

Zhang Sheng suddenly fell seriously ill, and maybe she was the one who made her angry. After all, this was something that was disgraceful to the family tradition.

Zhang Sheng passed away a few days after Qin married into the Zhang family.At this time, Wan Shan actually openly moved into the Zhang family, living in the same room with the Liu family, and pretended to be helping deal with Zhang Sheng's funeral affairs.

Qin couldn't say much about this. After all, she had just gotten married and didn't know much about the previous situation.

But what he never expected was that Wan Shan would fall in love with her again.

In order to please Wan Shan, Mrs. Liu went so crazy as to cooperate with him. Just a few days after her son was buried, she asked Ms. Qin to have a few drinks with her on the pretext of being sad.

Mrs. Qin originally didn't drink, but she couldn't stand Mrs. Liu's repeated persuasion, and finally she got drunk by Mrs. Liu.

When Qin woke up, she realized that she had been given to Wanshan...

What made her even more ashamed and angry was that her mother-in-law, Mrs. Liu, also walked into the house to persuade her, saying that two widows from the same profession would definitely be bullied, and only Wanshan could protect them and let them live a stable life.

Mrs. Qin didn't make a fuss because she didn't want the villagers to laugh.

In the end, she chose to hang herself from a beam and end her miserable life.

But her death not only did not make Liu awaken and repent, but instead made her even more crazy.

Of course, Mrs. Liu was still a little scared at first. After all, everyone in the village knew about her and Wan Shan. Now that Mr. Qin suddenly committed suicide, the villagers might be suspicious.

But Wan Shan didn't panic, and instead said with joy that this was a good thing and he could make some money.

After that, Mrs. Qin followed his idea and declared to the outside world that her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Qin, was a chaste and martyr woman who did not want to live alone as a minister and was willing to die and be buried for her dead husband.In fact, the villagers did not believe her words at all.

However, under Wan Shan's secret promotion, the news soon spread to the county town, which moved many people who did not know the truth.

The county magistrate was so happy that after hearing the news, he couldn't wait to report it to the government without sending anyone to investigate.

Later, Ms. Liu really enjoyed the benefits. The government not only built a memorial arch but also gave her a pension of 30 taels of silver, which surprised Ms. Liu.

However, Ms. Liu never expected that her daughter-in-law, Ms. Qin, would still be haunted by her grievances, and that the "bleeding" incident at the Chastity Arch was secretly done by Ms. Qin.

Although Mrs. Qin's ghost lingered on, she did not turn into a ghost and come out to harm others. Even the common people did not know that she had turned into a ghost.

However, she still expressed her dissatisfaction in her own way.

She doesn't need a false reputation imposed on her, nor does she need people to praise her for how chaste she is.

Perhaps the Chastity Arch is a coveted honor for other women, but for her, it is undoubtedly a shame and a humiliation.

After listening to Qin's explanation of the cause and effect, Ding Xiu nodded: "Well, I know everything. Don't worry, I will definitely help you get justice for this matter."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qin couldn't help but burst into tears and kowtowed to Ding Xiu again and again.

The next day.

A huge roar alarmed many people.

Later, someone was shocked to find that the chastity archway erected for the Qin family had collapsed inexplicably. However, the collapsed stones strangely formed a large character: Injustice!
The news spread like wings.

After the county magistrate heard about this, he couldn't help but be doubtful.

So he called the master and asked, "Tell me, is it possible that some villagers are deliberately causing trouble in this matter?"

The master hesitated for a while and said: "Master, I don't know whether I should say something or not..."

"If you have something to say, it's okay to say it!"

"Actually, when I went to the countryside with my master, I overheard something about Qin's death..."

"Oh? What's going on?" The magistrate couldn't help but ask.

"Although the villain couldn't hear clearly, it seems to be that the Qin family did not really die as husband... Moreover, the master also saw it with his own eyes at that time. The words on the memorial arch looked like bleeding. I'm afraid... I'm afraid... There’s a real secret.”

Hearing these words, the magistrate's face became quite ugly.

After all, he couldn't wait to report it to the government. If anything happened, the government would definitely hold him accountable.

The master seemed to have guessed the magistrate's thoughts, and sighed: "I have followed the master for more than ten years, and I also know the master's difficulties.

But...but I'm afraid that there is really something hidden behind this matter. If the trouble gets out of hand, I'm afraid...I'm afraid it will be more difficult to end. "

"How could I not know..."

The magistrate sighed.

After thinking about it for a long time, the county magistrate decided to go to the countryside in person to find out what was going on.

So, I took my master and a group of followers to the countryside again, and when I came to the archway, my eyes widened.

Because the word "injustice" formed by the rubble of the archway had a great visual impact on him.

To say that the word "injustice" is written on the ground may be due to human factors, but the word "injustice" is erected.

How easy is it to pile up those large and small gravels into a word out of thin air?Not to mention, this word "injustice" looks like it was written by a calligrapher.

Some places seemed to be hanging in the air, and the stones had nowhere to rely on, but they stood there steadily.

Out of curiosity, several followers stepped forward and pushed it, but it didn't move at all, as if it had taken root in the ground.

The magistrate frowned and said: "This matter is indeed a bit strange, so..."

The magistrate whispered to the master for a while.

According to his instructions, two of the followers dressed up and pretended to be two salesmen and went separately to inquire about the situation.

As a result, I really got a lot of useful information.

"Sir, after some inquiring, I found out that Wan Shuli often comes to the village, and... and openly lives with Qin's mother-in-law..."

"Is there such a thing?" The magistrate couldn't help being shocked.

"Sir, after some inquiries from me, some villagers said that as soon as Qin's husband died, Wan Shuli lived in his house, saying that he was helping with the funeral arrangements."

"Wan Shuli has been in contact with Mrs. Liu for a while. I heard that Mrs. Liu had a quarrel with her son because of this incident..."

The magistrate's brows couldn't help but frown more and more tightly.

He remembered one thing. It was Wan Shuli who was the first to propose building a chastity arch for the Qin family.

Is it possible that there is something hidden in this?
So the magistrate immediately ordered people to bring Liu over.

Mrs. Liu looked frightened and didn't even dare to look at the big word "injustice". As soon as the person arrived, she knelt down towards the magistrate and called her "big master".

The magistrate raised his hand and pointed at the word "injustice" and asked Mrs. Liu, "Mrs. Liu, look up and take a closer look. What is this word?"

Ms. Liu didn't even look at it, she shook her head in panic and said, "I don't know the civilian woman..."

"Don't know me? You said you don't know me without even looking?"

Mrs. Liu said in a trembling voice: "People... women of the people... are illiterate..."

"Haha, even if you are illiterate, even the people in the county have heard of such a strange thing. You live in the village and you haven't heard of it?"

"I heard... I heard about it, but... the women only... only heard that the archway was broken, but... I didn't hear it turned into a word."

The county magistrate said angrily: "Brother Liu, Wanshan has already recruited you, how dare you quibble?"

As soon as these words came out, Mrs. Liu couldn't help but be frightened out of her wits, and her spirit completely collapsed.

In fact, how could she have guessed that this was just a common way of asking questions.

"My lord, please spare my life, my lord, please spare my life. The women of the common people have been wronged. It was all done by those [-] scribes. He is an official, and the women of the common people dare not disobey..."

"What did he do? He must be punished, otherwise he will be punished with severe punishment."

"He...he took a fancy to the Qin family and forced the women to get the Qin family drunk..."

In order to save her own life, Ms. Liu put all her faults on Wan Shan, intending to distance herself and turn herself into a victim.

For example, it was clearly a consensual thing at the beginning, but this woman insisted that Wan Shan forced her to do so.

After hearing Liu's explanation, the county magistrate couldn't help but be dumbstruck.

He never expected that the truth of the matter would be like this. It's no wonder that strange things happened one after another. It was obvious that even God couldn't bear to see it.

Of course, the magistrate did not know the truth behind all this.

But he couldn't figure out why these strange things happened.

Since you can’t figure it out, it can only be God’s doing.

Now that he understands the cause and effect, the county magistrate cannot make the same mistake again and again.If you bring this matter up, the worst you can do is get scolded by your superiors.

But if you conceal it and don't report it, it will be a serious case of human life. Once the matter becomes serious, you may lose your reputation.

Therefore, the county magistrate immediately ordered people to take Liu back to the county government office. At the same time, he sent people to rush back to control Wanshan and hold him accountable.

……

(End of this chapter)