Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 110 Intrigue
After his aunt fell into the pit, Gong Tianwu seized the opportunity and ran back home.

At this time, my uncle had been away on a business trip for three days, and my cousin Guier was crying beside the manure pit, so there was no one at home.

Gong Tianwu walked in swaggeringly and found that his aunt had locked the inner room. But it didn't matter, he just climbed in through the broken window next to it.

Country folks lack imagination when it comes to hiding valuables, so there are only a few places to hide them - either on a beam, at the bottom of a box, or by digging a hole in the house to bury them.

After searching for a while, Gong Tianwu easily found the belongings hidden by his aunt:
A total of forty-eight silver treasures and the deeds to thirteen acres of paddy fields were all inheritances left by his deceased parents.

Gong Tianwu took away more than thirty silver treasures and nearly twenty copper coins without any hesitation. As for why he didn't take them all, he certainly had his own considerations.

Then Gong Tianwu left directly and went into the county town about three miles away from the village and started to eat.

When he had eaten and drunk his fill, he walked straight to the outside of the county government office with a pace that would help digest the food.

There were two yamen runners leaning against the wall nearby, chatting lazily and looking as casual as they could be.

But this is also common. Officials are as clean as water, while clerks are as slippery as oil. This is a common problem in the world.

You can see two or three small stalls next to the wall, all of which have signs hanging on them:

Iron mouth and copper teeth, twisting all the six Ren,
Write the complaint on behalf of others and assist in handling it.
What does the man at this stall do? He is a lawyer.

Whenever someone needs to file a complaint, it is not like you can just go in and kowtow and the master will redress your grievances. You must first write a standard complaint and submit it to the master before he will accept it! (PS: It is still the same now)
Given the low literacy rate at that time, the cost of filing a complaint was very high.

The officials deliberately set high thresholds in order to save trouble and worry.

After Gong Tianwu arrived here, he took a look around and then walked directly to a lawyer named Zhu.

This person was from the same village, so the two of them knew each other.

"Uncle Zhu, please help me file a complaint for five cents."

Lawyer Zhu felt a little embarrassed after hearing this. After all, anyone who hangs out outside has an unspoken rule to take care of people from the same hometown and village.

Otherwise you will have a bad reputation in the village and it will be difficult for your children to get married.

To put it more viciously, you are really trying to trick others too hard. They know where your ancestors are buried.

So he advised kindly:
"Brother Xu, I have seen all the suffering you have endured these days. Your aunt-in-law is really not a decent person."

"But your parents are gone now. They entrusted you to their family before they died. So your aunt is also your mother. If you want to sue her, it would be against filial piety! No matter how good the reason is, it is not as good as this favor."

A lawyer named Liu who was standing nearby also said:

"Yes, Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teacher, these five words are the most important principles in the world. You should just be patient for a while, kid. In a few years, when you grow up, you can separate from the family and live separately."

Seeing Gong Tianwu's stunned expression, Lawyer Zhu continued to persuade him:

"Even if I write the complaint for you, when the court opens in the future, you will be suing your mother as a son, and you will be beaten with twenty sticks first, regardless of whether you are right or wrong."

"How much can your little body take? Hurry up and use these coins to buy some candy."

Gong Tianwu then pretended to be childish and said:

"Oh my, Uncle Zhu, when did I say I wanted to file a complaint against my aunt?"

Lawyer Zhu was shocked and said:

"Then what are you going to do?"

Gong Tianwu frowned and said:
"Our house has been robbed! Before my mother died, she left me the deed to 18 mu of paddy fields and 120 silver coins. I will give them to my uncle for safekeeping first. When I come of age, I will share half with my uncle's family!"

"My aunt fell into a manure pit just now and the house was robbed. I'm worried that my share of money has also been stolen by the thieves, so why don't you hurry to report it to the police?"

As soon as Gong Tianwu said this, the lawyers around him hadn't spoken yet. The two yamen runners who were listening to the gossip looked at each other and came up to him with renewed energy:
"Little brother, your family has so much money?"

Gong Tianwu pretended to be innocent and said:
"Yes, my father used to be the head of the Xu family caravan. He knew the monster Master Zhu on Xingshan Road. After paying tribute to it, he could safely pass this road. He traveled back and forth on this trade road for ten years. My mother said that if he hadn't borrowed some money before, he would have made more."

After hearing this, one of the skinny yamen runners, Zhao Quan, immediately said excitedly:

"Yes, I remember. Your father's name is Xu Chengliang. When he married my wife, he reportedly offered five acres of land and two cows as a betrothal gift."

At this time, lawyer Zhu quickly winked at Gong Tianwu and said to him:

"Brother Xu, you may have remembered it wrongly. Your mother's illness cost a lot of money!"

Lawyer Zhu had good intentions, because these yamen runners were not kind people. Once they saw money, they would squeeze the marrow out of their bones and suck their blood, and they could make up countless gimmicks out of nothing.

But at this time, another fat yamen runner had already stood in front of Lawyer Zhu with a dark face:

"Old Zhu, what the hell are you talking about? Do you still want to do business here?"

However, Gong Tianwu didn't know what kind of people these yamen runners were? He came here to fight poison with poison.

After my aunt took my parents' inheritance, she became even more harsh and mean to me. She was even more ruthless when beating people. There was no family affection at all!

What else is there to say? Just take the floating assets first, and then throw the land deeds and other things to outsiders.

With my aunt's miserly character, it would be a good show for her to face these greedy and vicious yamen runners.

***
Two hours later,

A ferocious smile appeared on my aunt's fat face, because that damn nephew came back in disgrace. It turned out that he couldn't stand the hunger and cold outside.

However, this bastard will soon find out that it is more comfortable to be hungry and cold outside.

I'm going to beat him to death today, then drench him in cold water and send him to the woodshed to freeze him overnight, so that God will take this little bastard away.

Yes, I disliked this guy from the very beginning.

Why is his own child dark and thin while he is white and fat?
Why do relatives treat me like the moon and stars during festivals?

God have mercy on this bastard, his parents have all died, and have handed over all their property to me - now it all belongs to me, to my son!
How could we tolerate this evil creature growing up and then dividing it in half?

Thinking of this, the aunt picked up the rolling pin again, walked to the gate of the courtyard with a heroic and arrogant look, and was about to reach out and pull the evil creature in to beat him up.
Wait! How did that little bastard come here with a few constables? Oh, he actually sued me?

Thinking of this, the woman finally felt guilty and immediately put on a fake smile:

"Oh, Lao Wu, why did you ask the officers to bring this kid back? Did he get lost?"

Gong Tianwu ignored her and pointed to the main hall and said:
"Sir, let's go to the scene and take a look before the thieves get away!"

Zhao Quan immediately said:
"Good good!"

As he said this, he simply ignored the existence of his aunt, pushed her away impatiently and rushed into the house.

My aunt was stunned, and then she realized that this group of wolf-like officials actually went to smash the door of her east wing. She was immediately startled and screamed like a pig being slaughtered:

"What do you want to do, you damned bastards? Are you planning to break into people's homes and rob them in broad daylight?"

While shouting, she rushed to the door and stopped the person.

Zhao Quan winked, and a fat man immediately stood up and shouted:

"The government is investigating a case, you shrew, please get out of the way, don't regret it after you suffer the consequences."

This fat man is what is commonly known as a white-collar worker, also known as a hanger-on. They are helpers hired by regular police officers to facilitate case handling. They are not included in the government's establishment, but usually they are the ones who do the hard and tiring work.

How could my aunt, a typical country shrew, be willing to listen to advice? She immediately let her hair down, cried and screamed, and kept shouting that a thief had broken into the house.

My aunt-in-law has mastered the three-piece set of crying, making a scene and hanging herself to perfection. She is a master at the grandmaster level and is well-known in the surrounding area. She rarely has an opponent.

It's just that officials like Zhao Quan have been passed down for generations, with their fathers and uncles teaching them. What kind of unruly people have they not seen? They are also familiar with all the means to deal with them.

Another white servant, Li Quan, immediately stepped forward and took out a bunch of things made of bamboo strips. He shook them in his hands and sneered:
"The government is investigating a case, and you are making trouble here. Are you an accomplice of the thief?"

My aunt spat out a thick phlegm and continued to howl loudly:
"I'm sorry, your ancestors. Your mother must have been killed by some pig or dog before she gave birth to you. Someone, someone is killing people. Someone is robbing in broad daylight."

The white servant became furious upon hearing this, and picked up the lasso beside him and put it on the man's head.

Who knew that this aunt was tall, strong and fat, and was actually a shrew. She actually grabbed the lasso and pulled him over, scratching his face first, and then seeing the other white servants rushing up, she grabbed the rolling pin next to her and started waving it around.

The white servant Li Quan was hit several times in a row, screaming in pain and retreating repeatedly.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Quan was also shocked and angry, and immediately shouted:
"This woman has repeatedly stopped us from investigating the crime scene. She must be a major suspect. Do your best to catch her!"

After hearing this, the group of people immediately used their weapons without any hesitation.

After all, when they went to the countryside to handle cases, they still had to carry their own eating utensils with them, such as iron rulers, water and fire sticks, guest-keeping sticks, broadswords, hook-sickle knives, etc.

My aunt was a fierce country woman. When she met the officer and he got serious about his actions, she was immediately overwhelmed. She was knocked to the ground in no time and her head was bleeding and her face was bruised and swollen.

The white servant who was beaten by the rolling pin spat out two bloody teeth from his mouth. He became more and more angry and said with resentment:

"You thief, you must be my accomplice, deliberately delaying my time to solve the case. Today I will teach you a lesson about my methods!"

After saying that, he picked up the string of jingling bamboo pieces and put them directly on his aunt's finger.

This thing is a very vicious torture device, usually used on female prisoners. It is called "拶指". Once the ten fingers are tightened, it will cause severe pain. There are also bamboo sticks that pierce into the gaps between the nails little by little, making the prisoner suffer excruciating pain.

My aunt screamed in pain and the two men couldn't hold her down. She was like a wild boar that knew it was about to be slaughtered. Her feet trampled two deep pits on the ground.

Witnessing this scene, Gong Tianwu's adopted cousin had never seen such a scene before and was so scared that he started crying.

Gong Tianwu, on the other hand, was watching with great interest and a smile on his face.

Such a big commotion had alarmed the villagers, and soon five or six strong young men from the militia came. The leader was called Chen Guo, who was the team leader of the village and a relative of my aunt Xiu'e.

Of course, the more important thing is that this guy has some talent for martial arts, so he became a disciple of Master Lin Wu, and last year he passed the examination for martial arts scholar at the age of sixteen, so he is not afraid of this group of yamen runners!
Upon seeing this, Chen Guo immediately shouted:

"What are you doing, stop it!"

When the group of militiamen with guns and sticks arrived, the police stopped their attacks. Zhao Quan came out and said loudly:
"We received a report and came here with the master's ticket. This woman is very lazy and aggressive. She interfered with the trial and injured the police. Her crime is even more serious!"

Seeing that a support had arrived, my aunt Xiu'e struggled and hid behind Chen Guo, then cried and cursed, and even looked at Gong Tianwu with resentment, as if she wanted to eat him.

Chen Guo also felt extremely troubled when encountering such a thing, so he brought up his previous excuse and said:

"It's hard for an honest official to judge family affairs. Even if Xiu'e is wrong in a thousand ways, she is still Xu Tianwu's aunt and has raised him. You, a bunch of policemen, are arresting people without asking any questions. You are simply committing corruption and perverting the law!"

Then he pointed at Gong Tianwudao:

"You evil creature, why don't you kneel down and admit your mistake?"

After hearing what Chen Guo said, the surrounding villagers also shared a common hatred for the enemy. After all, who had not suffered when the yamen runners went to the countryside to collect grain?

Then, everyone responded with one voice and shouted:
"Not bad!"

"You guys take care of household chores too?"

"Tsk tsk, look at how he got beaten up like this"

"Get out! Get out now!!"

"."

Seeing that a large group of people had gathered nearby, Zhao Quan felt a little guilty. After all, there were cases where yamen runners were beaten to death when they went to the countryside to do their work and aroused public outrage.

After hearing what Chen Guo said, Zhao Quan's eyes immediately lit up and he shouted:

"Bullshit, I came to the countryside today because a victim reported to the police that a large amount of property was lost at home, so I came to investigate the scene. What does this have to do with your family affairs?"

After Zhao Quanyi finished speaking, he immediately looked at Gong Tianwu.

Gong Tianwu then stood up calmly and repeated his previous words loudly:

"My dear uncles and aunts, my parents died early, leaving more than 20 mu of paddy fields and more than 100 silver treasures in my uncle's house."

Hearing this, the people around were suddenly in an uproar, and they all looked at their aunt Xiu'e with envy and jealousy, and their mentality suddenly changed from sympathy to naked jealousy.

My aunt Xiu'e panicked immediately, even forgetting the pain in her body, and rushed forward and screamed:
"You little bastard, keep talking nonsense and I will tear your mouth to pieces!!"

But now, not to mention that she couldn't catch Gong Tianwu, Zhao Quan and his gang wouldn't let her get close to them. They hit her hard with an iron ruler, forcing her to cover her head and retreat in pain.

Gong Tianwu continued slowly:

"Everyone should know how my aunt treats me. Even if you don't know, you can see it just now."

"I guess it's because I was too naughty and my parents died too early, so my aunt starved me for two days in a row."

"This morning I couldn't stand it anymore, so I took something from the pot to eat, but she chased me and beat me again, and she fell into the pit."

"As a result, when I wanted to take the opportunity to go home and drink some water, I found that there was a thief in the house. I was afraid that the thoughts left by my parents for me had been stolen, so I went to the county to report it to the police."

Then Gong Tianwu took a step forward, looked at Chen Guo in front of him and said word by word:
"You asked me to kneel down and admit my mistake. What did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong?"

Chen Guo was speechless for a moment! Zhao Quan sneered sinisterly:
"My fellow villagers, please think carefully. Don't be so foolish as to help count the money after being sold out. Have you gotten even a fraction of the hundreds of silver treasures you have earned?"

"I'll say it again, we're here to investigate the scene and investigate the case. Anyone who comes to stop us will be arrested as a thief!"

These words were obviously meant to sow discord, but they worked wonders. Even the young men who had followed Chen Guo stepped aside and watched the show with their arms folded.

Aunt Chen Xiu'e looked at the people around her in disbelief, not understanding why no one came to help all of a sudden?

Zhao Quan walked into the room boldly at this time, and then his hired servants rushed in. These people were very skilled in their work. It was more appropriate to describe them as investigating the scene than digging three feet into the ground.

Originally, my aunt still had a lucky mentality, but she found that the group of people quickly searched the beams of the house. They were really used to making trouble, so she screamed and rushed over madly.

But Zhao Quan had been on guard against her again. Seeing how this woman would react and how she didn't know how to get the key thing, he slapped her hard on the mouth with an iron ruler!
This blow was so severe that she staggered back five or six steps, then fell to the ground dizzy and feeling dizzy.

He was about to slap the ground and cry, but half of his face was numb and several teeth fell out when he opened his mouth.

Only then did the woman understand what it meant to be subject to harsh laws and what it meant to be afraid of the consequences!
The country's violent behavior is of no use until the real government machinery is mobilized.

And there was already a white servant in the house who said excitedly:

“Found it, found it!!”

Then two people rushed out and presented the land deeds one by one, as well as the dozen or so silver treasures that Gong Tianwu had deliberately left behind, filling the table that was carried out next to them.

However, other jewelry such as silver hairpins, necklaces, etc. were pocketed by the unemployed servants who searched them.

Their excuse was also ready and reasonable. Wasn't it a thief? Then it must have been taken by the previous thief.

(End of this chapter)