The playboy county magistrate

Li Xuanzhi lowered his eyes, looking at the household registration documents on the table.

The Xuan paper is yellowed, and the handwriting is neat. It is indeed an original copy archived by the county government over the years, and there is no way to fake it.

The document clearly states that Qian Sunshi, her deceased husband, and their two young children are still registered under the Qian family head's name and have not separated into their own households.

In the section listing adult males in the Qian family household, besides Qian Sunshi's deceased husband, the remaining two are her elder brother-in-law and younger brother-in-law.

Li Xuanzhi tapped his fingertips lightly on the table; the sound was soft, yet it carried a chilling weight in the silent courtroom.

"Old Woman Qian".

Li Xuanzhi raised the household registration book in his hand and slowly began to speak.

"The county government's household registration records are here; your Qian family has never completed the procedures for separate household registration. The law clearly stipulates that a widowed mother and her young orphan who depend on their husband's family must be fully supported by the husband's family. They must be guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter, and must not be mistreated or evicted. What? You've lived to such an old age, don't you understand this simple principle?"

Li Xuanzhi's face was stern, and his imposing manner grew stronger, frightening the old woman of the Qian family so much that she hurriedly shook her head, her whole body trembling.

"I'm a simple woman, all I know is housework. I've never heard of the law, nor do I understand any legal provisions. Sir, there must be some misunderstanding here! My daughter-in-law must have misunderstood!"

Li Xuanzhi snorted coldly, "Is there a misunderstanding?"

Li Xuanzhi's tone became colder.

What he hated most in his life were fools who argued arguing even when they were wrong and who made a fuss over nothing!

"Unable to understand legal provisions, yet capable of secretly dividing family property and evicting orphans and widows? Having misunderstandings, yet mistreating their daughters-in-law and seizing land and houses?"

Li Xuanzhi's words struck everyone's ears and hearts like heavy stones.

The old woman from the Qian family trembled violently and hurriedly kowtowed to defend herself:

"Your Honor, you are innocent! I had no such intention! I was only concerned for the mother and her two children, who were crammed into a small house and felt cramped. I wanted to move them to a more spacious house so they could enjoy a better life. I had absolutely no intention of driving them away or mistreating them!"

"As for taking back the land, that's out of the question. My daughter-in-law just finished her postpartum confinement, and our eldest child is still recovering from an injury. She's a woman who has to take care of the children; where would she find the strength and energy to tend to the crops!"

As she spoke, she didn't forget to secretly glance at Li Xuanzhi.

Seeing the magistrate's cold expression and unwavering demeanor, he gritted his teeth, turned his head to glare fiercely at his second daughter-in-law, Qian Sunshi, who was kneeling beside him, and rebuked her sharply:

"I've always treated you well, yet you have to drag this little matter into court and waste the magistrate's time. How dare you make baseless accusations and slander your mother-in-law? Quickly tell the magistrate the truth, and out of consideration for you being the mother of my grandson, I might let this matter go!"

The eldest son and daughter-in-law of the old woman, who were kneeling to the side, quickly echoed her sentiments.

"My lord! Everything my mother said is true."

"Yes, sir, it was all because my second brother's wife was confused for a moment. Our family is very harmonious, and we have never mistreated her in the slightest!"

The group sang in unison, their coordination was incredibly seamless.

There are only two possibilities in this situation—

They either rehearsed at home beforehand, or these kinds of things happen so often that they're used to it.

The village headman frowned, growing increasingly displeased with this large family.

They're already under the magistrate's nose and they still won't reflect on their actions. Do they want the magistrate to summon all the neighbors and villagers to court to expose their shameless behavior?

Or did they think that they, as the village head, would go against their conscience and side with a few heartless scoundrels to bully a widow and her orphan?

How shameless!

brazen!

When Qian Sunshi's husband was still alive, the couple worked like oxen, toiling from dawn till dusk to support not only their own family but also their own and their brothers' families.

The moment Qian Sunshi's husband breathed his last, the Qian family immediately changed their tune.

They made things difficult for her all day long, and not only did they manage to cause her to miscarry, they also tried to drive her away.

They're already in court, and they're still trying to argue. How could Fuyu County have raised such a disgusting family of scoundrels!

Li Xuanzhi observed coldly, taking in the clumsy performance of the group, and already understood what was going on in his mind.

He did not make a decision immediately, but instead looked at Qian Sunshi, who remained silent and kneeling on the ground.

Since entering the hall, Madam Qian had kept her head down the entire time. Her eyes were red and her tear stains were still wet, but she did not utter a single cry or fuss, silently enduring the slander from her husband's family.

"Qian Sunshi, I have a question for you," Li Xuanzhi's voice softened slightly, "Is what your mother-in-law said true?"

Madam Qian slowly raised her head, her eyes bloodshot. A glimmer of light appeared in her gaze as she looked at Li Xuanzhi.

After all this time, the neighbors all knew what kind of life she was living. No one had ever spoken to her mother-in-law about it; instead, they all advised her to just bear with it and let it pass.

Magistrate Li was the first person who, under such circumstances, was still willing to give himself a chance to express his grievances.

With renewed confidence, Madam Qian turned to face her mother-in-law and the eldest son's wife, who were twisting the truth. The grief and grievances that had been building up inside her poured out like water bursting its banks.

"Sir, every word is false."

Qian Sunshi's voice was hoarse, yet resonant and clear.

"When my husband was still alive, my mother-in-law treated us like cattle. After my husband died, my mother-in-law began to be harsh to me every day. At first, she only verbally abused me, but later she cut off my and my son's food rations."

"Originally, we could only drink some wild vegetable porridge to fill our stomachs every day, but later we couldn't even find wild vegetables anymore. The children were so hungry that they would run out at night to peel tree bark and cook it to eat."

Even so, all the heavy housework fell on the shoulders of the women. They were pregnant and not getting enough to eat, yet they still had to work, which led to their premature birth. On the day the house was destroyed by the torrential rain, my son was also made to climb onto the roof to repair the tiles. This was because my mother-in-law said that as long as my son went up to repair the tiles, she would give me two eggs to nourish my body.

"Otherwise, how could my son have gotten injured? He's been suffering like this ever since, and we simply don't have the money to get medicine!"

Madam Qian raised her hand to wipe away tears that had somehow slipped down her cheeks. "Their real intention is to drive my son and me to a dead end, preferably to have an accident and die before leaving Fuyu County. That way, they can completely divide up everything that should belong to our second branch of the family!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Old Mrs. Qian became agitated. Forgetting that this was a courtroom, not her own home, she slapped Qian Sunshi across the face and roared in rebuttal:

"You heartless, rotten woman! When have we ever mistreated you? You killed my second son, but did I ever send you to your death? After our house was destroyed, the new house was built with the help of my eldest son and daughter-in-law. You just stayed inside, never leaving the house, waiting. Why should this house be occupied by a widow like you?"