During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Inside the house, on the kang (a heated brick bed), Ye Youyin's wife, Zhou, heard the noise and struggled to sit up.

She had been starving for two days, and had eaten nothing but bran. Her stomach was so bloated that she couldn't even defecate.

His face was frighteningly sallow.

Hearing that they had borrowed grain, his cloudy eyes lit up. He shuffled to the threshold, supporting himself against the wall, and saw the bulging bag in the man's arms. His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed.

"Did the master... really borrow it?"

……

Just as the last glimmer of light was swallowed by the inky darkness, the sound of horses' hooves and wheels rolling over frozen earth finally echoed along the official road.

Chunyan's mother was startled and almost fell off the threshold. Old Man Li didn't bother to pretend to be calm. He tucked his pipe behind his waist and rushed towards the village entrance with his wife.

Ye Qingqing gently tucked the two children, whom she had just coaxed to sleep, into the bed, and then looked up at them.

The cold wind stung her face, and Chunyan's heart was in her throat.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Ye family compound. The curtain was lifted and Li Chunyan jumped down first. Her face was red from the cold, but her eyes were frighteningly bright.

Immediately afterwards, Li Chunlian came down carrying Xiao Lai Di's clothes.

The moment she jumped out of the car, her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Her eyes were swollen like peaches, but her back was ramrod straight, and there was even a twisted, relieved smile on her lips.

Ye Dali finally jumped out of the car, rubbed his numb hands, and exhaled a heavy puff of white breath towards his parents and Ye Qingqing who were coming to greet him. "Dad, Mom, Er Yatou, it's done!"

Chunyan's mother grabbed her eldest daughter's arm, her voice trembling.

"Yan'er, how did it go? You didn't get hurt, did you? That beast..."

Li Chunyan's eyes reddened, but she raised her chin and quickly recounted the harrowing experience of her ordeal.

"Mother, you don't know! As soon as we arrived at the county government office, the magistrate was holding court. He pushed Chunlian forward with all his might, and I shouted at the top of my lungs, 'Injustice!'"

Chunlian was so frightened that she was trembling at first. I pinched her palm, and she shouted out the words I had taught her, word for word...

"This humble woman, Li Zhangshi, denounces her husband, Zhang Dabiao, for smuggling government salt, a crime deserving of death. I beg Your Honor to investigate!"

Li Chunlian took over the conversation, her voice hoarse as if it had been sanded.

"When that bailiff glared at me, I was terrified. I... I steeled myself and said I knew where the account book was, it was in the crack between the bricks behind the cabinet in our house, I could grab it right away."

Qingqing said, "Money makes the world go round." She took out the silver Erya had saved for her and gave five taels to the squad leader. His eyes lit up, and he immediately led a few of his men, following us back.

She paused, a look of vengeful satisfaction spreading across her face.

When they arrived at the wolf's den, the beast was drinking wine at home. When he saw the officials enter, he turned pale with fright.

Without saying a word, the constable lifted the cabinet. The account book, wrapped in oilcloth and damp, was hidden in the crack between the bricks.

Once opened, it was filled with names and weights, with both witnesses and physical evidence. That beast still wanted to argue!

As a result, he was kicked to the ground by the foreman, dragged out like a rice dumpling bound with hemp rope, and his two old parents tried to stop him, but they were also locked up as accomplices, saying that they would be punished along with their parents!

Ye Qingqing's lips curled slightly; the divination slip was indeed accurate.

Old Man Li was so engrossed in listening that he forgot to smoke his pipe. Chunyan's mother covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, feeling both lingering fear and a sense of relief.

Li Chunyan described it vividly.

"When we arrived at the yamen, the magistrate interrogated us very quickly. The ledger recorded that they had smuggled more than three shi (a unit of dry measure) of salt, which was more than the amount punishable by death!"

According to the law, the wife and children are jointly liable. However, the younger sister was the plaintiff, and she put aside her own family for the greater good. The master praised her on the spot for being "deeply righteous" and not only did he not punish her, but he also rewarded her with a few kind words.

That beast and his family will be locked up in jail tonight and await execution in the autumn!

Oh, and that beast was glaring at us as he was being dragged away. We were standing right there in the hall, watching him, to see what he'd do!

Li Chunlian lowered her head, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.

"Sister, I'm not afraid. He deserves to die! From now on, my brother and I are clean people."

Ye Qingqing walked over and patted her on the shoulder.

"I told you, fate is given by God, but luck is earned by yourself. You win this round."

"My poor daughter!"

Chunyan's mother burst into tears, and Old Man Li took a deep drag on his cigarette. "Second girl, your method... is brilliant."

Ye Dali smiled憨厚ly.

"Second Sister, you're amazing. The foreman even said he'd never seen a woman accuse a man so thoroughly."

Ye Qingqing gazed at the dark blue night sky, her mind perfectly clear.

Three divination sticks can change a woman's life; it's worth it.

The night in Kaoshantun finally brought a touch of real warmth.

The wind was still howling in the courtyard, but the warmth of the kang (heated brick bed) inside had already softened people's hearts.

After crying her fill, Chunyan's mother held onto her youngest daughter's hand tightly, as if afraid that if she let go, the girl would drift back to that wolf's den.

Old Li puffed on his pipe, the flame flickering in and out. After a long pause, he finally managed to utter a sentence.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back... That beast deserved it!"

Looking at Li Chunlian's eyes, which were swollen like peaches, Ye Qingqing knew that she hadn't completely gotten over the hurdle in her heart.

She reached out and turned up the oil lamp by the kang (a heated brick bed), its pale yellow light casting a soft glow on Li Chunlian's sallow face. She spoke slowly.

"Sister Chunlian, you watched him being dragged away in the hall today, were you still afraid?"

Li Chunlian trembled, looked down at her bruised and purple fingers, and said in a hoarse voice,

"I was afraid... but that fear was suppressed by hatred. When he hit me, scolded me, and took his anger out on the child, why didn't I dare to think about today?"

"Qingqing, if it weren't for your insightful advice, Xiao Lai and I would be long gone, our bones rotted under the Zhang family's kang (heated brick bed)."

While wiping her sister's tears, Li Chunyan repeated what her parents had said.

"Father, Mother, you didn't see it. When we got to the county government office, the head constable's eyes were practically green with envy when he was collecting the money."

We slipped him those five ounces of pure white money, and he tucked it into his sleeve. His previously sullen face immediately broke into a wide smile, and he said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, we've got this covered."

Back at the Zhang family home, that beast was still humming a tune while chewing on his wine jug. The head constable kicked open the door, yelling, "Zhang Dabiao, you smuggled salt bastard, you're coming with me!"

The bastard sobered up considerably, knelt down and begged for forgiveness, saying the account book was a misunderstanding.

The foreman ignored him, picked up a hoe and pried open the brick seams behind the cabinet. When he pulled out the oilcloth bag, it was wet. When he opened it, it was full of black characters: "Three Shi More!"

His face turned ashen on the spot, and his crotch was soaked with sweat…

"Stop talking, it's kind of scary..."

Chunyan covered her chest, but her eyes gleamed with a sense of satisfaction.

Li Chunyan added insult to injury from the sidelines.

"The man's parents tried to stop him by pulling on their sleeves, but they were also locked up. The officer said that they would be implicated and executed together in the fall."

Our sister stood there in the hall, her back straight, and the master even praised her for being "deeply understanding of righteousness".

I didn't dare let her bring it back to show off, afraid of gossip in the village, so I put it under the jackhammer.