My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 128 It's always been this way
"Dangdangdang..."

On the main road of Chenjiabao, the sound of a gong rang out, attracting everyone's attention.

Then a group of strong men from the Chen family came towards them, escorting a man wearing wooden shackles and iron chains.

The man in shackles was shirtless, with rough wood tightly binding his neck, causing his skin to chafe and tear.

His dark skin clung tightly to his two rows of jagged ribs, and his two shoulder blades bulged out from his back, making him look like a starving corpse.

On his back, he also carried a small bundle of dry branches.

The already frail man was hunched over by the heavy shackles and withered branches, straining his back to keep himself from falling.

The people on the street were so frightened by this scene that they quickly hid on both sides of the road.

They were all too familiar with this scene: being paraded through the streets as a form of public humiliation.

I don't know what this person did wrong.

Upon closer inspection of the man in the cangue, everyone realized he was someone they knew.

"Isn't this Chen Jicheng?"

"Oh? It really is. He's usually so honest and unassuming, how could he have gotten into trouble?"

"Yes, he was greeting everyone when he left this morning, how did he get arrested and have to be paraded through the streets?"

Just when everyone was talking about it.

"Clang..." Another piercing gong sound rang out, silencing all the murmurs.

A man who appeared to be in charge stepped forward and said:

"Chen Jicheng stole ancestral property. After being tried by the clan elders, he was paraded through the streets in shackles as a warning to others."

Stealing ancestral property?

Upon hearing this charge, the people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Most people didn't believe it; Chen Jicheng was usually an honest and simple man, how could he possibly steal from other people?

What's more, it was the theft of ancestral property.

That's ancestral property; even if he wanted it, he wouldn't have the guts.

Then someone in the crowd shouted, "I wonder what ancestral property he stole?"

Once one person spoke up, the other people also chimed in with their questions:
"Yeah, yeah, what exactly did he steal?"

The manager looked displeased, but with so many people around, he couldn't resort to force.

He pointed to the withered branch on Chen Jicheng's back and said:
"Did you see that? He went to the family cemetery to collect timber."

"Not only did they steal ancestral property, but they also disturbed the peace of their ancestors. Their crimes are truly heinous."

The people immediately erupted in uproar.

Their family migrated here at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, and after more than a hundred years of development, they have become a large clan of several thousand people.

The family cemetery covers an area of ​​about 100 acres and is planted with various kinds of trees.

Some of the trees date back over a hundred years, so there are many dead and withered trees.

Even when the clan needs something, they will cut down some towering trees to build houses.

Although people don't deliberately go there to collect firewood, it's quite normal for them to occasionally pick up some when they pass by.

The bundle of branches on Chen Jicheng's back was clearly a bunch of dead branches that had fallen to the ground, and there were less than ten of them in total.

It's obvious that they just picked up a few while passing by. How can that be considered stealing ancestral property?
Someone immediately said, "Last year, the head of the third branch of the clan built a house and cut down several fifty-year-old trees from the ancestral graves to make roof beams. Doesn't that count as stealing ancestral property?"

Someone else said, "This year, the elder of the fifth branch of the clan got married. He cut down five large jujube trees to make a bed for the newlyweds. Why is no one doing anything about it?"

"Isn't this just bullying?"

"It's just bullying..."

Seeing that the people were becoming increasingly agitated, the steward picked up a gong and struck it several times, then pointed at the people with the drumstick and said:
"Shut up! Are you trying to rebel? Believe me or not, I'll arrest you all and make you kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment!"

Those he pointed at with his drumsticks all lowered their heads and dared not speak again.

Seeing that everyone was overwhelmed by his imposing manner, the manager was extremely pleased with himself.
"Bah! How dare you compare yourselves to the clan chief and elders? Don't you even know who you are?"

"Let me tell you, anyone who dares to talk nonsense again will be arrested and paraded through the streets as a warning."
-
In a corner of Chenjiabao, Chen Zhaoyun was helping his mother with chores when he suddenly saw his neighbor's son, Chen Zhaoyun, who was the same age, rushing over.
"Zhaoyun, Zhaoyun, something terrible has happened."

Chen Zhaoyun put down his work and laughed, "Take your time. You seem so anxious. Is the sky falling down?"

Chen Zhaozhen, breathless, said, "Your father was arrested and paraded through the streets."

Chen Zhaoyun was struck dumb, and said in disbelief:

"What? Zhao... Zhao Zhen, my father is such an honest man, how could he..."

Chen Zhaozhen then recounted what he had just witnessed:
"...They've probably already finished their public parade and been sent to the ancestral hall to be forced to kneel as punishment."

At that moment, Chen Zhaoyun truly felt like the sky had fallen.

His mother even fainted on the spot.

The two boys hurriedly carried his mother into the house, fed her water and pinched her philtrum, and finally managed to revive her.

However, his mother was a typical peasant woman who knew nothing.

Faced with such a major event, there was nothing else to do but cry.

At this time, the neighbors also came to visit, but they were all ordinary people at the bottom of society, and apart from a few words of comfort, no one could say anything meaningful.

As a son, Chen Zhaoyun naturally had to visit his father.

Fortunately, the person guarding the ancestral hall did not make things difficult for him and let him in to talk for a while.

In an open space in front of the ancestral hall, four people wearing shackles and chains knelt side by side.

Besides his father, the other three have been kneeling for at least a month.

The person who knelt the longest was a man named Chen Rongzhen.

He dug up a large rock on his own land and was arrested by the clan on the grounds that he had disrupted the clan's feng shui.

His wife could only sell land to atone for his sins, and even then, she was sentenced to repent in front of the ancestral hall for six months.

It was called repentance, but it was really just kneeling in shackles as punishment.

He has been kneeling for more than four months now, and there is still a little over a month left before the punishment ends.

However, he had already lost his land, and two of his three children starved to death while he was forced to kneel as punishment.

His wife and their last child made a living by doing odd jobs.

Most fatally, the torment he has endured over the past few months has left him with paralyzed legs.

Even after the punishment ends, how will their family survive?

The second one was named Chen Shengfeng. His family scraped together 520 jin of grain and rented four mu of land from the head of the seventh branch of the clan.

The family worked hard for half a year, and just when the harvest was about to come, the patriarch of the seventh branch of the clan took the land away.

The unharvested rice was also taken away.

Of the 520 jin of grain rent, only 20 jin of broad beans were returned.

Seeing that his family was on the verge of starvation, Chen Shengfeng secretly decided to harvest the rice.

Then he was arrested by the patriarch of the seventh branch of the clan for theft and forced to kneel.

He's been kneeling here for over three months, and the crucial point is that his punishment has no end date.

His wife couldn't survive in the clan, so she took the children and went out to beg for a living, and they disappeared without a trace.

The third one was named Chen Jisheng. He was reported by his colleagues and forced to kneel down because he spoke ill of his family outside.

As for what bad things he said... he recounted the humanoid events that had occurred in his family.

He was convicted of slandering the clan elders and damaging the family's reputation.

There's no time limit either; I've been kneeling for over a month now.

To plead for him, his wife and children became servants in the clan chief's household, without pay.

Chen Zhaoyun used to feel sympathy for these three people. But he never imagined that one day his own father would become one of them.

Chen Jicheng was so frightened that he was completely at a loss, and kept saying that he would never dare to do it again.

Seeing his father's somewhat deranged state, Chen Zhaoyun felt immense hatred in his heart.

But for a moment he couldn't say who he should hate.

Clan?
But the education he received from childhood told him that without the protection of their clan, they would have died long ago.

Living in Chenjiabao is a blessing for them.

They should thank their clan for giving them the chance to survive.

But looking at the four people kneeling side by side, and at his father who had lost his mind, he really didn't know what the clan had to thank him for.

Finally, he comforted his father and then staggered away.

He dared not go home, because going home meant facing his mother's helpless and expectant gaze.

But he was only thirteen years old, experiencing such a major event for the first time in his life, so what could he possibly do?

I wandered aimlessly through the streets and unknowingly came to a door.

When he came to his senses, he realized that he had arrived at the schoolteacher's house.

This gentleman was also from the same clan as his father, and was of the same generation. His name was Chen Jixian.

Of course, Chen Zhaoyun was not qualified to study, but he would occasionally go outside the school to eavesdrop.

This behavior naturally aroused the disgust of the other gentlemen, who would chase him away every time they saw him.

Only Uncle Chen allowed him to eavesdrop outside, and occasionally he would help him answer one or two questions.

Therefore, Chen Zhaoyun respected him very much and always called him Seventh Uncle.

It was only when he encountered this problem that he subconsciously came to Chen Jixian's door.

Yes, Uncle Qi is a learned man with a wealth of knowledge; he might have some ideas. Why not ask him?

However... his relationship with Chen Jixian was actually just so-so; they would just greet each other when they met.

Now that this has happened, will Uncle Seven really help?
Just as he hesitated, the door opened from the inside, and Chen Jixian seemed to be about to go out.

Chen Zhaoyun quickly bowed and said, "Seventh Uncle."

Chen Jixian was very surprised to see him, but thinking about what had happened that day, he had already guessed his purpose.

To be honest, he really didn't want to get involved in this matter, nor could he.

But he did admire Chen Zhaoyun quite a bit, and Chen Zhaoyun was very polite to him, always calling him "Seventh Uncle" from afar whenever they met.

This made him somewhat soft-hearted.

Thinking of this, he sighed and said:
"You're here because of your father, aren't you? Come in and talk."

Chen Zhaoyun was hesitant about how to start the conversation, but was overjoyed when he saw him speak up first.

As if he had found his pillar of support, he quickly followed them inside.

As soon as he entered the door, he knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Seventh Uncle, I know you are a learned man with broad knowledge, please be sure to save my father."

Chen Jixian shook his head and said, "I can barely protect myself in Chenjiabao, so I am powerless to save others."

"Ah?" Chen Zhaoyun cried out in despair as his hopes were dashed.

Chen Jixian changed the subject and said, "However, there's something fishy about your father's situation."

"If we figure out the whole story, maybe we can find a solution."

Having narrowly escaped death, Chen Zhaoyun quickly asked, "What's strange about it?"

Chen Jixian analyzed, "Although people rarely go to ancestral graves to collect firewood, it's not a big deal if they occasionally pick up a few pieces."

"Even if the person in charge sees it, at most they'll get a few scoldings and that's it. It's not like they're stealing ancestral property at all."

"Your father only picked up a few dry branches, yet he was convicted of such a serious crime and forced to be paraded through the streets."

"I think there's a high probability that someone is targeting him."

"Think carefully, has your father offended anyone recently?"

Chen Zhaoyun thought about it carefully, then shook his head and said affirmatively:

“My father is an honest and simple man who has never offended anyone.”

Chen Jixian frowned slightly: "If you haven't offended anyone, then your family must have something that has aroused the covetousness of others."

"But what do you have that would make someone do this..."

Chen Zhaoyun's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Land, my family has six mu of land."

“My mother told me that a few days ago, an elder from the second branch of the family, Chen Rongxun, wanted to buy it, but my father refused.”

Chen Jixian looked enlightened and said, "Chen Rongxun's youngest son, Chen Jihong, will be getting married in the second half of the year."

"He most likely wants to acquire a property for you and has his eye on your land."

Chen Zhaoyun also felt that this speculation was highly likely, and immediately said:
"I'm here to find Chen Rongxun and sell the land to him."

Chen Jixian shook his head and said, "It's not for sale, it's a gift."

Chen Zhaoyun asked in surprise, "Ah, a gift?"

Chen Jixian explained, "When he asked you to buy it before, if you agreed to sell, you could still get some money and grain."

"But now that he's using his family to target yours, he can't possibly pay you any more money."

After all, he was only the elder of the second branch of the clan; his power was neither great nor small.

Using family power against a specific person comes at a price.

To put it bluntly, if Chen Rongxun wanted to frame Chen Jicheng, he would have to bribe other people.

He's already paid such a high price, how could he possibly spend more money to buy land?

The logic wasn't complicated, and Chen Zhaoyun could naturally understand it; at this moment, all he felt was anger.

"We all share the same surname and clan, why are they framing and persecuting us like this?"

"Hasn't the clan always said that everyone survived because of the clan's protection?"

"Why is it like this?"

Chen Jixian's expression was complicated as he said, "As the saying goes, kinship doesn't extend beyond five degrees of kinship. We've long since crossed countless degrees of kinship with them."

"Even brothers can quarrel within their own walls, let alone us."

So all this talk of clan loyalty is just a lie?
In their eyes, we are no different from people with different surnames.

That's why they can bully and persecute us with impunity.

Chen Zhaoyun felt that all his previous beliefs had collapsed, and he felt a surge of anger in his heart, but he didn't know how to vent it.

Seeing his confused and helpless expression, Chen Jixian sighed again and said:

"Take the land deed and go find Chen Rongxun as soon as possible."

“Remember, don’t ask him to be lenient; ask him to help save your father. This land is a reward for his hard work.”

Chen Zhaoyun felt even more frustrated. He had been framed and couldn't say anything, and was even asked to give the land to the person who framed his father.

"Seventh Uncle, I don't understand, why has the world become like this?"

Chen Jixian patted his head and said, "That's how the world has always been. You'll understand in the future."

"I know you're hurting, but that's reality."

"Go back and get the land out as soon as possible, otherwise there might be more complications."

Chen Zhaoyun staggered out, countless thoughts surging and colliding in his mind.

He felt as if his head was about to explode.

(End of this chapter)