Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

In the county government office, the county magistrate was just feeling bored, when suddenly a bailiff came to report that there was a dispute to be settled, so he went to the front hall to hold court.

When the people in the hall looked up, the county magistrate felt that the man looked familiar. When everyone's identity was announced, he remembered.

"So it's you and your son, what brought you here this time?" he asked.

As soon as he said this, the master beside him briefly explained the matter. He nodded and then asked,

"Song Bai, Qin Rufang and Liu Renwu damaged your goods. Is this true?"

"My Lord, it is true. Many people in the West Market saw it." Song Lao Er replied respectfully.

Then the county magistrate asked Widow Qin, "Qin, is what Song Bai said true?"

Widow Qin kowtowed on the ground, then looked up at the county magistrate with a pitiful look and said with tears in her eyes,

"Sir, this is all my son Qin Haodong's fault. Those mooncakes were sold by my daughter-in-law.

Even if I broke something, they are my own things, why should I pay for them?"

Liu Laowu also chimed in at this time, "Yes, sir, Qin Haodong is angry with his mother and is doing it on purpose. Please handle it as a family dispute."

The county magistrate slammed the gavel and said, "Liu Renwu, I didn't ask you a question, so don't say anything. If you say too much next time, you will be beaten with a stick."

Liu Laowu then knelt down obediently.

"Qin Haodong, is what Widow Qin said true?" The county magistrate turned to ask Qin Haodong.

"My Lord, my brother and I were driven out of the house by our stepmother. We had no means to support ourselves, so we became beggars.

It was Song Bai and his daughter who bought my brother and me as servants and saved our lives.

I dare not damage the reputation of my master.

This afternoon, my brother and I were selling mooncakes at the host's house. My stepmother and her husband came to the stall and began to slander the reputation of me and the host's daughter.

Then she asked me to give her two hundred taels, and finally she got so angry that she knocked over the stall.

This is what happened. I have a personal indenture with my master, and the government can verify it."

Widow Qin and Liu Laowu had never expected that Qin Haodong and his partner would actually sell themselves to the Song family and sign a body contract.

Now both of them collapsed to the ground. Suddenly, Liu Laowu pointed at the widow Qin and said to the county magistrate,

"Sir, I didn't push the mooncake over, it was this woman who pushed it over. You can't ask me to pay for it."

He knew how much the mooncakes were worth, and he couldn't get that much money even if he sold them.

If my old father knew about this, I would be dead. He would never give up and would put the blame on Widow Qin.

"You are such a heartless bitch, I will beat you to death."

Widow Qin pounced on Liu Laowu and scratched and clawed at him with her nails. Liu Laowu tried hard to block her with his hands, but he did not dare to hit Widow Qin in front of the county magistrate.

The county magistrate slammed the gavel and said, "Stop it! Fighting and making trouble is unbecoming. If you do it again, I will not let you off lightly."

Suddenly, a yamen runner came forward and reported, "Sir, the daughter of the Song family has arrived in this case. She wants to go to court to declare the amount of compensation required, and she has also brought a witness."

The county magistrate nodded and said "bring it up"

Song Sanniang and three witnesses came in. Seeing that everyone else was kneeling, she had no choice but to kneel down as well, complaining in her heart about the evil feudal society.

"Who is kneeling in the hall? Tell me your name."

"I am Song Jixiang."

"The villain He Sanbao."

"The villain He Ming."

"I am Fang Duan'an."

"Song Jixiang, you speak first," said the county magistrate.

"Reporting to the Lord, I just counted and found that Qin and his wife destroyed a total of 40 boxes of mooncakes from my house.

There are eight boxes of gold worth one ounce and eight cents.

There are seventeen boxes of gold worth three taels and eight cents.

There are fifteen boxes of six taels and eight cents worth of gold.

The total amount was one hundred and eighty-one taels of silver.

These three people were witnesses who witnessed the moment when the Qin family members pushed down the mooncakes and the yamen runners took the two away. I asked for some damaged mooncakes. They all witnessed it with their own eyes.

The number of mooncakes was also confirmed by them. I have the registered documents and the fingerprints of the witnesses in my hand, which can be reviewed by adults at any time.

The above is what I want to say, I hope you will understand. "

The county magistrate looked at Song Sanniang for a few times and felt that this little girl was not at all shy in court. She spoke with reason and evidence, and was thoughtful and meticulous in her work. She had both personal and material evidence.

Although he knew that there was something fishy about this matter, and it was a trick targeting these two people,

But there was nothing to blame the two of them. The mooncakes were indeed broken by them, and the business was not Qin Haodong's, so they had to pay the compensation.

It's just that Liu Laowu is a bit troublesome. Let's first confirm whether he has damaged the mooncakes.

So he should ask the three witnesses, "You three witnesses, did you see clearly whether Liu Laowu and Widow Qin damaged the mooncakes together?"

The three of them looked at each other, as if none of them had looked carefully. They only saw Widow Qin and Liu Laowu pounce on the table together, and then the table fell over. It seemed that Widow Qin had indeed pounced on the table first.

So the three of them said so. The county magistrate had already made up his mind at this time. He slammed the gavel and

"In this case, the case of Qin and Liu Laowu damaging the Song family mooncakes is true.

Since Qin was the principal offender, he was ordered to pay the Song family father and daughter 150 taels of silver.

Liu Renwu was an accomplice and had to pay 31 taels of silver to the Song family father and daughter.

The two of you must pay the compensation within today, otherwise you will be temporarily detained and can only be released after you pay the compensation."

Then he asked the Qin family, "How are you two going to pay?"

How could Qin have the money to pay compensation? She had previously used the money from Qin Haodong's father and the monthly rent from the house and shop to buy herself gold and silver jewelry, rouge and powder, or she had eaten it herself and her son.

Liu Laowu was originally a scoundrel who did not work properly. In addition to his eldest brother who worked as a carpenter, his parents did odd jobs to support the family.

There was no way his family could afford the thirty-one taels of silver. His father had said before that he would kick him out of the house if he caused any more trouble. Thinking of this, he could already imagine spending the rest of his life in prison.

The county magistrate shook his head at the two men's expressions and said, "Song Bai, Song Jixiang, it seems that the Qin family is unable to repay you. I can only detain the two of them and let them raise money."

"Sir, doesn't Qin have a house?" Song Sanniang asked.

The county magistrate looked at her carefully and finally understood why she had been making such a fuss.

However, thinking about the fact that Qin had sold her stepdaughter before, he felt that this was the best way to punish Qin.

"Qin, who owns the house you are living in now?"

When Qin heard that her house was wanted, she immediately changed her pitiful crying expression and started to curse like a shrew.

"You little slut, you actually want my house. I killed two men to get this house.

You actually set your sights on me. There is no way I can give you this little bitch. I would rather go to jail than give it to you.

Song Sanniang smiled and said, "I can give you the remaining money according to the market price. Don't forget that your son is still at home. What will happen to him if you go to jail?"

Song Sanniang immediately found Qin's soft spot. A person like her actually wanted to take her son with her when she remarried, which showed that she really loved her son.

When she mentioned her son, she instantly lost her voice. She was silent for a while, wiped away her tears, and said through gritted teeth, "You are so cruel!"