The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

Although Li Chengcai's father was also frightened, he quickly recovered and asked for details.

Hearing that his son hadn't done anything from beginning to end, he felt a little relieved.

I wanted to discuss with my son what to do, but I saw that my son was so scared that he was at a loss and his hands were shaking.

He sighed and thought about how to save his son.

He is the only child in the Li family, so there can't be any mistakes.

After thinking for a long time, he could only ask the elders of the Li family for help.

As soon as the sun rose, Chengcai's father carried a bag of grain and went to the Li family's hometown. There were not many families with the surname Li in the village, and they all moved to Lujia Village later.

Fortunately, after so many years in the village, everyone has taken root in Lujia Village, and the Li family has also produced an elder.

Unexpectedly, when we got there, the head of the Li family had already left.

When he heard that he was invited to the Qin family, Chengcai's father felt a pang in his heart. Oh no, he was too late!

But there was no other way, so he left the food at the clan elder's house and asked her to go there later and ask the clan elder to plead for mercy.

When Chengcai's father returned, he ran into Lu Tianxin leading people to arrest someone.

No matter how Chengcai's mother cried and made a fuss, Li Chengcai was still arrested.

Chengcai's parents followed their tied-up son to the Qin family.

When they went to pick up the person, some neighbors heard the noise and came out to check.

When they heard that a murder had occurred in the village, they were shocked and followed Qin's house. The fire of gossip was burning, and they didn't care about the cold and leaned against the door to look inside.

At this time, in the Qin family's house.

County Magistrate Yao and Lu Tianming sat in the main seat in the middle, and the elders of the clan sat on the left and right sides.

Li Chengcai, Wang Deben, and Wang Dezhe were kneeling on the ground, while Wang Kangshi and Lu Xingshun were lying unconscious beside them.

Wang Pozi was held back by the women in the village and was not allowed to cause trouble.

After Li Chengcai's parents went to the elders of the Li clan to plead for mercy but to no avail, they stood by and watched the situation anxiously.

After some questioning, County Magistrate Yao made a direct decision on the case.

This case is clear and conclusive, with solid evidence and both witnesses and physical evidence.

Lu Xingwang, Lu Xingshun and Wang Deben injured someone and intended to kill him to silence him. They were sentenced to be executed in the autumn.

Wang Kangshi, Wang Dezhe and Li Chengcai intended to kill, but were sentenced to exile as no one was injured in the process.

Yao County Magistrate and his two companions discussed with the elders of the clan and decided to lock up all the people in the ancestral hall first, and then have these families pay money and food to hire villagers to guard them.

Lu Xingshun and Wang Deben were already injured and imprisoned in the ancestral hall. If they could survive, they would be handed over to the county government for processing when the county received new appointments in the spring of next year.

For the damage caused to the Qin family, he was ordered to pay the Qin family one tael of silver as compensation.

The injured village chief and Zhuzi each received one or two taels of silver for medical expenses.

Lu Tianming felt that his brother was not injured, so in order to avoid suspicion, he did not order any compensation.

When Li Chengcai's mother heard that her son was going to be sentenced to exile, she fainted.

Chengcai's father had been winking at the elder of the Li clan since a while ago, but the elder of the Li clan was not in a position to say anything at this time.

In a panic, Chengcai's father knelt down in the court and tearfully begged the county magistrate to give him a lenient sentence.

"Sir, my son didn't do anything. He was just bewitched by Lu Xingwang."

Then he turned to Lu Tianming who was sitting next to him.

"Brother Tianming, we grew up together. Please, plead for him. You saw Chengcai when he was little. He was such a smart kid. He didn't have any bad intentions."

Upon seeing this, County Magistrate Yao turned to look at Lu Tianming beside him. Lu Tianming coughed lightly.

"Li Xinghuai, don't get involved here. Your son has committed a serious crime. Although he's not the main culprit, they did hurt someone. Look at the injuries on the village chief and Zhuzi."

Chengcai's father looked at the village chief with his arm in a sling and Zhuzi's obviously bandaged wound, and immediately lowered his head with a guilty conscience.

Then, he thought of his son and had to bite the bullet and plead with the two of them.

"I know it was that useless child of mine who hurt you. I'm here to apologize. I'm willing to pay more, please. I just want to save my son's life. He's our only child. Without him, the Li family will be extinct."

Seeing Chengcai's father crying and begging, the village chief felt a little sorry for him because they were from the same village after all.

Thinking that Li Chengcai did not dare to take action last night, but the victim's family was the Qin family, he could not take the initiative to speak.

The elder of the Li family also spoke up at this time.

"Sir County Magistrate, can we pay more money to compensate the injured village chief, Zhuzi, and the Qin family? My Li family is indeed not very prosperous, and we only have a few children among the younger generation."

"If he's really sentenced to exile, Chengcai's body won't survive. If we pay them more silver as compensation, they'll also benefit."

County Magistrate Yao did not speak, but just looked at the three victims.

Elder Li saw the pillar next to him and thought of the hard times his family was having. He said hurriedly:

"Zhu Zi, we are willing to give more food and money. Can you forgive us? After all, Chengcai didn't dare to take action last night."

Zhuzi was a little hesitant, as his family was indeed short of food.

After paying the grain tax this year, the remaining food at home is not enough for the family to survive the winter. I wanted to dig more wild vegetables, but the drought was so severe that even the wild vegetables were gone.

But this matter still depends on Grandma Qin, he cannot make the decision.

Seeing that Zhuzi and the village chief were hesitant, Chengcai's father knew that the problem still lay with the Qin family, so he knelt down in front of Grandma Qin.

"Aunt, it's my son Chengcai who's sorry to you. You can punish him or punish him as you wish. We are willing to compensate for any loss we suffer, as long as we can save his life."

Speaking of this, looking at Qin Lang beside Grandma Qin, he continued,

"Aunt, when Chengcai was little, he took Qin Lang to play and had dinner at your house. When he came back, he said you were a kind person and even gave him some sugar-coated steamed buns."

Grandma Qin also felt a little soft-hearted. When Chengcai was a child, he was fair-skinned and very well-behaved. He knew how to call people when he saw them. She didn't know how he grew up to be a gangster.

Lu Qingqing looked at the three people who had softened a little, and then looked at Li Chengcai who was kneeling next to them. This kid was a coward. He was scared away when he saw the blood last night.

But Erya is still in his house and her life is not easy, so he has to take this opportunity to resolve this matter.

Lu Qingqing tugged at Grandma Qin's sleeve and whispered "Erya". Grandma Qin instantly understood what Lu Qingqing meant.

Seeing this, Lu Tianming knew that there was a chance for a turnaround, so he took the initiative to speak.

"Li Chengcai is an accomplice and did not play a major role in this incident. If the victim is willing to forgive, a lighter sentence may be given at our discretion."

When Chengcai's father heard this, he looked at Grandma Qin eagerly.

Seeing this, Grandma Qin took the initiative to speak:

"Sir County Magistrate, Chengcai really didn't hurt anyone last night. If the village chief and Zhuzi are willing to forgive him, I will also agree."

Chengcai's father was immediately overjoyed and pulled Li Chengcai to kowtow to Grandma Qin and others.

Seeing this, Mrs. Wang next to her also wanted to beg for mercy.

Her eldest son was sentenced to death, and her youngest son and husband were sentenced to exile. How would she live on her own in the future?

But just as Wang Pozi started, she heard the village chief snort coldly.

"Last night, that bastard Wang Deben nearly chopped off my head. If it weren't for Qin kid pulling me back, I'd probably be lying in a coffin waiting to be buried right now."

Mrs. Wang was speechless after hearing what the village chief said. Remembering that her youngest son did not participate this time, she thought about pleading for him.

"Auntie, my youngest son was not involved this time. Please forgive him this time."

Grandma Qin replied coldly,

"Last time, the Wang family, father and son, sneaked into my Qin family in the middle of the night, and it was your youngest son who rushed in first with a knife. If my grandson hadn't learned some martial arts skills, and my granddaughter-in-law knew how to use a bow, my family of three might not have seen the sun the next day."

Mrs. Wang was speechless and had to shut up.