The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Captain Yang's semi-threatening words made Zhang San and Li Si feel uneasy.

Especially Zhang San, because of his momentary greed, he was branded as going to jail, which was a fatal blow to his family.

Not only will it be difficult for the girls and boys in the family to get married, but more importantly, it will bring trouble to the descendants.

What if one of them is the God of Literature who has descended to earth and wants to take the imperial examination like the magistrate? But because his father is in jail and his family assets are checked, it is discovered that his background is not clean. Wouldn’t that harm three generations?

Zhang San's face turned pale and he was terrified.

As for Li Si, he was very scared at first, but when he heard Captain Yang say that the magistrate would find out the truth, he was not so scared anymore.

A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. The cloth is his. He did not steal or rob it. I believe the magistrate will give him justice.

More importantly, Captain Yang said that after the matter was investigated, not only would the cloth be returned, but a letter of commendation from the county magistrate would also be attached to praise his bravery.

And if he praised him in front of his fellow villagers, wouldn't he be very proud? Wouldn't the previous criticisms against him disappear?

Will there be a girl from a good family who will marry him because of his bravery?

Young people always have spring in their arms. Li Si couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. He became more determined to ask the magistrate to find out the truth and give him justice.

Li Si was on this side of the cell, twisting the hemp rope and glaring at Zhang San fiercely.

He snorted coldly, "Zhang San, I advise you to surrender as soon as possible to avoid dragging down your family. Humph, if the village knew that you were in jail, I don't think your family would be able to hold their heads up high for the rest of their lives."

Li Si looked at the bundles of linen again and couldn't help feeling depressed.

Captain Yang imprisoned them in the prison, brought a large bundle of fine linen, and asked them to twist it into ropes. If Li Si had been so obedient, he would not have secretly run away to Chenzhou Prefecture.

But Captain Yang said that if he didn't finish twisting the bundle of hemp rope in one day, he would have no food to eat.

Upon hearing this, Li Si became furious and expressed his resistance. However, the government was a place where no one would listen to reason. If they had listened, they would not have been imprisoned but would have been released on bail and sent home.

Captain Yang also said that this was an order from Lord Sun, and if the task was not completed, he would have to spend one more day in jail.

They also say that today's work should be done today, and if it's left until tomorrow, there will be more tomorrows. In short, no matter how long you're in prison, you have to complete the assigned tasks. If you don't complete them, you can't leave prison.

What else could Li Si say? He had to accept his fate and twist the hemp rope helplessly to ensure that he would have food to eat tonight.

Zhang San glanced at Li Si, said nothing, and quietly sat in the corner twisting the hemp rope.

In addition to making money, Zhang San twists the hemp rope to cover up his inner panic. Only by twisting the hemp rope seriously can he numb himself.

Li Si cursed again: "Damn Zhang San, if you want to go to jail, that's your business, why drag me down with you? XHJX..."

Only after a lot of indescribable output did I manage to express a little of the depression in my heart.

Zhang San remained silent and just rubbed the hemp rope vigorously.

As a result, Zhang San turned himself in the next day.

When Sun Shan walked into the cell, the first thing that caught his eye was two large bundles of hemp ropes. The corners of his mouth twitched.

Then I saw Zhang San and Li Si twisting hemp ropes, and I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: young and strong people are young and strong people, they work really hard.

Three days later, Zhang San and Li Si saw the short, thin and weak Lord Sun. They immediately threw away the hemp rope, ran hurriedly, and lay on the prison fence.

Li Si cried out to the heavens, "Sir, Zhang San has confessed. I am innocent. Sir, please let me out. My Lord, you must punish Zhang San severely and give me justice."

Early this morning, before he had even had breakfast, Zhang San said he wanted to find Captain Yang and confess.

Li Si was so happy because he could get justice for himself and walk out of this prison cell where no one wanted to go.

Although the county jail was much better than expected, there were no prison bullies as rumored, nor were there the legendary tortures. Apart from having to twist hemp ropes in exchange for food, the conditions were not too uncomfortable.

But who would want to come to this dark and gloomy prison?

Li Si wanted to run out immediately, go back home, and ask his parents to boil a pot of pomelo leaf water to get rid of all the bad luck on his body.

Sun Shan stood there calmly, looking at Li Si, then Zhang San, and then ordered, "Captain Yang, bring these two out."

In fact, Sun Shan didn't want to go into the cell either. It was short and narrow, with only tiny windows, and it was gloomy and eerie. Anyone who wanted to go in could go in, but Sun Shan didn't like it anyway.

Captain Yang ordered his men to bring Zhang San and Li Si out.

Zhang San, who was completely different from Li Si's energetic look, had his head hung down and a dead look on his face.

When Zhang San saw Sun Shan, he immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy: "Sir, I acknowledge my crime and should not have been greedy. Sir, if you want to beat me or kill me, I will accept it."

After a pause, her eyes were already filled with tears, her eye sockets were red and swollen, and she pleaded in a low voice: "Sir, can you please not tell my family? If the villagers knew, my family would not be able to hold our heads up in the village, and my sister would have to get married. My son and daughter are innocent. It's all my fault. Please punish me severely."

She was crying as she spoke, and she looked so pitiful.

Li Si, who was kneeling beside him, cursed viciously: "Bah, you are afraid now? Why weren't you afraid when you stole my cloth? Humph, you deserve it."

He turned to Sun Shan and said, "Sir, you must do this for me and severely punish this Zhang San. If it weren't for him, I would have gone home long ago."

In fact, what I want to say more is that if it weren’t for Zhang San, I wouldn’t have to go to jail, let alone make hemp ropes.

Look at these hands. They have been rubbing the hemp rope for just two days, and their whole hands are sore.

Li Si wanted to beat Zhang San up to relieve his anger.

Sun Shan looked at Zhang San indifferently, without any mercy because of his pitiful appearance.

If I had known what would happen today, I would not have done it in the first place. The cause you sowed yesterday will result in the consequences today.

Of course, Zhang San was very satisfied with one thing: his quick surrender had lightened his workload. Resisting punishment would be harsh, while confessing would be lenient, which would reduce his "sentence."

Sun Shan asked expressionlessly, "Zhang San, why did you steal Li Si's cloth? I see you are sincere and honest, not cunning."

Li Sike disagreed and spoke up actively: "Sir, don't be fooled by Zhang San's honest and simple appearance. I was deceived by him and had my cloth stolen because of him."

Captain Yang glared at Li Si and warned him softly, "Li Si, don't make a sound until Lord Sun asks you something."

Li Si quickly covered his mouth and dared not say a word.

He had not listened to the gatekeeper and insisted on reporting to the police. As a result, he suffered a great loss because he did not listen to the old man.

This time, I must listen to Captain Yang. If I don’t, I might continue to suffer losses.

Zhang San burst into tears and cried uncontrollably, "Sir, it was my fault. I shouldn't have snatched the cloth. I shouldn't have been greedy. I want Brother Li Si to apologize."

After saying this, he kowtowed three times to Li Si.

His scalp was broken and his forehead was covered in blood. Li Si was so scared that he jumped up and ran away.