Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Zhu Gou Niu hurriedly knelt down and took two steps back, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, saying, "My lord, this vile woman, Li, stole steamed buns from my house without my permission. According to the law, she should be punished. Moreover, I thought the money in her arms was also stolen from her house and was going to take it to her parents' home."

She didn't explain herself clearly, so even if she comes to the main hall, she'll still be punished! My lord, I only disciplined her before she was punished, but unfortunately, I mishandled her—"

Ji Yongling clenched her fists and looked at Zhu Gou Niu with a sneer. She had just inquired with the county magistrate's advisor that the laws of this dynasty stipulated that all family property belonged to the husband, and the wife had no property rights.

If a husband intentionally beats his wife to death, he will be sentenced to hanging; but if a husband negligently causes the death of his wife or concubine, he will not bear any responsibility.

Zhu Gou Niu kept emphasizing that he accidentally killed Li Shi, which shows that he was very familiar with the laws of this dynasty.

Ji Yongling stepped forward and said, "Sir, Li's body is covered with various marks of beatings. Judging from the appearance and severity, each wound indicates that the beating was extremely severe. Moreover, Zhu Gou Niu is tall and strong. In terms of physical strength, the difference in size between Li and him is too great. Even if Zhu Gou Niu didn't use a hammer, he could kill her with just his fists."

The various marks on Li's body indicated that if she hadn't been killed by a hammer today, she would have been beaten to death by Zhu Gou Niu someday. Furthermore, Zhu Gou Niu himself admitted that he only used excessive force because he saw the money on Li, suggesting he intended to murder her for money, rather than accidentally killing her as he claimed.

Zhu Gou Niu crawled two steps toward Ji Yongling with a vicious rage, shouting, "You worthless bastard! I have no grudge against you, why did you harm me! Why did you harm me! What benefits did that vile woman Li give you?"

Ji Yongling glanced at Zhu Gou Niu with extreme disgust, then bowed to Huo Zhenglian again and said, "My lord, during the inspection, I found that Li Shi was emaciated, practically skin and bones. It must have been caused by long-term hunger. On the other hand, Zhu Gou Niu is tall and strong, which suggests that he has been abusing Li Shi for a long time."

Furthermore, given Li's frail and delicate physique, it would be extremely difficult for her to overpower her mother-in-law, as the difference in strength is too great. Moreover, from a medical perspective, it's already remarkable for a woman as thin as Li to menstruate, let alone conceive and give birth. Therefore, Zhu Gou Niu's claim that Li committed one of the "seven grounds for divorce" is unfounded.

The crowd outside the county government office immediately began to whisper among themselves.

Some people cursed Zhu, saying he was worse than a dog, a cow, a pig, or a dog, and that he himself was fat and bloated, yet he wanted to starve his wife to death.

Some people questioned Ji Yongling, saying that there were too many women who couldn't get enough to eat in this era, and that it was absurd that they couldn't get pregnant because they couldn't get enough to eat. Moreover, Ji Yongling herself was still a child and didn't know what it meant to get pregnant.

Hearing someone questioning his daughter, Ji Manchuan raised his eyebrows and retorted, "Pigs won't have piglets if they're not full, and people want to 'farm' when they're not full? Do you think your land is so easy to cultivate? You think you can just sow seeds and harvest grain without fertilizing?"

Upon hearing the word "farming," the woman next to her blushed deeply.

"Bang!" The gavel struck again.

The county government office fell silent instantly.

Huo Zhenglian glared fiercely and said sternly, "Zhu Gou Niu murdered his wife, Li Shi. The evidence, witnesses, and confessions are all there. According to our dynasty's laws, 'If a husband beats his wife to death, he shall be hanged.' [Note]. Guards, take Zhu Gou Niu away and detain him until the court is notified, after which he will be executed. Court adjourned—"

"My lord—my lord—" Zhu Gou Niu pleaded frantically.

The county government office was immediately in an uproar, with some cheering and others fearing.

Ji Yongling was stunned for a moment.

She clearly remembered watching TV shows of county courts handling cases. After the official made his judgment, he would pick up a warrant, throw it on the ground, and shout that the prisoner would be beheaded as a warning. Then the prisoner would be immediately taken to the execution ground to be executed.

Isn't that right?

She quickly realized that what was shown on television wasn't real history. Her historical knowledge was so shallow it was almost nonexistent; she had even forgotten everything from her high school history textbooks, yet she had transmigrated to this impoverished ancient era where feudal ethics were rampant.

That's incredibly stubborn and overly presumptuous.

If this case is reported up the chain of command, it remains to be seen whether Zhu Gou Niu will ultimately be executed by hanging.

Imagine if there were still some "little fruit" in future generations; in this era, "little fruit" might be running all over the place.

Ji Yongling felt an unprecedented bitterness in her heart, and a deep sense of powerlessness made her feel suffocated.

If... if in the end... Zhu Gou Niu really doesn't receive the punishment he deserves, will Li be able to rest in peace?

Then wouldn't women like Li have all lost their lives in vain?

Zhu Gou Niu was escorted to his feet by two yamen runners and slowly walked out of the county yamen hall. As he passed by Ji Yongling, he glared at Ji Yongling with eyes as cold as ice. Ji Yongling returned his gaze with a cold look and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Just then, to everyone's surprise, Zhu Gou Niu suddenly went berserk, grabbed Ji Yong Ling by the collar, and lifted her up.

He cursed through gritted teeth, "You bastard! I'll crush you!"

Upon seeing this, the Ji family members outside cried out in alarm. Ji Yongbai and Ji Yonghua, who were at the door, quickly got up, pushed aside the water and fire sticks of the yamen runners at the door, and tried to rush inside.

The yamen runners escorting Zhu Gou Niu were also startled, but they quickly reacted and twisted Zhu Gou Niu's arm behind his back.

Ji Yongling's collar came loose, and she fell to the ground, staggering a couple of steps before barely managing to regain her balance.

Throughout the entire ordeal, she neither screamed nor showed any fear.

On the contrary, she felt a slight excitement, and her chest heaved violently a few times, whether from excitement or relief.

Ji Yongling's gaze, carrying an imperceptible smile, lightly swept over Zhu Gou Niu's thigh, where there were already drops of blood on the trouser leg, making it look dark red.

Zhu Gou Niu was held down by the yamen runners. He stared wide-eyed at Ji Yongling and squeezed out through gritted teeth, "You bastard, you just wait and see how I deal with you when I get out!"

Ji Yongling smiled slightly, looking at Zhu Gou Niu as if he were a dead man.

Because there were so many onlookers, it was difficult for the bailiffs to escort Zhu Gou Niu across the threshold of the main hall. Everyone jostled and pushed back a little to let Zhu Gou Niu and the bailiffs out.

Some people took the opportunity to deliver a dirty punch to Zhu Gou Niu from behind, such as Ji Manqing.

He heard Hu Xirong tell him about Li's plight on the way and felt very sorry for her. Now that he saw that he wanted to bully his niece, he wanted to beat the guy to death. He just took the opportunity to punch Zhu Gou Niu in the back and pretended not to know who did it, looking around.

Zhu Gou Niu shouted angrily, "Which son of a bitch dares to hit me? If you've got the guts, step forward!"

At this moment, Zhu Gou Niu's mother also rushed back from home. As soon as she arrived at the entrance of the county government office, she saw her son being escorted out. She hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Son, are you alright? Can you go home now?"

The bailiff next to him pushed Zhu Gou Niu's mother aside and said, "Hurry up and return the money, your child has already been sentenced to hanging."

"What? Hanging? What is hanging?" Zhu Gou Niu's mother, who was holding her son's hand, suddenly felt it go emptied and muttered to herself in a daze and disbelief.

"Your kid's going to die, he'll have to pay for his wife's life! Murderers pay with their lives, and a wife's life is a life too!" Ji Manqing said gleefully from the crowd.

"No, no, no, that's impossible. Magistrate Huo is the most just and honest official. How could he possibly sentence my child? Didn't that vile woman commit suicide? What does that have to do with my child!" Old Lady Zhu turned mechanically and hurriedly walked towards the county government hall.