Her husband, Liu Laosan, continued to shout, "Yes, yes, that's exactly the case! Although my family carries vegetables for the various restaurants and mansions, we have always strictly abided by our duties and never dared to earn any more money from the vegetable farmers. When there was a flood or drought, we pitied the vegetable farmers and often gave them some money instead. That's why our family is so poor that we can't even afford to eat. We thought of chopping some firewood on the way home to save a few copper coins for our family to survive. "As he spoke, he even squeezed out a few drops of crocodile tears.
Tan Siwei had seen many shameless people, but this level of shamelessness was truly an eye-opener. He sneered, "Then what's going on with this matter? You said that the girl was eleven or twelve years old and begged you to take her in. She often had dirty hands and feet. How come this official heard that she personally told the neighbor's aunt that she was only ten years old and that she often ran out not to steal, but because she couldn't stand being beaten, scolded, and humiliated by you, so she ran out to survive? "
Zhu Huiniang's eyes darted around. She steeled her heart and straightened her neck, "Ai, that girl is too good at acting. In the beginning, she also coaxed us with a tearful voice. That's why we were fooled. I didn't expect that she would spread rumors about us husband and wife after making a mistake. The human heart is truly sinister. I'm afraid this is what the teachers mean by biting the hand that feeds you … "
Her glib tongue almost made Ning Shu laugh.
Tan Siwei snorted heavily and raised his voice, "You're still quibbling!"
Liu Laosan glared and said with righteous indignation, "Official, we're all honest people. You can't arbitrarily convict us just because you heard a few words of gossip. We're not allowed to defend ourselves." He raised his neck and cried out in grievance, "Oh heavens, listen to this. This group of people who wear official robes have inhuman hearts. They want us to be wronged to death. I beg you to quickly send down the snow in June!"
Seeing that the couple was about to make a big deal out of this, pouring bucket after bucket of dirty water, Ning Shu couldn't stand the second round of bombardment. She stood up and said, "I know why."
Coldly glancing at them, Ning Shu said sharply, "The reason I can't leave your family is because your family has a mentally handicapped eldest son who can't find a wife in his twenties. So you're overjoyed, thinking that God has given you a ready-made daughter-in-law for free, and you don't even need a single copper coin. She had no parents and no one to cry to. She could even work like a cow or a horse for her family. That was simply wonderful. But in the next moment, you're worried. What if she understands your thoughts and runs away after she recovers? After all, she had four legs and he couldn't keep looking at her all the time. If the neighbors found out about it and reported it to the authorities, it would be really troublesome. So you racked your brains and came up with a plan. It's easy. While the girl is still sick and confused, you can trick her into signing a marriage contract. Then you can hold her life in your hands. As for her saying that she's only ten years old, it doesn't matter. She can say that she's two years older. This way, you don't have to wait until she's fifteen years old. You can marry her two years earlier. At that time, she'll be a chicken or a duck in a cage, a pig or a dog tied with a rope. She won't be able to leave your house anymore! "
Zhu Huiniang refuted without thinking, "What nonsense are you talking about? That marriage contract was signed by her willingly to repay us for saving her life! "
Seeing that the stupid donkey took the bait, Ning Shu smiled, "There really is a marriage contract. Then it's easy. According to the law of our dynasty, there must be a witness to sign a marriage contract. Do you have a witness in your house?"
A drop of sweat fell from Liu Laosan's forehead, "Of course, I do. My family's … Yes, my uncle is a famous old man in Mulan Lane. If you don't believe me, you can invite him here and we can confront each other in the past."
"Then do you know that the witness also has to sign the marriage contract before it counts?"
"My uncle is old, and he can't hold a pen. So, he can't sign on it …"
"The marriage contract not only needs to have your son's handprint, but also yours and yours. That shouldn't be missing, right?"
"Yes, yes, wait for me to personally bring the marriage contract to you, then you'll believe me." Liu Laosan gave his wife a look and hurriedly staggered to his feet.
Ning Shu immediately scolded, "Stop him! Go get it yourself. Don't tell me you want to quickly add a stroke to the marriage contract? Let me tell you, my Great Yue Dynasty doesn't have any law that requires the handprint of the parents-in-law to be added to the marriage contract. I've seen too many shameless people in my life, but people as disgusting as you are are really disgusting. Just now, my family's lord said that if you dare to distort the truth again, you'll be slapped! Come, immediately start the punishment! "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
