The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 144 Justice
"Aunt Tong, please tell me what grievances you have, and I will definitely uphold justice for you."

Someone brought a chair for Magistrate Liu, but he didn't sit down. Instead, he helped Tong Huaqiong sit down.

To everyone else, this scene looked like the Xu family was about to suffer a terrible fate.

"Aunt Tong, please tell me what exactly happened?"

Lord Liu spoke gently, having already learned of Widow Tong's deeds from Liu Tielian.

He had a bunch of children to support, sold pastries in town, and tightened his belt to send his youngest son to school.

In addition, he already had a soft spot for Tong Huaqiong because she saved his son without asking for anything in return, so Tong Huaqiong now shone even brighter in his heart.

The character of a village bully—self-reliant, resilient, and magnanimous—is perfectly portrayed. He refuses to succumb to poverty, fate, or injustice.

Tong Huaqiong sat down on the chair, half-sitting on her bottom, and said, "Lord Liu, what brings you here? This is so embarrassing! How can I even say it out loud? I'm too ashamed to live anymore. Waaah!"

Tears can come so easily; the Oscars owe Tong Huaqiong an award as well.

"People say widows attract gossip, but everyone knows I've kept my house locked up long ago to protect my reputation. I wish not even a male mosquito could get in. I don't even greet the men in the village, afraid of what might gossip spread. To be honest, Lord Liu, I even castrated the boar in my house... Waaah!"

Magistrate Liu: "."

"Lord Liu, you don't need to make decisions for me anymore. I might as well hang myself! Although Xu Si didn't do anything to me, I've lost my innocence and reputation. What's the point of me living?"

Tong Huaqiong was sobbing that she couldn't speak.

Xu Kun and Xu Yong were in a bind; she hadn't been this weak and submissive when she was forcing the Xu family to hand over money.

"Master Liu."

Gu Jingzhe went to greet him.

At this time, Gu Jingzhe had to take the lead. Unlike Gu Jingzhe, the brothers Gu Dahan and Gu Dashu had never met the provincial education commissioner or the prefect. When they saw Magistrate Liu, their legs trembled.

Gu Dashu had previously said he wanted to become sworn brothers with Magistrate Liu, but in Tong Huaqiong's opinion, her adopted son was just bragging.

Magistrate Liu looked over at Jingzhe in Chaogu.

Even though the boy was covered in wheat awns, his radiance was still undeniable. This must be the youngest son of Widow Tong, whom Liu Tielian had mentioned.

Because they both came from a family of diligent scholars, Magistrate Liu had a natural affinity for Gu Jingzhe.

"My mother is terrified. Please, Lord Liu, have mercy and allow me, her son, to explain the situation on her behalf," Gu Jingzhe said.

Magistrate Liu waved his hand and said, "Tell me the whole story, there's no hiding anything."

Gu Jingzhe recounted in detail how Tong Huaqiong turned the wheat in the threshing ground, how she encountered Xu Si, how Xu Si had malicious intentions, how Tong Huaqiong fought back, and how the Gu family beat Xu Si up, without any concealment.

The more Magistrate Liu listened, the more gloomy his face became.

This Xu Si is too audacious!

Tong Huaqiong, in cahoots with Gu Jingzhe, embarked on a new round of suicide attempts, only to be stopped by Gu Taohua and Liu Yue'e.

"Lord Liu," Granny Yan knelt down with a thud and boldly said, "My son's manhood was broken by Widow Tong."

She thought it was better for both sides to suffer than for her son to be the only one to be punished. "Lord Liu," she said, "I hit him in the heat of the moment. If I hadn't, my reputation would have been ruined. It doesn't matter if my reputation is ruined, I have a son and a daughter at home. Don't they want to maintain their reputations? What I did was perfectly justified."

In her haste, Tong Huaqiong almost blurted out the modern legal term for legitimate self-defense.

Magistrate Liu said, "Aunt Tong is right. It is understandable that she injured Xu Si in her haste to defend her innocence."

"Lord Liu, my son wouldn't bully Widow Tong without reason; there must be some other explanation."

Granny Yan wanted to continue the narrative about "Tong Huaqiong taking the initiative to seduce" but Liu Tielian interrupted her, saying, "In the spring, you occupied the land of the Great Heat Mother, but the Great Heat Mother took it back a couple of days ago. You and your son must have been dissatisfied and that's why you retaliated."

After Liu Tielian finished speaking, he said to Magistrate Liu, "The whole village knows about this. You can find out by asking, Magistrate Liu."

"Yes, yes, that's right. When planting in the spring, Granny Yan took over Aunt Tong's land."

“A few days ago, Aunt Tong brought it back, and right there on the riverbank, Granny Yan cursed Aunt Tong, saying she deserved to die a horrible death.”

"It's obvious that this is Xu Si's revenge."

The villagers, emboldened, shared what they knew about the feud between Granny Yan and Tong Huaqiong with Magistrate Liu.

"To put it bluntly, this is all because the village chief and the Xu family patriarch failed to do their job. Why did Granny Yan dare to occupy my mother-in-law's land? Why did Xu Si dare to openly bully my mother-in-law? If it weren't for the village chief and the Xu family patriarch's interference, none of this would have happened," Liu Tiechui said.

Xu Kun and his nephew Xu Yong were suddenly called upon and had no choice but to speak.

Xu Yong carefully considered his words before speaking, "I implore Lord Liu to see the truth. As the village head, I upheld justice in dealing with Xu Si's mistreatment of Sister-in-law Tong. When I suggested that the two families negotiate whether to report the matter to the authorities or to compensate Sister-in-law Tong, she insisted on not reporting it and chose to have Xu Si pay her compensation."

Granny Yan chimed in, "That's right. Widow Tong demanded five hundred taels, but we paid her one hundred and fifty taels in return. We also lost fifty taels of her chickens, ducks, geese, and wheat, and she wrote an IOU for three hundred taels. The evidence is all in Widow Tong's possession."

"Why wouldn't I want to report this to the authorities? Lord Liu, you know I saved your young master last time. I'm afraid that if I report this to the authorities and you uphold justice for me, people will say I'm taking advantage of your kindness, which would damage your reputation," Tong Huaqiong said, crying.

Magistrate Liu was moved. Look at Widow Tong's magnanimity.

How can anyone compare to the unreasonable and argumentative old woman, Yan Pozi?

“Aunt Tong dared not report to the authorities; she must have been forced into it by your self-organized court. I know all too well about the self-organized courts in villages,” Magistrate Liu said, looking at Xu Yong.

Xu Yong was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud and protested, "Lord Liu, you are wise to judge. I did not set up a private court. Everyone can testify that I sought justice for Sister-in-law Tong today."

Magistrate Liu did not look at Xu Yong, but asked with his hands behind his back, "I just heard that this is not the first time Xu Si has acted recklessly. Why doesn't the Xu family patriarch restrain him?"

Xu Kun originally wanted to defend himself, but at this moment he was so frightened that he quickly slid down to his knees and said, "Lord Liu, Xu Si is such a scoundrel. As the clan leader, I have indeed failed to restrain him properly. When we get back, I will definitely punish him with family law so that he will never dare to act recklessly again."

"Xu Yong, Xu Kun, you're kidding me. Who's always saying that as long as the Xu family is in Qinghewan, they can do whatever they want, and they're not afraid of anything even if the sky falls? If it weren't for you two being Xu Si's backers, would he dare to run rampant in the village?" Aunt Qin couldn't help but spit.

She also wanted to seize this opportunity to seek justice for her daughter-in-law.

"Lord Liu, besides taking revenge on Sister Tong over the land issue, there's something else I'm going to tell you, even if I have to be blunt. Last time my daughter-in-law went to work in town, this Xu Si groped her on the oxcart. Sister Tong and Peach Blossom helped my daughter-in-law reprimand Xu Si. Xu Si is protected by Xu Yong and Xu Kun in the village, and he's never been treated like that before, so he's been holding back and found today's opportunity to take revenge," Aunt Qin said.

Xu Yong and Xu Kun were publicly exposed for favoring the Xu family. They tried to defend themselves, but were intimidated by a single look from Magistrate Liu and dared not utter a word.

“Sister-in-law Qin is right. Xu Yong and Xu Kun can’t make up for the bad things Xu Si did in the village, even if they are reincarnated in their next life.” Encouraged by Aunt Qin, Gu Xiaocao’s mother, Zhang, knelt down next to Magistrate Liu and wept bitterly.

"Lord Liu, please give my daughter Xiaocao justice."

(End of this chapter)