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

Chapter 314 The Crime of Exterminating Nine Generations

"No, Chief Tong, this is not martial ethics."

“Your coachman being trampled by the horse has nothing to do with me. I didn’t chase the horse. What does it have to do with me? You’re going to cut out my tongue.”

“I’m doing a good job as a coachman in the Lu family, with a wife and kids and a warm bed. I’d be asking for trouble if I were meddling in your coachman’s business.”

"Oh, Chief Tong, I swear on my ancestors for eighteen generations that I don't know any of your coachmen at all, and I didn't see him get trampled by the horse."

Tong Huaqiong wiped the gleaming knife and said, "I don't know if the two people in this house are the remnants the village chief was talking about. If the soldiers verify their identities, we're all doomed. Of course, you can go out and report to the soldiers now, and maybe you can redeem yourself."

The coachman from the Lu family said, "Master Tong, what are you joking about? Aren't those two people in the house your coachmen who were trampled by the horse? I'm not someone who doesn't know what's good for me. I would never dare to tell anyone about Master Tong's family-wiping and extermination scheme. If I did, not only would my Lu family be implicated. Do you think I'm out of my mind? I'm here to escort you home, not to die."

"Even if I really redeem myself through good deeds, let's not even talk about whether they will actually do it for me. Even if they do, do you think the eldest young master and the master will do what I do when I return to the Lu family?"

Tong Huaqiong knew that the Lu family's coachman was loyal and reliable, so she naturally wouldn't tell anyone.

She was just trying to scare him.

After hearing what the coachman from the Lu family said, Tong Huaqiong smiled and put down the knife, saying, "What are you afraid of? I use this knife to kill chickens."

The coachman of the Lu family patted his chest and even killed a chicken.

If he dared to even think of revealing the information, Widow Tong would bury him alive.

No, he has to go back today, it's too scary.

He would never tell you what happened yesterday.

Besides the Lu family's coachman, there was also Qin Qingyou who knew the inside story.

Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dahan: "Dahan, go and call Qingyou here."

Gu Dahan opened his front door, just as Qin Qingyou raised his hand to knock.

"Master, this is incredible."

Qin Qingyou staggered into the room, his face filled with fear.

"The village chief said that yesterday the soldiers were arresting remnants of the prince's rebellion on the mountain we passed yesterday, and that one of them was a child."

Village chief Liu Tielian gathered the villagers in the threshing ground, told them what had happened the night before, and instructed them not to let strangers into the village for the next two days.

Qin Qingyou didn't finish listening before secretly running over to report the news to Tong Huaqiong.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the two people they had saved last night were remnants of the Crown Prince's rebellion.

Good heavens! The crown prince, treason, remnants of the rebellion—these are words that only appear in plays, but they have actually happened in real life.

Qin Qingyou was so frightened that his bones went limp.

If this gets discovered, wouldn't I lose my head?

He doesn't even have a son yet, it's truly heartbreaking that he's going to the underworld.

No, thankfully I don't have a son, otherwise he would have been implicated as well.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I heard about it from the village chief this morning, so I know everything."

Qin Qingyou said, "Then what should we do? Should we just throw these two back into the mountains?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "What kind of remnants of the imperial court could an adult and a child be? The young man woke up yesterday. They were from out of town visiting relatives when they were robbed by bandits and injured. Since I spent a lot of money treating the young man's leg injury, he will work as my coachman to pay off the debt. To avoid unnecessary trouble, if it's discovered, just say that the young man is a coachman I hired in the prefectural city, and that the child is an orphan living with his uncle. If anyone asks about his injury, say that he was startled and trampled while driving the carriage for me."

Tong Huaqiong calmly explained their identities to Qin Qingyou.

Qin Qingyou's mind raced.

He knew Tong Huaqiong was talking nonsense.

Tong Huaqiong said to Qin Qingyou with a serious expression, "Do you know the crime of harboring remnants of the imperial court? That's punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family. Nine generations of your family, even if you tied the entire Qinghe Bay together, wouldn't be enough to kill."

Qin Qingyou turned pale with fright.

Tong Huaqiong said sternly, "Remember, we passed through the main road yesterday and never encountered any remnants of the imperial court." Qin Qingyou nodded hurriedly and said, "Master, I remember. We passed through the main road yesterday and never encountered any remnants of the imperial court."

What does it matter if he lies when faced with the threat of exterminating his entire family?

Besides, the two people we rescued yesterday didn't have the remnants of the imperial court etched on their foreheads.

Perhaps they weren't even remnants of the imperial court at all.

Once Qin Qingyou understood this, the pressure of rescuing those who harbored remnants of the imperial court vanished instantly.

There was a noise outside.

After the meeting at the threshing ground, the villagers went home to have breakfast.

No one cared at all about whether the government was a remnant or not; instead, they complained that if the government soldiers really came to search their homes, it would delay everyone's work.

"Village chief, will you organize us to search the mountains?" someone asked Liu Tielian.

Liu Tielian said, "Who knows? If they really organize everyone to search the mountains, I'll go first and say that everyone is busy harvesting corn and beans and can't spare anyone to go up the mountain. If the higher-ups insist that we organize people to search the mountains, then each family can just contribute one person to wander around the mountains. As for remnants, as long as they don't harm us, it has nothing to do with us."

Liu Tielian wanted to ask, what does the affairs of the royal family have to do with ordinary people?

Whether the remnants win or the current emperor wins, the throne will be passed on to the people of Qinghewan.

Everyone understood what the village chief meant and smiled, saying they knew what to do.

Tong Huaqiong couldn't help but laugh when she heard Liu Tielian's words in the courtyard.

This village chief is quite interesting.

Hearing the noise outside, Gu Taohua asked, "Mother, should we lock the door?"

Gu Jingzhe disagreed, saying, "No. We need to open the door so the soldiers won't suspect anything when they come."

Tong Huaqiong agreed with Gu Jingzhe's point of view, and so the door to the Gu family's house was opened.

Villagers passing by Tong Huaqiong's yard would all peek inside.

Everyone in the village knew that Tong Huaqiong had gone to the prefectural city, so when they saw her return, they all greeted her warmly.

"Great Heat Goddess, you're back."

"Is everything going smoothly at the shop?"

"Big Foot, I heard you got home last night. Why didn't you sleep in a little longer? Getting up so early this morning is a sure way to make your fortune."

Tong Huaqiong responded to everyone's enthusiasm with a smile.

Liu Yue'e's mother-in-law, Zhao, was especially happy to see her daughter-in-law's mother return. She had missed her daughter and grandson terribly these past few days.

Zhao said to Tong Huaqiong, "My dear in-law, you didn't go to the wheat field just now. I heard that the Crown Prince of Shengjing rebelled and was killed by the Emperor. His son was protected by his subordinates and fled to our Yanguan Town area. The village chief said that strangers are not allowed to enter the village these days, and there are also soldiers searching the area."

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said, "The village chief came to our house this morning to mention this matter. Sigh, it's all royal business, it has nothing to do with us common people. The crown prince's son is a remnant, who knows, maybe one day the emperor will change his mind and take him away again."

This was the case in my previous life.

The old emperor was paranoid and suspicious, which forced the crown prince to rebel.

After the crown prince rebelled, the emperor developed PTSD from the rebellion. He was constantly suspicious that this prince wanted to kill him and that prince wanted to rise up in rebellion. In the end, he forced all his adult sons to their deaths.

The only remaining son, still an infant, discovered before his death that the young beauty had cheated on him.

The old emperor was so angry that he hanged his concubine, and then his nephew forced him to abdicate.

At this point, the ministers suggested that the ministers who had investigated the son of the deposed crown prince were afraid that the old emperor would regret it, so they secretly hid the grandson of the emperor among the common people.

At the urging of his ministers, the old emperor welcomed his grandson into the palace to inherit the throne.

Thus, Xiaolong returned to the palace from the common people and ascended to the throne.