Love Lock

Chapter 190 is a group of old men

When Han Lei got off the carriage again, he had several metal shackles that had been adjusted.

These shackles were entirely black, gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and each shackle had a small red indicator light on its side.

This thing is really good!
This is called an electronic ankle bracelet, an electronic device used to monitor the activities of personnel, often used as an alternative to detention in parole or immigration control.

This is also a typical product of modern technology's involvement in the judiciary; it sends an alarm to the monitoring platform when there is a breach of boundaries, damage, or low battery.

It is said that the American brand is widely used among parolees and immigrants, with approximately 200,000 people wearing it in 2020.

Han Lei set up the base station for the electronic ankle bracelet in the space and controlled it through Bluetooth on her computer.

As soon as she took it out, the senior student asked curiously, "Girl, what...what is this?"

"Electronic ankle bracelets." Han Lei squatted down and skillfully put them on Feng San and the others one by one. "An alarm will be triggered as soon as they leave the designated area."

As Han Lei spoke, she winked at the senior students.

Da Si understood, pulled out a dagger, and cut the hemp rope binding Feng San's wrist. When the rough rope hit the ground, deep red marks remained on Feng San's wrist.

Han Lei straightened up, crossed her arms, and had a faint smile on her lips, like a cat toying with a mouse under its paws.

Han Lei waved her hand lightly at him, "Alright, get up, you can go now."

Feng San staggered to his feet, his knees numb from being bound for so long.

He rubbed his wrist, his eyes darting around in disbelief: "Miss...really?"

Han Lei tilted her head, her hair brushing against her shoulder, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes: "Let's go! Let's go somewhere far away."

She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, as if reciting some interesting spell.

Feng San tentatively took a few steps forward, the rough soles of his shoes scraping against the bluestone pavement.

After walking more than ten steps, it was eerily quiet behind me.

He couldn't help but turn around and saw Han Lei still standing there. The morning sunlight gilded her body, but it couldn't penetrate her deep eyes.

"let's go."

Han Lei waved her hand again, this time with a lighter movement, as if she were shooing away some annoying flying insects.

They walked a little further and were now several dozen meters away from Han Lei and the others.

He turned around again and saw that Han Lei and the others really didn't intend to chase after him. Ignoring his thugs, Feng San suddenly took off running.

The taste of freedom is so sweet; the old locust tree two hundred meters away is getting closer, and the coolness under its shade seems almost within reach—

With a sharp "beep," the electronic sound tore through the air.

Han Lei pressed the remote control button with the elegance of turning off an alarm clock.

"what!"

Feng San, who was some distance away, suddenly fell to the ground. The blue electric light from the electronic ankle bracelet danced on his ankle like a bloodthirsty venomous snake.

The moment the dust choked his throat, he heard footsteps behind him, unhurried, step by step, like a countdown to death.

Han Lei pressed the remote control, and Feng San suddenly screamed and collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

Several refugees who were eating steamed buns near the carriage witnessed Han Lei telling Feng San to leave, and then witnessed Han Lei pressing the remote control.

Now, seeing Feng San fall to the ground in the distance, they retreated in terror, some even kneeling down and exclaiming, "A divine intervention!"

Han Lei shook her head helplessly, "This isn't a divine intervention, it's just... a kind of mechanical trick."

She turned to the ashen-faced thugs and said, "Wear this, and you won't be able to escape. No matter where you run, I'll bring you back. You'll have to work honestly in Cangzhou for five years. If you can turn over a new leaf, then you'll be free."

Feng San, who had been dragged back by his senior year, collapsed to the ground upon hearing Han Lei's words, finally realizing that he had kicked a hornet's nest.

The seemingly frail woman before me possessed methods a hundred times more terrifying than the torture instruments used by the county government.

Han Lei looked at Feng San and the others who were shackled, her voice clear and firm.

"Labor not only creates value, but also cleanses your soul. In Cangzhou, you will learn to earn a living with your own sweat."

The third and fourth-year students looked at each other, not fully understanding Han Lei's actions, but choosing to believe in this extraordinary woman who was leading them to a better life.

"Pack your bags, let's get ready to go," Han Lei announced loudly. "We need to reach Qingshui County in Cangzhou before sunset tomorrow."

The refugees sprang into action, their eyes gleaming with hope. Meanwhile, Feng San and the others, dejected, were tied to the back of the carriage, beginning their unexpected journey of redemption.

Standing in the morning light, Han Lei watched the winding procession and murmured to herself, "Tyrannical times require harsh measures, but punishment is not the goal; reform is the fundamental solution."

Her consciousness opened the system interface, where the words "[Social Governance Module Activated]" were displayed.

The senior student led the horse over: "Miss, everything is ready."

"Let's go." Han Lei boarded the carriage. "There's still a long way to go."

The vast caravan of refugees left Mianning City, the wheels of their carriages leaving deep tracks in the dust of the official road. Like the changes taking place in this era, slow yet irreversible…

It was not yet midday, and in front of the gate of the Prince Xiaoyao's mansion in the capital, a woman with her hair styled in a bun stood blankly, carrying a floral cloth bundle in her hand.

The woman's back looked so thin and lonely in the sunlight.

This woman was Zhao Qiao'er, the wife of Lin Yuanshan, the owner of Lin's Cloth Shop.

Zhao Qiao'er poisoned someone's life. After discussion among the Lin family members, in order to protect the Lin family's reputation and the purity of their offspring, Lin Yuanshan finally chose to divorce his wife.

Zhao Qiao'er was kicked out of the house and had nowhere to go, so she had to return to her parents' home—the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion.

She stood at the entrance of the Prince's Mansion for a long time, her white teeth tightly biting her lower lip.

Zhao Zun is now the King of Cangzhou, but Emperor Jing has taken back his military power and has not sent anyone from the Ministry of Works to replace the plaque at the King's residence.

Zhao Qiao'er looked up at the once gleaming gilded plaque. The four characters "Xiaoyao Wangfu" were now covered with a thick layer of dust, and a few spider webs had even formed on the edges, trembling slightly in the breeze.

"It's only been a few months..." Zhao Qiao'er murmured to herself, her voice hoarse as if she hadn't spoken in a long time.

She remembered that when she left for the New Year, the gate of the mansion was still brightly painted, the stone lions on both sides were majestic, and even the gatekeeper's servants were dressed smartly.

Today, the eyes of the stone lions are covered with mud, and the row of red lanterns under the porch has faded to a pale pink. Some of the lanterns even have holes and sway helplessly in the air.

She took a deep breath and reached out to push open the side door next to her.

The door hinges creaked loudly, and no one was guarding it.

Zhao Qiao'er stepped over the threshold and went around the screen wall, only to find that the weeds in the yard had grown to knee height.

Several precious peonies were overcrowded by rampant weeds, their petals scattered and turned to mud. It was clear that no one had tended to them for a long time.

In the distance came the unrestrained laughter of servants, mixed with vulgar slang.

"...The young ladies at the brothel had waists as supple as willow branches..."

"Hahaha, Old Li, you didn't sneak out to drink and carouse again, did you?"

"What's there to be afraid of? No one will care anyway!" Zhao Qiao'er's heart sank to the bottom.

She walked through the weeds toward the main courtyard, and along the way she saw several servants lying under the veranda with their eyes closed, not even lifting their eyelids when they saw her pass by.

One of the bolder ones even spat at her feet, which drew laughter from his companions.

The situation at the main courtyard was even worse.

Aunt Qin was standing on the steps, wearing a slightly worn lotus-colored jacket, her hair was tied up haphazardly, and a crooked wooden hairpin was stuck in it.

Her face was pale and her eyes were sunken. She looked like a shrew from the marketplace, pointing at several old women eating melon seeds in the yard and cursing them.

"...Disgusting things! You eat and drink for free and still dare to slack off! When the prince returns, he'll sell all of you filthy goods to brothels!"

Upon hearing this, the plump cook, Aunt Zhang, who was in charge, was not afraid at all; instead, she put her hands on her hips and burst into laughter.

"Oh dear, my good aunt, are you still dreaming? The Prince has long been the King of Cangzhou! You want to sell us off? Fine, first settle the three months' rent you owe!" She spat on the ground, "What kind of master are you if you don't have money?"

Aunt Qin was trembling with anger and was about to start cursing again when she caught a glimpse of Zhao Qiao'er standing at the courtyard gate out of the corner of her eye.

She turned her head abruptly, her once alluring eyes wide with shock: "Qiao'er? You... why are you back?"

The courtyard fell silent immediately, and all the servants' eyes were fixed on Zhao Qiao'er.

Zhao Qiao'er felt those gazes scraping like knives across the bundle in her hands, her haggard face, and her simple clothes.

Aunt Zhang, who was quite plump, let out an exaggerated "Ouch!"

"Oh my! Isn't this our young lady? What happened? Did the Lin family divorce you and send you back?"

A chuckle rippled through the crowd. Zhao Qiao'er's face burned bright red, her fingers digging tightly into the fabric of her bundle.

Aunt Zhang's words were meant as a joke, but they made Aunt Qin pause for a moment.

Then, she looked Zhao Qiao'er up and down, who was dressed very differently from usual, and seemed to think that what Aunt Zhang said was true.

She rushed down the steps in three quick steps and grabbed Zhao Qiao'er's wrist.

"Qiao'er, explain yourself! Is this true?"

She used great force, her long fingernails digging deep into Zhao Qiao'er's flesh.

Zhao Qiao'er winced in pain and whispered, "Mother, let's go inside and talk..."

"Go inside and say what you're saying!" Aunt Qin suddenly raised her voice, "Were you really divorced? Were you!"

Her voice became shrill and distorted, which drew another round of snickers from the servants.

Zhao Qiao'er could no longer hold back, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She forcefully shook off Aunt Qin's hand, no longer caring about saving face.

"It's all because of you. They...they opened the ancestral hall...accusing me of poisoning people...ruining the Lin family's reputation of many years..."

Zhao Qiao'er choked up and couldn't continue speaking. She took out a crumpled letter of divorce from her bosom.

Aunt Qin snatched the letter of divorce, glanced at it, and after seeing the official seal on it, her face turned from red to white, and then from white to green.

She suddenly raised her hand and slapped Zhao Qiao'er hard across the face: "Useless thing! You can't even win over a man!"

Zhao Qiao'er turned her head to the side after being hit, her face burning with pain. She covered her face, looking at her mother in disbelief: "You blame me? If it weren't for you, I would have..."

"Shut up!"

Aunt Qin sternly shouted to stop them, glancing warily at the servants around her who were listening intently. She finally remembered to avoid them.

She grabbed Zhao Qiao'er's sleeve and dragged her into the house, saying, "Come on, let's go inside and talk!"

Zhao Qiao'er entered the house and saw that the situation inside was not much better than that in the yard.

The once exquisite rosewood furniture was covered with a thick layer of dust, and several slightly valuable vases had disappeared, replaced by coarse pottery jars.

Several holes had appeared in the paper windowpanes, and sunlight slanted in through them.

As soon as Aunt Qin entered the room, she shook off Zhao Qiao'er's hand and paced back and forth.

"It's all over, all over! You've been divorced by your husband's family, how are we going to survive?"

Aunt Qin looked anxious; she was at her wit's end, having already exchanged everything in the mansion that could be turned into silver for money.

She was just about to go to the Lin family in the next few days to ask her daughter for some money to help her out, but unexpectedly, Zhao Qiao'er was divorced by the Lin family.

Aunt Qin felt anxious just thinking about it.

Since Zhao Zun and the others left for Cangzhou for the New Year, there has only been Aunt Qin as the mistress in the Prince's Mansion.

At first, things were fine. Aunt Qin, relying on being the only mistress in the Prince's mansion, bossed the servants around and ordered them around, because she had some private savings.

However, apart from those that Uncle Liu took away, there were still more than twenty servants in the Prince's mansion who had been bought by her but whom Zhao Zun hadn't had time to sell. Including the servants in her own courtyard, there were more than thirty in total.

With over thirty servants attending to her, she certainly lived a carefree and prestigious life.

But the good days didn't last long. The food, clothing, and daily necessities for more than thirty mouths, plus the monthly allowance, were not a small amount.

Zhao Zun took away the house deeds, land deeds, and all the valuables in the Prince's mansion.

Liu Bo also sold off all of the Wangfu's properties, converting the proceeds into silver notes, which Zhao Zun then took away.

So, her meager savings lasted only three months before they were gone.

Without money to pay her monthly wages, the servants naturally stopped obeying her orders. They would eat at the appointed time each day, and after eating, they would gather in twos and threes to chat or go back to their rooms to sleep.

Ironically, the servants only cooked for themselves. They had sold themselves into servitude to the Prince's mansion, and their indentures were with the Prince's mansion, so they felt perfectly justified in eating the Prince's mansion's food.

The servants just ate and didn't work, so the palace was filthy and chaotic. And with the summer rains, weeds grew rampant.

Only then did Aunt Qin realize that she wasn't raising servants to be ordered around, but rather a group of masters.

Aunt Qin was extremely frustrated and wanted to scold the servants, but they retorted.

Even though they were slaves who sold themselves into servitude, they still received a certain monthly allowance.

Those sharp-tongued servants said that Aunt Qin was behind on her monthly wages, so they were behind on their work.

If you don't like the work they do, just sell them all off.

But if Aunt Qin had their indenture to sell her, would they even need to say it?

They wanted to fight them, but Aunt Qin only had two personal maids who obeyed her, and with herself, the three women couldn't possibly defeat so many people.

Unable to win arguments, unable to win fights, and unable to sell, Aunt Qin spent the next two months looking at these hot potatoes every day, feeling extremely depressed.

Aunt Qin paced anxiously in the room for a while, then suddenly stopped and stared at her daughter, as if she had thought of something.

"How much money did the Lin family give you for divorcing your wife?"

Have a wave!