"I said I didn't take it, how can you let me compensate!" Shi was angry that they were unreasonable, and he didn't understand why Xiao Xiang wanted to wronged himself, when he put the pair of jade pendants back into the brocade box, Xiao Xiang obviously saw it, but in a blink of an eye, he told the people in the Hou Mansion that he had stolen the pair of jade pendants.

A hint of pride flashed quickly in Du Datong's eyes, but his face was still fierce, "Boy, don't toast or drink punishment wine, the things in Houfu are not something you can take if you want to." ”

Uncle Zheng watched it for a long time, and saw that things were getting worse and worse, so he boldly stepped forward and nodded and said, "Master Du, is there any misunderstanding here, Shi Sheng, this child is something I have seen since I was a child, and I will never do that kind of thing of stealing chickens and touching dogs." ”

Du Datong pushed him to the ground and said, "Don't meddle with the old thing, if you talk more, you will be tied up as an accomplice and sent to the official!"

For people who are in Jian, what they are most afraid of is to see officials, because no matter whether they are justified or not, all officials have to be punished with twenty water and fire sticks first, because they are sinners left by the previous dynasty and have no qualifications to see officials. Moreover, anyone who has never heard of a victory in court has been driven out by heavy reproaches, and some have died unjustly in prison.

Uncle Zheng knew that it was useless for him to ask for more, so he had to get up from the ground and retreat to the side. That Xiang Du Datong asked again, Shi Sheng bit to death and said that he had not taken the pair of jade pendants, which made him very angry, and he called the little guy next to him to Shi Sheng is beating, these people fought mercilessly, punching and kicking, and soon Shi Sheng was beaten by them to the point that his mouth and nose were bleeding, and he was miserable.

Uncle Zheng couldn't bear to watch Shi Sheng, who was almost no different from his own son, being beaten to death by them, and knelt down in front of Du Datong and begged: "Master Du, please do a good job and let Shi Sheng have a way to live, if he continues to fight like this, he will die!" Please!" Seeing that Du Datong was indifferent, he kowtowed again and again: "How much is the pair of jade pendants, we will pay for it." ”

"Compensation?" Du Datong raised his head and smiled, and said with great sarcasm: "Can you two poor ghosts afford to pay for it?" But......" He rolled his eyes and said, "I can ask Gongzi for you, the price of the jade pendant is only known to Gongzi." ”

"Thank you Du Ye, thank you Du Ye!" Uncle Zheng was overjoyed when he heard this, and kowtowed again and again, no matter how much money he had, it was better than going to see an official, and when he arrived at the Yamen, he was afraid that Shi Sheng's life would not be saved.

Du Datong motioned to his subordinates to stop, and he left with the lamp, and only came back after about half an hour, and snorted coldly: "Childe said, that pair of jade pendants he spent three hundred taels of silver before he said that the other party could bear the pain of cutting love, and Childe didn't want more, just pay three hundred taels according to the original price." ”

Hearing the number of three hundred taels, Uncle Zheng was stupid, he knew that the pair of jade pendants was expensive, but he never expected it to be so expensive, three hundred taels? Even if you add up all the money of the people living in the long alley, you can't get up to a tenth.

"I've already told you, what are you doing here, Gongzi is magnanimous, give you three days to make up the silver, if you can't get the money after three days, then see you in the yamen!" Du Datong threw down this sentence and ordered Shi Sheng, who was covered in injuries, to be locked up in the firewood room, and wait for three days before making a decision.

Uncle Zheng returned to the long alley in despair, Shi Mu had not seen Shi Sheng's return for a long time, she couldn't rest assured, leaned on the door and looked, she knew that her son was going to a big family to listen to an errand today, and he was going to a neighboring town, but it had been a whole day, so he should come back.

Ling Ruo cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, walked to the door and said to Shi Mu, who was looking at the long alley: "Auntie, you go in and rest for a while, I will wait for Shi Sheng to come back here for you." ”

"No, your feet are so sharp, it's not good to stand for a long time, I'll just wait." As soon as Shi Mu finished speaking, she saw a figure swaying past by the faint moonlight in the sky, and said with joy in her heart: "Miss Ling, look, is that Shi Sheng?" ”

Ling Ruo looked in the direction of her finger and carefully recognized: "Auntie, it's Uncle Zheng, but Shi Sheng went on an errand with Uncle Zheng, since Uncle Zheng is back, then Shi Sheng is also soon." ”

Shi Mu nodded, but no matter how she looked around, she didn't see anyone other than Uncle Zheng, but Uncle Zheng walked up to them, and said with an old face that was miserable under the moonlight: "Old sister-in-law, something happened." ”

Shi Mu was shocked, and hurriedly held on to the door frame and said in a trembling voice: "Uncle, what's wrong?" What about Shi Sheng and others, why didn't he come back with you? ”

Uncle Zheng told the story of tonight as it was, and when Shi Mu heard that Shi Sheng had stolen the jade pendant of Houfu and wanted to pay three hundred taels of silver, she couldn't breathe down and fainted on the spot.

Uncle Zheng and Ling Ruo hurriedly helped her to the bed, pinched and poured hot water, and after tossing for a while, they finally woke up Shi Mu and turned around, and the first thing she said after waking up was, "My son will never steal things from the mansion!"

Uncle Zheng sat on the edge of the bed and said with a sad face: "Alas, old sister-in-law, I don't believe it either, but the people in Houfu insisted that it was stolen by Shi Sheng, what should we use to reason with others?" The people in the Houfu said that they would either take three hundred taels of silver to ransom people, or they would go to the yamen! You said, where are we going to get together three hundred taels, and they said they would only give them three days. ”

Shi Mu heard Uncle Zheng say that the people in Houfu beat Shi Sheng severely, and said angrily: "Catch the thief and take the stolen goods, they didn't find that pair of jade pendants on my son's body at all, why did they say that he stole it?" ”

"It's the girl named Xiaoxiang who testifies to it, and then ...... Old sister-in-law, what kind of family is Houfu, in this Qingjiang Town, it is the emperor of the soil, they say that if a person is guilty, then he is guilty, even if he goes to Yamen County, the prince will help them speak, I heard that the county lord has to respectfully shout a teacher when he sees the lord Hou. ”

"Even so, you can't wronged people indiscriminately, and beat my son like that!" Shi Mu felt very distressed when she thought of Shi Sheng being beaten by someone, and she remembered the past twenty years ago, and said angrily: "When you see an official, you see an official, and you are not afraid of crooked shadows, I don't believe that there is no justice in this world!"

"Alas, old sister-in-law, you don't know our identity, jian, wherever you go with this identity, you have to pay a penalty of twenty water and fire sticks to the yamen, those yamen are all ruthless, they will be beaten to death without any silver, I am afraid that if it really makes trouble to the yamen, before the hall opens, Shi Sheng will die in their hands!" Uncle Zheng's words revealed an indescribable heaviness.

"Jian's membership! Jian nationality! It's Jian again! In the end, what can we people survive to the end? The ancestors made mistakes and did it with us, why should we be branded as the people of Jian as soon as we were born!" The more Shi Mu spoke, the more excited she became, and she slapped the bed hard.

"Aunt Shi, don't get excited." Ling Ruo has always known that there are Jianmin in both the previous dynasty and the current dynasty, but she has never had any deep experience, until she was rescued by Shi Sheng this time and lived in Shi's house for more than a month, she really realized how difficult it is for Jian Minsheng to exist in this society.

Poverty and hardship, these are secondary, the most important thing is the disdain of the whole society, no one pays attention to them, no matter what kind of grievances they suffer, they can only grit their teeth and endure it, because they have nowhere to appeal.