Chapter 128: A Poor Woman Meets a Noble Daughter

Miscellaneous offenders were imprisoned for capital crimes, and they were lost to Beijing to atone for their crimes.

Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, capital crimes have been divided into two types: "true capital crimes" and "miscellaneous capital crimes". The former refers to those who seek rebellion and disrespect, and are usually unforgivable; The latter, although the sin is punishable by death, does not require capital punishment, so there is a law of atonement. In today's Ming Dynasty, the law of atonement has become more and more detailed, and many regulations have been formulated.

The construction of Beijing City required countless manpower, and although the servants made it, the cost was too high, and it was easy to attract public resentment. As a result, in addition to the death row prisoners who actually committed capital crimes, those who built walled palaces today are all prisoners who have committed miscellaneous capital crimes, and prisoners who should be sentenced to death with rods, exiles, and so on.

For the imperial court, it is just a fluttering sentence, but for some people, it is a way to live. After all, if you commit a capital crime, although the sin does not lead to death, if you are not on the atonement regulations or have no money to atone for your sin, you will be able to plant trees in Tianshou Mountain for life. The labor of building the city of Beijing was hard, but if you can survive for ten years, you can be exempted from the crime and become a civilian. Especially for prisoners who have no money to atone for their crimes, but there are people at home who are concerned, they have to work hard to survive.

Since the beginning of winter, heavy snow has fallen in Beijing, and although the snow has stopped on this day, the sky and the earth are still white. A section of the inner city wall to the north is new, and hundreds of prisoners are now braving the cold to transport bricks to build the wall. Almost all of them wore thin wool robes tied with straw ropes, and straw shoes were worn on their feet. In this cold weather, a sip of hot water becomes a rare treat.

"Daddy!"

On this cold day, the overseer was not comfortable, and at first hearing such an abrupt voice, he couldn't help but look up, and saw a little girl in a blue jacket, so he closed his eyes strangely, and was a little envious of the prisoner who committed a capital crime. This time, there are more prisoners who have been sent to do hard labor, how many family members can come with them? Look at the little girl and beg back and forth. In addition, he gave him a silver horn, and he turned a blind eye to her to deliver food and water, this person always has to accumulate virtue, right?

"Cui'er, what are you doing here on this cold day, if you have the kung fu to send me these, you might as well take good care of your mother at home! You kid, is this where you came from? What if it was seen by others! ”

The little girl was shivering with cold at this time, but she couldn't care about her father's complaints. I opened the food box in my hand, and there were two steamed buns and a bowl of steaming syrup in it, and said in my mouth: "Dad, this is what I just steamed, you eat it quickly and I'll leave immediately, my mother is still waiting at home!" ”

The man was so hungry that he saw that everyone else around him was staring at him, so he had to grab the steamed bun and stuff it into his mouth. After eating, he drank the bowl of pulp water in one go, and then urged his daughter to leave. Seeing the little girl go away, he rubbed his hands and turned back to work, before picking up the tools, but a voice came from the side.

"Kang Laosan, you are really blessed. My wife and children have followed me to Beijing, and your girl still knows how to bring you food every day! Phew, what is the atonement, I knew that I would have to work in such weather. Lao Tzu might as well go to Tianshou Mountain to plant trees, and if you plant 500 trees, you will be free! This hard labor is really hard labor, do you know, three of them were killed by the fallen city wall on the edge of the southern head city before, and the rest of the gang were whipped one by one, just rework is enough to exhaust people! ”

"Brother Xiao, if I go to Tianshou Mountain to plant trees, it will be for a lifetime. I can't leave Cui'er and Cui'er behind. ”

"You're really an honest man, and fortunately your wife didn't let you down! The three meals a day provided here are basically dog food, and if you have your daughter to deliver food, we people will be unlucky! ”

Kang Laosan smiled innocently, and continued to work without saying a word, and several prisoners next to him shook their heads when they saw this. Looking at this guy's extremely honest appearance, who would have thought that he would run from Nanjing to Kaifeng for the hatred that his mother-in-law never forgets. With a sharp blade, he killed the woman who had murdered his brother-in-law. stabbed the adulterer who was living a free life, and killed two doglegs who wanted to step forward to stop him. He carried four lives on his back.

This was a mortal crime, but fortunately, I don't know who found out about the previous public case, and Kaifeng was replaced by a new prefect. The new prefect was still fair and decided, and found out that the man and woman were adulterers and adulteresses, and murdered people first, and exempted Kang Laosan from the crime of two lives, plus the first two lives, but sentenced the miscellaneous offenders to death. Now his wife and daughter are all determined to follow, otherwise wouldn't it be too unacceptable?

Cui'er ran all the way home with the food box, still calculating the money she had earned and spent in the past few days. No matter how she calculated, in the end, she found that if there was no other input, I was afraid that she and her mother would not be able to endure it anymore. Although my father's capital crime has become ten years of hard labor, just looking at these world conditions, how can these ten years be easy?

It is said to be a home, but in fact it is nothing more than a simple shed built at the base of the wall on the north side of the inner city. Tens of thousands of prisoners were allocated to build the city of Beijing, and although there were not many family members who came with them, there were definitely a lot of plans, and dozens of people lived in this shack. It's just that everyone is poor, and most of the people who come and go on weekdays are everyone who sweeps the snow in front of the door, regardless of the frost on the tiles of others.

She hurriedly pushed open the tattered courtyard door and entered, only to find a thin woman in a gray robe washing her clothes in the snow, her hands red from the cold, and coughing incessantly.

"Mother, your illness is not cured yet! Didn't I say, don't you do all this, I have it? ”

"My illness doesn't matter, you are busy alone, I don't do anything, how can I do this?"

Kang Liu glanced at his daughter's angry appearance and stomped her feet, and sighed: "I know my own bones, even if I can't help your father, it's better to help more while I can work now." It's all my fault, if I had known that he looked honest and honest, but he was so bloody, I wouldn't have nagged about this, and I wouldn't have let him commit such a big crime! ”

"Mother!" Seeing her mother's expression becoming more and more miserable, Cui'er couldn't help but squat down and hugged her shoulders tightly, "Things are already like this, and it won't help you to complain." If I really can't make it up, I'm ...... I'll sell my body to those noble families for a few dollars, as long as Daddy and you ......."

"Silly boy!"

Kang Liu gently stroked his daughter's forehead. The trace of remorse in my heart still lingers. The husband atoned for his sins with hard labor, and those ten years were already difficult, if she and her daughter had a case, would he still be able to persevere? But even for her husband, the few banknotes accumulated at home have almost been exhausted, and if you go down, you won't be able to open the pot, so how can you wait?

"That's right, mother. When I went out today, I heard that the English prince was cured! Cui'er raised her head, her eyes flashing with expectation, "I heard that Xiao Engong has always lived in Beppu, so why don't I beg him!" Mother, I know that he is a nobleman, and I don't want him to help us in vain, as long as he can find me a job. Even if you are a cow or a horse, as long as you can survive this decade! Mother, I beg you! ”

Thinking that he was originally from a wealthy family, but he had fallen to the point where he is now, Kang Liu couldn't help but cry with his daughter's headache. But now it is desperate. But she still didn't want to ruin her daughter's lifelong freedom, so she refused to agree to Cui'er's request. When noon she had sent her daughter to bring food to her husband, she went back to the house and sat down in the straw that was the bed, and was stunned. After thinking about it, I thought of only one way.

However, her father died, her eldest brother was also dead, and now she is only a poor woman left, will people still recognize her as a relative?

Since the next day was the Lantern Festival, the streets were full of pedestrians, and the stalls selling all kinds of lanterns were crowded with noisy children. Kang Liu carefully avoided those well-dressed people, but when he asked for directions, no one cared for them. After walking for a long time, I was still wandering around in the same place. The cold wind blew, even if she wrapped her clothes tightly, she still couldn't resist the cold, and her eyes were even darker, and finally she had to hold on to the wall to barely walk.

She struggled and walked dozens of steps before she passed a door, but her feet suddenly went limp, and she sat down on the steps in front of the door. At this time, she only felt a sharp pain in her chest. I know that I have made an old mistake. I couldn't help but smile bitterly. Looking at this situation, she shouldn't worry about finding the door to bring shame on herself. You should bring Cui'er. If she died silently, what would her daughter do?

"Hey, if you want food, go elsewhere, is there such a big festival to sit at the door of someone's house?"

Kang Liu heard a coquettish reprimand behind him, and hurriedly tried to stand up with his hands. Helplessly, she only ate a bowl of thin gruel as thin as water in the morning and noon, and no matter how hard she tried at this time, her legs and feet were stunned and did not obey the call. Full of sadness, she could only turn around and bow her head, and said in a low voice: "Girl, forgive me, I just don't have the strength......"

"Don't have the strength to block the door of another house? How are you going to let us get in and out, come on, blow her away...... Ah, Miss, why did you come out before this car came? The slave and maid sent her away at once! ”

"Red sleeves, accumulate some virtue for the big festival, don't be so mean!"

Hearing such a gentle and amiable voice, Kang Liu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Looking up, she saw two young and jade-looking girls.

The girl on the left was wearing a blue coat and a blue satin cloak outside, and the young lady on the right was wearing a crane that seemed to be made of fox skin, and the boots on the ground were also trimmed with gold, and the clothes on her body were brilliantly embroidered, and she wore a mink Zhaojun set on her head. Only then did she raise her head uneasily, only to find that the place where she was sitting seemed to be the back door of some big mansion.

"Miss, you are too kind, if Aunt Liu and the others saw it, they would have picked up the broom and driven people away!"

"Who in this world doesn't have a time when they are in trouble! It's almost the holiday, take a few bills to this sister-in-law, help her up, sitting on the ground on a cold day will be frostbitten. ”

Unexpectedly, the daughter of the big family who bumped into her unexpectedly was so kind, Kang Liu held the girl's hand and stood up easily. Forcibly holding back the feeling of dizziness, she couldn't care about the treasure money handed in front of her, and said with a deep salute: "The kindness of the eldest lady has confessed to it, and I really dare not ask for this money." The little woman wanted to go to the Anyang Mansion to find a relative, but now she was lost, so she asked the eldest lady to show her way. ”

Meng Min was about to go out, but unexpectedly bumped into a ragged woman at the door. Zhu Zhanyuan, the king of Anyang, naturally knows the land, and the princess of Anyang is her handkerchief, and today she was invited to the palace. Therefore, when she heard that this woman was talking about looking for relatives, she was quite hesitant, and asked two more questions, and heard that the other party was looking for Liu, the nurse of Zhu Zhanyuan, the king of Anyang, and she decided to take it with her after a while.