In the Criminal Trial Division, a case of intentional homicide (attempt) is pending.

This is a criminal case caused by a conflict between husband and wife. The victim in this case was the husband of the defendant, because the victim wanted to file a divorce lawsuit after the defendant had been criminally punished. The presiding judge of the criminal division took into account that the victim had to file a separate divorce lawsuit, and in order to facilitate the timely handling of the divorce case in the next step, he specially invited Dongfang Siyi to participate in the trial of the criminal case as a member of the collegial panel.

Dongfang Siyi looked up at the defendant while flipping through the case file materials. Sitting in the dock was a young woman, who had just turned 20 years old. He was not tall, his face was a little pale, his clothes were thin, and he looked very thin. If you don't know the facts of the case, it's hard to connect such a weak woman in front of you with a murder suspect.

For a young woman, this should be a season with a lot of dreams. Those who belong to this age should be associated with the most ostentatious youth and dreams in life. Belonging to this age, it is a season of flowers and branches in a woman's life, a season when a woman enjoys pampering in life, is deliberately sheltered by her family, and is carefree.

Sending a person on the path of no return in the name of love and concern is the most unforgivable tragedy of human nature. Those relatives who were supposed to shelter and care for her led her to a wrong path in life. One wrong step, one wrong step. As a young woman, she took a wrong step, deviated from the original path of beauty and happiness, and unconsciously fell into an inextricable pain, and finally went to sin.

Because of her family's poverty, she dropped out of school before she could finish secondary school. This is still lucky compared to her mother, who has not been in school for a day and does not know where to lift her feet in front of the public toilet. In the days of trivial and heavy labor day by day, in the years of sweat mixed with tears, there is still a happy hope hidden in her heart. She hopes that one day, she can wear the bride's gorgeous wedding dress, shine brightly, and marry the person she likes decently.

This is one of the few longings that an ordinary woman can have, and the longing that can make her heart move the most. This vision inspired her young life and made her work tirelessly in the fields year after year. She is looking forward to a good harvest that will change her family's poverty as soon as possible. She worked tirelessly to work in other places to make money, hoping to change her ignorant life. She looks forward to not being like her mother, who will never leave the country for the rest of her life and live like a frog at the bottom of a well.

Despite her hard work, life is not as easy and beautiful as she had hoped. In the specific reality environment, the sweat and tears she paid did not bring her the life she longed for. She didn't have the skills and knowledge to support her hopes, and she could only earn a meager income from the simplest repetitive tasks.

One day, she was transporting materials with her fellow villagers at a construction site, when her mother sent her a message saying that she was sick and that there was no one to do the farm work at home, so she stopped working outside and hurried home. Worried about her frail mother, she found her boss to settle her wages and hurried back home.

When she hurried home tired and flustered, she found her mother laughing happily with the neighbors, who were talking about a joke about an old man in the village. She looked at her mother, who had no signs of illness, and suddenly had a cloud of suspicion in her heart, thinking that the person with the letter must have made a mistake and deliberately made fun of her, and she was very angry.

When her mother saw her coming back, she hurriedly took her hand and returned home, and told her with a smile that she had found a good family for her. Only then did she realize that her mother was not sick, but just found an excuse to trick her back.

She looked at her mother with a happy face, she didn't get angry or complain, she was used to being obedient since she was a child. She, like her mother, never thought of fighting against fate, and didn't seem to know that she had the right to be angry and the right to refuse something unfair. But after all, she is still very young and has a lot of dreams, and she still truthfully told her mother that she didn't want to get married so early.

"I'm not married, I'm not old enough to get married, Mom, have you forgotten, or are you confused? I'm only over 18 years old now, and I'm not yet 20 years old, so I can't get a marriage license. Why do you want me to marry? She knew that marriage was to be of the age required by the marriage law, and that was the only reason she could find.

But her mother didn't follow her, and said with an unhappy face: "Don't talk to me with any illegal things, what's the matter if you don't get a marriage certificate?" Didn't the second girl next door also get a marriage certificate? Isn't she doing well, too? Her husband can earn money, which one is worse off than her? Women always have to get married, so it's better to pick one while they're young. ”

While picking up a broom and driving the flock of chickens outside the house, her mother enlightened her: "You are a girl in the countryside, you are born to dig in the soil and eat, and you can't fly to the sky. In her mother's eyes, she has the same fate as these local chickens raised at home, and she has to rely on herself to find food.

These chickens, every day at dawn, they are released from their cages, and they either run to the grass or farther into the field, and use their two paws to pull in the field, looking for all kinds of small insects or other bits and pieces of food to feed themselves. They are not phoenixes, they are not swans, they cannot go to the sky, because they do not have wings to reach the sky, their wings can only barely allow them to fly to the low forks of trees, and they can only live on earth in peace.

Although her mother's words were very unpleasant, it was difficult for her to listen to them, and it was difficult for her to accept them willingly, but she could not refuse her mother, nor could she rebel against fate.

During the repeated discussions and selected days between the two parties, she was helplessly carried by her relatives and walked into a strange room lively. The house was very empty and looked like it had just been built. The paint on the walls had not yet dried completely, the wooden furniture in the room had not yet had time to be painted, and the windows had not yet been fitted with glass, so they had to be temporarily covered with a transparent film to protect them from the wind and rain.

Like many rural girls in remote and backward areas, with the help of a group of relatives and friends, as if they were making a deal, the two parties directly talked about the conditions of marriage.

The families of both men and women, according to their seniority and dignity, sat around a few temporary borrowed large square tables, and the clever matchmaker said the opening remarks: "It is natural for a man to marry a woman." Today is a good day, if you don't open a family, it's a family. If there are any requirements and conditions, they should be said in front of relatives and friends on both sides, and everyone can get together today, and when they come, they will discuss this great event, discuss wine, and discuss how to do this happy event. Second, it can be regarded as a good thing to witness a couple get married. This happy event is not only a happy event for the two newcomers, but also a happy event for the two families. Now, I will accept the man's commission to eat and chat with everyone......"

Her mind went blank, and she felt that it didn't look like it was talking about marriage at all, but about a deal. It's just that it's herself who is bought and sold, not anything else. There were some faces in the group of relatives and friends that she had rarely seen, and even some that she had never seen before, and now her own fate was in their hands.

The person who talks about marriage is not her who wants to marry, nor is he who wants to marry, but she and his family, the family members and relatives and friends of both parties sit together to discuss. Relatives and friends talked very seriously, talked hard, and seemed to talk happily, she and him were put aside as if they were two goods, and it was the owners of the goods who were bargaining.

Relatives and friends on both sides seemed to be trying their best to fight for them, judging each other's conditions, just like judging fresh fish and meat in a vegetable market, arguing and arguing, trying to sell their side at a good price.

After several rounds of bargaining, the man finally agreed to all the woman's conditions. In the process, no one came to ask her opinion. Even if it's for pretend, ask her. No one cares about her feelings, everyone thinks it's all for her good, relatives and friends bargain with each other for her good, this is not to be doubted, no one really cares whether she is satisfied, relatives and friends think that what should be satisfied is satisfied, she has become an outsider in her own marriage.

Although they fought for each other in the process of negotiations, there were many good things, and the relatives and friends on both sides who finally negotiated the conditions showed satisfied smiles on their faces. Subsequently, the man's family invited the woman's relatives and friends to sit down and discuss wine in accordance with the long-standing customs and rules, which is also called a blind date dinner.

It was only at this time that the parents, relatives and friends of both sides thought of asking her to come out symbolically. Looking at the dishes and wine that had been set on the table for a dozen or so, she could only bow her head in front of her relatives and friends. In everyone's opinion, bowing your head is obedience, that is, consent, and even a reply to this marriage. So the relatives and friends of both sides began to drink and talk, and since then the two families have become quasi-in-laws.

More than a month later, on the same auspicious day that was chosen, two invited drummers from neighboring villages, one old and one young, each holding a copper suona, played a tune that aroused people's desire for life.

The two copper suona, which have been passed down for several generations, are essential musical instruments for traditional weddings, and they are as valued as artifacts. Because its tone is joyful and high-pitched, it is a stimulant for ordinary life, and it is also a lucky charm for ordinary life. The place where the copper suona is held has long been polished to shine, and they have witnessed the joy of countless newcomers' lively life.

After receiving the red envelope from the man's family, the drummers followed the procession to welcome the relatives, playing one ancient tune after another in the countryside along the way.

In a joyful and lively atmosphere, she only felt dizzy, numbly moved her feet, and involuntarily followed the procession of sending and welcoming relatives into her new home.

A girl who hasn't had time to think about what kind of life she wants to live in the future is like this, so she becomes someone else's bride. At that time, she was just over 18 years old, and it was the man's family who used two cigarettes to falsely add two years to her from the person in charge of the official seal in the village, and deliberately altered the age on the household registration book, so that she successfully received the red marriage certificate.

(Next Preview: Chapter 110: Inner Desire)