Mo Sang – CH 094

Chapter 94. Settling Down

The injury and death at the Wang family mansion terrified the servants.

Besides the senile and over-seventy-year-old Scholar Wang, only a few concubines remained in the mansion: Madam Wang and her daughter, Second Young Lady Wang, who had gone with their eldest son and his wife to Fuli Prefecture to buy new clothes after celebrating the birthday.

Without a master, there was no one in charge.

When the sun was high in the sky, the trembling servants of the Wang family found the grove where the screams had echoed all night—a grove rumored to be haunted. Inside, only the terrified, seemingly insane Master Wang lay hanging, surrounded by pools of blood.

……………………

Around noon, Li Sangrou followed the large cargo cart, carrying the bloodied body of Wang Yide, and a long string of terrified prisoners tied to the back. The cart slowly passed through the busiest street in Linhuan City amidst the curiosity and fear of the crowd.

After meeting Lu Hepeng at the yamen gate and having the long line of prisoners press their handprints twice more, Hei Ma beat the drum and threw Wang Yide’s corpse and the long line of prisoners into the main hall.

Magistrate Luo, having already received the report, rushed into the main hall. He stared in disbelief at the corpse lying in the center of the hall, no longer recognizable as human, and the prisoners kneeling on the ground.

“This is…”

“Linhuan County under your jurisdiction is teeming with evil spirits!

Yesterday, in that grove outside Liuzi Town, ghosts began to haunt it—vengeful ghosts and malevolent spirits!

Wang Yide, the beloved son of the benevolent magistrate of Liuzi Town, was tormented by seven vengeful ghosts, who scratched him all night.

Look, this is what it looks like to be scratched by vengeful ghosts all night.” Li Sangrou squinted at Magistrate Luo, speaking each word carefully.

“How dare you spout such nonsense! Do you think I am a three-year-old?! You…” Magistrate Luo was terrified and furious, trembling all over, his face turning pale.

The gruesome sight of the corpse on the ground was too much for him to bear.

That one glance was enough to haunt him for three to five years.

“Ghosts exist in this world, evil ghosts, and naturally, vengeful ghosts.

Do not believe me? Ask them.

Tell me, did that evil ghost, Master Wang, get attacked by a vengeful ghost last night? Was he tormented to death by a vengeful ghost? Speak! Was it true?” Li Sangrou kicked the prisoner closest to her.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

The prisoner kicked by Li Sangrou was instantly terrified, screaming in terror, his head hitting the ground, repeatedly saying, “Yes, yes, yes.”

They had watched all night, their hearts pounding with fear. In their eyes, all the evil ghosts in the world combined were not as terrifying as a single finger of Li Sangrou before them.

“Look,” Li Sangrou said, “so many witnesses, all speaking with one voice, and they are all from very kind families. These two are children from families like yours.

The seven wronged ghosts themselves have already asked clearly how they died. Take a good look.”

Li Sangrou took a thick stack of confessions from Lu Hepeng and slammed them hard on Magistrate Luo’s face, scattering them all over the ground.

Magistrate Luo, utterly shocked and enraged, stood frozen in shock.

Li Sangrou walked to the entrance of the yamen, then suddenly turned and went back inside.

“I almost forgot. I heard your great-grandmother received a commendation.

The reason for the commendation was that at that time, all the men in your Luo family had died. She, a single woman, raised your grandfather and his two brothers, doing needlework, running a stall, singing funeral songs, and even begging for food.

She painstakingly raised your grandfather and his two brothers, personally teaching them to read and write. Your grandfather passed the imperial examination and wrote a biography of your great-grandmother, which was eventually presented to the Emperor, resulting in the commendation.

Back then, when your great-grandmother did needlework, did she sit at home, reaching out to the heavens for work?

When your great-grandmother ran her stall, did she set it up at home, looking up at the sky and down at the earth, selling to ghosts and spirits?

Did your great-grandmother sing funeral songs while sitting at home for your grandfather and his brothers?

Did your great-grandmother beg for food while sitting at home, tilting her head back and tapping her bowl, and then food would fall from the sky? Is that how you beg for food?

Since you think women who leave their homes deserve to die, those who go out into the streets or city deserve to die, and those who support their families deserve to die a thousand deaths, then what about your great-grandmother? How many times should she have died?

You think women who show their faces in public are worthless? Then what about your great-grandmother? Was she worthless?

Your credentials, prominently displayed at the top, are a tribute to your great-grandmother.

But your great-grandmother, like Sister Qi, was worthless because she had no choice but to show her face in public to support her family!”

Li Sangrou pointed her finger at the stunned Magistrate Luo’s nose.

“Did you not say that death is a small matter, but integrity is a big matter? You are a man of integrity. With a great-grandmother like that, how can you still be alive? You should die of shame; you should kill yourself by banging your head against the wall, hang yourself, or even take poison.”

After speaking, Li Sangrou turned and left.

Lu Hepeng did not dare to breathe, following closely behind Li Sangrou until they reached the entrance of the inn. Only then did he let out a sudden sigh of relief, his legs giving way, and he slumped onto the inn’s threshold.

That night, he felt as if he had experienced a ghost story, a great battle, and a terrifying ordeal of walking through hell.

“Go see how Guo’er is. Tell them to cook some hot dishes and make a good soup. You are tired,” Li Sangrou instructed Jin Mao and Hei Ma, sounding somewhat weary.

Lu Hepeng caught his breath and moved to sit opposite Li Sangrou.

“Boss, this is all very important!” Lu Hepeng looked at Li Sangrou, his fear tinged with deep worry.

They’d killed someone and made such a commotion—it was blatant!

Just now, the gang leader had done it in public… Sigh, that was like slapping Magistrate Luo across the face, not a metaphor, but a slap in the face.

This was simply appalling!

“Who were the other two criminals besides the servants?” Li Sangrou ignored Lu Hepeng’s worries, poured herself a cup of tea, and asked.

“One was Shi Hongyun, the youngest son of Scholar Shi from Fuli Prefecture; the other was Ying Wenshun, the son of Wang Yide’s second aunt, also from Fuli Prefecture.

They were both here to celebrate Scholar Wang’s birthday, yet they committed such heinous crimes. Sigh.” Lu Hepeng thought of the stack of confessions, and his heart sank.

“What will their sentence be? Execution in the autumn or immediate execution?” Li Sangrou continued to ask.

Lu Hepeng choked, and after a moment, he smiled bitterly. “Wang Yide was the principal offender, and he’s already dead. The other accomplices…”

Lu Hepeng’s words trailed off, and meeting Li Sangrou’s gaze, his bitter smile deepened. “First, the six who died earlier have nothing to do with Shi Hongyun and Ying Wenshun; they were both first-time offenders and accomplices.

Also, Sister Qi used to be a prostitute. Although she redeemed herself, she’s still considered a lowly household.

Shi Hongyun and Ying Wenshun, even in the most severe cases, would only be exiled a thousand li. If,” Lu Hepeng lowered his head, “they would only be fined some silver. Murder cases must be submitted to the Fuli Prefecture, and the Shi family has considerable influence there.”

Li Sangrou lowered her eyes and sipped her tea.

“That’s the law, Boss…” Lu Hepeng sighed with a bitter smile.

“If they had just killed Sister Qi with a single blow, Sister Qi would have died cleanly and decisively. That’s the law, and the ringleader’s life would be enough.

But you’ve read all those confessions.

The atrocities described in the confessions—just reading them would probably give you nightmares. But Guo’er saw them from beginning to end, and they clearly knew she was watching.”

Li Sangrou paused, then continued, “The law is meant to be used by people. Even the wicked are still human. These are animals.”

Everyone would say that human beings were inherently good, and there were many, many good people in the world. But not everyone was born good. Some were born evil, born with only a human form, without a heart.

Like Shi Hongyun, like Ying Wenshun.

“Others are born human and receive education from a young age, but these two, like Wang Yide, were taught from childhood how to wear human skin and commit evil in the name of humanity.”

Lu Hepeng sighed deeply.

Guo’er was indeed too pitiful.

But the law was the law.

Zou Wang carried Guo’er out, with Jinmao following behind.

“Boss, good news! The physician just said that Guo’er’s pulse is much better than before. He said that judging from her appearance, her soul has returned and her spirit is whole! Look!”

“Guo’er, this was our boss.” Zou Wang carried Guo’er and sat down next to Li Sangrou, his face full of joy.

“My surname is Li. What’s yours?” Li Sangrou smiled at Guo’er and asked gently.

“Qi. Thank you.” Guo’er looked at Li Sangrou, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Poor child.” Li Sangrou reached out and hugged Guo’er. “You remember everything?”

Guo’er trembled slightly and gave a soft “Mmm.”

“Do not be afraid. The evil spirits are all dead. You saw it all, did you not? Your mother has closed her eyes in peace and has passed away peacefully.

From now on, you have me. No evil spirits will come near you again.” Li Sangrou looked down at Guo’er.

Guo’er gave a soft “Mmm” and slowly rested her head against Li Sangrou’s chest. “You have a little aunt in Jianle City.

Your little aunt is about my age; she makes especially delicious scallion pancakes. She also has two older sisters and a little brother.

We will set off tomorrow, first to Fuli Prefecture, and then back to Jianle City.

If you like your little aunt and enjoy playing with your older sisters and little brother, you can stay with her. If you do not, you can stay with me, alright?”

“Alright.” Guo’er nestled her head against Li Sangrou’s chest, reaching out to grab her clothes.

“Let’s go first, before we see your mother buried. Uncle Zou will take care of her funeral arrangements.

Later, once you’ve recovered, your aunt can take you, or I can take you, and we will come to visit your mother often, alright?”

Li Sangrou spoke softly and gently to Guo’er. She watched as the waiters laid out a table full of dishes, picked out a few, put them in a bowl, and was about to feed Guo’er when Guo’er shifted in Li Sangrou’s arms and whispered, “I can eat by myself.”

“Alright.”

Li Sangrou let Guo’er sit in her lap, watching her peacefully eat half a bowl of rice at the table.

……………………

As darkness fell, Li Sangrou saw that Guo’er had fallen asleep. She gestured for Hei Ma to watch over Guo’er, then changed into black clothes, took Jin Mao, and left the inn.

……………………

The next morning, Zou Wang left the inn early, bought a cart, had it delivered, hurriedly gave a few instructions to the waiters to clean it up, and then rushed into the inn.

Zou Wang saw Li Sangrou, sat down at their table, and, looking at her with a hint of fear, said in a low voice, “Boss, have you heard? The prisoners we sent to the yamen all hanged themselves last night!

They say they were lined up in the jail, and none of them survived—they were all dead!”

Lu Hepeng suddenly looked up at Li Sangrou.

“The boss and I hung them up,” Jin Mao, who was eating a steamed bun, glanced at Zou Wang and mumbled.

Zou Wang grunted.

Lu Hepeng’s face turned pale. He froze for a moment, then suddenly leaned forward, looking at Li Sangrou in terror. “The boss is going to Fuli Prefecture…”

“Not to kill anyone, but to deliver those two confessions on the Shi and Ying families to their fathers.

We need to let the Shi and Ying families know they raised two evil spirits; they deserved to die,” Li Sangrou said calmly, sipping her chicken porridge.

Lu Hepeng let out a long sigh, then sighed meaningfully. “More than a dozen criminals died in prison. If we get away with this, then Magistrate Luo’s career is over.”

“That’s a good thing!” Zou Wang, having recovered, immediately chimed in.

“Yes, it really is a good thing. Magistrate Luo, that kind of local official, sigh, he’s a killer without shedding blood,” Lu Hepeng said, picking up his bowl and slowly sipping his chicken porridge.

……………………

Five days later, Li Sangrou returned to Jianle City with Guo’er. Zhang Mao and Sister Gu rented two adjacent courtyards in a neighboring alley, connecting them to form a clothing shop.

Jin Mao went to find Zhang Mao at the clothing shop, while Hei Ma drove the cart straight to Zhang Mao’s house.

All the girls and boys in Zhang Mao’s family and the tenement courtyard who were old enough had already been sent to school.

Zhang Mao’s eldest daughter, Xiu’er, and second daughter, Cui’er, had just returned from school and went to Sister Gu’s courtyard to pick up their younger brother, Dazhuang.

Sister Han’s daughter, Man’er, was always inseparable from Xiu’er. Since her mother was busy at the clothing shop and not home, she naturally went to Zhang Mao’s house with Xiu’er.

Xiu’er and Man’er moved a table to the porch to do their homework. Cui’er, having just started school, had less homework and had already finished. She played shuttlecock with her younger brother in the courtyard.

Hearing the sound of Hei Ma, Cui’er caught the shuttlecock and ran outside with Dazhuang, shouting, “It’s Uncle Ma! Uncle Ma!”

Xiu’er and Man’er also ran outside, and seeing Li Sangrou carrying Guo’er out of the carriage, they jumped and laughed to greet her.

“Auntie! It’s been so long since I’ve seen Auntie!”

“It’s the Boss!”

“Auntie! Auntie!”

Li Sangrou smiled and responded to each of them, carrying Guo’er into the courtyard and putting her down.

Xiu’er and the others surrounded her, looking at Guo’er with great curiosity.

Li Sangrou smiled and said, “Her name is Guo’er. She just recovered from a serious illness. Why not all play with her for a while?”

“Do not worry, Auntie, come here, Guo’er. Which ‘Guo’ are you? The ‘Guo’ of ‘fruit’?” Xiu’er immediately reached out to pull Guo’er.

Cui’er jumped next to Guo’er, standing on tiptoe to compare heights. “I am taller than you! I am your Elder Sister Cui, come on! Let me hug you!”

The silly Cui’er hugged Guo’er’s waist, chuckled, and actually lifted Guo’er’s feet off the ground.

“You will fall! Let go! Cui’er, you little rascal!” Man’er was startled and quickly snatched Guo’er from Cui’er’s arms.

“Dazhuang, take the candy and go play. Xiu’er, do not cook tonight; have your Uncle Ma order a table and a feast for us.”

Li Sangrou looked at Guo’er, who seemed a little timid but not resistant, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She stuffed the bags of pine nut candy and other snacks that Hei Ma was carrying into Dazhuang’s arms.

Dazhuang, clutching a bag full of snacks, yelled and ran back after his sisters.

Zhang Mao returned quickly, rushing through the courtyard gate and heading straight for Li Sangrou, who was sitting on the porch drinking tea. “What happened? Jin Mao said it’s big. Who is it?”

Zhang Mao immediately spotted Guo’er, surrounded by her three children and Man’er.

“It’s about that child. Sit down and talk. This tea is freshly brewed; have a cup before you speak.” Li Sangrou gestured for Zhang Mao to sit.

“What happened?” Zhang Mao glanced at Guo’er again, then sat down next to Li Sangrou.

“Her name is Qi Guo. She has no father and takes her mother’s surname.

Sister Qi was sold by her parents when she was very young, sold into a brothel.”

“Just like my sister.” Zhang Mao’s eyes reddened.

“Yes, her mother was quite beautiful and intelligent. The Mama who bought her mother was like many others in Nanchenggen—not particularly bad, just forced into it.

Sister Qi initially served older prostitutes, learning many characters and able to understand most simple texts.

At fourteen, Sister Qi began taking clients. She was shrewd and knew how to charm people, and within four or five years, she had saved enough money to redeem herself.

What happened afterward, she would not say, so I do not know.

Three years later, she moved from Fuli Prefecture to Linhuan County with her newborn daughter, Guo. She told the outside world that her husband had died, and because she had given birth to a daughter, she had been kicked out by her husband’s family and fled to Linhuan County.

In Linhuan County, she set up a small stall, writing letters, petitions, and fortune-telling—she did everything. Life was very difficult.

Later, while I was looking at routes in Linhuan County, I took a liking to her and entrusted her with Shunfeng’s delivery shop there.”

Li Sangrou paused, slowly sipping her tea. After a while, she continued, “Ten days ago, she went to the Wang family in Liuzi Town to deliver a letter. She was gang-raped by Wang Yide, the Second Young Master of the Wang family, and thirteen other men, and then beaten to death.”

Zhang Mao choked, staring intently at Li Sangrou.

“Sister Qi took Guo’er everywhere she went. Guo’er was only ten steps away, watching helplessly as her mother died a horrible death.” Li Sangrou glanced at Guo’er, who was being held by Cui’er.

“That child is so pitiful!” Tears welled up in Zhang Mao’s eyes.

“I’ve already killed those thirteen men. I want to put this child with you. I will have someone send two taels of silver every month.” Li Sangrou sighed softly.

“Sister Qi, like my sister…” Zhang Mao’s throat tightened suddenly. “I will treat her as my sister; she’s my sister. This is my sister’s own daughter, my own niece; do not worry.

No money is needed; my child does not need anyone to pay for her. Besides, I can afford to raise her; do not worry.

My poor Guo’er.” Zhang Mao wiped away tears.

“Alright,” Li Sangrou was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhang Mao and smiled. “When your three daughters get married, if I am still alive, whatever dowry you give, I will add an extra portion of the same amount.”