Chapter 116: The Su Family’s Exit

Chapter 116: The Su Family's Exit

When the news reached the Yu family, Su Rouer’s legs turned to jelly on the spot!

She had never expected that after Qian came to cause trouble, she would be waiting for her parents' next move.

But the next move never came; instead, what arrived was the news that her parents and sister-in-law were all in jail, and her brother Su Chengzong had become a murderer!

Su Dabao brought Su Xiaobao to the countryside to beg Su Rouer to save their parents and grandparents.

Su Rouer’s legs were still weak, and she couldn’t stand up at all.

How could a woman like her possibly save them?

In the end, it was Yu Sanbao who used his connection with the friendly constable.

The constable’s surname was Xie, and he was the second son in his family. Yu Sanbao always called him Brother Xie Er.

This time, Constable Xie Er took a risk and led Su Rouer and Yu Sanbao into the dungeon where the Su family members were being held.

The dungeon was dark and damp, emitting an indescribable odor.

The Su family had been imprisoned here for several days and no longer looked human.

Especially Su Chengzong, who had been subjected to severe torture upon his arrest. However, because he was a murderer, the county magistrate had to report the case step by step, and before that, Su Chengzong needed to remain alive.

Therefore, during this period, someone treated Su Chengzong’s injuries to prevent him from dying due to excessive wounds.

However, there is a saying: "Death can be avoided, but punishment cannot."

Those severe tortures were indeed inflicted upon Su Chengzong, causing him constant pain day and night. When Su Rouer arrived, he was already on the brink of death, unable even to speak.

Compared to Su Chengzong, Su’s father, mother, and Qian, though also tortured, had lighter charges. They were only accused of helping Su Chengzong hide the body, so their punishments were much lighter.

At least when Su Rouer arrived, Su’s father, mother, and Qian still had the strength to beg her to take them out.

Su Rouer was greatly shocked, her legs trembling.

Fortunately, Yu Sanbao was there, and he supported Su Rouer as they left.

Exposure to the sunlight outside gradually restored some color to Su Rouer’s pale face, though she was still crying uncontrollably.

Yu Sanbao held Su Rouer in his arms, not saying much, and turned to thank Constable Xie Er.

Constable Xie Er waved his hand, finding this newly recognized younger brother quite sensible.

He knew that Yu Sanbao understood the difficulty of the situation, didn’t stay inside for long, and didn’t rashly ask for impossible favors after coming out.

He was clear-headed.

Indeed, they could maintain regular contact.

Thinking this, Constable Xie Er smiled and said to Yu Sanbao very considerately, “Brother Yu San, let’s skip the formalities between us. Take your sister-in-law back to rest. That kind of place can make people with weaker constitutions feel unwell for several days.”

Yu Sanbao thanked him again. Seeing Su Rouer silently sobbing in Yu Sanbao’s arms, Constable Xie Er felt a pang of sympathy and lowered his voice to say to Yu Sanbao, “Tell your sister-in-law not to be too upset. Her parents and sister-in-law have minor charges. They will suffer some physical pain, but it won’t endanger their lives.”

With these words from Constable Xie Er, Yu Sanbao’s heart steadied, and he thanked him again.

Constable Xie Er waved his hand, “Between brothers, you don’t need to be so talkative. In a few days, treat me to a drink.”

After some time, the verdicts came down. Su’s father, mother, and Qian indeed had minor charges, but because it coincided with a strict crackdown by the government, they were sentenced to three years of labor at a quarry three hundred miles away.

As for Su Chengzong, due to the murder, he was sent to the state capital and placed in the death row, awaiting execution in the spring of the following year.

Regarding Su Rouer’s two nephews... Su Dabao was almost of marriageable age, while Su Xiaobao was still young. Su Dabao made the decision to take his brother along and accompany Su’s father, mother, and Qian to the quarry. They planned to rent a house near the quarry village and visit their mother and grandparents frequently.

Su Rouer suffered a great shock and fell seriously ill. Later, she forced herself to recover, prepared warm clothing and plenty of food, and used her connection with Constable Xie Er to request that the officials escorting Su’s father, mother, and Qian to the quarry treat them well.

...

First, there was the incident where someone tried to stab Wei Feng out of revenge, and then there was the matter of Su Chengzong killing a gambling den thug. The gambling den thugs became much more subdued.

Wei Feng, who nearly lost his life, recovered and resigned from the gambling den, returning to his old trade of collecting hides.

With the weather turning cold, hides were in high demand, providing him with a decent living.

Since the Yu family opened a shop in the county, their life had improved significantly. Although Wei Pozi couldn’t understand the accounts, seeing the increasing amount of silver in the ledger made her feel that life was sweeter than honey.

As the days passed, Bai Xiaofeng’s belly grew larger.

Rural women often continued working in the fields until just before giving birth. After the first trimester, Bai Xiaofeng also rolled up her sleeves and started managing household chores, moving about nimbly.

The child in her womb was very well-behaved and never caused her any trouble.

One day, she had a dream about a small black pig rooting around beside her.

In the dream, Bai Xiaofeng found the little black pig quite adorable, but she woke up drenched in sweat.

She believed this must be a fetal dream—dreaming of a little black pig usually meant a son, which troubled her greatly.

They already had two rascals at home, and she just wanted a sweet little girl!

Bai Xiaofeng worried for most of the day, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly went to find Li Chunhua, asking if the temple they visited earlier was truly effective.

Li Chunhua thought about how things at home had been getting better recently and replied firmly:

“It’s effective, very effective!”

Thus, Bai Xiaofeng decided to go to the temple to burn incense and chat with the deities, praying that the child in her womb would definitely be a little girl.

These days, Su Rouer had just seen off her parents, sister-in-law, and two nephews, and she was still unwell. Li Chunhua, without hesitation, decided to accompany Bai Xiaofeng.

Xingxing was playing with mud in the courtyard when she heard that her aunt and second aunt were going to the nameless Taoist temple. She thought of the little brother named Shiyàn, and immediately became very excited, saying, "Xingxing wants to go too!"

Both Li Chunhua and Bai Xiaofeng doted on Xingxing. It was also because of Xingxing that they both now wished for a daughter.

When Xingxing said she wanted to go, Li Chunhua and Bai Xiaofeng naturally did not refuse.

The older boys in the family were all studying in the county town and could not go. Ju Geer, due to Su Rouer's illness, felt responsible as a little man to take care of his mother and thus did not go either.

This time, only Xingxing, the youngest, would be going.

Upon arriving at the temple, Li Chunhua and Bai Xiaofeng knelt down to burn incense and pray, while Xingxing, familiar with the place, left the small temple to look for the little brother named Shiyàn.

However, this time, the little brother did not appear.

Xingxing had brought a gift specially for him, feeling somewhat disappointed, she continued searching around. As she walked, passing through an area surrounded by trees, she unexpectedly found a small courtyard hidden deep in the mountains.