Chapter 27

The Cai brothers had already confessed, and the Liu father and son could no longer deny their involvement.

The county magistrate, striking the judge’s block, shouted, “Liu Youcai, Liu Qiming, why did you two father and son hire someone to kill?”

Liu Youcai looked at his son beside him and shouted, “It was all my doing, my son has nothing to do with this.”

The magistrate did not accept his confession but turned to the Cai brothers and asked, “Who contacted you two?”

Cai Qian pointed at Liu Qiming. “It was Liu Xiucai who contacted us. We didn’t know Liu Xiucai’s father before this.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Youcai collapsed to the ground, while his wife, Mrs. Cao, swayed and nearly lost her balance.

The magistrate, already understanding the situation, questioned again, “The evidence is clear that you two hired someone to kill, but we still don’t know what enmity you had with that elderly couple. How could you harbor such malicious intentions? Speak honestly!”

Liu Youcai, his face streaked with tears, shook his head violently. “It’s all my fault. They offended me, and in my rage, I decided to kill. I begged my son to find those two people. Your honor, just punish me, it has nothing to do with my son or anyone else.”

The scribe, his eyes darting, leaned in to whisper to the magistrate.

The magistrate nodded repeatedly, then slammed the table and said, “So just an offense, and you want to kill someone? Do you think I’m a child of three? Also, why did the old woman call your son ‘grandson’? Could it be that you’re really that old man’s son?”

At the back of the crowd, Mr. Liu’s lips trembled as he said, “Impossible, impossible. Youcai is my son. He was born after my wife carried him for ten months. There can be no mistake.”

Then, as if struck by a thought, his eyes bulged, and he lunged at his wife, Ning, grabbing her by the neck. “You adulteress, did you sleep with that old man and make me wear a green hat?”

The crowd screamed in terror, and the bailiffs rushed forward to pull the two apart. Mrs. Liu clutched her neck, crying and cursing, “You bastard, I’ve been married to you for over forty years, bore you children, and lived a clean life. And now you’re slandering me.”

Mr. Liu, still being held by the bailiffs, continued to curse loudly, “Then explain why the Xiang family said Youcai is their son. If it’s not you who cheated on me, then what is it?”

Mrs. Liu, unable to bear the humiliation, cried, “I didn’t! If I had been fooling around with other men, I wouldn’t want to live anymore.”

She then tried to rush into a nearby pillar, but her son and daughter-in-law quickly stopped her.

The county magistrate, seeing the chaos in the hall, slammed his block down with a loud bang and shouted, “Mrs. Xiang, what is going on? Speak honestly, or we’ll use the torture instruments!”

It was clear to the magistrate that this woman couldn’t withstand threats. As soon as she heard “torture,” she would panic and speak the truth.

At the magistrate’s signal, the bailiffs immediately brought up the rusty torture instruments, which still bore dark red stains, likely from the previous prisoner.

As two officers tried to force her onto the torture rack, the old woman was so scared that her eyes rolled back, almost fainting, her body shaking like a leaf. She struggled, crying, “Please, Lord, spare me! It’s all the old woman’s fault. I shouldn’t have swapped these two children back then, or this wouldn’t have happened.”

This revelation caused the entire hall to erupt in chatter.

“What? Mrs. Xiang swapped Liu Youcai? Who did she swap him with?”

“I know! It must have been with Xiang Dagen. No wonder the Xiang family treated the first wife so harshly.”

“Xiang Dagen was wronged. He served the Xiang family for over thirty years, acting as a free laborer for them for twenty years.”

“No wonder the old woman kept selling Pear Blossom and Xinghua. Now it makes sense.”

“Not even her own granddaughter, and she just sells them off without blinking.”

“Earlier, we heard that Xiang Dagen died, and the Xiang family heartlessly lied about Xiang Daniu’s age to send him to the military. Now we know why. What a cruel family!”

“The Xiang family is terrifying. They’ve been hiding their evil intentions for over thirty years.”

“Even Liu Youcai and his son can commit such atrocities as patricide and matricide. How heartless they are!”

“Look at the Xiang family’s offspring. If their parents are so cruel, how good can the children be? Bah—”

The crowd was in an uproar, and the magistrate overheard. He immediately summoned the village head of Daliushu Village to find out what was going on. Only then did Zhang Sanye realize the full story. 

He explained everything that had recently happened with the Xiang family to the magistrate, including Xiang Dagen serving in the army for twenty years, the old woman selling Pear Blossom to traffickers, and trying to use Xinghua in an arranged marriage to replace Daniu. He spilled everything out, one by one, like a bamboo tube full of soybeans.

After the county magistrate listened, he was overjoyed. This was a major case, and by a stroke of luck, it had been solved by him. The case file would surely be praised when it was presented to the higher-ups, and even if it were made public, it would certainly boost his reputation.

Thinking this, he immediately put on a stern face and shouted, “Such malice, such scheming! To have set up a scheme for over thirty years! In all my years as an official, I have never seen such evil people. This is truly outrageous!”

Xiang Laotou, realizing that the truth had been exposed, seemed as though all the strength had been drained from him, and he kneeled on the ground like a piece of wood. 

He cried and begged the old woman, but could not help but curse Liu Youcai and his son, saying how they could do such cruel things to their own parents.

Liu Youcai glared at her with reddened eyes, saying, “You swapped the sons of the two families. 
Once you swapped them, it was done. Why are you telling us this? If you truly wanted the best for us, you should have kept this secret for life. But when you saw my son pass the imperial examination, you came to remind me not to forget my roots, even asking me to recommend your other grandchildren to the Confucian Academy, and demanding money for them to marry and build houses. You never considered us as your real sons or grandsons. 

The second and third branches of the family are your true sons. You and your family are like vampires, sucking money from us to support your second and third sons, just because Ming’er and I didn’t take the Xiang family name!”

Xiang’s wife, unwilling to back down, cursed, “Since you are of the Xiang family, why can’t you help your younger brother more now that you have money? You’ve taken the Liu family name and even passed the imperial exam, which brought glory to their ancestors. What’s wrong with giving some money to the Xiang family? I never expected your heart to be so vicious.”

Old Liu finally understood the situation and became furious, saying, “You old woman are arguing illogically. I raised your son for more than thirty years, and now you want to use our Liu family’s money to support your Xiang family? How shameless! I—I’ll beat you, you shameless—”

Old Liu was so enraged that he attempted to hit her, but the constables, having not seen such a lively case in a while, kicked him a few times to restrain him.

Seeing that things had come to this point, the county magistrate knew the case could be concluded. He struck the judge’s block and said, “This case has been investigated clearly. Thirty-six years ago, Xiang Kui and his wife swapped their eldest son with Liu’s eldest son, so that Liu’s son would serve in the military for the Xiang family. 

This lasted for nineteen years. Over these thirty-six years, the couple, together with the second and third branches, oppressed the first branch, selling off their two daughters, who were fortunately rescued by kind people, and later tampering with the age of the eldest son to send him to the army. This was a scheme so vicious, it’s truly despicable.”

“Based on this, my judgment is as follows: Liu and Xiang families will each reclaim their respective sons, and the wives and children of Dagen and Youcai will return to their respective families and re-register their household registrations. In addition, the Xiang family must send someone else to serve in the army. 

Xiang Kui and his wife will be sentenced to five years for swapping babies and mistreating the first branch’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and will also be required to pay compensation for the military funds Dagen contributed to over the years, as well as the proceeds from selling Pear Blossom and the compensation for mistreating the first branch’s family, totaling one hundred taels.”
Upon hearing this, everyone exclaimed that justice had been served.

The magistrate continued, “Liu Qiming attempted murder, and his actions, including killing his grandparents, are serious crimes. He is to be exiled to Lingnan, three thousand miles away. The Cai brothers were hired to commit murder but failed, and have been involved in other criminal cases, which will be tried at a later date.”

With a strike of the judge’s block, the case was officially closed. The Xiang family cried loudly, while the Liu family’s first branch felt as if the sky was falling, with people shouting and wailing.

The rest of the people exchanged looks.

Dagen, with his wife and children, stood hesitating, not knowing what expression to show as they looked at the Liu family.

Old Liu and his wife felt even worse, having lost their scholar grandson, only to be replaced by this person. They were emotionally devastated.

The other three Liu brothers exchanged suspicious glances.

The system had already overheard their conversation and informed Pear Blossom, saying, “Your three uncles are more interested in taking more of the family’s property and aren’t too keen on your father returning.”

Pear Blossom tugged at her father’s sleeve and said, “Father, if they don’t want us to go back, then we won’t. We can support ourselves with our hands and feet.”

Mrs. Xiong, still holding the seventy taels of silver Pear Blossom had given her earlier, thought about the magistrate’s judgment and softly agreed, “Dagen, if the Liu family doesn’t want us, why should we force ourselves on them and cause more unhappiness?”

Dagen was no fool. He could tell that Old Liu didn’t like him, remembering how a few days ago, during the banquet for Liu Qiming, Old Liu had scolded him for his children eating too much. That wound had not yet healed.

The three brothers of the Liu family stared at him like enemies, so even if he shamelessly returned, what difference would it make compared to living with the Xiang family?

Besides, his wife and children didn’t want to go back, and he didn’t have to go back to the army. With his strength, his family could live well.

He didn’t want to get involved in the Liu family’s property. The Xiang family had almost ruined his two daughters and one son, and his wife had been tortured to the point of being unrecognizable. He didn’t want to drag his family back into that abyss just because of the Liu family’s kindness or their wealth.

It was better to settle things without owing anything, to leave things clear.

With that thought, he stepped forward toward the Liu family.

When Old Liu saw him coming, he didn’t know what expression to show and stared blankly at him. The three brothers quickly surrounded him, eyes full of suspicion.

His biological parents were right there, and Dagen couldn’t help but feel bitter. He suppressed his rising emotions, forced a smile, and said, “No one expected things to turn out like this. I’ve been raised away from home, and it’s hard for everyone to adjust if I suddenly return. 

But now I’ve grown up, with a wife and children, and these years my family has suffered greatly from the Xiang family’s oppression. We’ve been hungry and cold. I’m really afraid of going back to those days when everyone lived together. If you don’t mind, I’ll stay outside, build a house, and farm. 

We won’t take any of the family’s land or wealth. If you think it’s okay, we can register our household here at the government office. How does that sound?”

The eldest son, Dagen, could no longer call out “Father” and “Mother.”

The Liu family also never expected Dagen to make such a request.

For Old Liu, it was indeed difficult to accept a son who had been raised by someone else for decades. To be honest, he had many sons and didn’t need this one, especially since the others were more likable, and there was even a scholarly grandson. 

The one in front of him was just an ordinary military household peasant, dispensable to him. Moreover, raising him outside didn’t make them close. However, upon hearing Dagen express this thought himself, Old Liu’s heart stirred slightly.

The other three sons’ eyes lit up even more.

When Liu Qiming became a scholar in the past, their father had already made it clear that the inheritance would be more heavily divided among the first household. Now that Dagen wasn’t coming back and didn’t want the family assets, how could they not be happy? Their previously stern faces were now all smiles, signaling Old Liu to make a quick decision.

Only Mrs. Liu sat there silently, wiping away her tears.

She had spoiled her youngest son, but this eldest son also came from her womb. Though they weren’t close, he was still her blood. Moreover, he had been tormented by the village’s cruel women for many years. 

She felt pity for him in her heart, but with her husband and sons taking this attitude, she couldn’t say anything and could only cry with her head down.

Old Liu looked at his sons, who were all eagerly waiting for his decision. With a long sigh, he said, “Alright, we’ll do as you say.”

There had never been much father-son affection. Over the years, Dagen had never experienced any warmth from either of his parents. Though it was painful, knowing that his wife and children stood behind him in support, a warmth rose in his heart where it had been cold before.

He smiled and said, “Good, let’s go to the household office to split the family and change the household registration now.”