Chapter 319 The aftermath
County Magistrate Liu said, "Master Liang speaks Shengjing dialect, so I guess this child can't understand it."
County Magistrate Liu repeated it in Pingchuan dialect.
Xiaolong said aggrievedly: "Dad said... Dad said I look like a girl, so he took me home first, and waited until Sister Maner's mother accepted me and then turned me into a boy..."
Xiaolong burst into tears before he could finish his words.
Lord Liu asked, "Where is your mother?"
Xiaolong gritted his teeth and said, "He died of illness."
Lord Liu continued to ask: "Where did you live before?"
Xiaolong wiped his eyes and said, "I live in a compound on Zishi Street."
Tong Huaqiong was horrified when she heard this. Wasn't this the place where Hong and He Chao lived after being driven out by Xu Zaohua?
When Mrs. Hong was dressing Xiaolong in the morning, she mentioned this place casually. Unexpectedly, Xiaolong used it to make up a lie.
Lord Liang and Magistrate Liu exchanged glances.
Xiaolong stepped forward and grabbed Sir Liang's sleeve, and said timidly, "Sir, can you make the decision for me and let me stay with my father?"
Chen Sufen rushed over like a madman, picked up Xiaolong and stuffed him into Sir Liang's arms, saying, "He is the traitor, Sir, please take him away quickly, and it would be best if you chop him up."
Lord Liang: "......"
Xiaolong struggled in Chen Sufen's arms.
Gu Dahan went up to grab Xiaolong and held him in his arms, and said to Chen Sufen: "Are you crazy?"
Chen Sufen cried with red eyes and said, "I'm going crazy. Sir Liang, this child is a traitor, you must take him away immediately."
Lord Liang: "......"
This crazy woman wanted to use her to get rid of the bastard, how could he be fooled?
Lord Liang shook his beard, squatted down and looked carefully at Su Chengmin lying on the ground.
He was very familiar with Su Chengmin. He would recognize him even if he turned into ashes. The person lying on the ground was obviously not him.
Lord Liang stood up and waved to everyone, and the officers and soldiers quickly evacuated Tong Huaqiong's yard.
Tong Huaqiong let out a breath that had been held in her throat.
It feels like surviving a disaster.
Tong Huaqiong, the magistrate of Liu County, said, "Aunt Tong, as the saying goes, a harmonious family brings prosperity. As a mother-in-law, you should not be too harsh on your daughter-in-law. What did you do to make your daughter-in-law willing to admit that she was harboring a traitor? This time, Lord Liang was wise. If there was someone so foolish, your whole family would have been tied up and taken away. Be nicer to your daughter-in-law in the future, and don't always use the name of a mother-in-law to oppress her."
"And anyway the child is innocent."
Before stepping out of the yard, County Magistrate Liu gave Tong Huaqiong a deep look.
That look was meaningful, as if to reassure Tong Huaqiong.
She always felt that County Magistrate Liu had seen something.
If that were the case, as a parent official, County Magistrate Liu must protect her.
Now everyone in Yanguan Town knows that she is holding the banner of County Magistrate Liu, and many people even think that she is County Magistrate Liu's godmother.
If Xiaolong and Su Chengmin's identities were exposed, the head of their "godson" County Magistrate Liu would also be chopped off.
When the villagers heard that Tong Huaqiong's family was hiding the remnants of the rebels, they were so scared that they ran to Tong Huaqiong's door to inquire about the news.
When the officers and soldiers were searching the yard, everyone had already defended Tong Huaqiong in unison, swearing that there could be no remnants of traitors in Qinghe Bay.
The village chief said it very clearly this morning: anyone who harbors the remnants of the traitors will be killed along with his entire clan.
The villagers are not clear about the network of nine clans, but they know clearly that even if all the people in Qinghe Bay are tied together, they cannot reach the nine clans. It may also extend to their married daughters and their relatives in other villages.
No one in the village blamed Tong Huaqiong. Instead, they hated the person who reported her.
Many people thought that even if Tong Huaqiong really was harboring the remnants of the rebels, she would have to help cover it up, so how could she report it?
Even if you have a grudge against Tong Huaqiong, you cannot report her.
What will happen to you if you report yourself?
Wouldn't you have to lose your head along with me?
When the villagers gathered around Tong Huaqiong's house, fearing that the end of the world was approaching, the soldiers withdrew.
Everyone truly felt the relief of surviving the disaster.
"How could Tong Da Jiao harbor the remnants of the traitors?"
"Don't even mention Tong Da Jiao. No one in our entire Qinghe Bay dares to do that."
"How many heads are there to chop off?"
The villagers held their chests and talked in a flurry.
"Didn't the soldiers search my in-laws' house first? Why did they search the whole village and then came back? What does it mean?" Liu Yue'e's mother, Zhao, asked the village chief Liu Tielian in confusion.
Liu Tielian's face turned pale. County Magistrate Liu and Lord Liang had not left yet, so he didn't want to tell his younger brother and sister-in-law that it was Mrs. Huang who had made the false report.
"What do you mean?" Er Gouzi said with his eyes wide open, "They are just angry that I said something unpleasant to the officers and soldiers, so they are here to make trouble for the boss."
The villagers suddenly realized.
Liu Tielian shouted at Er Gouzi: "Er Gouzi, you know shit."
At this time, a soldier about 17 or 18 years old said, "Young man, we are following orders, why should we embarrass you? If we wanted to embarrass you, we could just let you crowd in here and watch the fun."
Er Gouzi didn't dare to answer.
The young soldier pointed at the old woman Huang who was trying to slip away by the wall and said, "It was that woman who swore that this house was harboring traitors. Since someone reported it, we have to carry out the search mission."
Mrs. Huang shrank her neck in fear.
Aunt Qin said loudly: "You are being used as a gun by this woman. Her granddaughter works in Tong Da Jiao's shop. She wants to abandon her granddaughter and get the wages directly from Tong Da Jiao. Tong Da Jiao doesn't want to be an enemy of her."
The officers and soldiers searched Tong Huaqiong's house but did not find any traitors. They already knew that Mrs. Huang was using them as pawns.
They couldn't catch Huang Pozi and beat her, but they had to let the villagers know about her behavior, so the young soldier deliberately told everyone what Huang Pozi had reported.
County Magistrate Liu said to Lord Liang with an awkward smile: "The villagers are stupid. Taking revenge will only make you more tired."
After the officers and soldiers evacuated Qinghe Bay, everyone began to concentrate their firepower on attacking Mrs. Huang.
Mrs. Huang wanted to escape, but the ladies who were on good terms with Tong Huaqiong would not let her go.
Er Gouzi cursed, "What evil intentions do you have, Mrs. Huang? You made a blind report for personal vengeance, and I should arrest you."
Zhao pointed at Mrs. Huang and gritted her teeth, "You are trying to kill the whole village."
Mrs. Huang defended herself, "I only told the officers and soldiers that there were two strangers in Tong Da Jiao's home. I didn't say anything else."
Liu Tielan shouted angrily, "You didn't say anything. Do you know that we can't even mention the word stranger now? If it weren't for County Magistrate Liu and Lord Liang's sharp eyes, they would have arrested all of us in Qinghewan just because you said there were two strangers in the village. How many of your nine clans can you kill?"
The village chief Liu Tielian shouted until his voice broke, just to let Lord Liang hear the words "clear mind and sharp eyes".
Mrs. Huang just wanted to take revenge on Tong Huaqiong, she didn't think too much.
After hearing what the village chief said, he naturally felt dissatisfied.
He said: "If you want to blame someone, blame it on Widow Tong for having two strangers in her house. Even if all the villagers are arrested and beheaded, it is still Widow Tong's fault..."
Before Mrs. Huang could finish her words, the person next to her covered her mouth with cow dung.
"Who are you cursing? You deliberately led people to my house and revealed the fact that Dahan had an illegitimate child to the whole village and Magistrate Liu. Old Lady Huang, you just wanted to make me look bad in front of everyone."
Tong Huaqiong took a spoon full of cow dung and smeared it into Mrs. Huang's mouth.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a soldier turning back.
This is a surprise attack to test her.