Chapter 9: The Liu Family Arrives
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
At Liu Cheng’s house, Liu Cheng’s mother looked at him. “Son, what should we do now?”
Liu Cheng was also a little afraid, but with Liu Shun’s guidance, his mind was still clear. He licked his lips and said, “Mom, there’s no time to waste. Let’s cremate this fool’s corpse first. We have to be quick.”
His mother was a little afraid. “That fool’s eyes are still wide open. Can we really do that?”
Liu Cheng frowned and gritted his teeth. “We have to. Mom, go and prepare the firewood. I’ll go and drag the fool’s corpse out.”
He was uneducated, but he knew that his retarded wife’s body had to be cremated quickly. He understood the principle of destroying the evidence.
He was also afraid, but when he thought of the beautiful Yang Hua, he was not scared of anything.
Liu Cheng walked towards the pigpen. This was a farmer’s tradition. Childbirth shouldn’t be done in the house, or it would bring bad luck to the family.
His wife was a fool to begin with. His mother had spent hundreds of copper coins to buy her. Now that she was dead, she was still of some use. It was worth it.
Liu Cheng thought that he would not be afraid, but when he walked into the pigpen and looked at the woman lying on the hay, his entire body had goosebumps.
The woman gripped a handful of hay tightly with both hands. Her eyes were slightly open, as if she had been extremely unwilling to die.
Liu Cheng went forward and was about to drag the woman out by her hands. However, when he looked down, he saw the woman’s wide open eyes. Liu Cheng took off his clothes to cover the woman’s face before dragging her out.
Liu Cheng’s mother had already piled up a lot of firewood and was putting oil on it.
“That’s their house. Hurry, hurry…”
Mr. Liu raised his hand and knocked on the door. “Liu Cheng, open the door.”
Liu Cheng’s mother was shocked. “Son, they are here. Why are they here so soon?”
According to the plan, the Liu family shouldn’t have reached here so fast. They were supposed to find out about the matter by the next day.
By then, the corpse would have been cremated. At that time, there would be no evidence, and the Liu family would have no choice but to compensate them.
Liu Cheng also panicked. “Mom, I don’t know. Brother Shun didn’t tell me this would happen.”
It was clearly too late for cremation.
They didn’t open the door but Mr. Liu and his family couldn’t wait any longer. They started smashing the door.
Madam Bai, who arrived a bit slower, started knocking on the gong. “Murder, someone is murdered…”
The sound of the gong shook the earth. Liu Cheng’s mother jumped up with fright and looked at Liu Cheng.
Liu Cheng was also at a loss.
The door burst open and Liu Cheng braced himself. “What do you want?”
Liu Dalang’s face darkened. He took two steps forward and picked up Liu Cheng. “Where’s my mother?”
Liu Cheng immediately cowered down and softened his tone. “She’s… sent to the government.”
Liu Dalang was about 1.85 meters tall and strong. The way he raised his fists in anger was really scary. Liu Cheng was frightened.
To protect her son, Liu Cheng’s mother pounced on Liu Dalang. “You murderers actually dare to hit my son. Where is justice in this world?”
“It’s still not clear who the murderer is. You’re going to cremate the body? You want to destroy the evidence?”
Liu Erlang pointed angrily at the body in the courtyard.
The woman was pregnant, and her stomach was very big. At this moment, two lives were lost. It looked extremely uncomfortable, but Liu Cheng did not even prepare a coffin. It seemed that they did not even plan to take out the stillbirth in the woman’s stomach. They just wanted to cremate her like this. It would be strange if they were not guilty.
Liu Erlang said angrily, “Dad, let’s report this to the local government as well.”
Hearing that, Liu Cheng’s mother burst into a fury and pounced on Liu Erlang. “Damn it, this is too much. The murderer is lawless.”
Before she could reach Liu Erlang, she was stopped by the women who came in later.
“We still have to wait for the magistrate to decide who the murderer is. It’s not up to you.”
Madam Bai spoke with a smile. The wives of the few granduncles in the family also stopped Liu Cheng’s mother.
With Madam Bai ringing the gong, all the people in Willow Alley were woken up. The women of every household pushed their men out to see what was going on.
Liu Shun came out immediately. The Liu family had arrived too quickly. Liu Shun knew that something was wrong.
Liu Shun squeezed into the courtyard.
Liu Cheng saw him and immediately said, “Brother, Brother, save me. These people are lawless.”
Liu Shun was a scholar, and many people in the Liu family knew him.
“Uncles, can I, Liu Shun, say something?”
Liu Shun walked to Liu Cheng’s side and bowed.
The expressions of the Liu family members softened a lot.
Mr. Liu frowned and winked at Liu Dalang.
Liu Dalang let go of Liu Cheng. With so many people around, it was impossible for Liu Cheng to cremate the corpse.
Seeing this, Liu Shun bowed again before saying, “Uncles, there must be a misunderstanding in this matter. Can I be your middleman and explain the situation? Let’s not ruin our relationship because of this misunderstanding.”
The Liu family looked at Mr. Liu. Liu Shun was a scholar, had good looks, and spoke gently and politely. They really wanted to give Liu Shun a face, but they still had to listen to Mr. Liu.
Mr. Liu recalled what his wife had mentioned to him before. Liu Shun had gotten a matchmaker to say on his behalf that he had taken a fancy to Sanniang.
He had been wanting to find an opportunity to test Liu Shun. Although this was not the best time, if Liu Shun could handle it well, he could prove himself an excellent son-in-law.
Mr. Liu nodded. “Okay, then you can be the middleman.”
Liu Shun smiled. “Thank you, Uncle.”
Liu Cheng said to Liu Shun, “Brother, you have to seek justice for me. Auntie Wei killed my wife. Two lives were lost. You have to seek justice for me.”
Liu Shun patted Liu Cheng’s shoulder and was about to speak when he heard a sneer.
“Bah, I’m dying of laughter.”
The person who spoke was Madam Sun, who was on good terms with Madam Bai. The two of them were from the same village and had married into Willow Street together. Madam Sun and Madam Bai were on the same side. The two of them and Madam Wei were not on good terms, but when it came to major matters, they were willing to put aside the grudge.
Madam Sun placed her hands on her hips. “In all my life, this is really the funniest joke. Which woman doesn’t have to risk their life giving birth? Whether she can live or not all depends on God. Why is it that when it comes to your wife, she’s murdered?”
Liu Shun frowned slightly. He hated old ladies the most, especially gossipy old ladies. When talking to old ladies, it was impossible to reason with them!
After Madam Sun finished speaking, Madam Bai added with a sneer. “You said that Madam Wei caused your wife’s death. I think it’s you who wanted to kill your wife for money. Madam Wei is a cook. Everyone in the village knows that she’s good at cooking. Willow Alley is a few streets away from our Willow Street. Why didn’t you find a midwife in your neighborhood? Why did you want a cook to be the midwife?!”