Hao Cheng was stunned for a moment, his expression changed several times, and he simply admitted: "My parents left suddenly, and after burying them, I had no relatives around me. I couldn't think straight for a while, and I had thoughts of committing suicide. That's when I found a hemp rope, thinking that I could put an end to it all and reunite with my mother and father in the underworld."
She looked miserable, and everyone sighed. Kou Shi didn't expect Hao Cheng to admit it. His original plan was that as long as Hao Cheng argued or slandered that they strangled him with a rope, he would immediately accuse Hao Cheng of lying. After all, if that was the case, why didn't she say so before? There is a huge difference between burglary and murder.
But since Hao Cheng admitted it, that was even better. He immediately followed her words and said, "Okay, you admitted it yourself, Li Zheng. Now I have nothing to say. Everyone understands, right? I never thought that my brother, such a kind-hearted person, would raise such an ungrateful person!"
Everyone looked at Hao Cheng with a wrong look in their eyes. If the original owner was here, he would be so angry that he would be unable to speak. But Hao Cheng had a blank expression: "Uncle, what are you talking about? I never said before that I didn't commit suicide. You keep admitting it, as if I did something wrong."
Thinking of her parents who were worried about her in another world, Hao Cheng, who was not a natural actor, quickly had tears in her eyes. Without waiting for Kou to speak back, she choked up and said, "I couldn't get over it for a moment, but the moment I kicked over the stool, I figured it out. If I died like this, they would have worked hard for most of their lives and would never rest in peace. God has eyes, and the hemp rope for hanging suddenly broke, so I was lucky enough to save my life. As a result, I was lying on the ground and hadn't recovered yet, when I heard the conversation of the thieves outside."
Her eyes swept over Kou and the servant, and her tone was filled with resentment: "It was because I didn't make any move that the thief outside spoke out his plan without restraint, so I was able to grab a stick in advance and stand guard at the door to knock the thief unconscious. Aunt Dong saw the rest. I am a scholar, and my neighbors in the village also know my character. Have I ever told any lies in my daily life?"
"That's not the case." "I still trust Hao Cheng." The original owner was a well-known honest person in the village. She was a little stupid because of her education. Although she was not very good at farm work and could not help her mother and father with work, she was one of the few scholars in the village. If she was really accused of lying, the villagers would not believe it.
On the other hand, Kou was a well-known shrewd person before she got married. Of the two people, Hao Cheng's words were definitely more trustworthy.
"What do you mean?" He didn't know why his shy niece had become so sharp-tongued.
Hao Cheng knows how to play the sympathy card. He is also very good at showing off his pitiful side. He showed his helpless and pitiful side right on the spot: "I came to see my niece with good intentions, but I was slandered as a thief. It's really pitiful. A bunch of women bullied a weak man like me."
This is embarrassing. Kou is Hao Cheng's uncle, and everyone knows it. Logically, an uncle would not do such a thing to his only niece, but Hao Cheng is not the kind of person who would lie.
The main reason is that the situation was not clear to outsiders, so each side held its own opinion. Without definite evidence and outsiders' proof, even the county magistrate could not make a judgment.
For such a complicated matter, the village head thought that they could just settle it privately. In the past, she usually managed to mediate between the two parties regarding such complicated family affairs.
Hao Cheng didn't wait for her to say anything. He stared into Kou's eyes and asked, "Just now, my uncle said that you asked this man to rescue me, break the rope, and save me from the beam, right?"
Kou felt something was wrong and thought there was something fishy about the rope breaking. She said, "I may not have explained it clearly. When she came in, you suddenly fell down. My servants went to check on you, and you suddenly grabbed a stick and knocked my servant unconscious. I thought it was haunted, so I screamed and ran away."
"Oh, then according to my uncle, this servant was not the one who saved me. I was staying in the house, and suddenly a stranger barged in without saying a word. I woke up and knocked the stranger unconscious. How come I became an ungrateful person in my uncle's mouth?"
Kou was ready to give Hao Cheng a way out, and of course to withdraw in a more dignified manner: "I came to see you with good intentions, but you didn't say anything in the room. I was afraid that you had something to do, so I broke in. I didn't take into account that you didn't know the servants in my house. Of course, I called you an ungrateful wolf, but you should never have such thoughts of committing suicide again. Fortunately, the rope broke this time. If it doesn't break next time and no one breaks in like this, I won't be able to explain to your father."
Kou spoke in the tone of an elder, openly and covertly accusing Hao Cheng of being ungrateful, but her tone also showed a sense of letting him off. Hao Cheng did not want to let it go, and after suffering this loss, she said indifferently: "My land and house are not worth much money. My uncle's family is rich, and even the monthly salary of a servant is two taels of silver. I don't think he would covet my money. Maybe I heard it wrongly."
Seeing that she was understanding, Kou said, "You must have heard wrongly. My monthly salary as a servant is not two taels of silver. It's only half a tael of silver."
Everyone knew that Kou Qing married into a well-known wealthy family, and they all started to discuss, "Yes, your uncle is very lucky. He is the head of the family, and the family has to hire more than 20 servants to serve him every year. Not to mention the extra money in the family, how could he covet such a small thing from you."
Even if it was half a tael of silver, for twenty people, that would be more than ten taels of silver. Kou always cried poor in front of her brother and the original owner, but everyone in the village knew that Kou Qing's family had a lot of spare money.
Hao Cheng laughed instead, and took out a yellowed IOU on the spot: "Maybe I heard it wrong. In front of everyone, uncle, please pay back the twenty taels of silver that my parents lent you."
Money is Kou's lifeblood. He didn't even want to pay one tael, let alone twenty taels. "My uncle's family is in a difficult situation, with so many expenses. Can't you be considerate of me, a man?"
In the past, the original owner and his father were both soft-hearted. Although twenty taels was a lot, it was not necessary. Kou was also a miser. It was harder than climbing to the sky to get money from him.
Hao Cheng's eyes were red, "This money was lent to my uncle by my parents. I also know that you are in difficulty, so when I buried my father, I didn't take out the IOU. I just borrowed some money from my uncle first. But my uncle's family was in difficulty, so he could only give me a hairpin worth three cents. In order to bury my parents, I sold the valuables in my house and owed a lot of debts. I didn't even have money to eat. I was so hungry. Everyone has a hard time, and I don't have the face to eat at other people's expense every day. If my uncle is really in a difficult situation, then forget about the money. After all, my uncle's family still has more than 20 servants to support. If I starve to death, the debt will be cleared."
This statement clearly meant that Kou did not need to pay back the money, but every word clearly accused Kou of being heartless and an ungrateful person! A servant could earn half a tael of silver a month, but when his brother died, he only contributed three cents to help with the burial. Moreover, he owed someone twenty taels of silver, but he dragged his feet and refused to pay it back, preferring to let his niece starve to death while he himself ate and dressed well. It was not surprising that such a person would commit murder for money.
We are not fools. The IOU is written in black and white. Moreover, Kou's words are incoherent and he keeps changing his words. It is easy to tell who is telling the truth.
Hao Cheng was one of the few scholars in the village. If he let someone starve to death, the village head would have a hard time explaining it. But no one was willing to support Hao Cheng for nothing. Anyway, Kou owed him such a large sum of money, so he should be asked to pay it back!
The village head coughed twice and said, "Hao family, don't say such discouraging words. Since we are all here, we will help you make this decision. It is only natural to repay debts. The Kou family should pay back the money today. If you don't have the money with you, I will send someone to go back to the town to get it for you."
Kou was about to say something, but the village head said angrily, "If you say you don't have money, then go to the government office and file a complaint for murder for money. Anyway, we have all the evidence, and we are all witnesses of Hao Cheng!"
Going to the government office to bribe the county magistrate would cost more than twenty taels of silver. Kou gritted her teeth and said, "No need. I have enough money with me!"
He took out a tael of silver and took off the hairpin on his head: "Take this to the pawnshop and I will pay you back today."
The hairpin was pawned for a twenty-liang silver note. Kou collected the change, tore up the IOU, and left Xinghua Village in disgrace with the maid.
After everyone in the village left, Hao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief holding the twenty-liang silver note. One liang of silver was enough for an average family in the village to live for a month, but Hao Cheng didn't know how to farm, so she had to buy more after selling a lot of things. Now her family was extremely poor and had no other source of income. Twenty liang of silver was enough for her to support herself for nearly half a year.