Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 458 Xue Family

Since ancient times, only husbands have divorced their wives, and there has never been a case of wives divorcing their husbands. Faced with the Liu family's incredible request, the Zhao family was in an uproar. Zhao Yong's mother resented Liu Huaer for causing her son to go to jail, and she was worried about where to vent her anger. While the Liu family went to their village to seek an explanation, she gathered the Zhao family and her brothers from her mother's side to support her.

But Zhao Yong's mother did not expect that the Liu family came prepared. In order to give them courage and to intimidate the Zhao family, Uncle Liu directly invited ten burly soldiers from the Song family. Not to mention the Liu family members, just these ten soldiers in armor, holding the latest crossbows in their hands, standing beside the Liu family members, were like guardian angels, making the Liu family members feel very safe.

But the same cannot be said for the Zhao family. Ordinary people have a natural awe of officials and soldiers. Even though the Zhao family was once descendants of the nobility, decades of civilian life have made them very wary of these military officers.

Not to mention that there were several officials from the county government here. This was a special order from Gu Fengyun to make sure that the relationship between Zhao Yong and Liu Huaer was severed.

Because there was solid evidence that Zhao Yong murdered his wife and children, Zhao Yong's parents could only watch helplessly as the officials dissolved the marriage between Zhao Yong and Liu Huaer, and even their only child was awarded to the Liu family.

"It's not fair. He's the only child of our Zhao family. You Liu family members are so shameless. You want to cut off our Zhao family's incense."

The officer became a little impatient. He yelled at Zhao Yong's mother and told her to shut up. After she stopped crying, he reminded her with a cold face.

"Your eldest son nearly killed your only child a few days ago. This has been proven through a joint trial by the three courts. It's an ironclad fact. It was your family who committed the murder first. How dare you demand your child back? Also, the Ministry of Justice has already submitted a memorial to the Emperor. His Majesty has stated that Zhao Yong murdered his wife and only son. This is a violation of human ethics and must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others."

"W-what? Even the emperor knows about this. Then my son won't be able to come back."

The people around cast contemptuous looks at Zhao Yong's mother who was sitting on the ground. Even at this point, she still wanted her son to come back. She was dreaming.

The Liu family got the divorce letter as they wished, but the Zhao family had Zhao Yong, who killed his wife and children, and their reputation was completely ruined. In less than three days, their family scandal spread everywhere.

Zhao Yong's father, Zhao Ming, tried to find someone to rescue his son, but all relatives and friends avoided their family and were unwilling to get involved in this mess.

Seeing her husband coming back dejected again, Zhao Yong's mother almost cried her eyes out.

"What's going on, old man? How about we go look for that..."

"What are you looking for? Don't look." Zhao Ming got angry and started scolding his wife.

"I didn't agree with you doing this from the beginning. Even if Liu Huaer has all sorts of faults, at least she gave birth to a man for our family. But you insisted on trusting that family. They just painted a few rosy pictures for you, and you believed them? You even hired someone to harm Liu Huaer and her son behind my back. Now the situation has gotten out of hand, and I went to beg them, but they wouldn't even let me in the door."

But Zhao Yongniang didn't believe it and still insisted on asking that family for help. Zhao Ming refused to go, so she went by herself. She went to ask for a meeting many times, but the family just sent a servant to send her away.

Although the Zhao family did not receive help, the officials from the Ministry of Justice who had been secretly monitoring them successfully found Zhao Yong's mistress.

"Sir, you will never guess who that family is looking for."

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me who it is."

"It's the Xue family."

Gu Fengyun immediately sat up straight and confirmed with his men again: "Is it really the Xue family?"

"Yes and no, but they are also considered a branch. They dare not act blatantly under that person's name, so they only interact with Zhao Yong privately. However, I think they must have been deceived by the Zhao family. Speaking of which, their two families are quite similar. They are both branches of the lineage in the capital, but the Zhao family's branch is more distant and has little relationship with the main family."

At this point, Gu Fengyun already fully understood what the two families were planning, but this Xue family...

The Xue family was a bit tricky, so Gu Fengyun did not enter the palace immediately, but sent people to continue investigating.

Song Chunlin had already learned of Zhao Yong's fate. The Ministry of Justice has always been quick in handling cases, especially in this case where the evidence is conclusive. Only some details are needed to sentence Zhao Yong and others directly, and there is a high probability of beheading.

The scumbag will be beheaded, which is probably the best consolation for Liu Huaer.

After a few days of treatment, Xiaoman is no longer in serious condition. Although he still cannot run or jump, he can still walk a few steps.

With her son who was in good health, Liu Huaer came again, but this time she came to express her gratitude.

"Thank you all for your help that day, otherwise my son and I would not know where we would be taken. I can only work like a slave to repay you for your kindness," said Liu Huaer, who was about to kneel down, but the Song family quickly helped her up.

"Good boy, it's just a small favor. In that situation, anyone would help you."

"That's right. The people in our village hate evil the most. No matter who is in danger, they will lend a hand."

Speaking of the villagers, the Liu family certainly didn't forget. Old man Liu personally brought gifts, and Liu Huaer brought the children to the homes of the village head, the clan leader, and several others who helped in catching the man, and expressed their gratitude very formally.

Those people accepted the gifts and looked at Liu Huaer's back as she was holding the child. They felt that she was completely different from the Liu Huaer they had seen before.

"Alas, she's such a miserable child. She finally managed to escape from that den of tigers and wolves after meeting such a family. I hope she can really change her previous temper."

Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already June, the height of summer. The Song family had just finished harvesting the crops in the fields and was racing against time to plant the crops for the autumn harvest. A letter came from the Marquis' Mansion in the capital, asking Song Chunlin to take time off to go back.

Song Dazhuang, who was standing aside, looked at Song Chunlin and said, "You should go there quickly. If it's not something serious, the Marquis won't send anyone to look for you."

Song Chunlin thought the same. He nodded and told the other soldiers to let the follower rest for a while before leaving. He himself went back to Beijing first.

When Song Chunlin was alone, he always rode a motorcycle. Now the roads around the capital were very smooth, so he no longer needed a mountain motorcycle. Instead, he took out his electric scooter and rode it at lightning speed, and soon arrived near the capital.

There were already a lot of pedestrians here, so Song Chunlin put away his electric scooter and started walking into the city.

Even so, it only took Song Chunlin an hour to reach the gate of the Marquis' Mansion.

Gu Fengyun left the yamen early today and was waiting for Song Chunlin at home. Su Fuqing specially prepared a large table of Song Chunlin's favorite delicacies, and the meal was served just when Song Chunlin arrived home.

"Wow, so many delicious foods, thank you sister-in-law." Song Chunlin was not polite and started eating after washing his hands.

Gu Fengyun waited until he had eaten and drunk his fill before having the servants clear the table and serve hot tea. He then sat in the main room with Su Fuqing and talked about the Zhao family as if they were chatting with each other.

"Didn't Zhao Yong say he should be sentenced to death? Why hasn't the notice been issued after all this time?"

After the government makes a judgment on a case, it will post a notice to inform the public, but this time, in Zhao Yong's case, the notice has not been posted yet. Song Chunlin feels that there should not be too many changes, and there must be other reasons for not posting it for such a long time.

Gu Fengyun did not mention Zhao Yong, but instead mentioned another family, the Xue family.

"The Xue family." Song Chunlin searched his memory. Well, he had some impression. The family he wiped out the last time he went to the north was called the Xue family.

"Speaking of the Xue family, I still have some impression of it. The one in the north is said to have some connection with the capital."

Gu Fengyun nodded: "It is indeed related, but not much. This one is closer to the capital and the north."

Song Chunlin thought about it for a while and understood. Isn't this the one stuck in the middle? But what does this have to do with Zhao Yong's affairs?

Facing the questions from Song Chunlin and Su Fuqing, Gu Fengyun smiled and said, "Can you guess why Zhao Yong suddenly wanted to kill Liu Huaer and her son?"

The two looked at each other blankly, neither quite understanding.

"Zhao Yong is a relative of the Zhao family, but because the relationship is too distant, he can't enjoy the wealth here. As for the Xue family, because they are the Queen's maternal family, they are like this in their lives. Unfortunately, they are not satisfied with this and want to use Zhao Yong as a connection to the Zhao family. Who knew Zhao Yong was such a loser? Not only is his family loser, but he is also a loser. In order to be with the young man of the Xue family sooner, he even took a risk and tried to kill his wife and children so that he could marry the young man of the Xue family with a legitimate reason."

Song Chunlin and Su Fu listened to Gu Fengyun's narration, feeling confused for a moment and then suddenly enlightened. But what they didn't understand was that Zhao Yong didn't look like someone who could have any connection with the capital, so why did the Xue family insist on sticking with him?

Speaking of this, Gu Fengyun himself found it funny.

"The Xue family must have been desperate, taking action without getting the full picture. Zhao Yong's parents are both very concerned about reputation, and they often boast about their close relationship with the Zhao family in Beijing. The Xue family actually believed it, but they didn't expect both sides to be just superficial."

"Doesn't that mean they've been biting each other all along?"

Su Fuqing seemed to have thought of something. He asked Gu Fengyun, "What benefits did the Xue family promise Zhao Yong to make him commit such an immoral crime as killing his wife and children?"

Song Chunlin was also very curious about this: "Yes, yes, then what kind of all-powerful ability does the Xue family have that could make Zhao Yong so tempted that he would commit a crime? It must be a huge benefit."

"It's indeed a great benefit. Actually, this matter is caused by the civil service system."

Song Chunlin was dumbfounded. What? He was actually involved in this?

It turned out that what the Xue family promised Zhao Yong was a civil servant position in the local county government. The position was very leisurely, but the benefits were very good, and it could barely be considered as a step into the official career. Zhao Yong was an ambitious man. He had long been unwilling to be confined to a small place. He also felt that he had a lot of talents but had nowhere to display them. The civil service examination undoubtedly gave him hope, but soon, this hope was completely shattered after he was eliminated in the first exam.

The Xue family appeared in front of him at this time, like a life-saving straw, promising that as long as he married their brother, they would directly buy him a sinecure in the county government, allowing him to realize his dream of becoming an official.

Zhao Yong was a man with a conscience at the beginning. He thought that although Liu Huaer had no merit, she was the biological mother of his son after all. He just wanted to get rid of the mother and keep the son, and divorce Liu Huaer. However, Liu Huaer refused to agree. She also knew that her son was not valued in the Zhao family. If he really stayed, she would have no choice but to collect her son's body before long.

So the situation remained at a stalemate. Liu Huaer refused to divorce and refused to give Zhao Yong the child, while the Xue family pressed for a divorce. Zhao Yong got carried away and thought that it would be better if Liu Huaer and Xiaoman died together.

Anyway, he and the boy from the Xue family were still young, and they could definitely have a second and third child. Zhao Yong didn't believe that there was anything wrong with his family's bloodline, and he only wanted to climb up the social ladder and soar to the sky. So when that idea sprouted in his heart, it quickly grew into a towering tree, and he finally put it into action.

After hearing what Gu Fengyun said, Song Chunlin took a deep breath. This matter actually had a little bit to do with him, but not much.

"What does the Queen say?"

"What else can I say? The Emperor said he would conduct a thorough investigation, but even after the investigation, there has been no further action. I'm guessing he's still settling accounts with the Empress about the Xue family. Just wait and see. This matter is about to get even bigger, and it probably won't be over for a few months."

This was no small matter as it concerned the Queen's family. It also involved the Xue family's purchase of official positions. Although the matter did not succeed, it also proved from the side how corrupt the officials at the bottom of Dajing were. Even the Emperor's desire to continue implementing the new policy of civil servants was hindered by some ministers.

Song Chunlin really didn't think about it. He just wanted to catch Chen Shimei, but behind the scenes, he pulled out the radish and brought out the mud, and a bunch of people were implicated.

Soon, there were voices in the court impeaching the queen's mother's family, saying that the queen's mother's family did not manage the family well, and even caused scandals of buying and selling official titles and forcing others to divorce their wives and remarry. Many people took this as an excuse to oppose the emperor's new policy, and the court and harem suddenly became a mess.

The culprit was still lying intact in the Ministry of Justice's prison because of the recent unrest and had not been executed. Song Chunlin even felt that it was too easy for this person.