vrcanaries Chapter 39 Signature and Deposit
Chapter 39 Signature and Deposit
After the official had counted the dowry for the Ding family, he was about to leave with the officials from the government office, but Ding Luo suddenly stood up and blocked their way.
The face of the official suddenly darkened. He turned his head slightly and looked at Ding Luo coldly, his heart filled with anger. As a fourth-rank official in the Jingzhao government office, he was actually confronted by a small seventh-rank general, which made him feel annoyed.
"What's the matter?" asked the official, trying to suppress his anger.
Ding Luo was not afraid of the dissatisfaction of the official. He pointed at the gate of the Qi Mansion and said loudly: "Old Madam Qi has died of illness, but the people in the Qi Mansion do not want to observe mourning and deliberately conceal the news of the old lady's death. This behavior is simply unfilial!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the people watching around were stunned and showed shocked expressions.
After a long while, a cry of surprise broke out from the crowd: "Ah, no way..."
For a moment, the whole scene became extremely tense, and everyone turned their eyes to the Qi family standing in front of the gate of the Qi Mansion, waiting for their response.
Some people in the crowd were whispering. They had never encountered anything like this before and were feeling a little excited.
Some people couldn't believe it, "The Ding family is just biting around."
Some people still believe it's possible.
"I'm afraid that's the case. To observe mourning, one must give up one's official position. The father and son of the first and second branches of the Qi Mansion are both officials. Who is willing to observe mourning at home for three years and give up their official position?"
Someone said, "It's impossible that someone from the Ding Mansion would curse their old aunt to death? They must have received the letter, so it must be true."
While everyone was discussing this, they were all looking forward to seeing the truth. Was it that Old Madam Qi was dead and the Qi family concealed the news of her death, or was it that the Ding family was making up stories?
The Ding family threatened, "We won't leave until we see our old aunt."
Butler Qi rushed back to the upper house to report, "The Ding family came with bad intentions, spreading the word that our old lady had died without announcing the funeral."
"They say at home, 'I won't leave until I see my old aunt.'"
Qi Lu laughed angrily, "Qi Yuan, take people to Dongshan and bring the old lady back for them to see."
"Yes, father." Qi Yuan stood up and prepared to lead his men out of the house to Dongshan.
Qi Wan's mind raced, and he waved his hand, "Second brother, wait a minute."
"What's wrong, sister?" Qi Yuan asked.
Qi Wan frowned and said, "The Ding family clearly knew that the eldest Ding was not dead, but they threatened to say that she was dead and would not stop until they saw the talent. This must be a trap."
"What game?" Pei asked in surprise.
Everyone in the hall looked at Qi Wan, wanting to know her opinion.
Qi Wan said, "The old lady was already suffering from a stroke and was half dead. If someone yelled at her on the way back, 'Your own son and his entire family are dead,' do you think she would be really angry to death after hearing this?"
Qi Lu suddenly realized and nodded, "Yes, that must be the case."
Qi Yuan cursed, "How insidious! If it weren't for my sister, we would have been fooled and our whole family would be guilty."
Concealing the news of the death of parents and elders is a serious crime of filial piety. Adult men will be executed, and women will be demoted to slavery or even forced to become prostitutes in brothels. The consequences are simply unimaginable.
Qi Wan snorted coldly, "Since the Ding family is ruthless, then our Qi family is also ungrateful. We should take advantage of them..." She lowered her voice and spoke to Qi Yuan.
"Okay, I'll follow my sister's arrangements." Qi Yuan nodded with a smile.
After getting his father's nod, he strode out of the house, stood on the steps, and asked the Ding family in public, "You said that our Qi Mansion hid the news of the old lady's death, and you had to see her alive before you would stop?"
"Yes! We must meet the old lady, otherwise we will never give up!" Ding Luo relied on his age and screamed at the top of his voice.
Qi Lu pointed at Ding Luo and sneered, "Ha, do you mean whatever you say? Are the laws just for show? If you dare to sign a document, I will immediately take people to Dongshan to bring back a living person."
Qi Yuan stepped forward and bowed to the official, "Please make the decision, official."
When the official saw that the second young master of the Qi family acted honestly, he realized that it was the Ding family who was causing trouble for no reason.
He nodded on the spot, "Of course, there is the crime of being unfilial, and of course there is also the crime of false accusation."
The Ding family hesitated. The crime of being unfilial was punishable by death, and falsely accusing a court official was also a serious crime, punishable by death.
Their hesitation made many people understand, "It turns out that Madam Qi is not dead, it is the Ding family who wants to blackmail the Qi family for money."
The Ding family gathered together and discussed quietly. The brothers from the third, fourth and fifth rooms were unwilling to do so. "Forget it, let's not make a fuss anymore. Let's take the dowry and return home."
The eldest and second houses objected, "This is a good opportunity to conquer Qi Mansion and use it for our Ding family."
"Do you think that after my aunt's family died, how long can my old aunt live? From now on, our Ding family will have no contact with the Qi Mansion."
"You two rooms are making trouble, our three rooms will not participate."
"No, we are one. If you don't make trouble together, we will be separated."
"Okay then." The other families had no choice but to agree.
Ding Luo walked up to Qi Yuan first, raised his square face, with his garlic-red nose pointing up to the sky, and arrogantly put forward two conditions, "First, you marry my little daughter."
"Second, your Qi Mansion will give our Ding Mansion 500,000 taels of silver."
"If you can do these two things, our Ding family will never care when the old aunt dies."
Qi Yuan's handsome face turned red with anger. He spat on the ground and said loudly, "Bah, I will never marry, and I don't want women from the Ding family. I don't even look down on them as concubines."
The Ding family was insulted by Qi Yuan in public, and they were so angry that they pointed at Qi Yuan and cursed, "How can you talk like that, you bastard?"
Qi Yuan asked contemptuously: "Are you dissatisfied? Come up and fight me?"
The Ding family was scared and no one dared to challenge them.
The official was annoyed by the Ding family. He waved his hand and said, "Write it down and have the Ding family sign it."
"Those who don't draw and deliberately cause trouble will be beaten with ten sticks."
The Ding family had no choice but to sign and seal on a piece of paper written by the lawyer, which read "The Ding family accuses the Qi family of hiding the letter of Madam Qi's death."
Qi Yuan mocked, "You still want our Qi Mansion to give you 500,000 taels of silver. When the time comes, even if you give us 500,000 taels of silver, our Qi Mansion will not accept it."
The Ding family also spat, "What nonsense the young boy is talking about."
"Go and bring him back quickly."
"Let me pull it, you guys wait here." Qi Yuan jumped on his horse and took twenty servants with him, galloping towards the east gate.
The Ding family had made preparations long ago. A team of Ding family servants, led by Ding Xi, the second son of the Ding family's eldest son, hid in the woods of Dongshan.
They just waited for Qi Yuan to lead his men to the East Mountain to pick up the old lady, and then they would roar in unison and make the old lady angry to death.
Qi Yuan led his men on horseback through the woods and headed straight for the villa in Dongshan.
Qi Yuan met his grandfather, bowed and told him the purpose of his visit.
"The Ding family asked for the third wife's dowry and put forward two conditions. One is that their grandson should marry the daughter of the Ding family, and the other is that the Qi family should give the Ding family 500,000 taels of silver."
General Qi was so angry that he slammed the table and stood up, "This is really too much."
Qi Yuan lowered his voice and spoke for a while.
General Qi nodded and said loudly, "Go and get the old lady into the car and send her back to the city."
"As you command, sir."
Half an hour later, a carriage came out of the Qi family's Dongshan Villa, guarded by more than twenty servants.
Qi Yuan rode in front on horseback.
"Here she comes, Old Madam Qi is here."
I saw a man nimbly climbing up to the treetop, squinting his eyes to look into the distance, and excitedly saw a carriage slowly driving out of the Qi family's villa.
The carriage looked very heavy. The horses seemed a little overwhelmed and pulled the carriage with difficulty. They snorted constantly, as if protesting against being made to pull such a heavy burden.
The man had sharp eyes and after careful observation determined that there must be many people sitting in the carriage. A smug smile appeared on his face, and then he quickly slid down from the tree and passed the news to others.
"Here we go, there are quite a few people on the bus."
After hearing the news, Ding Xi's eyes flashed with excitement and anticipation. He gritted his teeth and said, "Qi Mansion, you will soon be kneeling in front of our Ding family and begging for mercy!" His voice was full of resentment and confidence.
Afterwards, Ding Xi could not help but burst into laughter, which revealed his pride at his plan's success and his contempt for the Qi family.
"Hahahaha..." Ding Xi's laughter echoed in the woods, with an irrepressible joy and arrogance.