Hearing this, Mrs. Zhu and her son and daughter stopped crying and broke into smiles.
Mrs. Zhu was taken aback by these words. Instantly, she cast aside all past grievances and regarded the old matriarch as her savior.
She kowtowed firmly to the old matriarch several times.
"Thank you, mother! Thank you, mother!"
"Wait." The old matriarch slightly raised her hand. "Second son, come here."
Shu Jing stepped forward with a bow, waiting respectfully for her instructions.
The old matriarch's eyes were like deep, ancient wells, emitting a dim light. Under her intimidating aura, Mrs. Zhu couldn't help but shiver.
"Fourth Lady is growing up. In a couple of years, she'll get married. As for Fifth Lord, he'll have a new mother. Mrs. Zhu unfortunately contracted diabetes. The disease has advanced too far, and no medicine can save her. She passed away suddenly yesterday."
"Come, take her away."
The emerald rosary reflected the old matriarch's still fair skin, the green light glinting sharply.
The servants on both sides obeyed the order and immediately escorted Mrs. Zhu to the side room next door.
"Old matriarch, you can't kill me! Master, save me! Master! Look back at me... Save me..."
Mrs. Zhu couldn't believe that the old matriarch could decide someone's life and death in an instant. She struggled and cried desperately, but to no avail.
Fourth Lady and Fifth Lord had already been taken away by the maids.
Second Master Shu Jing's face was ashen. His eyes were filled with grief and panic, but he didn't dare to look back at Mrs. Zhu, let alone plead for her.
The old matriarch didn't say a word, and everyone held their breath. The hall was as silent as snow.
Mrs. Zhu's shrill cries faded away after a quarter of an hour.
The old matriarch's confidant came to report, "The Second Lady is gone."
Shu Jing finally couldn't hold back and silently covered his face with his hands and wept. Thinking of how deeply in love he and Mrs. Zhu used to be, his heart ached sharply.
The old matriarch ignored him. She stood up and said coldly, "Since the person is dead, give her a proper burial. Allowing Mrs. Zhu to be buried in our Shu family's ancestral cemetery is already a great grace."
After saying that, she leaned on her jade walking stick and swept out of the hall with a flick of her sleeve.
The members of the Shu family either looked at Shu Jing sympathetically or with a sense of relief, then followed the old matriarch out.
Mrs. Zhu's "sudden death" meant that the evil deeds she had done in her lifetime could be wiped out, and the reputation of the Shu family would remain intact.
But it was different for the main culprit, Zhu Yaozong, who was extremely cruel.
Because the case of the brocade workshop involved a wide range of people and had a very bad influence, Magistrate Hui was very clear - there was no need to wait until autumn for the execution. He should be executed immediately.
In fact, even the most severe punishment for Zhu Yaozong would be too light.
Although Magistrate Hui had anticipated this, he still underestimated the complex network of relationships the Zhu family had in Lingle County.
Zhu Yaozong had already been imprisoned.
But the gold and silver treasures on Magistrate Hui's desk were piling up higher and higher.
Everyone in the county yamen had received some silver, more or less. Even Pei Xia found two gold coins in his belt when he was changing his clothes in the duty room.
Not to mention the large number of people who came to plead for Zhu Yaozong.
The old matriarch and Mrs. Zhu of the Zhu family didn't care about the dead Zhu Lian'er. They knelt and begged to enter the magistrate's inner courtyard. They sang in chorus, shedding tears and complaining for their grandson (son), which annoyed Fang Yunxin to no end.
It was clearly Zhu Yaozong who had committed so many evil deeds. Now that he was being punished according to the law, the Zhu family actually had the nerve to complain!
Fang Yunxin didn't care that they were ladies and old people. She couldn't help but slap the table and scold, "Sure enough, the whole family is shameless. Zhu Yaozong has killed so many girls. Just taking his life is not enough to appease the people's resentment. Since the old matriarch and Mrs. Zhu think he can be spared the death penalty, then you go and take his punishment instead."
"Come, take them away!"
The old matriarch and Mrs. Zhu were completely stunned.
Seeing the fierce servants coming towards them, they were like frightened birds. They didn't dare to say a word and immediately crawled and rolled away...
After Magistrate Hui learned that the Zhu family had come to harass his wife, he signaled his subordinates to give Zhu Yaozong a severe beating.
He was a upright gentleman, but he knew exactly what measures to take, especially when dealing with scum like Zhu Yaozong.
Moreover, Hui Zhenyu found evidence of the Zhu family's past crimes. After a series of interrogations, all the Zhu family's properties were confiscated, and the rest of the family members were sentenced to exile.
Hui Zhenyu immediately distributed the confiscated properties to the relatives of the murdered girls.
Since this was a series of murder cases, Hui Zhenyu immediately sent a letter to the Supreme Court in the capital by carrier pigeon.
The Supreme Court quickly sent a letter, ordering Hui Zhenyu not to follow the previous process of delaying the execution until autumn. He could execute Zhu Yaozong immediately.
Hui Zhenyu was extremely efficient. Just one day before the Zhu family was exiled, Zhu Yaozong got his just deserts and was beheaded in the vegetable market.
As soon as Zhu Yaozong died and the Zhu family fell, everyone in Lingle County clapped their hands and cheered. At the same time, they highly praised Magistrate Hui as a good official.
From then on, Hui Zhenyu's reputation grew even more.
Speaking of Hui Zhenyu's reputation, to a large extent, it was because he had set up factories for production and export, which had boosted the economy of Lingle County. He had also reduced the taxes again and again.
It would be Chinese New Year's Eve in two days.
Compared with last year, although not everyone had become wealthy, it was obvious that every family had enough food in their granaries and money in their purses.
The common people all returned home to reunite and prepared for the New Year's Eve.
This was exactly the busiest time for Qi Jiao and Pei Xia.
After the Zhu Yaozong case, Pei Xia was promoted to the head constable. He led more than thirty brothers to be responsible for the public security in the center of the county.
Qi Jiao was busy with the store on one hand and had to go to the county factory to supervise the last batch of production before the New Year on the other hand.
One day, it was getting late. Qi Jiao didn't have time to eat. She just grabbed two wheat cakes and stuffed them into her mouth.
When she got to the place and finished her work and was about to go back, before she reached the gate, she suddenly felt dizzy. Her vision went black, and then she passed out.
When Qi Jiao woke up again, she was in Huichuntang, a medical clinic.
She opened her eyes and looked around. She saw Pei Jin and Leng Yao guarding her.
The two of them were beaming from ear to ear, as if they had found a fortune.
Leng Yao tucked the cloak that had slipped off back on her and said with a smile, "You're finally awake. You really scared us to death."
Qi Jiao raised her hand and rubbed her forehead, looking confused. "What happened to me? Did I faint from hunger?"
Pei Jin burst out laughing. "Sister-in-law didn't faint from hunger. It's not only the adult who is starving, but the little one is also complaining of hunger."
There was a lot of noise in the medical clinic outside. Qi Jiao's mind was a bit muddled. "What adult and little one? Only I fainted. Who else?"
Looking at the increasing smiles on Pei Jin and Leng Yao's faces, Qi Jiao suddenly realized something. A huge sense of strangeness welled up in her heart. She grabbed Pei Jin's arm in disbelief. "You mean... I'm pregnant?!"
"Jiao Niang!"
A cold and clear voice sounded like a bell. The black boots flashed in a hurry. Pei Xia, dressed in black, almost rushed in.
It was a busy time at the end of the year. He had been on duty continuously and hadn't been home for three days.
Suddenly hearing that Jiao Niang had fainted and was unconscious, Pei Xia's mind went blank. He had never been so anxious before. He immediately dropped everything and rushed to Huichuntang.
Pei Xia stepped forward quickly and felt Qi Jiao all over from head to toe. His breathing was a bit unsteady. "Are you okay? Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Qi Jiao saw that Pei Xia's hair was messy, his hat was crooked, and his sleeve was torn somewhere, revealing half of his arm.
She felt both heartache and amused. She reached out and tidied Pei Xia's hair, then whispered, "I left home in a hurry and didn't eat. I fainted from hunger."
Pei Xia let out a sigh of relief. The heart that had been hanging high finally came down.
"However, I seem to be pregnant."
"What?! You're pregnant? Is this... really true?"
The sudden good news almost stunned Pei Xia.
He couldn't even speak properly. He just stared blankly at Qi Jiao's abdomen and reached out his trembling hand to touch it.
Leng Yao laughed heartily. "It's true. Truer than real gold. The doctor said Jiao Niang has been pregnant for two months."
As soon as these words were said, Pei Xia and Qi Jiao looked at each other. After a moment, both of them blushed to the ears.
Two months ago, wasn't it that night in the town.
That night, Qi Jiao had been tossed around by Pei Xia like a pancake.
The most important thing was that he didn't drink the contraceptive soup!
Aaaaaa!
Qi Jiao wanted to find a hole to hide in.
How could she get pregnant just from one night!
She had originally planned to let Pei Xia stop taking the medicine after the New Year and then proceed step by step...
Qi Jiao was extremely embarrassed. She silently pulled the cloak over her face.
At this time, Pei Jin came in with a bowl of hot brown sugar and egg water. "Sister-in-law, have some to fill your stomach first. Wait for the doctor to prescribe the medicine, and then we'll go back and eat."
Pei Xia pulled Qi Jiao out from under the cloak. He stared at Qi Jiao's slightly pale lips and the face that had lost half its roundness. His heart ached and softened at the same time.
He took the sugar water and said softly, "Jiao Niang, you've suffered. Come, let me feed you."