bookcurios Chapter 335 The Shocking Change in the Yu Family
Chapter 335 The Shocking Change in the Yu Family
Qiao's desperate and insane act shattered the decadent dream of the Yu family in an instant. Just moments ago, it was a gentle haven filled with the sounds of music and the fragrance of clothes, but in the blink of an eye, it had become a bloodbath with piercing cries.
Magistrate Yu lay sprawled in a pool of blood like a dead dog, the scene beneath him a mess. The group of beauties who had just been whispering sweet nothings and whispering intimately to him were now pale with fright, scattering in all directions, some collapsing to the ground trembling.
After recovering from their initial shock, the elderly couple from the Yu family, their cloudy old eyes filled with fear of their "family business" collapsing rather than heartache for their son. The old man raised his cane, and the old woman extended her withered claws, leading several terrified members of the Yu family, their faces contorted with rage, as they lunged at Qiao, who sat slumped beside a pool of blood, clutching a kitchen knife, her eyes vacant.
"Kill this vicious woman who murdered her husband! Our Yu family must cleanse itself of this evil household!"
"She ruined our family!"
"Kill her, kill her..."
Amidst the chaos, the vermilion gate of the Yu residence was suddenly smashed open with a loud "bang".
A squad of heavily armored soldiers with stern faces filed in and instantly took control of all the entrances and exits of the courtyard.
The cold glint of drawn swords drowned out the lingering scent of perfume and blood in the courtyard. The clamor seemed to be abruptly cut off by a sharp blade. Everyone froze in place, staring in horror at the uninvited guests.
The newly appointed registrar of Yongkang County slowly stepped through the gate. His gaze, sharp as lightning, swept over the messy courtyard and the unconscious Magistrate Yu.
He held up a scroll in his hand and read it aloud in a loud voice!
"By order of His Highness the Crown Prince! Yu Wende, the magistrate of Yongkang County, colluded with the local merchant Tang family to steal and sell grain stored in the official granary during this time of national crisis. The evidence is irrefutable! The Yu residence is hereby sealed off, and all those involved are to be exiled to the northwest border!"
Before the words "confiscation of property" had even fully landed, the well-trained officers and soldiers had already sprung into action with effortless precision. They sealed off warehouses, registered the items, and detained people.
The Yu family members, who had just been shouting and killing the Qiao family, were now as if struck by lightning, their faces ashen. The women's cries rose in a suppressed voice, while the men were roughly bound.
No one paid any attention to Magistrate Yu, who lay on the ground, barely alive. He was like a discarded rag, lying in the center of the destruction he had brought upon himself.
Amidst the cold and desolate atmosphere of this restoration of order, Qiao, who had been sitting motionless, slowly turned her eyes and gazed at the registrar.
She suddenly released the blood-stained knife from her hand with a crisp clang. She scrambled to the clerk's feet, not to beg for mercy, but to grab the hem of his official robe with all her might.
"Your Honor! Your Honor!" She looked up, tears streaming down her face, her voice hoarse yet incredibly clear, each word seemingly ripped from her very core, soaked with the bitterness of being deceived, exploited, and trampled upon for over a decade. "I have been wronged! I have a great injustice to plead! Yu Wende is not human, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
She sobbed uncontrollably, yet she forced back her immense grief and began to lodge her accusations in broken sentences.
"Back then... his family was destitute, but he coveted the land and houses left by my parents. He tricked me into signing a marriage contract, saying he was marrying me, but secretly he wrote me a promise to marry into my family, saying that all the children would take the surname Qiao... He used the money I got from selling my ancestral property to study and take the imperial examinations... After passing the exams, he looked down on me because I was a country bumpkin and a disgrace to him!"
“He said he was in poor health and couldn’t have children, and told me to wait… I waited and waited until my fortune was gone, until I was old and faded! But now… look at him now!” She suddenly pointed at the group of detained beauties, then at the unconscious Magistrate Yu, trembling all over. “Not only is he good, he also indulges in nightly revelry! He cheated me out of everything, and now he wants to use me as a stepping stone for him for the rest of my life, to serve these vixens for him!”
As she spoke, she shakily pulled an oilcloth bag from her bosom. The bag was old and worn, but it was well-preserved. She opened it with trembling hands, and inside was a slightly yellowed piece of paper with still clear handwriting—the very "Marriage Commitment Letter" written by Yu Wende himself and bearing his fingerprint.
"This is the evidence! This is proof of his ingratitude and heartlessness!" Mrs. Qiao held the letter of commitment high, as if raising a flag of judgment. "He had no affection for me as a wife, only scheming and exploitation! Now he has committed a heinous crime, and he has only himself to blame!"
She kowtowed heavily, her forehead hitting the ground with a loud thud, and when she raised her head again, her eyes were filled with a resolute light!
"I beg Your Honor to see the truth! I want a divorce from him! To sever all ties completely! Even if Your Honor sentences me, Qiao Nu, to be a murderer and beheads me, I will never go to exile with this beast! He is not worthy of being a husband, and he is even less worthy of having my name, Qiao Nu, nailed to the pillar of shame with him!"
Her words were filled with blood and tears, each one resounding with conviction.
The courtyard was silent, save for Qiao's suppressed sobs and gasps. The yellowed letter of commitment stood out starkly in the sunlight, silently recounting the most despicable betrayal of a poor scholar who had risen to prominence, and witnessing how, at the end of her despair, she finally rediscovered her unyielding spirit.
The registrar took the letter of commitment, examined it carefully, and then looked at the disheveled and haggard woman at his feet, whose eyes were resolute. He glanced again at Magistrate Yu, who lay on the ground like a puddle of mud, his eyes filled with contempt.
He paused for a moment and said, "I am aware of what you have said. Yu Wende's crimes are heinous and cannot be tolerated by law. Since you have this claim and this evidence, this matter will be judged by the law."
Upon hearing this, Qiao's tense back finally relaxed, and she slumped to the ground, as if a huge boulder had been lifted from her shoulders.
With this, her relationship with Yu Wende was over, and all karmic debts were settled. The future may still be uncertain, but at least she had earned back a clean reputation as "Qiao Nu".
Within three days, Magistrate Yu and his entire family were exiled to the northwest frontier, leaving only Qiao Shi behind.
Qiao committed the murder for a reason, and it was not fatal. Moreover, she was the victim. The judgment also left her a portion of the money that the Yu family owed her, a full five hundred taels, and arranged everything for her to return to her hometown.
It took Qiao Shi a long time to recover after holding the money. She kowtowed to the registrar, who was now the newly appointed magistrate of Yongkang, while both crying and laughing.
The new magistrate dared not take credit. He secretly glanced at the person hiding behind the screen and thought to himself, "This is your true benefactor."
Su Qingyan assisted the newly appointed county magistrate in inspecting Yongkang merchants and rectifying the chaotic market. She also recovered the Su family's assets and taught Su Chaoyang how to manage them.
When the news reached Jiangzhou, Mu Qingcheng was relieved to learn that Su Qingyan was doing well. She wrote to Su Qingyan: "Now that Yongkang is peaceful, after the world is at peace, why don't we sisters build a girls' academy together, so that more women can have a skill and won't have to go through the same pain you did when they face difficulties in the future?"
"Girls' Academy!"
Su Qingyan's eyes lit up, her heart raced, this was the ideal career she should pursue for the rest of her life.
She was ecstatic!