Chapter 92: Chapter 92
Chapter 92
The villagers were terrified because they were just ordinary people who had no idea how brutal the existing laws could be. They only understood that if they weren’t thieves, they wouldn’t have to worry about the death penalty. This was all because they had lived in peace for too long. If they had lived in the capital for a long time, they would think differently.
In the capital, people lived in a civilized manner, but the meaning of life was as insignificant as a fish or a vegetable. Look at Eldest Young Miss Qin. Despite being part of the great Qin family, in the end, for the sake of the family’s reputation, she had to be exiled to live far away like this. Whether she lived or died, no one cared.
Therefore, for them, being close to power was not a good thing. Death was waiting for them at the end of every breath.
Yueqian’s thoughts were more decisive than others’. The villagers believed that the worst punishment Mu Tian would face would be imprisonment, a fine, or flogging. They never expected it to lead to death, let alone the possibility that the entire Mu family might be executed!
"R-really, execution?" Even the village leader couldn’t believe it. He had held the position of village leader for many years and had never encountered such a situation before.
She was talking about execution! Executing a person!
"Yes, Mu Tian took money from the bandits to poison the soldiers. Her intention was clearly to kill for money, so she is no different from a bandit. If you get involved in this matter, you’ll be seen as complicit."
"At this time, Mu Tian is the only one they’ve caught. However, the cause of the first outbreak of illness hasn’t been identified yet. If you act too forcefully, you might be suspected of being the culprit."
"In the previous incident, dozens of people died, and hundreds were injured. Just getting involved would mean you wouldn’t be able to keep your lives intact." Seeing that the village leader asked with good intention, Yueqian explained.
At her words, everyone fell silent immediately.
There wasn’t even the sound of breathing. Yueqian understood that they were scared of what had happened. Previously, as villagers who weren’t close to nobles or soldiers, some of them had even wandered around to see what the people from the capital were doing.
Who would have thought that one mistake could cost their lives? If they had known from the start, they would never have approached the soldiers in the first place.
Some women were almost fainting. They were rural women whose dreams must be to become the wives of soldiers or nobles. Even marrying a low-ranking soldier would improve their lives. So, now that they had the opportunity, they flaunted their beauty everywhere.
Some had even gone with Mu Tian because the other, despite being almost a middle-aged woman, still wanted to get married.
Mu Tian liked to stroll around, casting flirtatious glances at men often, clearly aiming to catch the eye of someone. Many times, these women encountered Mu Tian during their attempts to entice men.
Just thinking about it made them tremble with fear. They dreaded the thought that if they had been with Mu Tian today and she carried out the bandits’ task to poison, would they be considered accomplices?
It felt like they had just escaped death, barely slipping from the clutches of the God of Death, right?
"Alright, now you should all go back and rest. Mu Tian’s punishment still awaits the decision of the Young General, or perhaps the princes who are visiting this town. The situation has escalated to this point. Even if I wanted to help, I couldn’t intervene."
Yueqian looked at the parents. Despite how much of a loudmouth and selfish person Mu Tian was, she was still their daughter in their eyes.
They must be heartbroken, right?
They originally had four children. The eldest was Ji Chuang’s husband, the second was Yi Fan’s husband, then Mu Tian, and the youngest was Mu Heng’s father. Now, Mu Heng’s father had passed away along with his wife. Out of four children, only three remained, and it seemed Mu Tian’s life couldn’t be saved either. She understood what Grandfather Mu and Grandmother Zhu were thinking, but it all came down to their own upbringing.
The character of the children is a reflection of their parents. The environment they lived in and the upbringing they received from a young age greatly influenced their personalities. Not to mention Aunt Zhu’s selfishness—she wasn’t ordinary at all and often had foolish thoughts. So, it wasn’t surprising that they turned out this way.
Fortunately, their grandchildren, like Xiao Fu, Lin’er, and Lan’er, grew up well. She didn’t know much about Xiao Fong and Lu’er, but from seeing how the good children distanced themselves from the two, their personalities might not be very good.
If trouble really arose, Yueqian would only be willing to help these three children. If there were issues with the others, she wouldn’t bother.
Speaking of the children, they seemed quite panicked now. Even Xiao Fong and Lu’er were scared. After hearing the adults talk about death, how could the children like them listen to that?
"Xiao Long, Huan’er, take the children inside. I bought some pork ribs. You can stew them to make soup, cook rice, and stir-fry some vegetables. Make plenty. I don’t think the Mu family will have the strength to cook for themselves today."
Yueqian told the two children. She didn’t want the kids to hear any more stressful talk, fearing it might make them afraid of social interactions.
"Yes, Sister-in-law."
"Yes, Sister-in-law." The two were obedient. They waved at Xiao Fu, Lin’er, and Lan’er to come inside. Ji Chuang sent her own children, Xiao Feng and Lu’er, inside as well. She understood Yueqian’s intention, expecting that the upcoming conversation would be even heavier.
Once the children were inside, Yueqian and Mu Heng sat down in the middle of the circle. The number of villagers hadn’t decreased; instead, it seemed to be growing. This was turning into a significant issue. Soon, the whole village had gathered at Mu Heng’s house.
"A’Heng’s wife, seriously, is there no other way?" A villager asked.
He didn’t exactly like Mu Tian, but they had grown up together and had known each other since they were young. Even though he hated the way she talked, he didn’t want her to die.
"As for Mu Tian, I think it’s difficult to help her. She was caught with the money and the poison powder," Yueqian shook her head.
"You said ’as for Mu Tian’?"
"Yes, it’s difficult for Mu Tian. But regarding the punishment, the Mu family, or even all of you, might need to provide a good explanation to the authorities as to why your village harbored someone who colluded with bandits," Yueqian considered the broader perspective.
She didn’t know what the Qin family would decide, but if they wanted to act, Mu Tian’s actions this time had laid a great path.
This pawn could still be used by them. Mu Tian was initially someone else’s pawn, but the Qin family often used such methods. They didn’t care who the pawn belonged to; if it could be used further, they wouldn’t let it go to waste.
Mu Tian represented the village. If she hadn’t separated her household from Mu Heng, the Qin family could have attacked Mu Heng by suggesting the execution of the entire Mu family. Mu Heng who was her husband would have been dead, due to the charge of cooperating with the bandits in poisoning the soldiers.
However, since Mu Heng was no longer part of the Mu family, if the Qin family wanted to act, they would need to make the matter even bigger—big enough to claim that the entire village was secretly supporting the bandits. Everyone in the village would be a suspect. If false evidence was created, no one in the village would be safe.
Some might think that it was impossible for the Qin family to risk the lives of an entire village just to bring Yueqian back. But Yueqian, who had been with the Qin family since birth, never thought that the possibility could be dismissed simply because of humanitarian concerns.
If the Qin family had any sense of morality, that day would be the day the sky fell by their hands.
“H... How could we be spies for the bandits? There’s no evidence for that. Would they really dare to do something like that? And for what reason? Why would they want to frame this village?”
A villager who was a supporting character said with fear. He was so panicked at the thought that death might soon be upon them.
“Evidence? What do you think would make good evidence? Would a list of names of those supporting the bandits, people sending tributes to the bandits, and acting as their financial lifeline suffice?” Yueqian gave a sinister smile, looking extremely intimidating.
Mu Heng hadn’t considered this before, but as his wife spoke, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes. If it weren’t for being in front of so many people, he wouldn’t have been able to contain his anger.
Just because they wanted him dead, would they really go so far as to plan the massacre of the entire village along with him?
“A... A list of names? They didn’t do that.”
“Didn’t do that? Do you think they had to commit those things for such a name list to exist?” Yueqian asked, looking at the questioner as if he were a fool. Her gaze made the one who asked choke on his words.
“T... Then, what would they do it for? Why would they kill all of us villagers?” Upon learning that there were many possibilities, a villager who was on the verge of urinating in fear, asked, unable to hide his anxious expression.
“Exactly, Qian’er. They are soldiers. If they arrest someone, there has to be evidence, right? Why would they harm villagers who were people of the kingdom?” Aunt Liao, who had been silent all this time, asked.
Yueqian let out a small laugh. Even though she feared the Qin family might really intervene, even if they didn’t, who do you think would become the scapegoat for such careless deaths?
Of course, the scapegoats must be the worthless villagers whom they never cared about in the first place. Do you think the army of thousands came here to maintain order and help people as they claimed? And do you think they would come all this way if they weren’t looking for achievements?
If that was really the case, why didn’t they come to help as soon as they knew about the bandits? Why did they need to request a royal decree? It was all just to ensure their actions were known by the emperor.
And if, upon their return, they must report, "I led soldiers to their deaths because we allowed villagers who took 2 taels from the bandits to poison our food," would that be considered an accomplishment?
Was it acceptable for soldiers to neglect, allowing villagers to tamper with their own supplies? So, what should the solution be...
