sbdcsierra Chapter 23 I Want to Make You the Top Scholar's Wife 7
Chapter 23 I Want to Make You the Top Scholar's Wife 7
Jiang Miao was excited to see the donkey cart and wanted to try it too. The donkey was docile, and Jiang He taught her the commands to drive the cart, so Jiang Miao was able to drive it steadily.
"Sister, shall we drive the donkey cart to Wanli Academy?"
"Yes, my sister has prepared everything these past two days, and we're about to set off."
Li Erlang's remains were discovered a day later.
Someone went to urinate by the dry well and found that there were a lot of ants and mosquitoes. Curious, he took a look and discovered a skeleton inside the dry well.
The man reported it to the authorities, and the constables pulled the remains from the dry well, only to find that the body was already decomposed.
It was covered in mosquitoes; I don't know how long it had been dead.
Moreover, because the flesh on the face was rotten, it was impossible to identify who the person was. The only option was to issue a notice asking family members who had gone missing to come and claim the body.
The body had many knife wounds, indicating a very cruel manner of killing; it is suspected that the victim was murdered by bandits.
The man's clothes were decent, but he had no money on him. It was suspected that he had been robbed and killed by bandits and thrown into this dry well.
The bookstore owner saw the clothes and felt they looked familiar; they seemed to be Li Erlang's clothes.
However, the constable said that this person had been dead for at least ten days to half a month. Li Erlang was still copying books here yesterday, but said that he would stop copying for the time being and planned to go to study.
This person couldn't possibly be Li Erlang, and the bookstore owner, not wanting to cause any more trouble, put it out of his mind.
In Lijia Village, Li Erlang's mother always felt uneasy.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, why doesn't Erlang come back to visit?"
"Mother, Erlang is studying away from home. Wouldn't it take up his time if he came back too often? He'll be back in a few days."
The eldest daughter-in-law didn't want Erlang to come back; every time he came back, it was to ask for money.
Mother would sell all the eggs she had saved, and give the remaining eggs to Erlang.
In this family, Erlang is the mother's darling, while the eldest son is the hardworking ox.
When the constables arrived at Li Family Village with the notice, Li Erlang's mother was extremely anxious.
She hadn't seen Erlang for more than ten days. Could this be Erlang? She called out to Sanlang and hurriedly headed towards the county town.
Even if it wasn't Erlang, she still had to go and see him.
When his mother saw Li Erlang's remains and his familiar clothes, she realized that this was her Erlang. Who had killed her Erlang?
Because Li Erlang didn't mention that he copied books at the bookstore, his mother mentioned the school where Erlang studied.
However, the teacher at the school said that Li Erlang had not come to class for a year.
His mother didn't believe it. Erlang had always been studying, so how could he not have gone to school? Maybe it was someone at school who was jealous of Erlang who killed him.
But everyone in the school can testify that none of them have ever seen Li Erlang.
A student at the school said that Li Erlang was copying books in a bookstore. Once, he saw Li Erlang give the copied book to the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper did not pay him. Instead, he said that Li Erlang owed him a lot of money.
The bookstore owner's name was announced.
The shopkeeper took out the IOU that Li Erlang had signed back then.
It clearly states that Li Erlang damaged the bookstore's books and inkstone, and used the money to copy books to pay off the debt.
Below is a record of how much money was pawned with the copied books that day.
The last time was half a month ago, when all debts were paid off and the two parties were no longer in debt to each other.
Li Sanlang recalled that Li Erlang was very happy when he returned that day, and even said that they were even now.
He pressed his second brother about what was settled, but his brother told him not to ask any more questions and then said he needed to start preparing for next year's exams and went to study.
The next day, Li Erlang left, took some money from his mother, and never returned home.
Every time Li Erlang came home, Li Sanlang would not run away.
He had to see how much silver his mother had given Li Erlang.
Whatever amount Mother gave to Second Brother, she will give back to him in the future.
The teacher at the school said that Li Erlang did indeed come to the school half a month ago.
Inquire about schooling.
But they never came back.
That should make things clear.
That year, Li Erlang indeed did not go to school.
He was copying books to pay off his debts. He paid off his debts half a month ago, so he plans to continue going to school.
So I went home to ask for money to pay for my school fees.
They encountered bandits on the way.
The silver on his body was also stolen.
The shopkeeper was frightened. Li Erlang had died half a month ago, so were the people copying books from his bookstore recently ghosts?
Otherwise, how can it be explained?
Could it be that Li Erlang couldn't afford tuition and, even as a ghost, still had the obsession with studying, so he came to his bookstore to copy books again?
Until half a month ago, Li Erlang said he would stop copying books and planned to go back to studying.
I had enough tuition fees, so I left.
The next day, Li Erlang's body was discovered.
The shopkeeper felt a chill run down his spine. Luckily, he had agreed to let Li Erlang copy the book, otherwise Li Erlang would probably haunt him even as a ghost.
The shopkeeper decided to burn some paper money for him when he got back, to send him on his way.
Money from the living world can't be used in the underworld, so let's send him some paper money from the underworld as payment for copying the book.
Li Erlang's case was thus settled.
His mother cried her heart out. Her son, who was so promising and destined to become the top scholar in the imperial examinations, was gone just like that.
Saburo, however, was secretly pleased.
With my second brother gone, all of Mother's money will now belong to him.
Sanlang took his mother back.
When the eldest daughter-in-law learned that Erlang had died, they were finally able to share some of the family's eggs.
But on the surface, everyone looked heartbroken, some even crying so hard they looked like they were about to collapse.
Li Erlang's body had already decomposed and could not be kept; it needed to be taken back for burial immediately.
That night, Li Erlang's room caught fire.
Li Erlang's mother was burned alive inside.
Someone saw Li Erlang's mother go to Li Erlang's room in the middle of the night, where an oil lamp was lit.
Some say that she was so heartbroken that she accidentally knocked over the oil lamp, burning all of Li Erlang's books. The fire was so big that she couldn't escape.
Some say that she didn't want to live anymore, so she burned the book for Erlang and went with him.
After the mother died, the eldest daughter-in-law insisted on dividing the family property.
Sanlang is a burden. He idles away his days, never does any work, and takes advantage of his mother's pampering to get a share of all the good food.
Her son, the eldest grandson of the Li family, has never eaten a whole egg to this day.
Mother is dead, do you expect them to support Sanlang?
Even without supporting Erlang and Sanlang, his family's life will only get better and better.
When Sanlang saw that his sister-in-law had ruthlessly kicked him out, he wasn't one to be trifled with.
They lured the sister-in-law's son out, then pushed him into the river and drowned him.
After their son died, Dalang and his wife, one with an axe and the other with a kitchen knife, hacked Sanlang to death.
Their father tried to stop them, but his eldest daughter-in-law pushed him down, and his head hit the well, killing him instantly.
The couple committed murder, were arrested, and are facing execution.
The entire Li family was wiped out.