pdf-ebookys Chapter 234: Sue to the Yamen
Chapter 234: Sue to the Yamen
Li Xiaoxiao had a blank expression on her face. She probably guessed what Li Dahai was going to do. The others looked at him in confusion.
Li Dahai was holding a navy blue cotton cloak in his hand, which was obviously a men's cloak. Amid the puzzled gazes of everyone, he quickly walked to the ox cart.
At this time, Old Mrs. Li seemed to be frozen. Her body remained in the same position, motionless. She seemed to hear someone coming to her car and raised her head with difficulty to look at the person who came.
The two looked at each other. Li Dahai looked at Old Lady Li and his eyes became hot and he almost cried. He hadn't seen Old Lady Li for a long time.
Li Xiaoxiao didn't let him out. He was really worried, so he leaned against the door and peeked at the movements outside. When he saw the curled up figure on the ox cart, his heart was gripped.
No matter how wrong Old Lady Li was, she was still his biological mother. He couldn't bear to see her like that, so he found a cloak and brought it over.
"Mom, I got some clothes to put on you." Li Dahai covered her with the cotton cloak with a choked voice.
I accidentally touched her exposed hands, and it was like touching a piece of ice, without any warmth at all, and my heart was gripped again.
After making sure that Old Lady Li was completely covered by the cotton cloak, Li Dahai lowered his head and walked away without saying a word, leaving Old Lady Li alone. She opened her mouth but said nothing.
Seeing Li Dahai's actions, everyone had different thoughts. Wu Zixuan spoke again and said, "Let's go to the government office."
The general means of transportation in ancient times were ox carts and horse carts. Patrol vehicles like this one usually walked.
Fortunately, Li Xiaoxiao’s restaurant was not too far from the county government office, and it only took about ten minutes to walk there.
It really is worthy of being the government office in the capital. It looks much better than the one in Jiunu County. It is solemn, majestic and grand.
There were also some people who were just watching the fun. They had nothing to do, so they came to the yamen together.
After bringing them to the hall, Wu Zixuan turned around and went out, apparently to report to the governor.
As Old Mrs. Li had difficulty in moving, she lay on the ox cart and did not get off. The ox cart was parked at the entrance of the hall.
Li Laosi still cannot speak until now and can only open his mouth and make "ah ah" sounds.
"Old Four, don't worry. Once this matter is dealt with, I will find a doctor for you." Old man Li comforted him kindly, but he was also very annoyed in his heart. He didn't know why the situation turned out like this.
"I think Fourth Brother is fine. He might just be anxious and angry. He will probably get better on his own in a couple of days." Hearing that calling a doctor would cost money again, Boss Li stopped him.
"Ahhh!" Li Laosi was angry and shouted at Li Laoda. Although no one knew what he said, one could tell from his expression that it was definitely not something good.
Boss Li turned his face away and ignored him indifferently.
Li Xiaoxiao stood there quietly, listening to them arguing.
It felt like about half a quarter of an hour had passed before a middle-aged man wearing a black gauze hat walked in, followed by Wu Zixuan.
I believe he is the prefect without a doubt. When Li Xiaoxiao opened the restaurant, he had to go through some procedures, so he got to know the prefect a little.
The prefect was named Zhu Gaocong, a fourth-rank official. He was an upright and incorruptible man who did not curry favor with the powerful. As a result, he stayed in this position for more than ten years.
Zhu Gao sat on the stool, adjusted his black gauze hat and official uniform, then glanced around.
He slammed the gavel heavily and asked loudly, "Who is in the audience? What do you want to report to the authorities?"
Li Xiaoxiao was the first to stand up and bowed respectfully to the prefect.
"The prefect's daughter, Li Xiaoxiao, is the owner of Longmen Restaurant. Today, she has sued my fourth uncle, eldest uncle, and grandfather, accusing me of being unfilial. I hope the prefect will clear my name."
"My Lord, please do not listen to her excuses. My niece is the most eloquent and she is trying to confuse right and wrong. Her family is so heartless and ungrateful that they are disrespectful to their parents. Please give them a heavy sentence, my Lord."
Boss Li stepped forward, stood in line with Li Xiaoxiao, then knelt down and kowtowed to the prefect.
"Tell me what happened in detail." The prefect pointed at Li Xiaoxiao.
Because Li Xiaoxiao is the plaintiff, according to the law, the plaintiff should state the reasons first, and if there is anything wrong, the defendant should refute it.
"Thank you, sir. My family separated from the old house before the wheat harvest last year. At that time, the family had 22 acres of land. Because my grandparents were partial, they gave my family 3 acres of mountain land that cannot be used for farming. My grandparents also converted one acre of good land into 9 taels of silver. They did not give us a house, but only 4 taels of silver."
"There are also 200 kilograms of coarse grains, a set of pots and pans, and my father is required to give me five taels of silver a year as a tribute. Together with the one mu of good land, my family got a total of thirteen taels of silver. Grandma withheld five taels, so we actually got eight taels of silver."
As he spoke, Li Xiaoxiao took out a document of division of the family property from his bosom, took a few steps forward, and placed it in front of the prefect.
These few words made Old Man Li blush and try to stop it several times, but he didn't dare to do so since they were in court.
In the end, Li Xiaoxiao actually took out the family division document. This damn girl actually carried the family division document with her.
Old man Li had wronged Li Xiaoxiao this time. She didn't carry the documents with her, but they were always kept in her space and she could take them out at any time.
The prefect took the document of division of property and read it carefully. There were signatures of the head of Qinghe village and witnesses on it, which showed that the document of division of property was authentic.
Then Li Xiaoxiao said, "Because we didn't have a house, we built a thatched hut to live in. It was very hot in the summer. Eight taels of silver may seem like a lot, but for my family, it's actually not much. So I went hunting in the mountains to supplement the family income."
"Maybe I was lucky, or maybe God took pity on my family. I was able to catch some big prey and dig up ginseng, so I had enough money to build a house and buy land."
"Later, by chance, our family came to the capital. Unexpectedly, my grandfather and my fourth uncle and eldest uncle came to my restaurant yesterday to cause trouble. They ordered a large table full of dishes and left without paying. It is our duty to respect our elders, so I only took the money from my fourth uncle and eldest uncle."
"I didn't expect that my grandfather and his family would drag my grandmother to the door of my restaurant today and accuse me of being unfilial in front of my restaurant's guests. My fourth uncle also falsely accused someone in my restaurant of finding a rat in their food, which caused many guests to leave at once. I ask the prefect to give me justice and forbid them from causing trouble in my restaurant in the future."
Li Xiaoxiao's sincere and heartfelt story reminds people of a thin little girl who ventured into the mountains to hunt for her family's livelihood.