xymnovel Chapter 14 Money over life
Chapter 14 Money over life
Upon hearing that there was a grievance, Wang Lun immediately ordered someone to invite the old man in.
The waiters at Cuiyuelou dared not neglect him and immediately helped the old man inside.
The crowd of people approached noisily, pushing Huang An and his soldiers to the back, and the entire Cuiyue Tower was surrounded by the people.
The old man knelt down with a thud: "Please, Your Honor, grant me this favor!"
Wang Lun quickly stepped forward to help the old man up, and ordered the waiter to bring a chair so that the old man could sit down.
"Old man, what grievance do you have? Tell me in detail."
For some reason, Wang Lun suddenly felt his blood boiling. So this is what it feels like to be regarded as an upright and just official.
Is this what power is?
No wonder corrupt officials always like to act arrogantly and domineeringly.
What man doesn't love power?
The old man pointed to the half-dead Du Dutou lying in the distance and said sternly, "It was him! He seized my daughter, took away my land, and forced my daughter to jump into Liangshan Marsh... and die."
Wang Lun was startled and was about to lash out.
Zhao Yupan was the first to stand up, angrily asking, "Really?"
Despite being a princess, she was even more indignant than Wang Lun.
The old man wept uncontrollably: "If I have uttered even half a lie, may I be struck by lightning. My daughter... her body is still at home."
Zhao Yupan glanced at Zheng Ke'er not far away and knew that what the old man said must be true.
At this moment, Zhao Si interjected, "This matter must be true. About three days ago, the brothers in the village did indeed spread the word that someone had drowned in the lake, a little girl who was about ten years old."
Upon hearing this, the old man quickly said, "It is my daughter. Please, Your Excellency, grant me this favor."
He slid off the chair and rolled to the floor, heartbroken.
Zhao Yupan trembled with rage, pointing at Chief Du: "You...do you admit it?"
Du Dutou dared not speak, his eyes darting around, neither daring to admit nor daring to deny.
Zhao Yupan rolled up her sleeves, revealing her fair and jade-like arms: "This old lady is going to kill you with her own hands."
Wang Lun quickly urged, "Young Master Zhao..."
However, they overlooked the fact that Zhao Yupan had just referred to herself as "Grandma," and her disguise as a man was quite crude. So, should they call her "Young Master Zhao" or "Miss Zhao" now?
After thinking for a moment, he mumbled, "Chief Du certainly deserves to die, but perhaps there are still grievances among the people outside. Why don't we listen to a few more and deal with them all at once?"
Zhao Yu nodded. She knew Wang Lun was right. Du Dutou, who was both rich and powerful, was definitely a local tyrant.
Wang Lun's gaze shifted, and he saw a woman in the crowd at Cuiyue Tower, exchanging flirtatious glances with him. He was puzzled, but pointed at her and asked, "Can you write?"
The woman was both surprised and delighted, and quickly stepped forward: "My lord, have you forgotten me? It's been two days since we last met..."
Wang Lun was shocked: "Who are you?"
The woman was on the verge of tears, pretending to wipe them away: "My lord, I am Ruyan, you, you heartless lord, I miss you so much, but you... *sobs*, you've forgotten me."
Wang Lun was even more surprised, especially when he noticed Zhao Yupan's strange look. He wanted to explain, so he quickly said, "Ruyan? We don't know her. You've mistaken me for someone else."
Zhao Si quickly stepped forward to explain, "Chief, this is Ruyan, the girl the brothers came down the mountain to warm your bed a few days ago. You told me to bring her down the mountain the night before last."
Zhao Yupan roared in anger, "You... I never thought you were one of them... Humph!"
Wang Lun remembered that such a thing had indeed happened. He sighed helplessly, "Although the brothers meant well, I, Wang Lun, am a scholar who keeps to myself. In this world full of strife, how could I, Wang Lun, forcibly abduct women and indulge in pleasure?"
He said with a serious expression, "The world is not yet at peace, how can I think of a home?"
Zhao Yupan's expression calmed down slightly, but she still treated Wang Lun coldly.
Wang Lun instructed Ru Yan: "Write down everything this old man said, and have Chief Du sign and affix his seal."
As the top courtesan, Ruyan naturally possessed considerable talent. Upon hearing this, she immediately ordered someone to grind ink and write down the old man's words in great detail.
Dudu had no choice but to press his handprint.
Upon seeing that someone was addressing the old man's grievances, the people outside the door began to discuss the matter even more.
Before long, people came in one after another, all accusing the Du family. Some had their daughters taken away, some had their land seized, some had been cheated out of money, and some even claimed that the Du family had killed someone and the government dared not intervene.
The more they listened, the more horrifying it became. Not only Zhao Yupan, but even Wang Lun wished he could skin Du alive.
Ruyan wrote down more and more accusations, and by dusk, it had become a thick stack.
Countless people wept bitterly inside the hall, accusing Master Du, while outside, a long line of people waited to file complaints.
Having heard it so many times, Wang Lun had become numb, sitting in his chair like a piece of wood.
Just then, a commotion broke out outside.
Zhao Si immediately ran out to take a look, only to see a short, fat, rich man tumbling and crawling into the crowd.
"Chieftain, Your Majesty, please have mercy and release my son. You can have any amount of money you want."
Before he even entered the room, the fat man had already started crying.
He felt particularly distressed when he saw Du Dutou's disheveled appearance.
Wang Lun's face darkened: "You're Master Du?"
Master Du tried to rush forward to hug his son, but Gongsun Sheng kicked him away. He then knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, spare my life! I... am willing to pay five thousand strings of cash to save my son's life."
Seeing that Master Du had arrived, Chief Du became bolder and said, "You old codger, how can you be so stingy? I am only worth five thousand strings of cash, give him ten thousand."
Master Du quickly corrected himself: "Ten thousand, ten thousand strings of cash."
Wang Lun suppressed his anger: "You think your son is only worth ten thousand strings of cash?"
Upon hearing this, Master Du quickly added, "Fifteen thousand strings of cash."
Seeing that Wang Lun remained silent, he continued, "Twenty thousand strings of cash."
When he mentioned 20,000 strings of cash, a look of heartache was clearly on his face.
Wang Lun and Zhao Yupan shook their heads at the sight. In the eyes of the Du family, money was everything, so they couldn't bear to spend a mere 20,000 strings of cash to save their son's life, even though they were clearly rich.
"Bah! Twenty thousand strings of cash to buy your son's life? What about those people you killed? What about those people whose families you destroyed?" Zhao Yupan's cheeks flushed red with anger, partly from rage and partly from resentment.
The surrounding people glared angrily at the Du family father and son. If Wang Lun gave the order at this moment, they might rush up and bite the father and son to death.
Wang Lun said seriously, "Do you believe money can do everything?"
Master Du was taken aback, then became arrogant and said, "I have plenty of money. What can't I do? Even if my son wants to marry the current princess, I can buy it with money."
Zhao Yupan flew into a rage: "How dare you, a filthy creature, buy a royal princess?"
She gave a signal, and her guards rushed forward, grabbed Master Du, and slapped him several times.
Master Du's fat face became even more swollen, and he covered his face, too afraid to speak.
Just then, a servant rushed in from outside, panting, and said, "Something terrible has happened! A group of thieves has attacked the mine!"
Master Du was greatly alarmed and immediately got up and left: "Quickly, gather everyone and come with me to the mine."
Du Dutou was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "Old man, you're not going to save me?"
Master Du acted as if he hadn't heard, and left without looking back.