Chapter 9

Wang Liang was still replaying the scene of just now when he and Li Jing had a four-eyed confrontation. Li Jing's deep gaze was like two bottomless wells, making him realize that Li Jing must have already guessed the underhanded tricks he had played. No matter what, Li Jing had already been sentenced to death by hanging, and was now locked in the military town's dungeon. He had at most a year to live, and would be hanged in the autumn of next year.

However, he couldn't feel any joy, not even a hint of satisfaction from his revenge. Instead, he was somewhat unsettled by Li Jing's final gaze.

Wang Liang stood alone in front of the warehouse, watching the soldiers and laborers coming and going, lost in thought. At this moment, the fat warehouse official, Zhang, waddled over with a swagger.

"Wang Er, what are you thinking about? Tell me, can the Li family really come up with the money to bail that boy out?" The warehouse official's name was Zhang Hong, who was said to be the brother of a concubine of Commander Cui, which is why he got such a lucrative position.

"Oh, Master." Wang Liang, seeing his master, quickly bowed. He bent his waist and stepped back two paces, following behind Zhang Hong.

Today, Wang Liang had accompanied the fat Zhang out to buy supplies, and he had just seen Li Jing carrying grain out of the city. He had long harbored deep hatred for the Li family, and at the sight of Li Jing, he immediately had the idea to humiliate him. He mentioned it to the fat Zhang, originally just planning to use forced buying to annoy Li Jing. However, he didn't expect Li Jing to be so stubborn. When he later saw a carp among the fish, a wicked plan came to mind. He quietly told the fat Zhang, suggesting they use this to take down Li Jing and extort some money. The fat Zhang, being greedy, was delighted at the prospect of extra money and readily agreed.

"Master, the Li family has lost three heads of the household in recent years, and now Li Jing is the only man left. Although the Li family has declined, they still have fifty acres of good land and ten acres of mulberry fields. To get Li Jing out, the women of the Li family will surely be willing to bankrupt themselves. Fifty acres of land may not be much, but it's still a small fortune."

"Very good, very good. A little can add up to a lot. Sixty acres of land is worth a move. This matter, I will entrust to you. If you handle it well, I will reward you with two acres of mulberry fields." The fat Zhang was in high spirits. In these times, he could make some money from the warehouse, but it was nothing compared to owning land.

It was already dusk, and the women of the Li family had not waited for Li Jing to return, but instead for the blacksmith Wang and his son, Xiao Shi. Xiao Shi and his father brought back a shocking piece of news, which left the Li family's widows and young women pale and wailing. The Li family had already lost three heads of the household in recent years, and if Li Jing were to have an accident, the family would truly be doomed.

The blacksmith Wang, with his face full of wrinkles, squatted on the ground, constantly sighing. Last time, his eldest son was planning to build a house and get married the next year, but he took the Li family brothers to gather seaweed, which resulted in his own son's death and the deaths of three other young men from the village, with only the youngest Li brother escaping. This incident had not even passed two months, and today his youngest son had taken two strings of fish to Li Jing, which led to him being thrown into prison and sentenced to death by hanging. The Wang family owed the Li family a great deal. In front of the Li family's women, he didn't even dare to raise his head.

At this moment, Wang Liang, his mother, and his sister entered the Li family's courtyard.

"Aunt, we've heard about what happened to Third Brother. Don't worry, there must be a way out of this," Wang Liang's mother consoled.

Lady Han was now completely dazed. This once strong woman now seemed to have lost all her strength, her eyes lifeless and her face devoid of color. Hearing Wang Liang's mother's words, she suddenly turned around and shouted at Lady Liu, "Are you here to mock us? Look, look, are you satisfied now? All the men in my family are dead, and you're happy about it, aren't you?"

Wang Xiaomei hurriedly said, "Aunt, when my brother heard about this in town, he immediately ran home. My mother was also very worried. How could we possibly be here to mock you?"

Wang Xiaoshi suddenly rushed forward, grabbing Wang Liang by the collar and shouting, "I heard from people in town that it was you who stopped Scholar Brother to buy fish, which led to this. Tell me, was it you who did this?"

"Isn't it true that you run errands for that Zhang Warehouse Official who harmed Third Brother? Tell me, was this your idea?" The blacksmith Wang also quickly added. Although Li Jing was not his son, he was more anxious and felt more guilty than anyone else.

Hearing this, Wang Liang's mother turned and slapped him hard across the face. The Wang family and the Li family indeed had a grudge, but it was a private matter. If he had used underhanded tricks to harm the Li family's youngest son, leading to someone's death, she could never forgive him. If this were true, the Wang family would never be able to stand here again.

"Mother, if others don't believe me, do you not believe your son? Today, I was the one who first approached Third Brother to buy fish, and I paid for it. We had already agreed on one string of fish. Later, Zhang Warehouse Official suddenly wanted both strings for one string of money. Third Brother refused, and that's when Zhang Warehouse Official turned on him and took him to the yamen because of the carp. I begged Zhang Warehouse Official for a long time, and finally, he agreed to release Third Brother. I didn't even have time to drink water before I ran back to report the news."

Hearing that Li Jing would be released, Lady Han became excited and quickly grabbed Wang Liang's hand, asking, "The town is willing to release Third Brother? Then why hasn't he come back yet?"

"Aunt, although Zhang Warehouse Official agreed to release Third Brother, he has a condition," Wang Liang said with a serious face, but in his heart, he was following the plan he had already devised.

"What condition? Just say it, we will do whatever it takes."

Wang Liang deliberately hesitated for a while before saying, "Everyone knows that the town's judge has already sentenced Third Brother to death by hanging. Once the official document is sent to the imperial department for review, it will be final, and the execution will take place in the autumn. The document is still in the town, but there isn't much time left. Zhang Warehouse Official's brother-in-law is Commander Cui, and he has the final say in the town. If the document can be withdrawn before it is sent to the imperial department, then Third Brother can be released directly."

Wang Liang stopped speaking here.

Although he stopped, everyone understood the unspoken meaning. Zhang Warehouse Official had first sent Li Jing to prison, and now to get him released, it wouldn't be free.

Lady Han bit her lip and asked, "How much money does Zhang Warehouse Official want to release him?"

"One hundred acres of good land."

Everyone gasped. The Li family only had fifty acres of land, and even if they included the ten acres of mulberry fields, they still fell short by one hundred and forty acres. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, good land was very valuable, with one acre selling for a hundred strings of coins. However, in the late Tang Dynasty, with heavier taxes, the price of land had dropped. But one acre of good land still cost at least ten strings of coins. Forty acres of land would be four hundred thousand coins, which is equivalent to 2000 dou of rice. Even in a famine year, the Li family would have to go bankrupt to raise this much money.

The Li family, even if they sold everything they had, could not come up with this much money.

"Li family sister, this is all my fault. If I hadn't asked him to carry the fish, this wouldn't have happened. I have twenty acres of land, take it all," the blacksmith Wang said. He had been a blacksmith for years and had managed to acquire twenty acres of land.

"No, you need that land to support your family. Without it, how will you live?" Lady Han shook her head, refusing.

Wang Liang's mother bit her lip and said, "Sister, I also have twenty acres of land. Take it to save Third Brother."

"Add these together, and it makes exactly one hundred acres of land," Wang Liang added.

Lady Han bit her lip and said, "Uncle Wang, you know many people in town. Can you help find out if anyone is willing to buy this courtyard? If they can pay, I'll sell it."

The Li family's seaweed three-sided courtyard had been built fifty years ago. Seaweed houses were not like ordinary thatched or brick houses. A house like the Li family's, if well-maintained, could last for two hundred years. This nine-room three-sided courtyard, built fifty years ago, was originally quite valuable. The Li family had spent about two hundred thousand coins to build it, including the land. Two hundred thousand coins was equivalent to two hundred strings of coins, or twenty acres of land. But now, if they sold it in a hurry, they could get at most eighty thousand coins.

"Aunt, this house is the Li family's ancestral property. The land can be bought back later, but where will you live if you sell the house? Aunt, let's all chip in, and we have one hundred acres of land. Let's go and bail Third Brother out to avoid any further complications. We can deal with other matters later," Wang Liang said with a look of righteous urgency.

Lady Han did not want to accept the land from the blacksmith Wang and Wang Liang's family, but she was worried about her son and had no more money to offer. She had no choice but to nod helplessly, not realizing that the Li family was falling deeper into Wang Liang's trap.

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