The next morning Sun Baohai made some sweet potato millet porridge for breakfast. The family ate the porridge with relish before drinking a cup of soy milk. Wang Yuanjun was a mature kid and was very grateful for his aunt taking them in so he tried to work hard. He cared for his little cousins and tried to do chores, so as soon as everyone was done with breakfast he cleared the table.
"Yuanjun, aunt knows you feel awkward but you acting like this will make aunt feel even more awkward. Just like my children, you're also a child, so relax okay?" Sun Baohai coaxed as he took the plates from Yuanjun's hands. Since he didn't turn back, he didn't see the red eyes of Yuanjun. To Yuanjun, apart from his mom, no one had ever treated him kindly.
Since he wasn't going to work today he planned on seeing the progress of the kids. He's been here for a little more than a month and he had been teaching the kids every day when he had time, but he never had time to evaluate them so today was a good day for that.
"Okay, kids come and show Mommy what you learned so far," Sun Baohai said as he sat down. The kids felt a little nervous yet they obediently went to get their stuff and started showing their mommy their progress. The twins were the oldest so they of course knew more, and Sun Baohai gave them more work. Xiao Yan was also quite smart but he only knew how to write very few characters.
{Ding! Ding! New mission triggered! Educate the twins with basic childhood knowledge! Reward: 10 points, 2 silver hairpins, 3 silver taels! Mission progress: 32%}
Immediately after Sun Baohai heard of the rewards he sat up straight. It's so much!
"Mommy's children are so smart! How can you learn so fast?" Sun Baohai praised as he hugged the kids. He really meant it. He had barely taught the kids for a month but their progress was already this high. The kids felt a little shy but they felt a little prideful in their hearts. Mommy said they were Mommy's children.
{Qiqi's affection has risen by 5% and Xiao Xi's affection has risen by 8%! Keep up the hard work host.}
Hearing that Sun Baohai's heart was filled with warmth and decided to cook something delicious for the kids, but before he even got up, there was a loud knock on the door. Sun Baohai and Zhang Yingtai looked at each other before getting up. They were prepared for this since this morning so they had dropped the babies off at Aunt Lin's and planned to leave Yuanjun here with the kids.
So he pretended to be clueless and went to open the door. The two Yamen officers were stunned by the beautiful ger in front of them. He was wearing a plain blue and green aoqun yet his beauty did not diminish one bit. When he looked up confusedly at the yamen officers they felt their heart skip a beat.
The way Old Lady Wang had described this ger made one think he was a vile-looking thing, but in reality just how much havoc could a small ger wreck if he was not forced to do so? But what mattered wasn't their opinion, they were here on the order of the magistrate.
"We're here on the order of the magistrate to come and escort Sun Baohai, and Zhang Yingtai to the Yamen Government Office, for trial." The two soldiers announced.
"Trial?" Sun Baohai asked, his face filled with shock, "What for may I ask?" He continued.
"Wang Yi has sued Zhang Yingtai for failing her duty as a wife and for being unfilial, plus additional charges for kidnapping a descendent of the Wang Family, with you as her accomplice," One of the officers answered.
Sun Baohai nodded with a sigh before turning, "Sister-in-law it seems your mother-in-law has actually sued us, we need to go,"
"Sure, Yuanjun watch over your little cousins, mom will come back later," Zhang Yingtai instructed calmly before going to Sun Baohai, but from her trembling hands, one could see how nervous she was. The officers were once again shocked. If the ger was an effortless beauty then the girl was an ethereal beauty. Even if she was severely malnourished, her pretty face was still mesmerizing to look at.
With yamen officers coming to the village of course everybody was scared. To the villagers, the magistrate was like who the emperor was to the nobles. They were always scared of the yamen and barely went there but now they came to escort one of their villagers out, it was impossible for them to not be scared, but they still wanted to watch this show and went along with them. Among the crowd of villagers, many of them were the witnesses who promised to testify.
It took them about thirty minutes to get to town. When he got there, he saw a decent middle-aged man sitting on a high chair, with two older men behind them, who were probably small judges. When he turned his head he saw Old Lady Wang looking at them hatefully while Widower Wang and Wang Ling stood there with arrogant expressions on their faces. Sun Baohai smiled, this would be an easy win. The County Magistrate was a fair and just man, and never took bribe so as not to humiliate his teacher, the chancellor, who was known for his loyalty. So even the two small judges who worked under him would not dare accept bribes.
The magistrate looked at the two pretty people that were standing in front of him and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The ex-wife was pale and shaking but the sister-in-law stood straight and fearless as if he had nothing to hide.
"Let us start the trial!" The county magistrate announced. "Old Madam Wang please explain your side," He continued.
"Yes, your honor! This Old Lady's son, Wang Huan had been married to Zhang Yingtai for nine years and had given him a son. We had been very courteous to her at the beginning, but who would've thought that she had gotten jealous of the love Wang Huan had with his first wife and started acting out, and even stealing from us. As her mother-in-law, I have to educate her, but it seemed like she took it to heart and decided to run away with our Wang family grandson. Sun Baohai as his sister-in-law should've been persuading her to go back and fix the relationship but he instead enticed her to stay with him. We even agreed to the divorce but she wanted my grandson and even threatened us. Isn't that just unfilial? Does she not deserve to get repudiated?" Old Lady Wang explained, sighing at the end of her sentence.
For people who didn't know they would think of her as a just and amiable mother-in-law who got taken advantage of by her greedy and jealous daughter-in-law, and that was exactly what was going on. The other folk that gathered to watch the show all sighed and lamented. Even the country magistrate's face twitched in anger twice, but he was still impartial and tried his best to restrain his emotions.
"Zhang Yingtai you are the one being accused, do you have anything to say?" The magistrate asked, before she could tremblingly say a word Sun Baohai had already spoken.
"My sister-in-law is currently very emotional, so her confession might not be accurate. I think it's best I speak and she adds on anything she wants to say, your honor," Sun Baohai stated respectfully as he bowed not looking scared at all.
"Since you're also one of the accused I'll allow it," The county magistrate agreed.
"Thank you, your honor," Sun Baohai bowed in thanks before he continued. "We should start at the very beginning. My sister-in-law was only fourteen when she married Widower Wang who was thirty and had already married thrice. He was also known for beating his wives. Honorable judges, do you think any fourteen-year-old would willingly walk into such a marriage if not for desperate measures? At the time the Zhang family was prosperous so why the need to marry like that?" He did not plan to dilly-dally here, Yingtai was already showing signs of instability from just seeing the two not to mention talking to them, it seemed like he would be the one doing all the talking.
The judges thought for a while and agreed, "This young ger is right, for a lady that is fully educated and decent and background there was no need for this marriage?"
When Old Lady Wang so that Sun Baohai planned to dig up the bast her heart skipped a beat but she still managed herself and retorted, "A child's marriage is determined by the parents. Even if we live in a small village we still follow customs. Do you think we could kidnap a bride just because we want to? The family had of course be willing!"
"Madam Wang is right if the family didn't agree then marriage would be impossible," One of the judges remarked.
"That is also right," Sun Baohai said, shocking the people around wasn't he here to help his sister-in-law? "Why would parents bear to give their daughter away like this?" Sun Baohai sneered, "That is of course because the mother is not the mother, and after the father remarried he became a stepfather."
"Preposterous! Such unfilial words!" One of the judges reprimanded as he banged the grovel, causing the crowd to shrink their necks.
"These words may be unfillial but they are needed to be said!" Sun Baohai said solemnly, before continuing. "After my mother-in-law passed away, her son was sent to the military as a minor, and her daughter could only live as a ghost in the house, but even as a ghost, they didn't spare her. When Old Madam Wang stated that she was looking for a bride with a generous bride price of ten taels, even the poorest families in the village did not bear to send their daughters, yet the Zhang Family, no, specifically Old Madam Zhang rushed to marry my sister-in-law to him,"
"To blame a mother like this is too unfillial!" One of the judges rushed to say. His face was wrinkled, and his brows stern, one could see that he was the type of conservative that could ruin a country.
"Judge Liu must be mindful, for a child to be filial a mother must be benevolent. If a parent raised you with hatred, how can you in turn give them love in the future?" Sun Baohai responded with a warm, smile shocking the county magistrate, and those around. This was indeed true.
"If you're truly filial then it does matter what the parent did, it matters that you respect them and love them," Judge Liu said with a frown.
"Judge Liu is wrong, if one was not raised with love and respect then how would they know what love and respect means? And if they don't even know what it means, then how could they respect and love someone else? Children are mirrors they reflect what they've been given," Sun Baohai explained truthfully. The words shocked many but it was indeed true, who would love someone who hated them? They were also shocked that a ger could utter such words of defiance yet they were filled with wisdom.
Judge Liu felt conflicted and wanted to retort but was stopped by the county magistrate, "Continue with your argument," He said as he looked at Sun Baohai.
"Yes," Sun Baohai responded. "The reason why so many people refused to let their daughters marry the Wang family was that the two wives married Widower Wang after his marriage did not have a good ending. One of them was harshly repudiated, and could never marry again so she hung herself out of shame, and the other is bedridden illness. During these marriages, it was known throughout the village just how harshly the two were treated. So when Old Lady Zhang agreed with the marriage proposal, even her normally quiet dad disagreed, and the villagers who once received help stood against this marriage. Seeing so much opposition Old Lady Wang stopped so the villagers let their guards down but not even a week later Zhang Yingtai and Widower Wang were found in a room disheveled."
"You still have no shame to be saying this! That wench seduced my son yet I allowed her to marry in, yet now you're saying that I plotted?!" Old Lady Wang screamed with emotion surprising the ones around. They then looked at Zhang Yingtai who's face was as pale as a sheet and shook their heads. Such a pretty girl yet...
"I do not slander, nor will I argue based on emotion." Sun Baohai told Old Lady Wang coldly, before turning to the county magistrate, "Your honor would you mind me asking a person some questions. I will not choose anyone from my village as to be fair." Sun Baohai asked, before bowing.
"I'll choose the person," The county magistrate said calmly before calling a fairly decent-dressed lady out of the crowd.
"What is your name?" Sun Baohai asked.
"Lu Chu," The lady responded.
"You live in town?" Sun Baohai asked.
"Yes,"
"What does your husband do?"
"He's a Xuicai, he transcribes books"
"Do you have children?"
"Yes, I do"
"Any daughters?"
"Yes, two,"
"Let's say one of your daughters had inhaled something they shouldn't have and something happened between them and one of your friend's son while you, the son's mom, and some other wives were having a small gathering. You hear something in the room and you clearly hear her voice what would be your and your friend's first instinct?" Sun Baohai asked.
"I would try and bring all the wives out of the courtyard and try and send them back before going to check on my daughter," Lu Chu responded as matter-of-factly. Everybody nodded their head in agreement, it was just basic instincts for a mom to protect their child.
"That's right any mother would desire to protect their child, and a stepmother who does not love the child but loves reputation and their household would also try and protect their dignity, yet when this happened to Zhang Yingtai, instead of trying to get rid of the wives who were in the yard with her, she walked closer to the courtyard and even entered the scene with them. Instead of trying to stay quiet even after that she instead went out to scream about what she just saw, while Old Lady Wang was there helping her, and Widower Wang was also strangely calm that day. The only confused and shamed one, was my sister-in-law." Sun Baohai explained calmly.
Immediately the people shifted their focus to Old Lady Wang and her son. Yes, why would you try and publicize such a matter, plus the ger revealed that aphrodisiacs may have been involved?
"Such ungrateful beings! We took you in and did not abandon you, who would marry you after such a matter happened?" Old Lady Wang said as she looked at the two hatefully. She didn't think this was going to be so troublesome.
"But that is a lie Old Lady Wang, at least three people came to propose marriage after the incident just to keep Zhang Yingtai from marrying into the Wang family. If your honor wants to make sure the families are here," Sun Baohai refuted
"Bring them forth." The county magistrate ordered. It seemed like this trial would take longer than expected.
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