Chapter 711: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 711: Obstacles and Mo Yongxi's Outcome (4)
Mo Yan was serving food to the Han family's little ones when she heard the commotion outside. She quickly stood up, apologized to the women present, and hurried out. Seeing Old Mo, Mo Yongfu, and his son kneeling on the ground, as well as Hong shi lying on a door panel, looking half-dead, Mo Yan was so furious that she gritted her teeth. If the hall hadn’t been full of important guests, she would have thrown them out long ago.
Mo Qingze looked at the three crying on the ground, his face unusually stern despite sitting calmly in his chair. "What are you doing?"
Seeing Mo Qingze finally speak, Old Mo became more brazen, crawling on his knees to clutch Mo Qingze's leg, tears streaming down his face. "Ze'er, your cousin did wrong by you. It's my fault for not teaching her well. If you want to punish someone, punish me, but please spare your cousin this time. She's still young; she can't be ruined like this..."
Old Mo tearfully recounted how Mo Yongxi had tried to frame the Mo family but was caught by the authorities, twisting the facts to portray Mo Yongxi as a naive girl who made a mistake. He even subtly accused the Mo family of using their influence to impose such a harsh punishment on her.
As it turns out, after Mo Yongxi's failed attempt to harm the Mo family and being caught by Mo Yan, the matter was reported to the authorities. The head officer took the evidence to the capital’s magistrate. Given that Mo Yan was recently granted the title of county princess, the magistrate dared not take the case lightly. Moreover, the evidence against Mo Yongxi was solid, and she was quickly arrested and thrown into jail.
A few days ago, Mo Yongxi was brought to trial. Faced with undeniable evidence and after enduring severe punishment, she confessed to framing the Mo family. She was sentenced to ten years of hard labor in the mines. Although the punishment was fair, considering Mo Yan's position, the reality was grim: for a young woman, surviving even one year in the mines would be a struggle, let alone ten.
Mo Yan’s expression remained indifferent throughout. She neither felt satisfaction nor hatred upon hearing about Mo Yongxi’s fate.
Initially, Mo Yan was annoyed by Mo Yongxi’s repeated attempts to cause trouble, so she schemed to marry Mo Yongxi off to the lustful Young Master Fang. If Mo Yongxi had stayed quietly in the Fang household, they might have eventually taken pity on her and provided a child for her to raise, ensuring a tolerable future.
However, Mo Yongxi didn’t settle down after marriage and continued to harm her family. It was then that Mo Yan realized the only way to stop Mo Yongxi was to crush her completely, leading to the lawsuit against her.
Mo Yan had been preoccupied with family matters and guarding against the Lin family, so she had forgotten about this case. If it weren’t for Old Mo and his family causing a scene, she wouldn’t have known that Mo Yongxi had already been sentenced and was due to be sent to the mines in a few days.
"Azhe, for the sake of family ties, please spare my sister. I’ll take her place if need be. I beg you!" Mo Yongfu pleaded sorrowfully, kowtowing repeatedly until his forehead turned bruised and swollen, mixing with his tears to create a pitiful sight.
"Ugh… ugh… Want… Yongxi…" Hong shi, lying stiffly on the door panel, barely able to move her neck, also tried to speak, seemingly pleading for Mo Yongxi’s sake.
Her hair, now matted and tangled like a bird’s nest, her face smeared with dirt, and the blanket over her chest stained with filth, emitted a foul stench despite the cold weather. Her skeletal frame suggested that she had been neglected after becoming paralyzed, leaving her in this wretched state. Her cloudy eyes struggled to focus on Mo Qingze, her mouth moving feebly as she muttered unintelligible words.
Had this been any other elderly person, they might have elicited sympathy. But in Hong shi’s case, most people believed she was reaping what she had sown. Only a few with overly soft hearts felt a twinge of pity, but even they didn’t think the Mo family should agree to their unreasonable demands.
Watching this scene, those who knew the background silently cursed Old Mo and his son for their audacity, coming to ruin a joyous occasion. Those who didn’t know the story looked at Mo Qingze skeptically, unwilling to believe he could be so heartless as to force his elders to kneel. Yet, the scene before them made them doubt his character.
"Ziyu, what is going on here?" A white-haired elder stood up from the head table, looking at Mo Qingze with a stern expression.
Even though Mo Qingze had already passed the imperial examination and completed his studies, he was still from the Changshan Academy. Had the elder not witnessed this today, it might have been fine, but since he had, as the academy’s professor and Mo Qingze’s teacher, he couldn’t sit idly by and let the academy’s reputation be tarnished.
Hearing his teacher’s question, Mo Qingze’s expression softened. He respectfully replied, "Teacher, these three were once my second uncle, aunt, and cousin, but at the beginning of this year, I severed ties with them."
Mo Qingze then briefly explained the years of grievances between him and the Old Mo family. With the villagers as witnesses, he believed his teacher wouldn’t be deceived by those three. He knew his teacher’s question was meant to clarify the facts, not because he doubted him, but if he didn’t explain clearly, that might change...
(The End of this Chapter)
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