Chapter 7: The Downfall of the Family

  Wang Liang's mind was still replaying the scene from earlier when he and Li Jing had locked eyes, Li Jing's deep gaze was like two bottomless wells that made him understand that Li Jing must have already guessed his sinister intentions. In any case, Li Jing had already been sentenced to death by hanging, and was imprisoned in the military camp's dungeon. At most, he only had a year left to live, and would be executed next autumn.

  But he couldn't feel happy at all, nor did he have the slightest sense of pleasure after his revenge, instead being unsettled by Li Jing's last glance.

  Wang Liang stood alone in front of the warehouse, gazing at the soldiers and civilians coming and going with goods. At this time, the fat storehouse official Zhang walked over with a swaggering gait.

  "Wang Er, what are you thinking about? You say, can the Li family really afford to bail out that kid?" Zhang Ku was officially named Zhang Hong, and it's said he's the brother of one of Cui Zhen's concubines, which is why he landed such a lucrative position as warehouse manager.

  "Oh, it's the master." Wang Liang saw that it was his own master and hastily bowed. He retreated two steps, bowing, and followed behind Zhang Hong.

  Today, Wang Liang followed Zhang Pang out to buy goods and happened to see Li Jing carrying grain to leave the city. He had long been resentful of the Li family and as soon as he saw Li Jing, he had an idea to humiliate him. He mentioned it to Zhang Pang. Originally, they just wanted to use strong-arm tactics to annoy Li Jing, but unexpectedly, Li Jing didn't back down. This matter would have ended there, but then Wang Liang saw a carp in the fish and a sinister plan emerged. He quietly told Zhang Pang that he wanted to take advantage of this to frame Li Jing and extort some money from him. Zhang Pang was a greedy person and upon hearing that there was an opportunity to make some extra money, he wouldn't let it slip away.

  "Your Honor, the Li family has lost three successive heads of household over the years. Now, Li Xuan is the only man left in the Li family. Although the Li family has declined, they still have 50 mu of good land and another 10 mu of mulberry fields. In order to get rid of Li Xuan, the women of the Li family would definitely be willing to sell out their entire property. Several dozen mu of land may not be a lot, but it's also a small fortune."

  "Not bad, not bad. Every little bit counts, every little bit counts. Sixty mu of land is worth taking action once. This matter, the official has just handed it over to you, if things are done beautifully, at that time the official will reward you with two mu of mulberry fields." Zhang Huizi was in a great mood and said happily. In this year, he guarded the warehouse and made some extra money, but after all, it's not as stable as buying land.

  The sky was near dusk, and the Li family's women did not wait for Li Xuan to return, but instead waited for Wang Tiejiang and Xiao Shitou. Xiao Shitou and his son brought back a shocking piece of news, which shocked the Li family's widows and young girls, their faces as white as paper, crying out loud. The Li family had already lost three men in recent years, if something were to happen to Li Xuan again, this family would truly be finished.

  Wrinkled-faced Wang Tie crouched on the ground, constantly shaking his head and sighing. Last time, his eldest son was preparing to build a house and get married next year, but he ended up dragging the Li brothers to Jianhai Cao, resulting in not only his own son's death but also the misfortune of three other young men from the same village, leaving only Li Sanzi escaping unscathed. This incident hadn't even passed two months, and today his younger son brought two strings of fish to Li Jing, which again implicated him and led to his imprisonment and a sentence of beheading. The Wang family owed the Li family a great debt. In front of the women of the Li family, he didn't dare lift his head.

  Just then, Wang Liang entered the Li family courtyard with his mother and sister.

  "Auntie, we've also heard about Sanlang's situation. Don't worry, there will be a way to deal with it." King Liang's mother advised.

  Han's family had completely lost their spirit at this time, and even the strongest woman was like a person who had been drained of her strength, with dull eyes and a dead face. When she heard Wang Liang's mother's words, she suddenly turned around and cried out to Liu Shi: "You're here to see our family's joke, right? Look, look, are you satisfied now? The men in my Li family have died out, aren't you happy?"

  Wang Xiaomei hastily said, "Auntie, my brother was in town and as soon as he heard about this matter, he immediately ran back home. My mother also became anxious upon hearing the news, how could she possibly come to watch a comedy?"

  Wang Xiaoshi suddenly rushed up, grabbed Wang Liang's collar and shouted: "I heard people in the town say that today is because you stopped Xiucai from buying fish, it was your doing. Is it true or not?"

  "Aren't you just a lackey under Zhang Kuquan, the one who harmed Sanlang? You say, isn't this your bad idea?" Wang Tiejiang also hastily said. Although Li Xuan was not his son, when Li Xuan got into trouble, he felt more anxious than anyone else and felt more guilty than anyone else.

  The queen mother heard this and turned around, slapping Wang Liang's face with a loud slap. The Wang and Li families did have a past grievance, but it was just a private matter. If they were to resort to underhanded tactics and plot against the three young masters of the Li family, causing them to lose their lives, she would absolutely not forgive them. If things were really like this, then the Wang family might as well forget about having a foothold here in the future.

  "Mother, others don't believe me, are you also not believing your son? Today I was the one who pulled Third Brother to buy fish, but I was the one who paid for it. Originally, we had agreed with San Lang to buy a string of fish. Later, Zhang Ku Guan suddenly wanted two strings and only gave one mace of money. It was Third Brother who refused, so Zhang Ku Guan turned against him and used the carp incident to drag Third Brother into the yamen. I had been begging Zhang Ku Guan for a long time, and finally managed to persuade him to release Third Brother. I didn't even have time to drink a mouthful of water before rushing back to report the news."

  Han heard that Ken had let Li Jing go, and he suddenly became excited, grabbing Wang Liang's hand and asking urgently: "Is the town willing to let Sanlang come back? Why hasn't anyone seen him yet?"

  "Auntie, although Zhang Kuoguan has agreed to release Third Brother, he does have a condition." Wang Liang's face was stern and serious, but in his heart, he was following the plan he had thought out beforehand.

  "Whatever your requirements, just say it, and we will find a way to make it happen."

  Wang Liang deliberately wanted to speak but stopped for a long time, and then said: "Everyone knows that the town's push officer has already sentenced San Ge to be hanged after the autumn, only waiting for the official document from the town to be sent to the imperial court for review. Now the official document is still in the town and hasn't been presented yet, but there isn't much time left either. Zhang Kuoguan's brother-in-law is Cui Zhenjiang, who has the final say on everything in the town. As long as it can be taken out and destroyed before the official document is presented to the imperial court, San Ge can be released directly at that time."

  King Liang stopped talking at this point.

  Although he didn't say anything more, everyone else understood the implication. Zhang Ku had already sent the person to the great prison, and now if he were to release him, it would definitely not be for nothing.

  "Mr. Han bit his lip and said: 'How much money does Zhang Ku want before he's willing to let him go?'"

  "One hundred mu of good land."

  Everyone exclaimed, the Li family had a total of only 50 mu of land, even if they counted all 10 mu of mulberry fields, it was still short of 140 mu. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, land was precious and one mu of good land could be sold for over 100 guan. However, in the late Tang Dynasty, the land tax was heavier, and the price of land had fallen somewhat. But one mu of good land would cost at least 10 guan. 40 mu of land would be 400,000 guan, which is equivalent to 2,000 dou of rice. Not to mention that this year's disaster, even in the Li family's heyday, they would have to go bankrupt.

  The Li family would have to sell everything they own and even then they wouldn't be able to come up with that much money.

  "Li's wife, this is all because of the old man. If he hadn't asked him to deliver the fish, nothing would have happened. My family also has twenty mu of land, take it all, sister-in-law." Wang Tiejiang had been working as a blacksmith outside for many years and his family had also acquired twenty mu of land.

  "It won't do, your whole family's livelihood depends on these twenty mu of land. Without the land, how will your family survive?" Madam Han shook her head in refusal.

  Wang Liang's mother gritted her teeth and said: "Sister-in-law, we still have twenty mu of land at home. You can take it first to rescue Sanlang."

  "Adding these just makes a hundred acres." Wang Liang said on the side.

  "Hey, Uncle Wang, you know a lot of people in town, can you help me ask around and see if anyone wants to buy this house? As long as they're willing to pay, I'll sell it."

  The thatched house of the Li family has been built for only 50 years, and it's not comparable to ordinary grass or tile houses. A house like the Li's, as long as it's well-maintained, can be passed down for over 200 years without any issues. This nine-room courtyard house, which is only 50 years old, was originally very expensive. When the Li family built this house, including the land, they spent almost 200,000 yuan, equivalent to 20 hectares of land. But now it's being sold urgently, and if they can sell it for 70 or 80,000 yuan, that would be the best price.

  "Auntie, this house is the ancestral property of the Li family. Even if we sell the land, we can still buy it back in the future, but if we sell the ancestral home, where will you live? Auntie, let's all chip in and we'll have over 100 mu of land. Let's first go bail out Third Brother to avoid any more trouble. We can talk about other things later." Wang Liang said with a sense of urgency and justice.

  Mrs. Han did not want to accept the land from Wang Tiejiang and Wang Liangjia, but at this time she was worried about her son, and the family could not come up with more money. She had no choice but to nod reluctantly, but she didn't know that the Li family was step by step falling into Wang Liang's trap.

  PS: Come and see, the top-grade seaweed three combined courtyard is only selling one recommendation ticket!