Chapter 14: Da Qiu Saves His Mother

  Because the Liu family had offended too many people before, the people present would not let Li Tianzhen off so easily. At this moment, someone suggested taking Li Tianzhen to the ancestral temple and letting her clarify things in front of their ancestors.

  The person who proposed this was none other than Chen, the widow whose land had been seized by Liu Renqing. Chen's move was indeed vicious, forcing Li Tianzhen to go to the ancestral temple and say those things in front of their ancestors. Not only would it humiliate Li Tianzhen and the Liu family, but also bring shame to the Liu ancestors. If that were to happen, Li Tianzhen would truly have no face left to live with.

  "Take her away just like this, don't let her put on clothes, and let the ancestors of Shimǎ Village take a good look. Our Shimǎ Village has actually produced such a wanton woman. This is not only a shame for the Liu family, but also a shame for our Shimǎ Village." The one who said this was Lǐ Zōu Zi (Lee Cripple).

  What is meant by good deeds will be rewarded with good fortune, and evil deeds will be punished with bad fortune. It's not that there won't be retribution, it's just that the time hasn't come yet. The evil consequences of Liu Renqing's actions over the years have all fallen on his wife Li Tianzhen today.

  It can be said that Li Tianzhen was wronged, and she was indeed wronged in some ways, because most of the evil deeds were done by Liu Renqing; but it can also be said that she was not wronged, because Liu Renqing did many evil things, and Li Tianzhen not only didn't stop him, but also helped him to stir up trouble.

  So, in the hearts of the villagers, Li Tianzhen was not a good person either. Therefore, when Chen Widow and Li Cripple, who had been harmed by Liu Renqing, proposed to take Li Tianzhen to the ancestral temple, everyone except those who kept silent agreed.

  In the ancestral hall of Shimǎ Village, in addition to the seating arrangement of ancestors, there are also family rules left by ancestors. It is worth noting that those family rules were all left over from the feudal era.

  Li Tianzhen was also very clear that if she were to be taken to the ancestral temple, she would inevitably suffer a family law. However, for Li Tianzhen now, physical pain really didn't count as much for her, because what she was enduring at this time was more mental torture.

  In her heart, Li Tianzhen would not admit that she was a promiscuous woman. Last night's affair was indeed a momentary lapse of sanity. But over the years, she had only made this one mistake last night. It should be known that even those women who frequently eloped with men had not suffered such humiliation. Therefore, Li Tianzhen felt somewhat unjust in her heart.

  Li Tianzhen was also very clear that she ended up in this situation, first because the man Zhang San she stole yesterday died, and second because Liu Jia had been arrogant and offended too many people.

  However, it's too late for Li Tianzhen to regret now.

  Seeing everyone wanting to drag Li Tianzhen to the ancestral hall, Liu Da-kui rushed over on horseback.

  "Let go of my mother, let go of my mother!" Liu Da-kui howled as he pushed and shoved the villagers surrounding Li Tian-zhen. Although Liu Da-kui was a fool, he also knew to protect his mother, Li Tian-zhen.

  All these years after marrying into the Liu family, Liu Renqing often went out to fool around, and her son Liu Daqi was an idiot. Li Tianzhen had not had a few comfortable days. Sometimes at night, when Liu Renqing went out to fool around, she could only secretly cry in bed.

  Today, when she saw Liu Da-kui rush over to protect her, Li Tian-zhen shed happy tears for the first time. This son of hers, although a fool, still knew how to protect his mother, and hadn't been raised in vain.

  In Shimǎ Village, not counting Zhang Xiaolan, the Liu family has three people in total. Among these three people, the one that the villagers dislike the least is Liu Da-kui. The reason is very simple: Liu Da-kui is an idiot, so from a young age to adulthood, he has never done anything to harm the villagers.

  The villagers were not unreasonable, and since Liu Da-kui had never harmed them, they did not have any hostility towards him. Therefore, after seeing Liu Da-kui desperately protecting his mother Li Tianzhen, the hearts of those villagers who originally only had minor conflicts with the Liu family softened a bit.

  In Shimǎ Village, whenever there were any conflicts, it was always the good man Qián Yǒngfú who mediated. Because in the whole of Shimǎ Village, he was the only one who had never offended anyone and had never taken advantage of anyone.

  In the hearts of Shimache villagers, Qian Yongfu, who has never been a village head, is their real village head. Therefore, in Shimache Village, as long as it involves the whole village, as long as Qian Yongfu says so, the villagers will do so.

  Now, Liu Da-kui suddenly appeared and disrupted the villagers' plan to take Li Tian-zhen to the ancestral temple. Deep down, the villagers only wanted to move Li Tian-zhen and did not want to harm Liu Da-kui.

  Now, if they continue to push Li Tianzhen towards the ancestral hall, Liu Daqi will definitely go forward to block it, and he will definitely be hurt. If they don't take Li Tianzhen to the ancestral hall, but just let her go like this, the villagers' resentment accumulated over the years will not be vented, and the villagers will inevitably feel unfulfilled.

  In this difficult situation, the villagers unanimously cast their eyes on Qian Yongfu. In this matter, the villagers all felt that Qian Yongfu was the most reliable person, so they wanted him to make a decision.

  Qian Yongfu did things, always trying to please all sides, but he also wouldn't lose the bottom line that should be kept. On one hand, there was the villagers' anger towards Li Tianzhen, on the other hand, there was Liu Daogui's wailing, Qian Yongfu knew that he had taken on a hot potato.

  If this matter can't be handled perfectly, Qian Yongfu's reputation as a good person who has been protected for a lifetime will be ruined.

  As for the old man, Qian Yongfu is quite experienced. Although this matter is a bit tricky, it's not irreconcilable either. Li Tianzhen and Liu Renqing have been doing evil in the village for a long time and should have been punished long ago. Therefore, no matter what, we must bring Li Tianzhen to the ancestral hall today.

  As for Liu Da-kui that silly kid, he absolutely cannot be allowed to follow us to the ancestral temple. So just coax him a couple of sentences and send him off.

  "Put the clothes on Li Tianzhen!" Qian Yongfu said.

  The villagers were well aware that Qian Yongfu was doing this to calm down Liu Daqi and prevent him from making any more noise. As soon as Qian Yongfu finished speaking, Liu's wife brought over Li Tianzhen's clothes and pants and handed them to her.

  Li Tianzhen is a clever woman, otherwise she wouldn't have helped Liu Renqing come up with so many tricks to take advantage of the villagers. Li Tianzhen knew Qian Yongfu's intention, and she also knew that her current situation couldn't be changed by relying on her foolish son Liu Daogui alone.

  Now, judging from the villagers' expressions that seemed to want to tear her apart, not even Liu Da-kui could save Li Tian-zhen, let alone if Liu Ren-qing had rushed back.

  Anyway, Liu Da-kui staying here is useless, it's better to let him go and get reinforcements. Thinking of this, Li Tian-zhen called Liu Da-kui over and quietly told him to go find his grandmother.

  After listening to Li Tianzhen's words, Liu Daqi did not rush to leave, but stood stupidly in place. Because he was afraid that once he left, the villagers would bully his mother again.

  "Don't worry about me, go and have fun! Be sure to behave yourself! Listen to what I say." Li Tianzhen forced a smile as she said this to hurry Liu Daqi along.

  Liu Da-kui was after all a fool, easy to deceive. Moreover, from young to old, he listened most to his mother Li Tian-zhen's words. As soon as Li Tian-zhen finished speaking, Liu Da-kui went "oh" and ran towards the village entrance.

  The villagers did not expect that Li Tianzhen would take the initiative to send away her son Liu Daogui. In the eyes of the villagers, this should be a sign of Li Tianzhen's repentance. Therefore, in their hearts, the villagers more or less forgave Li Tianzhen.

  The villagers' attitude changed, and Li Tianzhen could still see some of it. Li Tianzhen was very clear that she now had to fight for more time for herself. From Shimazu Village to Songpo Village where her mother-in-law lived, it took two or three hours, so it would take at least half a day for her mother-in-law to arrive.

  "I, Li Tianzhen, have indeed done many wrong things over the years. I am willing to accept your punishment. However, after you've dealt with me, I hope you can treat my son Liu Daqi well. I'll follow you to the ancestral temple now, and you can punish me however you want, but please don't make things difficult for my son Liu Daqi."

  After finishing her speech, Li Tianzhen walked towards the ancestral hall on her own initiative, and the villagers followed behind her.