Chapter 175: Thirty Years of Hard Labor
A crowd had gathered at the entrance of the Xie residence, murmuring and discussing.
Yet not a single person stepped through the gate. No one outside the Xie family came to light three incense sticks before Xie Jingyu's memorial altar.
The entrance was bustling with activity,
while the memorial hall remained desolate and cold.
Yuan Shi wept until she fainted multiple times.
Xie Shiyun was four years old, and Xie Xian was three—both too young to understand anything, only knowing to cry along. As for Xie Shikang, merely a few months old, he was even more oblivious.
The three concubines knelt on cushions, silently shedding tears.
Beyond their grief and sorrow, they were mostly lost and uncertain. They had depended on Xie Jingyu, and now that their man was dead, how were they to live out the rest of their lives?
Involuntarily, they lifted their heads to look at Yun Chu standing nearby.
Now, the only person they could rely on was the madam.
Yun Chu was dressed entirely in plain white, with a white flower in her hair, appearing extremely austere. Her face showed little expression, remaining very calm.
The first day after Xie Jingyu's death passed amid the mournful weeping of the crowd.
Xie Zhongcheng harbored silent anger.
His own son-in-law had died, yet the Yun family had not sent anyone to offer condolences!
If the Yun family didn't even bother to put on a show by visiting, how could the neighbors and usual friends dare to see Jingyu off on his final journey?
In the end, it was all the Yun family's fault, and Yun Chu's fault.
If Yun Chu had asked her family to come, would the Yun family have ignored it completely?
Xie Zhongcheng's gaze at Yun Chu was filled with intense annoyance, but he didn't dare say a word.
As dusk gradually fell, just as Xie Zhongcheng was about to speak and ask Yun Chu to keep vigil, the sound of galloping hooves suddenly came from the entrance.
His heart leaped with hope—it must be someone from the Yun family.
He stood up to go greet them, but the person on the tall horse turned out to be the officer who had previously delivered the decree sealing the Xie residence.
The officer, seated on his horse, pulled out a scroll and said coldly, "Members of the Xie family, hear the decree!"
Xie Zhongcheng's legs trembled, and he collapsed to the ground.
Immediately, Yun Chu stepped out, and the concubines helped Yuan Shi to kneel together at the entrance.
"...After thorough investigation by the court, Xie Jingyu, a secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, embezzled a total of thirteen thousand four hundred fifty-six taels of official silver from the ministry. The case has been verified with conclusive evidence... Sentenced to execution in autumn..."
Yuan Shi wailed, "My son is already dead, he's dead..."
"In previous dynasties, even if he were dead, his corpse would have been dragged out for execution," the officer said, cupping his hands toward the imperial city. "Our current emperor is benevolent and would not do such a thing! Hmph, death doesn't mean the matter is settled. The punishment must be borne by his blood relatives!"
A strong sense of foreboding rose in Xie Zhongcheng's heart.
"Xie Jingyu's father failed in educating his son and condoned his embezzlement. Though the death penalty is waived, he cannot escape punishment. Specifically sentenced to thirty years of hard labor!"
"H-hard labor... th-thirty years..."
Xie Zhongcheng nearly fainted.
He was almost fifty years old. Thirty years of labor would make him eighty—an age difficult to reach under normal circumstances, let alone for someone performing hard labor.
From what he knew, hard labor wasn't simply road construction or river dredging. It meant being sent to the front lines to dig trenches and build walls, often pushed onto the battlefield as human shields.
Those sentenced to hard labor were criminals; frontline soldiers didn't treat them as human, not even as pigs or dogs...
He'd rather die outright than face this fate.Two guards stepped forward and dragged Xie Zhongcheng up, shackling his hands and feet with chains before pressing a wooden cangue onto his shoulders.
"No, please don't..."
Yuan Shi crawled on all fours to the foot of the officer's horse.
"I beg you, sir, please spare my husband's life! I beg you..."
The horse's hoof lifted and kicked Yuan Shi away.
"Listen carefully, I haven't finished!" the officer coldly declared. "Xie Jingyu embezzled over ten thousand taels of official silver—a crime that cannot be redeemed by death alone. The father's debt shall be paid by the sons! By imperial decree, embezzlement is punished tenfold, totaling one hundred thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty taels. Combined with the thirty thousand taels for the Xie family's concealment of the He family daughter's entry, the total debt owed to the court is one hundred sixty-four thousand five hundred sixty taels!"
Hearing this figure, every member of the Xie family wore expressions of shock.
Before they could process it, the officer coldly shouted, "Where are Xie Jingyu's sons!"
Ting Yu swiftly tightened her embrace around Xie Shiyun beside her, while Tao Yiniang clutched the sleeping child in her arms.
Seeing the Xie family remain motionless, the officer gave a signal with his eyes. Several guards stepped forward and directly hauled the two children out.
"Concubine, save me!" Xie Shiyun cried, his small face pale with terror. "I don't want to! No! Help! Mother, save me!"
Knowing his concubine could do nothing, he turned a pleading gaze toward Yun Chu.
Yun Chu remained composed, eyes fixed forward, showing no reaction.
Xie Shikang, who had been sleeping, woke from the rough handling and burst into loud wails.
The officer pulled two documents from his robe. "Xie Jingyu has two sons. The entire debt shall be split equally between you two. Make them sign!"
Two guards seized the children's hands, pressed their thumbs onto ink pads, and then onto the promissory notes.
Once the children had signed, they were released. Xie Shiyun hurriedly ran back into Ting Yu's arms, thinking he was saved.
Ting Yu looked at the promissory note—her Yun Ge'er now owed the court over eighty thousand taels.
Such an enormous sum... Even the Yun family, with their first-rank general status, likely couldn't produce it all at once...
Her Yun Ge'er would have to grow up bearing this heavy debt...
Ting Yu's breath caught, and she fainted outright.
Tao Yiniang stared blankly at the promissory note now in her hand, then at the child returned to her arms who had stopped crying, her heart filled with desolation.
Kang Ge'er, born prematurely and frail, at three months old still weighed little more than a newborn. She often felt she couldn't keep this child alive, but he was her own flesh and blood, born from her womb—she had to persevere... Then the Xie family fell into ruin, the wet nurse fled, and all the pressure fell solely on her shoulders.
These past days and nights, she didn't know how she had endured them.
Repeatedly wanting to give up, repeatedly forcing herself to hold on until dawn.
She thought she could persevere, but when she saw this promissory note for over eighty thousand taels, it struck her like a thunderbolt to the head. She truly broke.
This wasn't a debt to some ordinary person—it was owed to the court, to the Emperor himself. There was no escaping this account...
"Madam..." Tao Yiniang spoke in a hoarse voice, "Please... please hold Kang Ge'er for a moment..."
Yuan Shi had no tears left to cry. Numbly, she took her grandson and held him in her arms.
Tao Yiniang rose from the ground and walked outward. Only when she had disappeared beyond the Xie family's gate, vanished into the crowd, did Yuan Shi suddenly understand."She... she left?" Yuan Shi widened her eyes. "She abandoned Kang Ge'er?"
Yun Chu pursed her lips.
In her previous life, when Kang Ge'er grew older, he couldn't speak or walk, appearing dull and simple-minded. Concubine Tao had broken down and abandoned the child at Sheng Residence.
This lifetime, everything was different, yet Concubine Tao still abandoned her own child.
No matter how circumstances change, a person's inherent nature remains unchanged—they always make the choice most beneficial to themselves.
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