Chapter 80: Life's Long Hatred Flows East

  "Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet for a moment, everyone please calm down"

  At Xiafu Station, in front of the Sun Mansion gate, he opened his arms wide and blocked the deceased's family members who were about to rush into the mansion. He shouted loudly: "Your family members died unjustly, it's understandable that you're all grieving and heartbroken. But as the saying goes, 'a debt has its owner', you can't just surround the Sun Mansion and bully a pair of weak women, can you solve the problem this way? Everyone, don't be impulsive, if there's anything, wait for the county government to send someone over, they will definitely resolve it for everyone."

  "It's because injustice has a source and debts have an owner that we've come to the Sun family, if it wasn't for the Sun family, would my uncle be dead?"

  Xia Fu said: "But you should know that the Sun family is also a victim. The new son-in-law of the Sun family died of poisoning last night, and Mrs. Sun was rescued with great difficulty last night. If it wasn't for Mrs. Sun sending people to deliver messages to each of the guests' homes in time last night, there would be 17 or 18 people lying here today instead of eight."

  The person who poisoned is Sun's family son-in-law Geng Xin. He wants to harm the people of the Sun family, and everyone's relatives have suffered from unprovoked disasters. Although the Sun family is not doing well either. Let's put ourselves in others' shoes, we are all victims. If we kill each other, won't the real culprit laugh out loud even under the nine springs? Everyone, please be more rational and calm."

  Whispers in the crowd:

  "Who is he?"

  "He is Yang Xu, a student of this prefecture. According to Lai San'er, it was because he had an affair with Madame Sun that her husband wore the green hat, and in a fit of rage, he poisoned..."

  "How did I hear it was Miss Sun's Miao Yi?"

  "It's all mixed up, who knows?"

  Someone in the crowd shouted: "So my uncle died for nothing? He went to a wedding banquet and lost his life, I heard that the one surnamed Geng also poisoned himself? The murderer is dead, so it's all over?"

  "Of course not, of course not."

  "Even if the killer is dead, can't we just let it go and not implicate innocent people? The Yang family will still have to pay compensation. I, Yang Xu, promise you all that once the officials come to settle this case, each of the victims' families will receive a generous compensation. If you act rashly and do something extreme, not only will you not get the compensation, but you'll also get into trouble. What's the point of that?"

  Some people questioned: "What makes you make this decision? Can you be in charge of Sun's family affairs?"

  Xia Jiong patted his chest and said loudly: "I can take responsibility. The Sun family had borrowed a sum of money from Yang, and Yang used this sum as guarantee. The families of the deceased will definitely be properly taken care of. If the Sun family doesn't pay, Yang will."

  Miao Yi heard Xia Liu speaking from inside the wall, suddenly jumped up, gritted her teeth and rushed out, but was held back by several family members. They were afraid that once the door opened, who knew what those deceased relatives would do.

  When she heard Xia Xun's words, she suddenly lost her strength. She hated Yang Xu, but suddenly clearly realized the current situation of the Sun family, and could not afford to act on her personal likes and dislikes. She slowly stood up, with two lines of tears streaming down. This naive and innocent little girl seemed to have grown up overnight...

  "I don't want your dirty money, return my father's life"

  "Return my husband's life to me"

  The relatives of the deceased also had their own considerations, past and present. Since the dead cannot be brought back to life, some people were more concerned about economic compensation and worried about their future lives, especially some collateral relatives who thought more rationally. Xia Zhen's words immediately moved many of them, but there were also many people who were grief-stricken and refused to accept it. Seeing Xia Zhen blocking the door, they heard someone say that this person was the one who had poisoned the victim, and these people suddenly treated him as an enemy and wanted to rush up and fight him. However, Xia Zhen's division had already taken effect, and they were blocked and persuaded by many of their own people, causing the scene to become chaotic.

  Since they couldn't rush to the front, those peddlers who came to watch the commotion with baskets and poles had bad luck. They were robbed by someone who snatched their goods, such as eggs and cabbage, which were thrown at Xia Chou's face.

  Just then, a loud shout was heard: "Who the hell is causing trouble and killing people? What's the big deal about killing people? Who the hell is immortal and can stand up to show me who killed them? Whoever did it, go find them, don't bully an old lady who's also a victim. No matter where you go in this world, there's no reason for this. Who dares to cause more trouble, come at me!"

  With this loud shout, a robust man like an iron tower rushed in, shaking his shoulders, and the dense crowd was squeezed to sway left and right, that momentum was really frightening.

  Zhou Peng was indeed the head of the Wu Guan who came to the Yang family to apply for a martial arts instructor position at the beginning, and he was good at hard qigong.

  A filial son was furious, grabbed the mourning stick and rushed over, hitting his head with a loud "thud". Master Zhou didn't dodge or flinch, the egg-sized club hit him on the head with a "crack" sound, breaking into two pieces. The filial son was startled, Master Zhou snatched the broken mourning stick from his hand, shouting: "You young man, haven't you had enough milk? Is that all your strength?"

  Opening his bloody great mouth, he suddenly "crunch" a sound, and that stick was bitten to pieces like sugarcane, leaving the filial son staring with his eyes wide open.

  Suddenly, a shrill eagle cry pierced the air, and a man with wings as wide as a giant roc flew in from above the crowd. He landed on one foot, his arms flexed, like a fierce eagle about to pounce on its prey. "Who dares not submit?" he bellowed. "Come, Yun Wanli, let us compete!"

  A large crowd surged in, with many people dressed as martial arts apprentices, but more were just local rascals and hooligans. They wore their hats at an angle, puffed out their chests, raised their eyebrows, and looked arrogant. Their hands were not idle either, patting this man's shoulder, touching that old man's head, and if they saw a young and beautiful woman, they would stick their whole body to her.

  For a moment, those common people seemed to have seen the plague and retreated far away. They were not afraid of Xia Jun's eloquence or the officials' reasoning, but they feared these lawless rascals who wanted to force their way into the Sun Mansion, and their momentum was finally suppressed.

  Xia Fu let out a soft sigh, looked up, and met a pair of bright and cheerful eyes head-on.

  Peng Ziqi had her arms crossed, a smile on her face like a flower, standing there with a lively and charming air. A few strands of hair fell in front of her bright forehead, adding to her charm.

  At this time, Magistrate Xiao rushed in, holding his official hat: "Don't make trouble, don't fight, I'll take charge of everything. I will definitely be impartial and fair, don't use your hands..."

  Peng Ziqi smiled slightly and walked away, brushing off a piece of vegetable leaves from Xia Zhou's shoulder. He said softly, "Alright, the county magistrate has arrived, we can leave this to the authorities to handle now, let's go."

  At this time, a person wearing mourning attire looked extremely disheartened

  Rushing up to him, pointing at Xia Fu's nose and saying: "You can't escape responsibility for this matter either..."

  "Little brother, let's have a good chat"

  The martial arts instructor of Peng's family, Wu, clutched the man's shoulder with a tiger claw and dragged him away with a sinister smile.

  Xia Fu smiled wryly and sighed: "The Sun family..."

  "Some things can only be borne by oneself, and others cannot replace them."

  Xia Xian nodded silently, glanced at the still closed Sun Mansion gate, and walked out shoulder to shoulder with Peng Ziqi.

  "Green clouds in the sky, yellow flowers on the ground, a strong west wind, geese flying south. Who dyed the frosty forest red at dawn? It's all the tears of parted lovers. Regretting that we met too late, resenting that she left so soon. The willow branches are long, but it's hard to tie up the jade horse, regretting that I couldn't ask the sparse forest to hold back the setting sun. The horses trot along, the carriage follows quickly, yet I've been told to put aside my longing and avoid her, and again we part too soon. Hearing a sound, the golden hairpin has come undone, gazing into the distance, I see the ten-mile-long pavilion, and her jade-like skin is thinner: who can understand this sorrow?"

  In the opera house, they were singing "The Story of Cui Yingying Waiting for the West Wing", Xia Xiu held in his hand that volume of words that would never be returned, and let out a faint sigh.

  Sun Xuelian and Sun Miaoyi's carriage had disappeared without a trace, Shengchun Hall pharmacy was taken over by Cao Yu Guang who was eager to show off his skills in Qingzhou. The Sun family quickly sold all their property, compensated the families of the deceased, dispersed all the slaves in the mansion, and then quietly left. Before leaving, they also let the old steward send the principal and interest owed to Yang Xu to his mansion, by the time he received the news, the people had long been gone, and even didn't know if they were heading in this direction.

  Nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart. Leaving Qingzhou, this heartbreaking place, and settling all the grudges with Yang Xu, from now on I will be exiled to the ends of the earth, which is probably also the best choice for them.

  There were several mule carts on the road, which stopped beside him.

  A sedan chair in front opened its curtain, and a stout An Yuanwai sat inside like a Buddha, with a silly smile on his face, sticking out his tongue and mumbling: "Yang... brother Yang, I'm going to sleep now, you... take care of yourself... hehe..."

  Xia Jiu nodded silently, An Pangzi licked his lips, and his double chin quickly drew a semicircle inward. The fat on his chin was still shaking as he waved his hand and stuttered: "St...start the car..."

  An's convoy slowly left the city, Xia Yu could only watch his back and smile bitterly.

  Ever since An heard from Fangziyuefanglang that some people who had been poisoned by the Collapsing Machine would, even if they were saved, be left with aftereffects such as headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, facial numbness, or habitual convulsions, and even intermittent mental derangement. An immediately exhibited all of these symptoms.

  He had a headache, he was dizzy, his ears were ringing, his face was numb, and he would twitch every now and then. It's said that just the other day, he lost control of his nerves and mistook the entrance to the county yamen for a latrine, whereupon he unbuttoned his clothes in public and relieved himself...

  In short, he is finished, completely finished.

  So, An Baozi can drool, shake his head, and go crazy with a clear conscience back to Jinling...

  Who says he's foolish? This is a clever person!

  Regarding An Yemu's post-traumatic stress disorder, Xia Zuo was well aware of it. He also understood An Yemu's intentions clearly. However, he didn't plan to take advantage of An Yemu again. Since he learned that An Yemu had personally heard Li Daoren confess to the crimes of killing Zhang Shisan and Feng Xihui, this person's value in being alive far exceeded his value in death.

  Moreover, Qingzhou can no longer withstand wind and rain. If something else happens, the people of Qingzhou Prefecture, the Governor's Office, and the Judicial Inspectorate will all go mad. The whole of Qingzhou will go mad. Perhaps even the Imperial Guards hiding in Jinling will go mad. This principle of "going too far is as bad as not going far enough" he naturally understands.

  Xia Liu was lost in thought, completely unaware of the resentful gaze that Peng Ziqi had been casting at him from the side. The three-month period was almost up, and even if it wasn't, the assassin who had attempted to kill Xia Liu had already been punished. She no longer had any reason to stay by his side, and her family had already sent someone to ask when she would return home. But this guy hadn't said a single word to persuade her to stay; he was like a wooden statue.

  Xia Liu finally stopped thinking about his worries. He patted the horse's head and said with renewed spirit, "Let's go, we're heading back."

  Peng Ziqi gritted his teeth and pulled on the reins, following him.

  As they arrived at the Yang's residence, they happened to meet two people coming towards them. From a distance, Xia Xun saw the two men and quickly dismounted his horse, hurrying to greet them. The first person approaching was Cui Yuanlie, followed by Zhu Dang, the steward of the Zhu household. Cui Yuanlie came forward with great enthusiasm, bowing deeply and saying excitedly: "Wenxuan brother, I am forever grateful for your great kindness, please accept my humble bow."

  Xia Liu hastily helped him up and glanced at Zhu Dong, the steward of the Zhu Manor, who was standing beside him. He smiled at Cui Yuanlie and said, "What's going on that makes you so delighted?"

  Choi Won-ryeol danced with joy and said: "Father-in-law has agreed to our family's proposal, haha, I can marry Seonbi now. Thanks to my brother's help, I will be happy for the rest of my life, all thanks to my brother's kindness. This great favor, I will never forget for the rest of my life."

  "Oh? Congratulations, congratulations." Xia Yu's face also lit up with joy, and Cui Yuanlie leaned in closer to his ear, his eyebrows dancing with excitement as he said: "Not only did Father-in-law agree to our family's proposal, but...he even demanded that I must get married as soon as possible, hahaha, little brother will soon become a groom."

  Xia Liu was taken aback, and then suddenly realized that it must have been the nonsense she had spoken with him earlier that had taken effect. Mr. Zhu was worried that his daughter would really become pregnant and lose face for the Zhu family, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

  Peng Ziqi thought resentfully on the side: "So fond of matchmaking for others, why don't you help me a bit...?"

  Sorrow, although it is an indispensable part of life, but as long as there is still joy and a future, then life will always be worth looking forward to. Xia Yu was happy for Cui Yuanlie, and his somewhat depressed mood also recovered.

  On the side, Zhu Fu's steward, Zhu Dong, had been smiling as he watched them talk. His old eyes searched around Xiang Jun's body before pulling out a piece of paper from his sleeve and slowly handing it over, saying respectfully: "Young Master Yang, take a look at this..."

  "What is this?"

  Xia Fu took it over, unfolded it and took a look, but it was the list of claims he had made himself. He couldn't help but laugh dryly and nodded repeatedly: "Haha, I know, I know." After that, he tore up the note in front of Zhu Guan's face.

  Zhu Dong's old eyes gazed deeply at Xia Xun, and a smile with profound meaning slowly emerged from the corner of his lips. He slightly bowed his head, and the wrinkles on his face, like those of an old tree, became even deeper.

  A gust of wind came, bringing several withered leaves.

  Autumn is deep, west wind rises, bleak and desolate all over Qingzhou.