Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 932: Sunk in the River

Ms. Zhang’s eyes were red as well, her sense of right and wrong vanished long ago. She just wanted Silver to enjoy herself, so she nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll listen to my son."

That night, after everyone was asleep, they quietly sneaked into that family’s house to steal things.

That’s right, they weren’t stealing anymore; they planned to rob. Just a few women and children, and they had knives. Why should they fear them?

But this time, they miscalculated; shortly after sneaking into the house, they ran straight into a man.

The man was stunned at first; seeing the knife in Gu Chengli’s hand, he quickly reacted, disarmed Gu Chengli in two moves, and kicked his knee.

With a bang, Gu Chengli was kicked directly to the ground, and with a crack, his kneecap shattered.

"Second Son, get up! There’s a thief in the house!" the man shouted towards the outside, his hands moving quickly, twisting Gu Chengli’s hand and pulling hard, dislocating it with a crack.

"Ah!" Gu Chengli screamed, almost fainting from the pain, hurriedly calling Ms. Zhang, "Mom, help me kill him!"

Ms. Zhang was already frightened out of her wits. Hearing Gu Chengli’s words, she came to her senses, turned, and ran.

Gu Chengli’s eyes were cold; damn Ms. Zhang, he was her own son, but when disaster struck, she ran, leaving him behind.

But Ms. Zhang didn’t get far; she ran into another man rushing into the house.

With a bang, she was directly knocked to the ground by a man as strong as a mountain.

The man was skilled in martial arts and reacted quickly, immediately pinning Ms. Zhang down, dislocating her arms so she couldn’t move.

Ms. Zhang almost fainted from the pain but quickly begged for mercy: "Spare us, good sir. We were just passing by and wanted to stay for the night, not to steal anything."

"Bah, do you think the people of the Old Liang Family are fools who would believe such nonsense?" Second Son Liang didn’t waste time with her, grabbing a rope from his house to tie up Ms. Zhang.

Ms. Zhang cried, saying repeatedly, "Good sir, this is a misunderstanding. My son and I were genuinely passing by, looking for a place to stay. You’ve caught the wrong people."

Boss Liang said, "Stop talking. Our brothers are bodyguards; we’ve seen all kinds of people. Your little schemes are not enough to trick us. Save it."

After tying up Gu Chengli, Boss Liang said to Second Son Liang, "Second Son, go to the government office and call for help. We’ve caught two thieves, probably the infamous couple of thieves spreading around these days."

Hey, look at that; Ms. Zhang and Gu Chengli had become famous for theft.

Recently, several towns along the official road had families robbed. People had seen the pair, reportedly a man and a woman, though the woman seemed elderly, not like a couple.

But regardless, any man and woman committing crimes together ended up being labeled as a couple of something.

"Hey, I’ll go right away." Second Son Liang turned and left the house.

Boss Liang, while watching the mother and son, shouted outside, "Mother, wife, second sister-in-law, don’t panic. We’ve caught the thieves. Second Son has gone to report to the authorities. The officials will come soon; stay in the house." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Mrs. Liang and the others had heard the fight outside and were quite scared. But hearing that finally relieved them somewhat, and they shouted, "Hey, we understand. Take care. We’ve heard this couple of thieves is quite formidable, never leaving empty-handed."

The couple of thieves’ reputation had spread widely in nearby towns, and everyone was terrified. Their household primarily comprised women and children, and Mrs. Liang had always feared something happening at home. Then, the two evil thieves really appeared.

Fortunately, Boss Liang and Second Son Liang had heard about them and returned home in advance. Otherwise, their family would have been finished.

About an hour later, Second Son Liang finally brought the county officials.

The officials immediately captured Ms. Zhang and her son, spending half the night interrogating them. By dawn, Gu Chengli couldn’t withstand the torture and confessed, admitting that they had stolen silver from over ten households in the towns along the way.

But after confessing, Gu Chengli pushed all the blame onto Ms. Zhang, crying, "It was my mother who forced me. If I didn’t steal, she’d threaten to die right in front of me. As her son, how could I watch my own mother die? I agreed to her request and stole with her... Lord, I’m innocent; it’s all my mother’s fault."

When he was at the Lai Family, Gu Chengli had studied some texts with their tutor. The tutor had talked about the Great Chu Criminal Law, mentioning mercy to those confessing or being incited to commit crimes.

He merely committed theft; though he injured people, there was no murder involved. Moreover, he’s young, and the court’s mines need manpower. He certainly won’t face a death sentence but would be sentenced to mine labor.

If he could get to the mines, he might have the chance to escape and seek refuge with Sister Rong.

Upon hearing this, Ms. Zhang was trembling and glared at Gu Chengli, gritting her teeth and saying, "You heartless bastard! Just like your grandfather and father—rushing for benefits but pushing blame when something goes wrong. Rest assured, Gu Chengli, you won’t escape this time, even if I have to die with you."

Ms. Zhang was ruthless, pushing all the blame onto Gu Chengli, revealing how he bought a knife intending to kill and rob.

Gu Chengli bought the knife in the county, and the officials investigated and indeed found it.

Gu Chengli wailed, "It’s my mother who made me buy the knife! She forced me to rob. I’m just an accomplice; she’s the true evil one!"

Ms. Zhang laughed, saying, "Son, when you commit evil acts, you must pay with your life. You can’t push your mother to the brink just to save yourself."

After Ms. Zhang blamed everything on Gu Chengli, she said to the officials, "Lord, I didn’t kill anyone; I can’t be sentenced to death. In Great Chu, you can pay your way out unless it’s a murder case."

She continued, "My daughter, Gu Rong, is a concubine of Young Master Zhan San from Jinning Prefecture. The Zhan Family is a noble family with a hundred-year history, known throughout Jiangnan and Jianghuai. If you let me send a letter to Jinning’s Zhan Family, they will definitely send someone with silver to clear my name."

Like Gu Rong, Ms. Zhang was quick-witted in critical situations, and Gu Rong had shared much about the Zhan Family. She mentioned those things, leaving the officials quite stunned.

The officials quickly went to report to Lord County Magistrate.

Lord County Magistrate was also stunned, recalling rumors from He’an Prefecture that Old Master Zhan San and Young Master Zhan San had taken two girls with the surname Gu from He’an Prefecture back to Jinning Prefecture.

The rumors seemed plausible.

Fearing retaliation from the Zhan Family, Lord County Magistrate knew the noble families valued their reputation and even a concubine’s family couldn’t be incriminated, so he agreed to let Ms. Zhang send a letter to the Zhan Family. Once the Zhan Family People brought silver to clear Ms. Zhang and Gu Chengli’s charges, they would be released.

Seeing Lord County Magistrate agree, Ms. Zhang felt proud and dictated a letter to the clerk to send to Jinning Prefecture.

While Ms. Zhang dreamed of the Zhan Family coming to rescue her, little did she know that Gu Rong, Gu Ya, and Little Sister Gu were nearly drowned by the Zhan Family uncles and nephews.