The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 314: The Crime of Exterminating Nine Clans

Chapter 314: Chapter 314: The Crime of Exterminating Nine Clans

"No, Master Tong, you’re not playing fair."

"Your family’s driver got hurt by the horse, which has nothing to do with me. I didn’t drive the horse, so why should it concern me? And you want to cut my tongue out."

"I was living well as a driver for the Lu Family, with my wife and children at home. Why would I meddle in your family’s driver’s affairs? I’m not insane."

"Oh dear, Master Tong, I swear on my ancestors for eighteen generations, I don’t even know your family driver, nor did I see him get hurt by the horse."

Tong Huaqiong wiped the shiny knife as she said, "I don’t even know if the two people in this room are the remnants the village chief spoke of. If the officers confirm their identity, we’re all doomed. Of course, you could go out now and report to the officers, maybe you’ll even atone for your crimes."

Lu Family’s driver said, "Master Tong, you’re joking, aren’t you? Those two people in the room aren’t your family’s driver who got hurt by the horse. I’m not someone who doesn’t know the seriousness of the matter. Master Tong, something like exterminating an entire family—I’d rather die than say it out loud. If I did, both my family and the Lu Family would be implicated. I don’t seem like someone with a screw loose, do I? I’m here to escort you home, not to die."

"Even if I atone for my crimes, let’s not mention whether they’ll forgive me or not; say they do, and then I go back to the Lu Family—what do you think the eldest young master and the master will do to me?"

Tong Huaqiong knew this driver from the Lu Family was loyal and reliable and naturally wouldn’t speak out.

She was just trying to scare him.

After hearing the driver’s words, Tong Huaqiong smiled and put down the knife, saying, "What are you afraid of? I use this knife for killing chickens."

Lu Family’s driver patted his chest—killing chickens.

If he dared have the slightest thought of revealing the news, Widow Tong would bury him first.

No way, he has to go back today—it’s too terrifying.

Yesterday’s events—he’ll take it to his grave.

Besides Lu Family’s driver, it was also Qin Qingyou who knew the inside story.

Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dahuan, "Da Han, go and call Qingyou here."

Gu Dahuan opened his own front door, and Qin Qingyou was just about to raise his hand to knock.

"Master, it’s terrible."

Qin Qingyou stumbled in, his face full of fear.

"The village chief said yesterday officers were capturing the remnants of the Crown Prince’s rebellion, right on the mountain we passed yesterday. Supposedly, there’s even a child involved..."

Village Chief Liu Tieshan had gathered everyone in the threshing floor, explained what happened last night, and warned everyone not to let strangers into the village these days.

Qin Qingyou didn’t listen to the end before sneaking over to report the news to Tong Huaqiong.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt the two people they saved last night were probably the remnants of the Crown Prince’s rebellion.

My goodness, Crown Prince, rebellion, remnants—these words belong in story plays, yet now they’re happening in real life.

Qin Qingyou was scared to his bones.

If discovered, wouldn’t it be losing his head?

He hadn’t even had a son yet, and he’d be going to the Yellow Springs—truly unacceptably.

Wait, thankfully he didn’t have a son, or else the son would be implicated too.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Listened to what the village chief said early this morning, I know all about it."

Qin Qingyou said, "What should we do? Shouldn’t we just toss these two back into the mountain?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "How could an adult and a child be court’s remnants? Yesterday the young man woke up, they’re just from afar looking for relatives and got attacked by bandits, beaten and injured. Because I spent a lot of silver treating the young man’s leg injury, he’ll work it off as my driver in the future. To avoid unnecessary trouble, if discovered, we’ll say the young man is a driver I hired in the town, the child with no parents lives with his uncle, and if outsiders ask about his injury, say he was trampled while driving horses for me..."

Tong Huaqiong explained the identities of the two people to Qin Qingyou without changing her expression.

Qin Qingyou’s mind was racing.

He knew Tong Huaqiong was talking nonsense.

Tong Huaqiong spoke seriously to Qin Qingyou, "You know the penalty for hiding court’s remnants—it destroys nine clans. Nine clans—tying the entire Qinghe Bay together wouldn’t be enough to kill."

Qin Qingyou’s face turned pale with fear.

Tong Huaqiong sternly said, "Remember, we passed along the big road yesterday and never encountered any court’s remnants."

Qin Qingyou hurriedly nodded, saying, "Master, I remember, we passed along the big road yesterday and never encountered any court’s remnants."

Facing the destruction of nine clans, what’s a little lie?

Besides, the two they saved yesterday didn’t have "court’s remnants" stamped on their foreheads.

Who knows, maybe they really aren’t any court’s remnants at all.

Qin Qingyou figured it out and the pressure of hiding court’s remnants instantly evaporated.

Noises were heard from outside.

Villagers, having finished their meeting on the threshing floor, were heading home for breakfast.

Nobody cared much about court’s remnants; instead, they complained that if officers actually came to search homes, it would delay their work.

"Village chief, are we going to organize a search on the mountain?" someone asked Liu Tieshan.

Liu Tieshan said, "Who knows. If they really organize everyone to search the mountain, I’ll stand at the front and say everyone is busy with the corn and beans, not enough people to spare for the mountain. If they insist we organize people to search, then each family sends one laborer to roam the mountain for a while. What remnants, as long as they don’t harm us, has nothing to do with us."

Liu Tieshan meant to say, royal family matters have nothing to do with ordinary folks.

Doesn’t matter if the remnants win or the current emperor wins—that throne won’t be passed down to anyone from Qinghe Bay.

Everyone understood the village chief’s meaning and laughed, acknowledging they knew what to do.

Tong Huaqiong heard Liu Tieshan’s words from the courtyard and couldn’t help but smile.

This village chief is quite interesting.

Gu Taohua listened to the voices outside and asked, "Mother, should we lock our gate?"

Gu Jingzhe disagreed, saying, "No. We only open the gate so that if officers come by, they won’t suspect."

Tong Huaqiong agreed with Gu Jingzhe, so the Gu Family’s door swung open.

Villagers passing by Tong Huaqiong’s courtyard all peered inside.

The whole village knew Tong Huaqiong went to town, and seeing her come back, they greeted her.

"Dashi’s mother, you’re back."

"Was the shop running smoothly?"

"Big feet heard you got home late last night, why not sleep more, bright and early today—no wonder you’re successful."

...

Tong Huaqiong smiled and returned everyone’s enthusiastic greetings.

Liu Yueer’s mother Mrs. Zhao saw her mother-in-law return and was all the more delighted, having missed her daughter and grandson over the past few days.

Mrs. Zhao said to Tong Huaqiong, "Mother-in-law, you didn’t go to the meeting just now. They said in Shengjing, the Crown Prince rebelled and was killed by the emperor, and his son escaped with the help of locals to our Yan Guan Town area. Village chief said don’t let strangers into the village these days, and there’s officers coming to search."

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said, "The village chief mentioned it this morning. These are all royal matters, nothing to do with us common folks. Right now the Crown Prince’s son is a rebel remnant, but maybe one day the emperor will regret and bring him back."

In the previous life, it was like this.

The old emperor was paranoid, forcing the Crown Prince to rebel.

After the Crown Prince rebelled, the emperor developed rebellion PTSD, suspecting this prince wanted to kill him, that prince wanted to start an uprising, eventually forcing all his adult sons to death.

The only one left was an infant son, and before dying, he discovered the young beauty had cuckolded him.

The old emperor, angered, hanged the beauty and was then confronted by a nepotism coup.

At this point, courtiers advised, fearing the old emperor’s regret, ministers secretly hid the Crown Prince’s son among the people.

Persuaded by the courtiers, the old emperor brought the imperial grandson into the palace as the next ruler.

Thus Xiao Long returned from civilian life to the imperial palace, soaring to the throne as the supreme ruler.