94 Evil
Chen Yaozu brought a basin of cold water and splashed it on Ye Lianggong to wake him up. He pointed the machete at him and shouted, “Tell me, what medicine did you give Baozhen? What exactly do you want?”
Ye Lianggong was so cold that he was trembling. Seeing Chen Yaozu waving the machete in front of him, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, “Kill me if you dare. You won’t be able to escape responsibility then.”
Chen Yaozu raised his machete with bloodshot eyes and was about to slash when Li Yu hurriedly pulled him back. Li Yu sneered and looked at Ye Lianggong. “Isn’t it too easy on you to kill you? Uncle Chen, drag him to the Phoenix Mountain to feed the wolves.”
Ye Lianggong trembled in fear. Feeding the wolves again? Why are the siblings the same?
“Okay.” Chen Yaohui went forward and dragged Ye Lianggong away. Only then did Ye Lianggong become afraid. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk.”
“You better not lie to me.” Chen Yaohui threw him to the ground and bowed to Zhou Jia. “Mr. Zhou, please record this.”
Zhou Jia nodded and took the pen and paper from Madam Li. Chen Yaohui looked at Ye Lianggong sinisterly. “You better tell me honestly.”
Ye Lianggong licked the blood at the corner of his mouth and gritted his teeth in pain. “After I was beaten up by that girl, I wanted to take revenge…. That aphrodisiac is called Sounding Beauty. I went to the Spring Breeze Brothel to buy it from the old procuress. I was afraid that she was skilled and added some knockout medicine. I wanted to sell her to the Spring Breeze Brothel after I succeeded.”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he was so angry that he kicked Ye Lianggong in the crotch. Ye Lianggong screamed and fainted. Chen Yaohui grabbed Ye Lianggong’s handprint and was about to leave with his confession.
Zhou Jia reached out to stop him. “Uncle Chen, don’t go to the Ye Clan. Go and report to the town magistrate. I’ll get Ji Xiang to inform the Ye Clan. The others can just wait here.”
Chen Yaohui nodded and went out with Ji Xiang to get the cart. Chen Yaozu asked Zhou Jia awkwardly, “Mr. Zhou, is there any way to cure Baozhen’s poison?”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu. After seeing Li Yu nod in agreement, he said to Chen Yaohui, “The only way to cure that poison is to soak her in cold water.”
Madam Li and Madam Ma hurriedly went to get a few buckets of well water and poured them into the bathtub. They placed Chen Baozhen, who was moaning non-stop, into the cold water. The early winter water was bone-chilling, and Chen Baozhen shivered in the bucket in a daze.
Madam Ma looked at the pitiful and hateful Chen Baozhen. “Baozhen has been led astray by Madam Liu. She has been competitive since she was young and is as petty as a needle. No one will dare to want her now.”
Madam Li curled her lips. “You’ve always been sarcastic since you were young. Now that you’ve done such a sinister thing, it’s time to teach you a lesson.”
After the two of them changed the cold water twice and saw that Chen Baozhen was no longer humming, they dragged her out of the bucket and changed her clothes. Madam Li saw that Chen Baozhen was lying there in a daze. Her eyes were not moving and she did not know where to look. Her saliva was flowing out of the corner of her mouth and she did not know how to wipe it. She looked at Madam Ma worriedly. “Sister-in-law, do you think Baozhen has become stupid?”
Madam Ma walked up to Chen Baozhen and shook her. “Baozhen, are you feeling better?”
Chen Baozhen still stared blankly ahead and did not react.
“Oh no, I’m afraid she’s really become stupid. I’ll go out and tell your brother,” Madam Ma said.
Outside the house, Zhou Jia looked at Chen Yaozu worriedly. “We still don’t know the character of the Ye family. It’s best to call all the men in the village over just in case.”
“Alright, I’ll call them now.” Chen Yaozu called for someone.
Zhou Jia turned to look at Li Yu. “Yu’er, go home with Ah Qing and call Ruyi over. Leave this to me. If anything happens, I’ll get someone to call you.”
Li Yu glanced at Zhou Jia and nodded. She left with Li Qing and Zhaodi.
When Chen Yaozu returned with the men from the village, Madam Ma ran up to Chen Yaozu. “Father, Baozhen seems to have gone silly. She doesn’t even know how to wipe her saliva.”
When Chen Yaozu heard this, he asked Zhou Jia, “Mr. Zhou, will people become stupid after taking that medicine?”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he recalled that Ye Lianggong had added knockout drops. “That thief added knockout drops to the aphrodisiac. If the dosage is too high, it will hurt her brain.”
“Wretched man.” Chen Yaozu angrily carried Ye Lianggong and tied him to the pillar. He hit him a few times and only stopped when he saw that he had fainted. He waited for Madam Ye and the town magistrate to come to the Chen family to deal with him.
After more than an hour, Ji Xiang returned. He glanced at Chen Yaozu and said to Zhou Jia, “Young Master, I don’t think the Ye family is easy to deal with.”
Zhou Jia nodded. “Go pick up Uncle Yaohui.”
Not long after Ji Xiang left, more than a dozen Ye clansmen arrived. Leading them was a thin, tall, and thin old man, as well as an old woman with a round face. Behind her were more than a dozen young men.
As soon as the old woman arrived at the village chief’s house, she saw Ye Lianggong tied to the porch pillar. Seeing that his face was bruised and the corners of his mouth were cracked, she screamed, “Third Uncle, look, the goddamn outsiders beat my son up like this. My son!…”
The old woman cried and rushed forward to untie the rope. The men from the village blocked her way.
Chen Yaozu saw the fire in her eyes. “Don’t touch, old woman. We can only let him go when the government officials come.”
Ye Lianggong woke up and cried when he saw the old woman. “Mother, ask them to let me go back.”
The old woman comforted her gently. “Okay, okay. Mother and Third Uncle are here to take you back.”
The head of the Ye family looked at Chen Yaozu arrogantly and rudely. “Who in your village is in charge?”
Chen Yaozu crossed his arms and looked at him. “And who are you?”
A man at the side stepped forward and shouted, “This is Ye Rongtian, Patriarch Ye.”
Chen Yaozu looked at him disdainfully and pointed at Zhou Jia beside him. “This is the person in charge of our village, Scholar Zhou.”
When the people from the Ye family saw that the manager of Phoenix Village was a scholar, their attitude instantly improved. Ye Rongtian cupped his hands at Zhou Jia. “Mr. Zhou, may I ask what my nephew has done for you to treat him like this?”
Zhou Jia also cupped his hands at Ye Rongtian. “Patriarch Ye, I have Ye Lianggong’s confession here. You’ll understand after I read it to you.”
Ye Rongtian frowned and thought to himself, These outsiders have already recorded their confessions. This is going to be difficult.
Zhou Jia saw Ye Rongtian lowering his head and looking at the Ye family’s patriarch. “Patriarch Ye, do you want to hear it?”
Ye Rongtian raised his head. “Yes, why not?” Zhou Jia read Ye Lianggong’s confession. Some of the Ye family members looked shocked.
“Nonsense. My son is filial and kind. He won’t do such a thing.” The old woman rushed in front of Zhou Jia and snatched the confession from his hand.
Ruyi went forward to stop her. Zhou Jia looked at her and said, “Your son first did something wrong. After being taught a lesson, he didn’t repent and even looked for an opportunity to take revenge. If you don’t believe me, you can ask a young man called Good Soldier in your village.”
The people from the Ye family discussed softly, “A few days ago, Lianggong and Liangbing went hunting and came back not long after. I saw that Liangbing’s bow was also broken. They even said that Liangbing accidentally injured his hand and couldn’t do anything for a few days. The two of them haven’t interacted since then. So that’s what happened!”
“No wonder Liangbing was unwilling to help today. So that’s what happened!”
“Old Madam Ye isn’t strict with her son. It’s not the first time her Lianggong has flirted with the daughter of a foreign family in the village. He must have kicked an iron plate this time!”
Zhou Jia looked at Ye Rongtian. “Patriarch Ye, we informed you to come because we don’t want people to think that the villagers of our Phoenix Village are unreasonable people.” Zhou Jia looked at the man behind him and said loudly, “Although we don’t cause trouble, we’re not afraid of trouble.”
Chen Gui, Butcher He, and a group of men echoed loudly, “Yes, we don’t cause trouble, but we’re not afraid of trouble.”
Ye Rongtian looked at the man from Phoenix Village with a ruthless gaze. He turned around and saw that the villagers behind him looked at Ye Lianggong with disdain. He lowered his body and bowed to Zhou Jia. “Mr. Zhou, we didn’t teach him well. Please don’t report him to the authorities first. His mother is a widow. We raised him painstakingly and still have to rely on him to take care of her!”
Seeing that the Patriarch had also humbled himself to plead, Old Madam Ye also cried and pleaded, “Uncles, the child is still young. Give him a chance to change. Please.”
Zhou Jia looked at Ye Rongtian and refused flatly. “We can’t let him go. His methods are so vicious. If we let him go, wouldn’t we be letting him harm others? We caught him today. If he had succeeded, the woman he harmed will be consigned to eternal damnation.”
Ye Rongtian was about to speak when Chen Yaohui and Ji Xiang returned with Zhu Zhencheng and an official.
94 Evil
Chen Yaozu brought a basin of cold water and splashed it on Ye Lianggong to wake him up. He pointed the machete at him and shouted, “Tell me, what medicine did you give Baozhen? What exactly do you want?”
Ye Lianggong was so cold that he was trembling. Seeing Chen Yaozu waving the machete in front of him, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, “Kill me if you dare. You won’t be able to escape responsibility then.”
Chen Yaozu raised his machete with bloodshot eyes and was about to slash when Li Yu hurriedly pulled him back. Li Yu sneered and looked at Ye Lianggong. “Isn’t it too easy on you to kill you? Uncle Chen, drag him to the Phoenix Mountain to feed the wolves.”
Ye Lianggong trembled in fear. Feeding the wolves again? Why are the siblings the same?
“Okay.” Chen Yaohui went forward and dragged Ye Lianggong away. Only then did Ye Lianggong become afraid. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk.”
“You better not lie to me.” Chen Yaohui threw him to the ground and bowed to Zhou Jia. “Mr. Zhou, please record this.”
Zhou Jia nodded and took the pen and paper from Madam Li. Chen Yaohui looked at Ye Lianggong sinisterly. “You better tell me honestly.”
Ye Lianggong licked the blood at the corner of his mouth and gritted his teeth in pain. “After I was beaten up by that girl, I wanted to take revenge…. That aphrodisiac is called Sounding Beauty. I went to the Spring Breeze Brothel to buy it from the old procuress. I was afraid that she was skilled and added some knockout medicine. I wanted to sell her to the Spring Breeze Brothel after I succeeded.”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he was so angry that he kicked Ye Lianggong in the crotch. Ye Lianggong screamed and fainted. Chen Yaohui grabbed Ye Lianggong’s handprint and was about to leave with his confession.
Zhou Jia reached out to stop him. “Uncle Chen, don’t go to the Ye Clan. Go and report to the town magistrate. I’ll get Ji Xiang to inform the Ye Clan. The others can just wait here.”
Chen Yaohui nodded and went out with Ji Xiang to get the cart. Chen Yaozu asked Zhou Jia awkwardly, “Mr. Zhou, is there any way to cure Baozhen’s poison?”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu. After seeing Li Yu nod in agreement, he said to Chen Yaohui, “The only way to cure that poison is to soak her in cold water.”
Madam Li and Madam Ma hurriedly went to get a few buckets of well water and poured them into the bathtub. They placed Chen Baozhen, who was moaning non-stop, into the cold water. The early winter water was bone-chilling, and Chen Baozhen shivered in the bucket in a daze.
Madam Ma looked at the pitiful and hateful Chen Baozhen. “Baozhen has been led astray by Madam Liu. She has been competitive since she was young and is as petty as a needle. No one will dare to want her now.”
Madam Li curled her lips. “You’ve always been sarcastic since you were young. Now that you’ve done such a sinister thing, it’s time to teach you a lesson.”
After the two of them changed the cold water twice and saw that Chen Baozhen was no longer humming, they dragged her out of the bucket and changed her clothes. Madam Li saw that Chen Baozhen was lying there in a daze. Her eyes were not moving and she did not know where to look. Her saliva was flowing out of the corner of her mouth and she did not know how to wipe it. She looked at Madam Ma worriedly. “Sister-in-law, do you think Baozhen has become stupid?”
Madam Ma walked up to Chen Baozhen and shook her. “Baozhen, are you feeling better?”
Chen Baozhen still stared blankly ahead and did not react.
“Oh no, I’m afraid she’s really become stupid. I’ll go out and tell your brother,” Madam Ma said.
Outside the house, Zhou Jia looked at Chen Yaozu worriedly. “We still don’t know the character of the Ye family. It’s best to call all the men in the village over just in case.”
“Alright, I’ll call them now.” Chen Yaozu called for someone.
Zhou Jia turned to look at Li Yu. “Yu’er, go home with Ah Qing and call Ruyi over. Leave this to me. If anything happens, I’ll get someone to call you.”
Li Yu glanced at Zhou Jia and nodded. She left with Li Qing and Zhaodi.
When Chen Yaozu returned with the men from the village, Madam Ma ran up to Chen Yaozu. “Father, Baozhen seems to have gone silly. She doesn’t even know how to wipe her saliva.”
When Chen Yaozu heard this, he asked Zhou Jia, “Mr. Zhou, will people become stupid after taking that medicine?”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he recalled that Ye Lianggong had added knockout drops. “That thief added knockout drops to the aphrodisiac. If the dosage is too high, it will hurt her brain.”
“Wretched man.” Chen Yaozu angrily carried Ye Lianggong and tied him to the pillar. He hit him a few times and only stopped when he saw that he had fainted. He waited for Madam Ye and the town magistrate to come to the Chen family to deal with him.
After more than an hour, Ji Xiang returned. He glanced at Chen Yaozu and said to Zhou Jia, “Young Master, I don’t think the Ye family is easy to deal with.”
Zhou Jia nodded. “Go pick up Uncle Yaohui.”
Not long after Ji Xiang left, more than a dozen Ye clansmen arrived. Leading them was a thin, tall, and thin old man, as well as an old woman with a round face. Behind her were more than a dozen young men.
As soon as the old woman arrived at the village chief’s house, she saw Ye Lianggong tied to the porch pillar. Seeing that his face was bruised and the corners of his mouth were cracked, she screamed, “Third Uncle, look, the goddamn outsiders beat my son up like this. My son!…”
The old woman cried and rushed forward to untie the rope. The men from the village blocked her way.
Chen Yaozu saw the fire in her eyes. “Don’t touch, old woman. We can only let him go when the government officials come.”
Ye Lianggong woke up and cried when he saw the old woman. “Mother, ask them to let me go back.”
The old woman comforted her gently. “Okay, okay. Mother and Third Uncle are here to take you back.”
The head of the Ye family looked at Chen Yaozu arrogantly and rudely. “Who in your village is in charge?”
Chen Yaozu crossed his arms and looked at him. “And who are you?”
A man at the side stepped forward and shouted, “This is Ye Rongtian, Patriarch Ye.”
Chen Yaozu looked at him disdainfully and pointed at Zhou Jia beside him. “This is the person in charge of our village, Scholar Zhou.”
When the people from the Ye family saw that the manager of Phoenix Village was a scholar, their attitude instantly improved. Ye Rongtian cupped his hands at Zhou Jia. “Mr. Zhou, may I ask what my nephew has done for you to treat him like this?”
Zhou Jia also cupped his hands at Ye Rongtian. “Patriarch Ye, I have Ye Lianggong’s confession here. You’ll understand after I read it to you.”
Ye Rongtian frowned and thought to himself, These outsiders have already recorded their confessions. This is going to be difficult.
Zhou Jia saw Ye Rongtian lowering his head and looking at the Ye family’s patriarch. “Patriarch Ye, do you want to hear it?”
Ye Rongtian raised his head. “Yes, why not?” Zhou Jia read Ye Lianggong’s confession. Some of the Ye family members looked shocked.
“Nonsense. My son is filial and kind. He won’t do such a thing.” The old woman rushed in front of Zhou Jia and snatched the confession from his hand.
Ruyi went forward to stop her. Zhou Jia looked at her and said, “Your son first did something wrong. After being taught a lesson, he didn’t repent and even looked for an opportunity to take revenge. If you don’t believe me, you can ask a young man called Good Soldier in your village.”
The people from the Ye family discussed softly, “A few days ago, Lianggong and Liangbing went hunting and came back not long after. I saw that Liangbing’s bow was also broken. They even said that Liangbing accidentally injured his hand and couldn’t do anything for a few days. The two of them haven’t interacted since then. So that’s what happened!”
“No wonder Liangbing was unwilling to help today. So that’s what happened!”
“Old Madam Ye isn’t strict with her son. It’s not the first time her Lianggong has flirted with the daughter of a foreign family in the village. He must have kicked an iron plate this time!”
Zhou Jia looked at Ye Rongtian. “Patriarch Ye, we informed you to come because we don’t want people to think that the villagers of our Phoenix Village are unreasonable people.” Zhou Jia looked at the man behind him and said loudly, “Although we don’t cause trouble, we’re not afraid of trouble.”
Chen Gui, Butcher He, and a group of men echoed loudly, “Yes, we don’t cause trouble, but we’re not afraid of trouble.”
Ye Rongtian looked at the man from Phoenix Village with a ruthless gaze. He turned around and saw that the villagers behind him looked at Ye Lianggong with disdain. He lowered his body and bowed to Zhou Jia. “Mr. Zhou, we didn’t teach him well. Please don’t report him to the authorities first. His mother is a widow. We raised him painstakingly and still have to rely on him to take care of her!”
Seeing that the Patriarch had also humbled himself to plead, Old Madam Ye also cried and pleaded, “Uncles, the child is still young. Give him a chance to change. Please.”
Zhou Jia looked at Ye Rongtian and refused flatly. “We can’t let him go. His methods are so vicious. If we let him go, wouldn’t we be letting him harm others? We caught him today. If he had succeeded, the woman he harmed will be consigned to eternal damnation.”
Ye Rongtian was about to speak when Chen Yaohui and Ji Xiang returned with Zhu Zhencheng and an official.
