Ger, So Proud

Chapter 116: The Courthouse

In the evening, after He Ze had reassured He Youcai and Dad Li, he finally returned to the new house he and Lin Yu had moved into months ago.

Lin Yu was sitting at the table, waiting for him.

“I’m back.”

He Ze spread his arms wide. Lin Yu wanted to ignore him for a while but couldn’t resist and threw himself into He Ze’s arms. “Welcome back.”

Only at this moment did Lin Yu finally feel a sense of complete relief.

“I’m sorry for making you worry. And for not being there for the baby and his dad during this time. Will the baby blame me?” He Ze held Lin Yu, peppering his hair with gentle kisses.

“Of course, not only will he blame you, but he will also hold a grudge. He might even fight you to avenge his dad,” Lin Yu retorted, rolling his eyes.

“Haha, I’ll be waiting. Let him grow up well, and he can seek any revenge he wants. However…”

“Hmm?”

“I think his dad would be happier if he took revenge himself. What do you think?” Before Lin Yu could react, He Ze had already scooped him up and carried him to the bed.

“Put me down! Stop… the doctor said it’s not allowed…”

“You’re lying. I already asked Uncle Xu. It’s fine after three months.”

“…You scoundrel!”

The room filled with the sounds of low laughter, grumbling protests, and soon, quickened breaths and stifled moans, creating a melody of rising and falling, tender emotions.

Three days were more than enough for He Ze to thoroughly satisfy himself.

Three days later, at dawn, the preparations for the ancestral worship ceremony in He Family Village were complete. Every household had risen early and gathered in the courtyard outside the ancestral hall.

Although the He family was a small clan with incomplete rites, they had prepared offerings of the three sacrificial animals. The clan elders had jointly written a eulogy, which was read aloud in a solemn and respectful atmosphere.

After the eulogy, He Hong called He Ze and Lin Yu forward, but they pushed He Youcai and Dad Li to the front instead. He Hong didn’t say much more and began, “This ancestral worship is primarily because our ger-in-law has received the emperor’s commendation. The entire He Family Village and the He clan share this honor. Everyone should learn from Xiao Yu, to treat others kindly and sincerely, and blessings will naturally follow. Additionally, Youcai’s family has already discussed with me that all expenses for this worship will be covered by their family. Furthermore, they will help fund the construction of a new ancestral hall as a token of gratitude to the clan.”

“Really? Youcai’s family is rich now, that’s a hundred taels of gold!” Someone recalled the gleaming gold from the day the imperial edict was read and spoke with a tinge of envy.

“Uncle, are you jealous? That’s Xiao Yu’s blessing, rewarded by the emperor. Your jealousy won’t change anything! You might even offend the ancestors…” Liu San, standing at the back of the crowd, teased while playing with a baby next to him.

“Spit, spit, spit, what nonsense are you talking about on this occasion! Oh, are we not even allowed a word because they received so much silver?”

“Quiet! Quiet! Youcai has more to say. Let’s listen to him finish.”

“Villagers, uncles, grandfathers, granddads, those of you who are older are my elders, and the younger ones should call me uncle. We are all one family.

Recently, my son had some trouble, and I am immensely grateful for your efforts and concern, especially to the clan leader and elders who went to the county office to speak on my son He Ze’s behalf. Today, my son He Ze has been released, and my ger-in-law has also overcome hardship, receiving great fortune. After much discussion within our family, we have decided to donate half of the reward, fifty taels of gold, equivalent to five hundred taels of silver. This will be managed by the clan leader and elders, to establish a free clan school in our village. We will hire a scholar from the county as a teacher, and any young man from He Family Village will be able to attend without paying tuition!”

Everyone quieted down. “Moreover, no matter which family the child belongs to, if they show talent in their studies and wish to pursue further education or the imperial examinations in the county, my son will take care of it. Of course, the specific plans will be discussed by the clan elders. I don’t know much about these things. I just hope that the children of He Family Village will grow up to be outstanding, bringing honor to our ancestors and making the He family flourish.”

“Good! Well said!”

Before He Youcai could finish his speech, applause erupted from the crowd. Even the Uncle, who had been envious earlier, was now clapping enthusiastically, his face flushed with either excitement or embarrassment.

“When did our father become such a good speaker? I never noticed,” He Ze remarked while clapping.

“Exactly. Remember when our flower shop opened? It was Father who gave the opening speech. Father has become quite the orator,” He An proudly added.

After He Ze and Lin Yu finished offering incense, the ceremony concluded successfully. On their way home, Lin Yu suddenly stopped and instinctively held his stomach.

“What’s wrong? Are you tired? Should we rest for a bit?”

“No, it’s just a bit uncomfortable. He kicked me.” Lin Yu wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or amused. The baby seemed to sense his father’s return and had been unusually active the past few days.

“This little rascal is quite the handful. We’ll deal with him when he’s born,” He Ze said, patting Lin Yu’s stomach. “How about I carry you home?”

“No, absolutely not!”

Lin Yu firmly refused. If He Ze carried him home now, how would he ever show his face in public again?

“Alright, I won’t carry you. But I’ll support you. Be careful. When we get home, I’ll fetch Uncle Xu to check on you,” He Ze said. He felt more at ease with Uncle Xu’s reassurance.

Uncle Xu, Xu Qingsheng, had been staying in the village for some time. He Ze hoped to catch him before he left for the day.

He Ze was in luck. When he arrived, Xu Qingsheng hadn’t left yet. Moreover, he was just in time to see Dad Zhang delivering food to Uncle Xu.

#HowToRespondOnCatchingYourDad-in-lawDeliveringFoodToYourProspectiveFather-in-law#

He Ze wanted to retreat and return after burning two sticks of incense.

After a moment of awkwardness, He Ze spoke first, “Dad, you’re here too. Lin Yu has been asking about you. Why don’t you come over? Lin Yu’s stomach is feeling a bit uncomfortable. I was about to ask Uncle Xu to check on him. Could you come too?”

The day before, they had hosted a family reunion dinner with the elders from the Li family, including Dad Zhang, where everything had been discussed.

He Ze had considered asking Dad Zhang to stay during Lin Yu’s pregnancy, but seeing the chemistry between these two, he decided against it.

“Uncomfortable? Alright, I’ll come over,” Dad Zhang agreed immediately upon hearing about Lin Yu’s discomfort.

Lin Yu was fine, and Xu Qingsheng even had good news for He Ze.

“What? Uncle Xu, did you say it’s twins?”

“Yes, you’re quite lucky to be the father of two children,” Xu Qingsheng patted He Ze’s shoulder, and both He Youcai, Dad Li, and Dad Zhang were overjoyed.

After a moment of joy, He Ze quickly became concerned, “Will it be dangerous to deliver twins?”

“The babies are healthy now. As long as this continues, there shouldn’t be any problems. I’ll come by regularly as the due date approaches. Don’t worry too much. Just make sure to hire a good midwife. Also, you need to be more careful. These two have been so active lately because they’re protesting against you. Young people need to be moderate…”

Xu Qingsheng whispered the last few words into He Ze’s ear. Despite being newly married, He Ze was still shy about these things. He scratched his nose and replied, “Yes, I understand. Thank you, Uncle Xu.”

After seeing off Xu Qingsheng, Zhang Su insisted on leaving as well. He Ze and Lin Yu didn’t force him to stay but escorted him home together.

Two days later, He Ze received a message from Luo Zhanming saying that the investigation was nearly complete and the trial would commence the next day. He Ze was advised to prepare for the court appearance.

“Brother-in-law told you not to worry, just wait for the trial tomorrow. The Wang family and Li Deming are like dogs fighting each other.”

The next day, He Ze finally understood Luo Zhanming’s words.

In the courtroom, Father Wang and Dad Wang confessed everything clearly, accusing Li Deming of conspiring to kill the servant and Wang Fucheng, leading to their deaths. Despite the servant’s status as a slave, the master family was still prohibited from killing them! Moreover, there was Wang Fucheng. Li Deming’s warning act at Wang Fucheng’s funeral only fueled the Wang parents’ determination to expose everything.

Li Deming had underestimated Wang Fucheng’s importance to his parents.

Seeing the situation, Li Deming abandoned any hope of escaping. He removed his official hat and, trying to remain calm, said, “Your Excellency, I do have a crime. My crime is knowing my nephew Wang Fucheng was involved in a murder and not reporting it, which makes me guilty of harboring a criminal. But I only admit to harboring a criminal! I had nothing to do with the servant’s death or Wang Fucheng’s death! Both died of poisoning, and I didn’t know about the poison. I didn’t even know how they were poisoned. I was merely staying at the Wang residence temporarily and didn’t realize my brother and ger-in-law were so ruthless as to poison the servant and then refuse to fully cure Wang Fucheng. I regret finding out too late that they would go to such inhumane and insane lengths to frame the He family and take down the Luo family…”

“Li Deming, you beast! I’ll kill you! How dare you say that! How dare you!” Father Wang, eyes red with rage, lunged at Li Deming but was quickly restrained by nearby yamen runners.

“Your Excellency, I’m not lying. I was only staying temporarily. I probably never even saw the doctor treating the poison. If my good brother and ger-in-law hadn’t directed it, how could the doctor have only half-cured Wang Fucheng? If it were my idea, it would be even more absurd. Wang Fucheng was their only son; why would they neglect his health for any other reason!”

The more Li Deming spoke, the more confident he became, even starting to believe his own version of events.

“Li Deming, do you still want to argue?”

In the middle of the courtroom sat Zhao Qing, with two officials from the inspection team on his right and Zhou Wen on his left. Zhou Wen was almost amused by Li Deming’s words, as if Li Deming believed his previous visit to flaunt power and intimidate could be brushed off as if it never happened.

“Bring Zhang Cheng in.”

Zhang Cheng was Li Deming’s trusted servant.

Li Deming felt a wave of panic.

“Your Excellency, I confess. I confess everything. The servant was tricked into drinking poison by my master. As for Young Master Wang… a few days before his death, my master specifically instructed me to secretly discard half of his medicine, saying he was afraid Father Wang and Dad Wang would relent and it would be bad if he recovered. If Your Excellency doesn’t believe me, you can ask Cai’er, who delivered the medicine. To facilitate the poisoning, I took over his duties those days…”

Zhang Cheng was very cooperative, spilling everything about Li Deming, “Your Excellency, I know my crime. Everything I did was under Li Deming’s orders. I know my crime, but I beg for leniency.”

“You…”

“Li Deming, I want you to pay with your life! Pay with your life for my son!”

Dad Wang, appearing deranged, rushed at Li Deming with a hairpin, stabbing him in the back before he could speak.

— Because both he and Father Wang were present as witnesses, they had not yet been detained, so his hairpin had not been removed.

Dad Wang was already kneeling beside Li Deming, very close to him. By the time everyone reacted, he had already stabbed him twice, and Li Deming had collapsed on the ground.

“Quick! Restrain him!”

“You too, you must die and accompany my son in death…”

Seeing that Li Deming had fallen, Fad Wang suddenly lunged at He Ze. At the same time, Father Wang also began to struggle violently, causing a moment of chaos.