Chapter 118 Kindness
Ever since Feng Yutang took office in Tongxiang, no one dared to mention the three words "Xue County Cheng" on the street. Not to mention outside, even at home, the three words "Xue County Cheng" seemed to be a common taboo for everyone, and no one dared to mention this name on their own initiative.

Over time, it seems that some people have forgotten what the three words "Xue County Magistrate" mean. They mean a ray of hope when there is nowhere else to go, the only hope when encountering injustice, justice, and conscience.

But no one seems to have forgotten. It's like a buried spark of humiliation, waiting for someone to come with a spark one day. Just a little bit will make it burn fiercely.

Today, the three words "Xue County Magistrate" have quietly spread around Tongxiang, spreading like grass in the night breeze in spring. Some people are ready to make a move, while others are confused and uneasy.

At night, lights were lit in a house in Qingshi Lane.

The lights were dim, and everyone in the room, some sitting and some standing, looked depressed.

Ye Mingyu sat on a low stool, punched the table, and said angrily: "This is too difficult!"

He, Jiang Li, and his six brothers split up early in the morning and went to Tongxiang people one by one. There were more than 500 households, but from morning till night today, only a few dozen were interviewed. In fact, a few dozen households were not few, but the only one who was willing to stand up and testify for Xue Huaiyuan was the poor scholar Mo Wenxuan. It was only when Mo Wenxuan's blind mother heard it and severely criticized Mo Wenxuan that Mo Wenxuan stood up with the tragic mood of dying together.

Ye Mingyu didn't know what to say. Should he blame these people for being ungrateful? Others just wanted to protect their families. Instead of blaming the people, he should scold Feng Yutang for his meanness. But do these people really have no responsibility? If they had just resisted a little, maybe County Magistrate Xue would have gone to jail, but it wouldn't have been so miserable.

There are always many helpless things in this world.

"It's okay, uncle." Jiang Li smiled, "It's not a complete loss. At least one person is good, isn't it? As long as there is one person today, and one person tomorrow, and so on, after five days, we will have a total of five people. It's not a small number."

One of the guards muttered, "Five hundred and sixty-eight households, and only five people stood up. This is too sad."

Jiang Li was still smiling, but Ye Mingyu felt that his niece looked a little sad for a moment. It was as if he had seen the unpredictable nature of people's hearts from the human affairs in Tongxiang. Ye Mingyu also became sad, but soon came back to his senses and secretly slapped himself. He wanted to comfort Jiang Li, but he was tongue-tied and didn't know how to comfort her. He sighed that if the handsome Duke was here last night, maybe Jiang Li would be a girl, and seeing her lover would temporarily forget the troubles in front of her.

But Ji Heng was not there after all.

Ye Mingyu had no choice but to change the subject awkwardly: "Come to think of it, I felt someone following us several times today. It seemed like there was murderous intent. I was expecting a big fight, but after a while, the feeling disappeared. It's really strange."

"Me too, me too!" The guards in the room all echoed in unison: "I felt the same way today, and I thought I was just overthinking."

"Could it be that we saw a ghost? Why do we all have this feeling?"

"I think they are the bandits from Tongxiang. They were robbing us and extorting us, but when they saw our brothers' strong martial arts, they became afraid and retreated."

"That makes sense. I think that's it!"

"Go away," Ye Mingyu waved his hand and said, "You know nothing. Don't take all the credit for yourself. Who would rob you? Do you look rich? If they want to rob someone, they would rob me. Besides, is there anyone who robs people in Tongxiang? Tongxiang is so poor, if there was anyone who robbed people, they would have starved to death long ago!"

Everyone in the room was speechless. Ye Mingyu turned around and asked Jiang Li, "Ah Li, was it that damn Duke who helped with this?"

Ye Mingyu didn't know Ji Heng's name, and thought that "Duke" was an official, so he kept calling Ji Heng "Duke". Jiang Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Most likely."

Feng Yutang's men had lost so many overnight, but he didn't say a word, and there was no movement at all. It was naturally Ji Heng's work. Today, they publicly brought up Xue Huaiyuan's case in Tongxiang, and Feng Yutang's men didn't come to stop them. This was naturally impossible. The only possibility was that Feng Yutang did send people to stop them, but they were stopped by Ji Heng's men.

One thing is one thing, at least in this matter, Ji Heng helped her and saved her a lot of trouble, she should be grateful. Jiang Li inexplicably thought that if someone formed an alliance with Ji Heng, it would be the most cost-effective business in the world. Because Ji Heng would clear unnecessary obstacles for his allies to the greatest extent, "idle people", many things would be twice as effective with half the effort.

Ye Mingyu was silent when he heard this, thinking that although the man was too handsome, he at least knew how to protect Jiang Li. Even if he couldn't be his nephew's son-in-law, it would be good to be a friend.

"Uncle Mingyu, you should get some rest early." Jiang Li said, "You are tired today, so take some rest at night. We will continue tomorrow morning."

Ye Mingyu nodded. They went to recruit people today, talked a lot, ran a long way, and had backaches. It was time to take a bath and have a good rest. So he did not object to Jiang Li's words and took his men to rest first.

Jiang Li sat back at the table.

Tong'er and Baixue thought she was going to rest, so they were surprised and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping, girl?"

"I still have to write a booklet and distribute it to my uncles tomorrow. I can go to bed after I finish it." Jiang Li pressed her forehead and said, "Bai Xue, pour me a cup of hot tea."

……

After the snow, the sky cleared up and the next day was excellent weather.

Early in the morning, Jiang Li parted ways with Ye Mingyu and the others, each going to find their own homes.

She was no longer afraid that someone from Feng Yutang would kill her from behind, because Ji Heng would take care of it for her anyway. She was relieved to expose her back to Ji Heng.

Yesterday, she visited the most families. Ye Mingyu did not visit as many families as she did. It was only because she knew the roads in Tongxiang and where each family lived, which saved a lot of time. When she passed the entrance of Qingshi Lane in the morning, she saw Aunt Chunfang, whom she met on the first day in Tongxiang. Aunt Chunfang was standing in the yard with her basket, watching Jiang Li and her group walk away cautiously, stammering her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't say it after all.

Jiang Li didn't look at her either. She had too little time to take care of everyone. The fate between people depends on fate. If you try your best and fail, it's fate, and there's no need to be unwilling.

Yesterday, from the first family, Dai Yun, to the last family, at least on Jiang Li's side, she failed to convince the family. It would be a lie to say that she was not disappointed, but she had to continue today. No matter what the result was, she had to accept it.

In the distance, the door of the house can be seen.

Jiang Li walked up to the house, hesitated for a moment, and finally knocked on the door.

The husband of this family was a butcher, known as Zhang the Butcher. He was very ferocious and scary. Ordinary children would cry if they were looked at by him. Jiang Li only remembered that Xue Zhao was very afraid of Zhang the Butcher when he was a child. He always felt that the butcher knife in Zhang the Butcher's hand was very scary. But as Xue Fangfei, she only remembered that every time she passed by the butcher shop, this man would pull up the corners of his mouth stiffly, as if he wanted to show her a gentle smile, but it was very awkward.

I knocked on the door three times and someone came to open it.

The person who opened the door was Zhang the Butcher.

After many years, Butcher Zhang still looks the same as he did back then, not a bit changed. On a cold winter day, he wore a thin coarse cloth with his sleeves rolled up, probably to make it easier to chop meat. He was tall and fat, with a face full of flesh, and because of years of slaughtering pigs, he smelled of meat, and it felt sticky. He probably got up early to go to the butcher shop, carrying a bucket in his hand, covered with a piece of white cloth. Jiang Li knew that the white cloth contained fresh pork.

Butcher Zhang also had a long knife, which he also placed on top of the bucket. The knife was extremely long and sharp, and I don't know if it was because it had seen so much blood, but just looking at it made people feel cold.

Jiang Li's gaze involuntarily fell on the long sword.

Butcher Zhang looked down at Jiang Li, put the bucket in his hand down at his feet, and said in a bad tone: "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for you." Jiang Li retracted her gaze: "My name is Jiang Li."

Butcher Zhang said, "I know you. It was you who went door to door from the east of the city yesterday to ask about County Magistrate Xue. You wanted someone to come forward and testify for Lord Xue!"

Butcher Zhang's voice was very rough, even more ferocious than what Ye Mingyu had heard. When he spoke to Jiang Li, his face was expressionless, but the flesh on his face trembled a few times.

"Yes." Jiang Li looked at him calmly: "Whether County Magistrate Xue is a good official or not, and whether he will embezzle the disaster relief money, the people of Tongxiang will know it. I would like to ask this uncle, are you willing to stand up as a witness and redress the unjust case of this innocent county magistrate?"

Butcher Zhang looked at Jiang Li steadily.

In fact, his eyes were very small, almost squinting, making it difficult to see his expression clearly. This butcher Zhang was alone and had no wife. Because he was too ugly and fierce, no one dared to get close to him. He looked down at Jiang Li like he was going to raise his butcher knife at her the next moment.

But the next moment, he suddenly burst into laughter.

Jiang Li had never seen Zhang the Butcher laugh like this. She had seen him try to force a friendly smile at her, smile shyly at pretty girls on the street, and smile happily when he was chopping bones with a knife, but she had never seen him laugh so happily. It was as if his long-cherished wish had been fulfilled, and his dream had come true.

He said, "Little girl, I have been waiting for you in the room since early morning. I thought you would not come, but you are here at last. I am willing to stand up! I will go with you to help Lord Xue overturn the case!"

This time, it was Jiang Li's turn to be surprised.

Amidst Butcher Zhang's laughter, Jiang Li thought for a moment and asked, "Why would you be willing?"

"Why would you agree?" Butcher Zhang looked at her, as if she had asked a funny question, and said, "You should ask me why I wouldn't agree. Lord Xue is like a reborn parent to me. Back then, someone falsely accused me, saying that my pork killed people and that I was a murderer. I was wrongly imprisoned and suffered a lot in prison. If it weren't for Lord Xue's keen insight, retrial of my case, and clearing my name, I wouldn't be who I am today!" He paused with his long knife, "Hey, although I'm a butcher who kills pigs, I'm not an ungrateful and ungrateful person!"

Jiang Li knew about this. When Xue Huaiyuan first took office, the former county magistrate accepted bribes. In that case, it was clear that the son of a wealthy family committed a crime, but he gave money to the former county magistrate and found a scapegoat. It was clearly not the butcher Zhang who poisoned the person, but he insisted that it was the butcher Zhang who killed the person. Butcher Zhang became the scapegoat, and the county magistrate accepted the money and didn't care about the butcher's innocence. In addition, Butcher Zhang was very fierce, so no one suspected him for a while.

After Xue Huaiyuan took office, he saw the suspicious points in the case and was willing to offend the powerful family in Tongxiang in order to overturn Zhang the butcher's case. Fortunately, the evidence was conclusive in the end, and Zhang the butcher was cleared of all charges and saved. From then on, Zhang the butcher regarded Xue Huaiyuan as his savior.

"I've been in jail myself, so I know how it feels to be wrongly accused. If you say someone like Lord Xue embezzled money, no one would believe it! I wanted to find a way to kill Feng Yutang, the dog official, but I thought that even if I did that, I couldn't save Lord Xue from the jail. I'm ashamed that it's been delayed for so long. I originally thought that I would rob the execution ground in five days, even if I died alone. Even if I died, I would die with my benefactor, and my benefactor would not feel wronged and say that it was a mistake to save me back then!"

Butcher Zhang looked at Jiang Li and said, "Little girl, I see that you are not ordinary people. You have high status and wealth, and you are not afraid of Feng Yutang's power. You are determined to overturn the verdict for Mr. Xue. I believe you! In this case, if you want to overturn the verdict for Mr. Xue, count me in. Whatever you want me to do, I will never say a word, no matter how hard it takes! Anyway, I have no relatives or friends, I am all alone, and I only have this butcher knife. I will take this butcher knife to kill this beast that is worse than pigs and dogs!"

Jiang Li had never expected that such words could be said from the mouth of Butcher Zhang. She suddenly felt that she had never known this Butcher Zhang, this upright man. She had never expected that when the people of Tongxiang were avoiding Feng Yutang and were intimidated by his power, there were still people secretly planning to overturn her father's case.

Perhaps Zhang the Butcher was not the first person, and there might be others like him. Feng Yutang could control the words and deeds of the people, but he could not control their hearts.

Jiang Li's heart was also excited in an instant.

She bowed deeply to Butcher Zhang.

Butcher Zhang was startled and asked quickly, "Little girl, what are you doing?"

"I thank you on behalf of County Magistrate Xue." Jiang Li said seriously, "We all know what Feng Yutang did in Tongxiang. Not everyone can stand up and speak for County Magistrate Xue. I am very grateful that you can stand up." "There is nothing to be grateful for." Butcher Zhang waved his hand. "When I became a rat crossing the street and everyone was shouting to kill me, only Lord Xue was willing to believe me and did not despise me. Without Lord Xue, I would have been tortured to death in prison. I often look at the sun outside and say to myself that I can feel all this because of Lord Xue. My life originally belonged to Lord Xue. If Lord Xue is in trouble and I sit back and do nothing, am I still a human being? I heard that killing too many lives will lead to hell, but I never believe it, but I do believe that being ungrateful will lead to hell."

"Just think of it as me not wanting to go to hell!" he said.

Jiang Li looked at the ferocious look of the man and found him cute. The two looked at each other and laughed.

……

On the second day, at night, when Jiang Li met up with Ye Mingyu and the others, she discovered that the only witness willing to come forward was Zhang the Butcher.

After meeting Zhang the Butcher, she was embarrassed and hesitant in the people she met later. Jiang Li did not force others to do anything. If others were unwilling, she would just let it go. Ye Mingyu and the other guards got nothing, and Ye Mingyu was a little discouraged.

"It's okay," Jiang Li encouraged him, "Didn't we find one more person? I said, one person a day, we can find five people, it's okay."

Ye Mingyu looked at Jiang Li and said nothing. He sighed not because he couldn't find anyone, but because he was disappointed with people's hearts.

It was written in the booklet given by Jiang Li that every household had truly received help from Xue Huaiyuan. So now that Xue Huaiyuan is in trouble, is there no one who dares to stand up just because of Feng Yutang's power?

He knew that he was a little angry when he thought this way, but it was like a basin of cold water, cooling Ye Mingyu's fiery heart. He liked the life of the underworld where he could take revenge and repay favors. Favors were favors, and grievances were grievances. But the trip to Tongxiang made him see too many helplessness in the market. He couldn't blame anything because everyone had their own reasons. But his chest was not comfortable, as if a ball of air was blocked, and he felt stuffy.

He looked at Jiang Li, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl. How could she be so calm in the face of these consecutive blows? It seemed that being rejected was just a common thing. If Ye Jiaer and Ye Rufeng had encountered such a situation, they would have been discouraged.

But Jiang Li never does.

Jiang Li would not feel sad because of these things. In fact, since she died once, she was still willing to treat others kindly and would not become cruel because of the cruel things she had suffered. However, she no longer had any expectations on people's hearts.

Just like after becoming the Second Miss Jiang, she had a fatherly love for Jiang Yuanbo, a grandparent-grandchild love for Old Madam Jiang, and all the relatives of the Jiang family. Although she was not the real Second Miss Jiang, she did not invest too much emotion in them. She did not care about how the Jiang family would treat her because she did not expect it.

Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning had changed her. She couldn't tell whether her change was a good thing or a bad thing, but sometimes, she could feel the indifference in her bones, watching these people related to her with cold eyes, as if she was watching the excitement of people who had nothing to do with her.

Just like... just like Ji Heng.

Maybe I am the same person as Ji Heng at heart. Ji Heng's goal is to achieve his political aspirations, while my goal is revenge. Living for a purpose may be boring and colorless.

Jiang Li collected her thoughts and said, "It's okay, uncle. There are still three days left. Starting tomorrow, I will start reporting to the Xiangyang prefect. Feng Yutang's crime is established, and Xue County Magistrate's execution order is suspended. On the last day, we can pick up Xue County Magistrate from prison and take these Tongxiang people to Beijing to file a complaint."

"Will Tong Zhiyang agree?" Ye Mingyu asked.

"He can't refuse, that's the rule. Besides, Lord Tang, the weaving room commander, hasn't left yet. Lord Tang knows the pros and cons and will persuade Tong Zhiyang." Jiang Li said, "Of course, it would be great if we could find more people who are willing to testify."

……

Jiang Li did not stop. On the morning of the third day, she got up early again and split into several groups with Ye Mingyu's men to persuade the people who had received favors from Xue Huaiyuan.

Aunt Chunfang didn't go out either. She just stood in the yard, watching Jiang Li and the others leave. She was dazed, not knowing what she was thinking.

Another day of going out early and coming back late.

By the evening of that day, Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu had gained nothing, but one of Ye Mingyu's men persuaded a couple who ran a noodle shop, called Aguai and his wife. Aguai and his wife were deceived and had problems with the land deed. They almost had their noodle shop taken away and lost their livelihood. Xue Huaiyuan tried the case and helped Aguai and his wife get their land deed back so that they would not be displaced.

Therefore, Aguai and his wife have always been grateful to County Magistrate Xue. Now that Xue Huaiyuan is in prison, Aguai and his wife want to speak up for Xue Huaiyuan, but they don't know what they can do. They always feel that standing up is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Now that Jiang Li and her group have appeared, they are overjoyed. It seems that they finally know what they can do, and they agreed without thinking too much.

"We found three people in total," Ye Mingyu said, "Should we send the order to Xiangyang tomorrow?"

Jiang Li nodded: "That's enough."

Ye Mingyu asked: "Are you still looking for someone?"

"Look for it." Jiang Li said, "Only when there are more people and the matter becomes more serious, whether it is going to the Dali Temple or filing a complaint with the emperor, can people suppress it no longer be able to suppress it, and let the people of the world see how big a mess the real Tongxiang County Magistrate has caused by tearing off this layer of skin."

Ye Mingyu said: "I understand, let's continue!"

That night, Jiang Li slept soundly. In her dream, she saw Xue Zhao and his father. The three of them were on their way home in Qingshi Lane. It was dark. Xue Zhao, carrying a sword on his back, proudly showed off his sword skills in front of Jiang Li, but was laughed at and scolded by Xue Huaiyuan.

The warmth made Jiang Li reluctant to wake up.

Until Bai Xue came to wake her up gently: "Girl, it's time to get up."

These days, Jiang Li got up very early every day. There was no other way. Time was not wasted. She was still thinking about the beautiful dream she had last night, but her movements were clear and decisive. In just a few moments, she had finished washing up, had eaten something, and was ready to go out.

Of the 568 households, half had not yet been visited. Of the remaining half, only three were willing to come forward.

Is it sad? Perhaps, but we should be thankful that we don’t have even one, and it’s not the worst yet.

Ye Mingyu greeted Jiang Li with a smile: "Ali, I have to be busy again today."

Jiang Li also smiled: "Thank you for your hard work today, uncle and the brothers."

Everyone went out with a smile, opened the yard, and suddenly froze.

Aunt Chunfang was standing at the door. She was wearing thin clothes and had no idea how long she had been waiting. Her body was trembling slightly. When she saw Jiang Li, her eyes lit up.

"Aunt Chunfang?" Jiang Li looked at her in confusion: "Why are you here?"

"I...I..." Chunfang stammered, and it seemed like she had finally mustered up the courage to say, "Miss, I, I am willing to stand up and testify for Master Xue!"

Jiang Li was stunned.

"I've thought about it. Lord Xue has helped us a lot. If I don't care, it would be heartless. I am willing to stand up!"

This timid woman seemed to have gained inexplicable courage. Her voice suddenly became louder, and she held her head high and spoke firmly.

Neither Jiang Li nor Ye Mingyu expected her to say such a thing.

After a while, Jiang Li smiled and said, "Thank you, Aunt Chunfang."

Chunfang blushed and waved her hands hurriedly, as if she couldn't stand it, and said, "It's not just me, it's also them."

Then two more people walked out from the corner, it was Dai Yun holding Ping An's hand.

Ping An saw Jiang Li and smiled sweetly at her. Dai Yun said, "Miss Jiang, I've thought about it. Lord Xue saved Ping An. We can't be so ruthless to Ping An's savior. My mother and I have been receiving help from Lord Xue in Tongxiang. We can't let a good man suffer injustice because of our selfishness. We are willing to stand up."

Jiang Li looked at her. Dai Yun held Ping An's hand tightly. It was obvious that she had struggled for a long time to make this decision. But now, she brought Ping An with her.

"Thank you." Jiang Li smiled. "With you, Mr. Xue's case will be much easier. I think the day of Mr. Xue's vindication is not far away."

"There are more than just us." Chunfang said, "Look outside." She pointed in a direction.

Jiang Li took a few steps forward.

At the entrance of Qingshi Lane, a crowd of people had already gathered. Some were outside, some were inside, and the lane was packed with people. There were at least a hundred people. They included men, women, young and old. At first glance, they were all locals from Tongxiang.

Seeing Jiang Li, they shouted, "Miss Jiang, we are all willing to be witnesses for County Magistrate Xue!"

"Miss Jiang, take us to help County Magistrate Xue! We should repay a drop of kindness with a spring. We have all received Lord Xue's kindness, and now it's our turn to repay Lord Xue!"

"We know Miss Jiang's plan. We came here specifically to see Miss Jiang. We will do whatever Miss Jiang wants us to do, as long as we can save Master Xue!"

Jiang Li stared at everything in front of her in a daze.

Ye Mingyu and his men took two steps forward and saw the scene in front of them. Ye Mingyu whispered, "Oh my goodness..." His voice was full of disbelief.

Compared with the situation of hitting a wall door to door a few days ago, everything today seems unreal like a dream. These Tongxiang people, including the elderly, the weak, women and children, all have the courage to risk their lives.

Those people who Xue Huaiyuan had helped, those who were hiding among others and dared not stand up for various reasons, experienced struggle, hesitation, confusion and uneasiness. Justice triumphed over fear and they still stood up.

Is human heart worth looking forward to?
Isn’t human heart worth looking forward to?
Ping An broke free from his mother's hand, ran forward two steps, held Jiang Li's hand, and called softly: "Sister, we are willing to stand up."

Jiang Li's eyes became hot and she was speechless.

(End of this chapter)