After Mrs. Tian spoke, she felt there was nothing left to be ashamed of and shamelessly said, "My dear in-laws' aunt, please don't be angry. Our family was truly at our wits' end, which is why we resorted to this desperate measure. It was for survival. Your family has so many carriages, losing one won't make much of a difference."
The nearby residents looked at Mrs. Tian in disbelief.
They had never seen such a shameless person, who not only sold someone else's property but also spoke such words.
Chen Yuezhi was so angry she laughed, "Your Su family is truly something! Our Jiang family is so unlucky to have married into a family like yours!"
"Everyone, please judge for yourselves. Does the Su family handle things like this? We also fled from Jianzhou. When we were fleeing, they didn't even say a word to their own daughter before running away."
"Who would have thought that after half a year apart, we would meet again in Yao County? Their entire family of over a dozen people came to our house crying poverty, one moment wanting to live with us, the next asking for money."
"Everyone here has fled from famine, so who has deep pockets? Out of consideration for our daughter-in-law, we gave them all our savings. We never expected them to use the excuse of missing their daughter to seize our carriage and secretly sell it. Is this how they do things?"
The local people found the Su family's actions utterly wicked and came forward to accuse them.
Mrs. Tian buried her head, pretending not to hear.
Chen Yuezhi was not afraid of her demeanor and said coldly, "If we don't see the carriage in half an hour, you'll be going to the yamen!"
Mrs. Tian raised her eyes slightly, then resumed her posture.
Chen Yuezhi was furious, wishing she could beat Mrs. Tian.
Meanwhile, Su Qing took the grain he bought yesterday and sold it. He also pawned the pair of silver earrings his mother had given him that morning. Only then did he take the silver to the horse and carriage trading post.
"Shopkeeper, is the carriage I sold you yesterday still here?"
The shopkeeper looked up at him, "Why are you asking? I'll tell you, it's a done deal. Once the money is exchanged, there's no going back!"
That carriage was a good buy. He bought it for twenty taels of silver and could easily sell it for forty. Such a good deal was rare, perhaps not even once a year.
Su Qing quickly said, "Of course not. I want to buy the carriage back."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately smiled, "Oh, customer, you should have said you were here to buy a carriage earlier. Come, come, this way please."
The shopkeeper's attitude changed completely. He led Su Qing to the back courtyard, "Look, it's right here. We've taken excellent care of it."
After Su Qing confirmed it was indeed the Jiang family's carriage, he produced the silver he had gathered. "Here are twenty taels of silver. Keep it well. I'll be taking the carriage now."
"Wait a moment!"
The shopkeeper returned the silver. "Customer, you must be mistaken. You want to buy this carriage from me for twenty taels of silver?"
Su Qing dared not look the shopkeeper in the eye. "Yes, I sold it to you for twenty taels yesterday, and I'll buy it back for twenty taels today. You won't lose anything."
The shopkeeper sneered, "Boy, are you playing with me? What do you think this place is?"
As he finished speaking, several burly workers surrounded them.
Su Qing was terrified and his legs went weak on the spot. "Shopkeeper, I... I'm not playing with you. I truly want to buy the carriage back."
The shopkeeper sneered, "Buy it back? Fine. Forty taels of silver, no bargaining!"
Su Qing's face turned pale. He fell to his knees before the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, please be merciful. I won't sell it. Please return the carriage to me."
The shopkeeper kicked him. "Get lost! What do you think this place is? You sell it when you want, and you want it back when you want? Do you want me to go out of business?"
Su Qing took the kick squarely. "Shopkeeper, to be honest, this carriage isn't mine. The owner is asking for it back now. If I don't return it, they'll report me to the yamen. Please, shopkeeper, have some mercy and return the carriage to me."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's eyes widened. "This carriage was stolen by you? Good heavens, you're trying to fence stolen goods here! Someone, tie this thief up and send him to the yamen!"
The yamen had explicit regulations: anyone caught buying or selling stolen goods would be punished tenfold.
Although the shopkeeper was not a good person, he knew the gravity of the situation. Thinking that he might get into legal trouble because of this carriage, he immediately decided to send Su Qing and the carriage to the yamen.
Su Qing tried desperately to explain, but the shopkeeper refused to listen, thinking he was making excuses. He had his workers gag Su Qing and then, driving the carriage, they headed to the yamen.
Magistrate Cheng, upon receiving the report, immediately opened court.
Su Qing, brought in and kneeling before the court, was terrified and loudly defended himself, "Your Honor, this commoner is wronged. I am not a thief, and the carriage was not stolen. It belongs to my sister-in-law's family. I merely wanted to sell it to get some silver, with no ill intentions."
Suddenly, he remembered the connection between the Jiang family and Magistrate Cheng. He quickly said, "Your Honor, my sister-in-law's family is the Jiang family from Xiaoshan Village. Her father-in-law is Jiang Pan, the one you are acquainted with!"
His shout in court immediately piqued the interest of the onlookers who had come to watch the commotion. "Oh, this is juicy gossip!"
Magistrate Cheng's face darkened. He grabbed his gavel and slammed it down heavily. "Village Chief Jiang of Xiaoshan Village, I am indeed acquainted with him, but that does not mean I will not investigate this matter thoroughly. Since you claim the carriage belongs to the Jiang family, I will send someone to invite the Jiang family here for verification!"
Thus, half an hour later, the Jiang Pan family was summoned to the court, along with Mrs. Su and Da Lang.
At this point, the couple were still bewildered, completely unaware of what had happened.
When they heard that Su Qing had secretly sold the Jiang family's carriage, Mrs. Su was so angry she almost fainted.
"Big brother, what have I ever done to you that you would do this? How am I supposed to hold my head up in the Jiang family from now on!"
No wonder her sister-in-law had insisted yesterday that Da Lang keep the carriage. So, they had been plotting this all along!
By doing this, they hadn't considered how she would face people in the Jiang family if the matter blew up!
What sins had she committed to be born into such a family!
Thinking about the Su family forcing her to seek help from Madam Cheng, and how Su mother had hit her for finding twenty taels of silver insufficient, Mrs. Su's eyes welled up with tears from anger.
Da Lang, afraid she would get too agitated, kept comforting her, "A'luo, don't worry, it's alright. I'll persuade my parents not to pursue it later."
Mrs. Su looked up at Da Lang, then at her in-laws and Jiang Wan. A flicker of determination crossed her eyes.
She pushed Da Lang's hand away, turned, and knelt down. Facing Magistrate Cheng, she said, "Your Honor, yesterday my brother and sister-in-law, without my and the Jiang family's consent, privately stole and sold the Jiang family's carriage. I request Your Honor to make a just ruling and bring justice to the Jiang family!"
Upon hearing this, the Jiang family was shocked. They truly hadn't expected Mrs. Su to say such a thing.
Su Qing was even more stunned and quickly shouted, "I am your brother!"