1
There is a rich man named Mou Yucai in Moujiazhuang. He has hundreds of hectares of fertile land, and there are groups of mules and horses. He has a son and a daughter under his knees. His son Mou Youcheng is in his twenties and has just started a family. His daughter Li Niang is sixteen or seventeen years old and is still waiting to be a master of her name.
Four years ago, Mrs. Mou Wu went to the temple to burn incense, and on the way back, she met a three or four-year-old boy. At that time, the child was so hungry that he was crying loudly on the side of the road. Seeing that the child was pitiful, Wu took him home. The child said that his name was Shizhu. He came out to beg for food with his parents, but his parents were starved to death. Wu arranged the little stone pillar to his mother, Mrs. Zhang, and ate and lived with the servants. As the saying goes, children from poor families are easy to support. Although Xiao Shizhu eats simple food, he is free from illness and disasters. He is tall and strong. When he is in his teens, he goes to work with other long-term workers.
More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Shizhu has grown into a big man, tall and strong, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, and is very handsome.
On this day, after Mr. Mou's family finished their meal, his daughter Li Niang and maid Juxiang wanted to go back to Embroidery Building . Mou Yucai kept Li Niang and said, "Don't leave now, sit down, I have something to say to you. You are sixteen or seventeen years old, not young anymore. I have arranged a marriage for you, it is Xu from Xuzhuang. The eldest son of the family. His family has been doing silk business in , Xuzhou Prefecture, and has opened more than a dozen cloth shops alone. If you marry, you will definitely enjoy your happiness..."
"I won't marry!" Before my father finished speaking , Li Niang said with a blushing face. "Look at your child, your mother and I are for your own good. Since ancient times, the orders of our parents and the words of matchmakers, how can a daughter refuse to follow her parents' arrangements when she grows up? We have agreed to the Xu family, and his family will be in a few days. Come and get off the hiring! "Li Niang becomes more anxious as she hears it, and she says unscrupulously: "I don't want to marry him, so if I want to marry, I will marry Brother Shi Zhu..."
"What did you say?" Mou Yuqiu's eyes widened, " There is no room in that room What's the point of being a poor boy? Humph, you can't help! The Xu family is recruited in May, and I will let you pass in June. Starting tomorrow, you are not allowed to leave the embroidery building again!"
Since that day , Three meals a day, Mou Yucai asked Juxiang to bring the food upstairs, and even said harshly in front of the slave yard worker: "Who dares to see the lady privately, and beat her to death with sticks!" Li Niang cried all day long, and she didn't think about food and food. .
2
It turned out that when Shi Zhu arrived at Li Niang's house, Li Niang was only over two years old. Li Niang's brother Mou Youcheng, Shi Zhu and Li Niang often played together. Later, Shizhu went to the field to work. Every time he came back, he brought some wild flowers and wild fruits to Li Niang, and sometimes he caught a little rabbit, a bird, etc., which brought a lot of happiness to Li Niang who was closed. Gradually, the two of them could no longer separate their hearts.
Seeing that the Xu family's employment was coming, Li Niang was so anxious that she was full of breath, but she had no choice but to fight on a hunger strike. That night, Li Niang was sleeping, and the maid Juxiang gently woke her up and said, "Miss, instead of waiting for death like this, it is better to take advantage of the late night and let me bring Brother Shi Zhu quietly. You two discuss escaping..." Li Niang He immediately nodded in agreement.
Juxiang quietly led Shizhu upstairs. When they met, they first hugged their heads and cried, and then hurriedly cleaned up the soft and soft things. Shi Zhu helped Li Niang downstairs. As soon as he reached the entrance of the stairs, Mou Yu shouted loudly: "Look where you are going!" He rushed over a few steps, raised his hand and slapped Shi Zhu two big mouths, and then Li Niang cursed: "Since you don't care about shame, what else can I pay attention to you!" She shouted to her son who was following her, "Why are you still standing stupidly? Why don't you bring someone to me for this poor seed who seduces her master. He pulled it out and beat it to death, drag it to the mass grave to feed the dog! "
Not long after, Mou Youcheng came back and said, "Dad, Shi Zhu has been beaten to death by us and threw it to the mass grave..."
"Brother Shi Zhu... …” Li Niang didn’t say a word, and fainted on the ground with a "gudong". Ju Xiang hugged Li Niang and cried loudly.Mou Yucai was so angry that he pointed at Li Niang and the maid and said to his son, "Come here and tie them up, drag them to the mass grave and buried them all alive! I can't let this humiliating thing live in the world and lose it. The face of the Mou family, go quickly! "Mu Youcheng was unwilling to go, so he knelt down and pleaded: "Dad, you are only this daughter. Besides, Shi Zhu was beaten to death, so you can spare your sister!" Wu also cried for his daughter plead. Mou Yucai glared and shouted at Wu, "Look at the good daughter you raised who was a humiliating family! Youcheng, why don't you drag these two bitches down!" Mou Youcheng didn't dare to be stubborn anymore, so he had to make a move The man tied up Li Niang and Ju Xiang and took them to the mass grave.
3
8 years have passed in a blink of an eye. That day, Mou Yu heard that there was a mule and horse conference in Taizhuang, Shandong. He wanted to buy a few livestock, so he rode mule to Taizhuang for a meeting. While walking, I suddenly heard a bun selling sirloin on the roadside, saying, "Brother, why are you willing to buy buns today?" I heard a very familiar voice saying, "My wife is so good at it, so I bring the child to the meeting to sell cloth. The child is very familiar. She wanted to eat a bun when she was hungry, but she couldn't bear to buy it. The child went home and cried and told me. Look, I still had two cents of money I saved from selling firewood. Please give me some buns."
Mou Yucai The more I listened, the more familiar I felt. When I came closer, I saw who it was not the stone pillar! When the two met, they were shocked. Mou Yu had a two-tongued war and said to himself, "Can I betrayed the ghost in broad daylight? Didn't Shi Zhu be beaten to death eight years ago?" He looked at Shi Zhu wearing a jade plaque on his neck, which was Li Niangzhi Things. Is that a family inheritance of Mou Yucai, or was it worn by Li Niang on Li Niang's neck when she was one year old.
"What's going on?" Mou Yucai made a fuss, "It must be that this little beast woke up again when he was thrown into a mass grave. Seeing the new grave buried Li Niang, he dug up the grave and stole his daughter. The jade token on the neck..." At this time, Shi Zhu turned around and wanted to leave, but Mou Yu went up and grabbed his wrist: "Little beast, you are so lucky. When he seduced his master, he then stole the jade token from my family. Let's go! Let me go to Pizhou County Government to reason with me! "The two of them quarreled from Taizhuang to Pizhou County Government.
The magistrate of Zhang County, Pizhou, heard someone beating a drum and shouting for justice, and slapped the table: "Take the person who shouted for justice to come to the hall!" The rich man, knelt in front of the hall and said: "The villain from Moujiazhuang has a daughter named Li Niang. More than 20 years ago, My wife Wu went to the temple to burn incense and fulfill her wish. When she came back, she picked up this ungrateful wolf on the roadside. He was delicious, well-dressed and easy to live in my house, and she grew up until she was ten years old. Unexpectedly, he not only did not want to repay his kindness, On the contrary, my family is a big business and wants to plot against my property, seducing my daughter to make a private life with him. Eight years ago, he was about to take care of him. When my daughter fled, I found out. I was so angry that I asked my son to knock him out and throw him into a mass grave, and buried his daughter alive. Unexpectedly, this little beast was not dead, but he dug up the grave and stole me. The ancestral jade plaque worn by my daughter. Ask Master Qingtian to make the decision for the common people."
County Magistrate Zhang finished speaking after hearing Mou Yu's words, and slapped the agglomeration wood and asked Shi Zhu: "What he said is the truth?" Shi Zhu raised his head and said , looking at the magistrate of Zhang County, said, "Master, I am one or two years apart in age. I have been playing together all day since I was a child. Childhood girl, she had no guesses, and gradually became admiration. I didn't intend to plot against the Mou family's property. I knew I was in poverty and didn't dare to have any inappropriate thoughts about the lady. It was because the rich man Mou despised the poor and loved the rich, and insisted on forcing Li Niang to marry. The young master of the rich family was unwilling, so the maid asked me to discuss the escape together. After discovering it, the rich man Mou beat me unconscious and threw me in the mass grave. After I woke up, I ran away overnight. Later, I relied on helping people in Shandong. The land and firewood to support the family, there is no need to dig the graves and dig the graves. Please give me a clear look at it."
"You, you are talking nonsense. The jade token on your neck is the treasure of my family. The front is engraved with the scattered flower fairy, the reverse is engraved with the water-dripping Guanyin, and four gold beads are laid with silk thread below. The master took it down and saw it. "Shi Zhu stood up and argued, "Master, there are many things in the world. If he is allowed to have it, he is not allowed to have it at home? Besides, he has grabbed my jade plaque and looked at it repeatedly, and the carved it on it Of course he can explain what he is! "
" Master Qingtian, now, the only thing he has to do is to dig the grave to check it out.When Li Niang was buried, the jade plaque was obviously worn on her neck. It was like opening a grave, and the jade plaque was still in the tomb. That was because I falsely accused him and I was willing to be punished. If not, please ask the master to punish him. "When Magistrate Zhang saw that Mou Yu was so talented, he was willing to dig his daughter's grave to verify, so he took the yamen runners and coroners to go straight to the mass grave of Moujiazhuang.
4
As expected, there is a lonely earthen grave , The weeds on the grave are more than half a person tall. "Take the grave! "After a command from the magistrate Zhang, the yamen runners opened the graves in a cup of tea, and a white bone in the tomb pit was presented to everyone.
"No, there should be two white bones in the tomb, why is there only one Woolen cloth? "Mu Yucai was stunned and blinked. "Check it out! "The coroner jumped into the tomb pit, checked for a long time, and came up with two things in his hand, so that County Magistrate Zhang could check it out. When the county Magistrate Zhang saw it, he became confused. It turned out that the two things the coroner brought up, one was a copper-headed jade The other piece of cigarette pipe in the mouth is two dice filled with mercury. This is strange. Could it be that a daughter of Mou Liniang, a daughter who is still smoking a dry tobacco and is willing to bet? What's even more strange is that the coroner told Zhang County Magistrate that based on the corpse test, this It is a man's corpse, at least over forty years old. skull shattered, as if he was smashed by a small blunt weapon before his death. How could a female corpse become a man? Who did this person smash it again What about dead?
Return to the county government office, and the magistrate Zhang asked Mou Yucai: "How can your daughter Li Niang smoke dry tobacco when she was born? She bet on money with others? "
" The little girl usually doesn't go out of the door, and doesn't step in the second door. She has never seen tobacco leaves before, let alone smoking and gambling. "
" Do you recognize these two things? "The yamen runner took the tobacco pipe and dice for Mou Yucai to identify it. Mou Yucai looked at the tobacco pipe a few times and said, "This tobacco pipe seems to be from my accountant Mr. Jin Si. He always keeps his tobacco pipe all day long. I have never seen this dice. I No one at home is good at gambling. "
County Magistrate Zhang ordered the yamen runners: "Go to Moujiazhuang to get Mou Youcheng, and the servants who buried them together on that day, bring them together with the accountant! "Mu Yucai hurriedly said, "Master, accountant Mr. Jin Si has left without saying goodbye since Li Niang died..."
Not long after, Mou Youcheng and several servants were brought to the hall and knelt in front of the hall. The Zhang County Magistrate attacked the auspicious wood , yelled: "Mu Youcheng, this county asked you, was Li Niang who was buried alive by you? "Mu Youcheng was so scared that he was sweating profusely, and replied tremblingly: "Yes, it was me who buried me. "
" I will ask you again, who is buried in the grave? "
Mou Youcheng's whole body shook like a sieve: "Master, I'm honest, I'm honest..." It turned out that Mou Yu asked Mou Youcheng to drag the stone pillar out and beat him to death. Mou You's honesty was because he couldn't bear it, so he shook his eyes at a few servants. , the servants were all concerned. Then he said to Shi Zhu, "Brother Zhu, I still have ten taels of silver here. Take it and go to a friend of mine in Taizhuang, Shandong to hide, don't come back. "
Mou Youcheng let Shi Zhu go. As soon as he returned home, the rich man Mou asked him to bury Li Niang alive, and Mou Youcheng couldn't do anything. He stomped his feet and said to several servants: "Brothers, I really can't do anything. My dear sister, what do you think? "Several servants of course understood the young master's thoughts and said, "Young master, you are as kind as a mountain to us. Besides, the lady is kind and has a good heart and never treats us today." People's hearts are full of flesh, so let the lady and maid go and let her go to Shizhu to reunite. Don't worry, we won't tell you this until we die. ”
Mou Youcheng gave a gift to everyone, untied the rope that tied Li Niang and the maid, and said, "You guys run away quickly, don't go home." "He lay in his sister's ear and whispered, "Shizhu is not dead, I'll let him go. He is at a friend's house in Taizhuang. "
Who knew that Li Niang turned around and was about to leave, when a person flashed out from behind the tree. It was not someone else, but Jin Si, the accountant of the Mou family.Jin Si was 45 years old and was as thin as a stalk. He held a copper-headed cigarette pouch in one hand and twisted several goat beards on his chin with the other hand, saying, "How can the eldest young master not listen to his old boss? Just do whatever he wants. Let the person go? "Mu Youcheng frowned and asked, "What do you want to do?" Jin Si smiled and said, "I have seen everything you did today. You can let Li Niang go, unless Li Niang is a slight person. Marry me. I go back and beg the master to betroth Li Niang to me, I am a member of the three and six Many people hired a lot to marry the lady home. In this way, the lady saved her life and the master also had face. I would not tell the master anything. Wouldn't it be a great joy! "
This Jin Si died two years ago and had already been He coveted Li Niang's beauty and the Mou family's property, but he was an old man. Li Niang was a young daughter, and those who came to the Mou family to propose marriage were all rich and powerful families, and no one could pick him up. Mou Yucai thought that his daughter had ruined her family tradition and wanted to bury Li Niang alive, so Jin Si followed her quietly. This opportunity is right in front of him, and he quickly came out, trying to take advantage of others' danger.
Li Niang heard Jin Si say she wanted to marry her as a housekeeper, and she was so angry that she trembled. She pointed at Jin Si and scolded, "You are disrespectful to me, I'm not calling you all day long. I'd rather be buried alive today. Today I'd rather be buried alive. , I won't marry you!"
Mou Youcheng saw Jin Si stopping Li Niang and not allowing her to leave. He stepped forward and pushed Jin Si away, and said to Li Niang, "Sister, go quickly, if something happens, I will be carrying you!" Li Niang and the maid Turn around and run. Jin Si tried hard to catch Li Niang, and several servants also came to pull Jin Si. It was also a coincidence that a servant tried hard, Jin Si slipped under his feet and fell backwards, and his head just hit the mill for them to dig a hole. I heard a "Oh" sound and there was no more noise. Mou Youcheng was stunned and quickly put his hand under Jin Si's nose and tried it, but he was exhausted. Jin Si died and died. What should I do? After a few people discussed it, there was a hole dug, so they just buried him on the spot and swore that no one would say anything about it. Later, Mou Yu saw that the accountant had nowhere to be seen for a few days. He asked anyone that he didn't know, so he had to find another one again.
After hearing Mou Youcheng's words, Zhang County Magistrate nodded and asked, "Is your accountant easy to bet?" "Will he bet on his own?" "Go back to the master, he has never seen him gamble except for smoking dry tobacco." "These two dices are the ones who are good at smoking." Who lost it? Who do you recognize it? " "Go back to Master, we never go to bet or recognize the dice." County Magistrate Zhang ordered: "Put down all the people for a while, and give up tomorrow, and leave! "I asked two yamen runners to explain this and then went back to the yamen to rest.
5
The next day, Zhang County Magistrate went to the hall to ask about the case. He just brought a group of people to the hall when he saw two yamen runners sent yesterday coming to the hall to report: "Go back to the master, we went to Jinzhuang to inquire about Jin Si, according to the villagers. Recalling that one morning eight years ago, I saw him go home once. At that time, he was covered in dirt and panic. He went home to change his clothes. The servant left again and never came back since then. We asked from many sources that a tobacco seller in the village said that he seemed to have seen him at a grocery store in Cangshan, where he was taking charge of the accounts. We asked the address and kept the night He rushed over and called for the opening of the store. When he saw that Jin Si was indeed living in the store, he had brought him there, right outside the yamen. "
Jin Si was brought to the hall. Mou Youcheng and several servants were shocked. Jin Si was shocked. Didn’t he be buried when he was dead? Why are you back alive? Jin Si knelt under the hall, and County Magistrate Zhang asked, "Is Jin Si the one who kneeled in the hall?"
"Back to the master, it's the villain."
"This county asked you, eight years ago, did you have been in Moujiazhuang in Mujiazhuang The mass grave had a dispute with Mou Youcheng over the burial of Miss Mou's alive? "
" Back to Master, this, this, I forgot..."
"Bold, let's be honest, don't force me to torture you!"
Both sides of the yamen runners water and fire stick pound the ground, shouting for power, scaring Jin Si so much that he knelt forward and crawled forward, saying, "Master, don't do the punishment, little To be honest, I was like this. Eight years ago, after I was pushed down and fainted, I didn’t know that I had been buried. I was confused and felt that someone was touching my body.The man pushed and slapped, and I woke up, thinking that I was still tearing up with the servants. Suddenly, I thought of another copper-headed cigarette pouch in my waist, so I pulled it out and hit the man's forehead three times. The man only snorted. There was no movement. I pushed the man away and took a closer look in the light of the stars and moon. It turned out to be Li Ergou from Wuzhuangzi to the west of Moujiazhuang! Li Ergou is an idle person. He eats, drinks, gambles all day long. He lost all the 100 acres of land at home, and his parents were also angry to death.
That night, he probably lost all his money with someone. He came back soon after tomorrow. When he saw the newly buried lonely grave beside the mass grave, he wanted to dig the grave and steal something and get some money to spend it. Unexpectedly, I woke up. The three-die pot smashed him to death. Seeing that the person was dead, I was afraid of taking responsibility, so I buried Li Ergou and hurried back home, changed my clothes, and didn't dare to go to Mou Caizhu's house again, so I fled to Shandong to be the accountant. "Jin Si finished the above, kowtowed and said, "Master, what Xiaomin said is the truth. Please ask the master to tell Xiaomin that Xiaomin was accused of killing Li Ergou. , spare the lives of the little people! "
After listening to Jin Si's lecture, the county magistrate Zhang ordered the yamen runners to take the two dices in the tomb and take them to the gambling house to find someone to identify them. Two people who often gamble with Li Ergou recognized him, and this is Li Ergou's gambling equipment that he never leaves all day long. At this point, the case has been cleared. County Magistrate Zhang took a look at the gavel and asked Shizhu: "This county asks you, what's going on with your jade plaque? Do you still need to hide it? "
" Master Qingtian, Xiaomin is the truth. Eight years ago, I had just escaped to Brother Youcheng's friend's house in Taiwan, and less than half a day, Li Niang and her maid Juxiang also arrived. With the help of Mou Youcheng's friend, we had a rush to worship the world and rented a thatched house for the village households, and lived a life as a village household. When my wife saw that I was working all day, she took off the jade token and insisted that I put it on, saying that this thing can bless me with safety. I don’t want to admit that the jade tablet belongs to Li Niang, because I was afraid that the rich man Mou would harm Li Niang again, so I lied that it was passed down by my own family... I also asked the master to make the decision for me and Li Niang. "
County magistrate Zhang ordered the yamen runners to go to Taizhuang overnight and brought Li Niang and Ju Xiang. He looked at Shi Zhu and Li Niang, patted Gavel , and said, "Everyone in the hall listened to the verdict. Mou Yucai despised the poor and loved the rich, and cruelly buried his daughter and killed his son-in-law. Thanks to Mou Youcheng's kindness and righteousness, he let the two go and saved three lives. The sentence of Mou Yu was only given a thousand taels of silver as a dowry, and the county was used as a matchmaker, and Li Niang and Shi Zhu returned to the flower hall. They were willing to stay in the future and make their own decisions. He was punished by Mou Yucai for twenty years and was imprisoned for ten days as a punishment. Mou Youcheng and his servants were eager to save people. Although they were injured by accident, they should not be buried without reporting. Each person was punished and beaten ten times, and no further sentences were given. Jin Si caused trouble because of his bad intentions. Although it was a victim, it was caused by greed. He beaten 30 blocks and fined another 50 taels of silver. He bought a coffin and buried Li Ergou again, and was imprisoned for half a month. Li Ergou was not doing his job properly and robbed the tomb. He was responsible for his own death. He thought that there was no miserable ruler in his family, so he would not be sentenced to another sentence after burying the matter. "At this point, a suspected case was clearly tried by the magistrate Zhang, and everyone was convinced.
■Liu Xiangxia
selected from "Folk Literature Story"
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