Chapter 22 Chapter two

The sixth wife, Xiujuan, was escorted in from the inner room into the hall.Guan Mazi, the coachman who chartered the car for the female family members of the Hao mansion, was also escorted.Both of them were tied back to back, and Guan Mazi's mouth was still covered with a dirty cloth.The hemp rope strangled Xiujuan and Guan Mazi so deeply that some places were bleeding.Especially Xiujuan, who was strangled pitifully, with bloodstains on her delicate neck, half of her breasts that were originally tied with a tube top were exposed, and the red silk tube top hung out, as if the liver and intestines in her chest had been pulled out.

Guan Mazi is tall, strong, and ugly; Xiujuan is petite, thin, but naturally beautiful, and they don't match well together.Nan Rulin felt that it wasn't two people who were tied together, it was like Xiujuan was tied to a thick and strong black tree stump.Nan Rulin decided that Guan Mazi was not a human being, but a tree stump.Then he felt surprised: How could Xiujuan, who is cold and arrogant by nature, get along with Guan Mazi, a black stump?It is said that the good friend with Xiujuan is just a little boy on the outside, how did he become this ugly old Guan?How were they discovered?

Don't ask, and don't dare to ask.Nan Rulin knew in her heart that everything today was related to the old witch Hao Keshi. The old witch might have captured Xiujuan long ago, but she just kept it a secret from the wives.After thinking about it, I found out that Xiujuan hadn't seen each other for two days. She thought she was having fun outside, but unexpectedly, she was put on the murder case by the old hag, and she was just waiting for the old man to come back to be stabbed. Then I forgot the resentment in the past, and couldn't help feeling sorry for Xiujuan, the eyes that flew towards Xiujuan were always gentle, and said to Xiujuan silently in my heart, "Sixth sister, don't hate me, I didn't make you bad this time, I But not so poisonous.

The sixth wife, Xiujuan, didn't look at Nan Rulin or the crowd, but just looked down at the damp green brick floor.The loose black hair covered his pretty face, and the cover was not tight. There were strips of flesh color in the gaps in the hair, and the light was so white that it was horribly white. The hall was dead silent, old man Hao and his wife Hao Keshi were sitting upright on the grand master chair in the middle of the room like statues.Old man Hao was playing with a revolver in his hand, and his eyes were only on the gun, not on the person.Hao Ke's blunt hands were clutching the merits and demerits of the Hao family's wives and concubines, but his dim eyes did not look at the merits and demerits, and turned around on the concubines and wives.Standing behind them was Deputy Chief Zhang, whose face was livid, sparks would burst out from anyone's eyes.

Except for the sixth wife, Xiujuan, the other eight concubines stood on the sides.Nan Rulin and Ruifang were the last to arrive, standing at the corner closest to the door.There was a seat behind him, but old man Hao and Hao Keshi didn't talk about sitting, and neither of them dared to sit. After being frozen for a few minutes, the terrifying atmosphere was created. Old man Hao put the revolver in his hand on the Eight Immortals table in front of him, drank some water, looked around, and then cleared his voice.The tone was still kind, and he asked first: "Is everything here?"

No one dared to answer, only Hao Ke nodded and said: "It's all right. Mrs. Ten said she was ill, so she was called by Mrs. Ninth. I told you to call." Old Man Hao's eyes fell on Nan Rulin, and he asked, "What's wrong? Have you seen a doctor?" Nan Rulin said, "There's nothing serious about it, it's just a cold..." Old man Hao said pitifully: "You are just not careful, you are almost twenty years old, and you still look like a big child!" He looked at Ruifang and said, "And you, Ruifang, don't know how to take care of yourself. I am in Jiangbei What worries you the most is the two of you, thinking that you can't even fight well!"

Nan Rulin wanted to say something nice to please the old man, but before she could say it, Hao Keshi had already gotten into the old man's topic, so Nan Rulin gave up. Hao Keshi said: "Look at our master, I really worry about our family, but some people don't have any sense of shame..." Old man Hao stopped Hao Keshi from continuing, waved his hand at Hao Keshi, and said to the wives on both sides: "Sit down, you all sit down! Rulin, Ruifang, sit closer together." All the aunts and wives got the pardon and sat down one by one, and there was a sound of creaking chairs and stools in the hall.Nan Rulin and Ruifang received the old man's special favor, sat in front of the old man, and immediately smelled the garlic smell from the old man's mouth.

Old man Hao seemed to have forgotten his sixth wife, Xiujuan. Seeing the group of wives and concubines sitting in front of him, he said, "Today I want to tell you a story about Xiujuan..." Nan Rulin's eyes widened, and she stared fixedly at Old Man Hao. Old man Hao was very emotional: "Among you wives and concubines, I dare say that I treat Xiujuan the best. These things, such as Lin and Ruifang, who came in late, don't know, but everyone else knows. Six years ago, the joint province During self-government, my nephew Hao Baochuan fell out with me and attacked my camp at night, catching me off guard. During the chaos, Xiujuan was snatched away by Hao Baochuan's Brigadier Ma, and I was so anxious that I almost jumped into the river. At that time I remember clearly that Xiujuan was escorted by my guard captain, Lao Xing. I told Lao Xing that even if all the guards were wiped out, Xiujuan had to be protected. But Lao Xing lost my guard. In a fit of rage, I shot Lao Xing by the Xima River..."

Hao Keshi stepped in and said, "Lao Xing is a good man, I still remember him now." Old man Hao took a sip of his tea, and continued, "Lao Xing collapsed, I immediately called Hao Baochuan, and said to the little bastard: Xiujuan is your aunt, and if you dare to think about her, it's incest. Guess that little bastard What did you say? He said that he didn't have Xiujuan's idea, but he couldn't keep Brigadier Ma from pursuing Xiujuan. He also said that Brigadier Ma didn't have any other hobbies, he just likes to play with women. When I heard this In a panic, I negotiated with Hao Baochuan. Hao Baochuan said that it is okay to send him back to Xiujuan, but I have to give him the territory of a whole county in Jiangbei. When the fifth regiment withdrew from Zhangqi, everyone was tearful. Deputy Zhang, isn’t it?”

Standing by the side, Deputy Chief Zhang confirmed: "That's right, Old General Hao really has nothing to say to Mrs. Six!" Old man Hao changed the topic: "But what did Xiujuan do to me? She dared to have an affair with Guan Mazi, the chartered car driver, and she wanted to elope the day before yesterday—it wasn't for the eldest lady who stopped her in time, so she really ran away, and she dared to !" The old man Hao turned his face towards Xiujuan, raised his hand, pointed at Xiujuan who was tied up in a ball, and said to everyone: "Look, this is what I exchanged for one Zhangqi County! goods!"

Xiujuan probably knew that she was doomed, so she raised her head slowly, looked at old man Hao with tears in her eyes and said, "Then... that's what you want to change, I... If I followed Brigadier Ma, maybe I would There is no such thing as today!" The old man Hao ignored Xiujuan, turned his face away and continued to say to the wives: "I, Hao, never thought of asking you to repay the kindness I did to you, but I just hope that you will treat me sincerely. You also know that Zhang Qi is currently fighting, The fight was very hard. There were rebels in my Dingguo army, and Liu Anjie from the Second Liu Division rebelled; I wanted to go home and calm down, but unexpectedly there were rebels at home!" Xiujuan refused to accept it, and shouted again: "I... If I were a traitor, you... all the aunts and wives in this room are all traitors. You tell them to tell the truth, who... who doesn't want to have fun outside? Who Want to be... the living dead in this coffin-like mansion?" These words touched everyone's pain point, and they originally sympathized with Xiujuan in their hearts, but after hearing what Xiujuan said, they withdrew their sympathy, and wanted to get rid of themselves, so they scolded Xiujuan all over the place.Ruifang's heart is the most empty, and she scolds the most fiercely.Nan Rulin noticed that when Ruifang scolded Xiujuan, she secretly glanced at Old Man Hao's face. This is probably what old man Hao wanted—every time the old man's family law trials started with this atmosphere effect. The old man waved his hand and asked the eldest wife Hao Keshi to take out the merits and demerits of his wives and concubines, as the prosecution party to declare the historical and current crimes of the sixth wife Xiujuan.According to Hao Keshi's summary, there are ten crimes committed by Xiujuan: adultery and lewdness, arrogance and disrespect, stealing family belongings, drinking and causing trouble, and so on.After Hao Ke's announcement, Mr. Hao asked everyone to negotiate.All the aunts and wives said in unison that Xiujuan should not stay any longer, so old man Hao let Deputy Chief Zhang clearly sentence Xiujuan to be shot. Although Xiujuan already knew that she was bound to die, she was still dumbfounded when she heard the verdict, and struggled desperately to face Old Man Hao, crying, "You...you can't be so cruel, we will...finally be a husband and wife, just... Even if you don’t miss me, you have to remember that I gave you three daughters!” Then she shouted to the concubines and wives: “Sisters, you...you beg me, as long as you let me live, I...I Even if I serve you as cattle and horses... I am willing to..." Xiujuan's appearance was really miserable, Nan Rulin and all the aunts and wives saw themselves in Xiujuan.For a moment, Nan Rulin also felt that she was tied up and was going to be shot together with Xiujuan.As soon as this thought appeared, his gaze no longer dared to fall on Xiujuan, and he just stared at the green brick floor under his feet in a daze. On the contrary, the second wife who was usually the most angry stood up staggeringly and said to the old man timidly, "Nian... the sixth wife is... a first offender, just... just let her go this time!" Nan Rulin also hoped that old man Hao would show kindness, but old man Hao didn't say anything. He handed the revolver with the safety removed to Deputy Chief Zhang as if he didn't hear what the second wife said, and said with a sigh: "Execute, right in the yard!" Deputy Chief Zhang waved his hand, and seven or eight soldiers came up and dragged Xiujuan and Guan Mazi away together.After a while, gunshots rang out, first in bursts, then in bursts, probably more than a dozen shots in total.When the gunshot rang out, Nan Rulin saw tears in the corners of Old Man Hao's eyes—I don't know if it was because of Xiujuan who had to be killed, or because of the Cheng Qi that was lost for Xiujuan. Later, Hao Ke wanted to let other concubines who committed the crimes try the family law again, and was about to announce the crime of the eighth aunt's private banquet, but the old man Hao stopped him, saying that it was compared with the heinous crime committed by the sixth wife Xiujuan , These are all trivial matters, it's fine if you don't commit the crime next time. Hao Keshi said: "This will not work, the family law is the family law, we can't just let it go." Old man Hao pulled his face, "I said forget it, don't worry about it!" Hao Keshi didn't dare to say a word. Old man Hao asked everyone to go back to their rooms, but he and Hao Keshi sat still - the old man was going to start the second round of family law trial, to try his sons and daughters who failed to live up to expectations.Nan Rulin knew that while the old man was away, many things happened at home.The second young master Degui secretly sold a piece of land in the south of the Yangtze River on his own initiative; The Seventh Young Master Dexian who follows the family law, the Seventh Young Master smokes more and more fiercely.Nan Rulin heard that the Seventh Young Master can eat two and a half dollars at a time with one end of the pipe... Nan Rulin and all the aunts and wives walked into the courtyard, and they were meeting the teacher, Mr. Jin.Mr. Jin is surrounded by a few young masters and ladies who have grown up, and behind him is a group of boys and girls, how many in total, and what are their names? Nan Rulin has been here for more than a year, but she still hasn't figured it out. When Xian walked in front of them, he pitifully took the hand of his mother, the fourth wife, and the fourth wife confessed to Dexian with tears in her eyes. The Fourth Wife confessed to the Seventh Young Master, but Nan Rulin didn't hear clearly, and she didn't want to listen. Nan Rulin was still in shock at that moment, thinking of the Sixth Wife Xiujuan with disheveled hair.