Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 50: Fugitive.

Wang Shi trembled all over, her lips quivering like autumn leaves. “How can you blame me? How can you blame me…”

After muttering these words, as if convincing herself, she suddenly looked at Wei Shi. “It’s not my fault. It’s all because of you, treating me unfairly. I never intended to harm Yulang. I didn’t know it would lead to his death!”

“Don’t call Second Brother like that; I’m afraid he’ll find it nauseating even in his grave!” Wei Shi’s anger surged out in an instant. After yelling this out, she seemed to recall something.

Turning to look at Liu Yu, who was sitting pale on the chair, Wei Shi’s heart trembled. His birth mother had killed his biological father; this fact was too cruel. She had been careless; these things shouldn’t have been said in front of her niece, who wasn’t supposed to know. Her voice, heavy with difficulty, said, “Nannan, you go out first.”

“No,” Liu Yu shook her head. “I want to know.”

She had the right to know.

Wei Shi looked at the face that resembled her mother-in-law’s when she was young, but she couldn’t bring herself to revive those old things with Bao Cuiyun. However, without her explanation, Wang Shi refused to stop. Trapped in her own delusions, her eyes red, she said, “Both of us were bought by the Liu family. Why is it that you were released from slavery and married into the Liu family, becoming the lawful and respected wife of Liu Huaijin? But when I wanted to marry Liu Huaiyu, I was only deemed fit to be recognized as a servant. Why?”

“It’s because you treated me unfairly! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have…!”

“Shut up!” Wei Shi interrupted forcefully, angrily stating, “Bao Cuiyun, I’m leaving you some face in front of the child. Don’t spill all your dirty laundry, and don’t taint my niece’s ears with your filthy stories!”

She continued sternly, “It’s true that I was originally a servant, but I was practically raised by my mother-in-law. She released me from slavery and arranged my marriage into the Liu family with the three ceremonies and six rites. You know your own circumstances. Today, I am the mistress, and you are the servant. I didn’t come here to listen to you recite these things. After fifteen years of running away, today, we settle the score.”

Wang Shi slumped down, her face drained of color. Finally, at this moment, she looked at Liu Yu. Like grasping the last straw of life, she crawled towards Liu Yu, grabbing the hem of Liu Yu’s dress. “Wei Shi, you can’t do this. I’m Yu’er’s birth mother. If you won’t forgive me, won’t you at least think about… won’t you think about his only drop of blood? If you label me as an escaped slave, what good can come to Yu’er in his lifetime? After we go underground, will you really be able to face the old lady and Liu Huaiyu?”

However, Wei Shi no longer spared her more glances, just waiting for the village chief to arrive and settle the accounts together.

Seeing Wei Shi expressionless, Wang Shi desperately grabbed Liu Yu and pleaded, “Yu’er, speak up for your mother. Please ask your aunt to give us a way out.”

Liu Yu’s mind had been buzzing ever since she heard the term “escaped slave.” With a ringing in her ears, she stared at Wang Shi, her lips trembling several times before she could speak with a trembling voice, “You’re an escaped slave. Then, what am I?”

The childhood aspiration that had been the sole presence in her heart was shattered by those three words: slaved-born child.

Wang Shi, out of breath, covering her chest, couldn’t answer a single word. She just shook Liu Yu, pleading, “Yu’er, please ask your aunt to spare my life, okay?”

In the “Law of the Fugitive,” the punishment for the first capture of a runaway slave was one hundred lashes and will be marked in the face with the word “Fugitive,” and the second time could result in execution.

Wang Shi knew all too well why Liu Huaijin and Liu Huaiyu had died. She also knew that Wei Shi regarded the old lady as her lifesaver and had deep admiration for her. The entire Liu family of three had died because of her, and Wei Shi wouldn’t let her go. Wang Shi’s fate rested entirely in Wei Shi’s hands. If not for fear, she wouldn’t have hurriedly escaped all those years ago.

She pulled Liu Yu desperately, tugging at her until Liu Yu felt as if her soul was being torn away intermittently. She listened to Wang Shi’s pleas, feeling only numbness and absurdity in her heart.

However, Wei Shi couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She signaled to her eldest son, saying, “Yanqing, take the people away and escort your sister out.”

Liu Yu didn’t know how she left the Liu family’s hall. The sounds from inside the door could still be vaguely heard.

“If I had known about today, why did I bother back then? You were so ruthless to sell Yu’er. Now you have the face to beg her.”

“Wei Shi, let me say it again. I never intended to cause Yulang and the master’s deaths. I just wanted to marry Yulang. I didn’t know he was going to the mountains.” Wang Shi sobbed, “At that time, Yu’er was already a month old, and you wouldn’t relent. I just wanted one more child. If it were a son, for the child’s sake, the old lady and Yulang would eventually relent. I didn’t know he would go to the mountains. If I knew, I would never have used the medicine.”

“I didn’t sell Yu’er. I let her escape!”

Wei Shi sneered, “So, you deserve praise for being a compassionate mother? Tell me, knowing the consequences of being found, why didn’t you escape further back then?”

Wang Shi fell silent at Wei Shi’s words.

Wei Shi said, “You won’t speak? Let me speak for you. When you escaped famine and were sold, if it weren’t for your pleas in front of my second brother, he, with a kind heart, wouldn’t have bought you. You should be suffering in a low-grade slave pen now, right? Oh, at your age, you probably wouldn’t survive in such a pen. Afraid of being sold, aren’t you? Afraid to escape, right? That’s why you found a rural place to hide, changed your name and surname with silver money stolen from my Liu family. How about it? You’re afraid of the escape route, but you dare to push it onto your daughter. With just you, do you still deserve to be a mother?”

Wang Shi could only cry again, “What else can I do? What else can I do?”

If only she had known that Liu Yu would grow more and more like the young Madam Liu(the mother-in-law), she wouldn’t have stolen the child because of her infatuation with Liu Huaiyu. But in this world, how could anyone predict the future? She pleaded with Wei Shi, “Please spare me. For the sake of raising Yu’er, you don’t want Yu’er to carry the label of a slave-born child for the rest of her life, do you?”

Outside the room, Liu Yu closed her eyes in helplessness.

There are many kinds of love in this world—some worthy of being called love, others only tarnishing the word.

Liu Yu, who could hear everything, and Liu Yanqing standing by her side, also heard it all. He felt a bit sorry and advised, “Little sister, don’t be too upset.”

Liu Yu’s face remained indifferent, “I’m not upset.”

What she should have been upset about had long been suffered in her previous life.

At that moment, the courtyard gate was knocked on, and the voice of Liu Yanping came from outside, “Big brother, the village chief is here.”

Liu Yanqing walked over and opened the courtyard gate. Behind Liu Yanping was the village chief, looking uneasy. He had inquired all the way but had learned nothing. Now seeing Liu Yanqing looking like someone capable, he was about to ask again. The door of the hall was opened from inside.

Seeing an unfamiliar woman, the village chief peered beyond her and caught a glimpse of someone sitting on the ground, covered in disarray. It vaguely looked like Wang Shi.

He glanced at Liu Kangsheng, wanting to inquire privately about the situation, but didn’t get the chance to ask. Liu Yanqing gestured, “Please come in, village chief.”

While the constable’s words were polite, his expression was truly icy. The village chief’s throat felt dry, and he didn’t dare ask more questions, hesitating as he made his way towards the Liu family hall.

Behind him, Liu Kangsheng hesitated and didn’t move. Liu Yanqing, becoming impatient, said, “Do you need me to invite you as well?”

Liu Kangsheng’s face turned pale as he looked towards the hall, as if it wasn’t his family’s hall but the prison of a government office.

The two wooden doors closed again, and the Village Chief saw Wang Shi being slapped out with a few clear fingerprints on her face, stunned. An increasing sense of unease churned inside him.

This unease escalated when Wei Shi uttered the next words, causing the Village Chief to feel dizzy and nearly faint.

“Inviting the village chief over so late is to reclaim the runaway servant from fifteen years ago, Bao Shi, now changed her name to Wang Shi. Also, it is to investigate the Liu family, who sheltered the runaway servant, and to pursue the collusion between the Liu family’s eldest son, daughter-in-law, and the outsider Wu Jin, who conspired to sell my niece.”

The Village Chief was dumbfounded, looking at Wang Shi and then at Liu Kangsheng. His hands trembled uncontrollably, “Wang Shi is a runaway servant?”

Liu Kangsheng, at this point, had no intention of admitting anything. He feigned ignorance, leaving the Village Chief bewildered. However, looking at Wang Shi’s appearance, the Village Chief became more certain that she was indeed a runaway servant brought back by her master’s family. When he thought of going to help handle this matter, the Village Chief’s legs almost gave way.

Wei Shi looked at Liu Kangsheng’s performance and sneered, “Do you know that sheltering a runaway servant for fifteen years is a serious crime? Yanqing, explain to them. According to the laws of Daqing, how should the one who shelters a runaway servant be punished?”

Liu Yanqing’s voice was indifferent, devoid of any emotion, “According to the ‘Fugitive Law,’ when a servant runs away and is caught for the first time, they receive one hundred lashes, and the words ‘Fugitive’ are carved on their face. If caught for the second time, they may be executed. The master harboring the runaway servant is to receive forty heavy beatings, with the words carved on their face as well, and all their property and population go to the government.”

“When it comes to harboring a runaway servant,” Liu Yanqing continued, “the head of the household and the village chief will receive forty heavy beatings.”

As Liu Yanqing finished speaking, the three people inside the hall showed expressions of extreme distress, their faces drained of color. the Village Chief’s cheeks tightened, cold sweat formed on his forehead. He was well aware that with the charges brought against him, forty beatings would not be enough to mitigate the punishment. When he helped to shelter Wang Shi back then, he accepted ten taels of silver from Liu Kangsheng. Although he had suspicions about Wang Shi’s background, he had harbored a sense of hope at the time, believing that even if there were issues with her origins, she must have escaped from a distant place. Little did he expect that after fifteen years, the truth would catch up to him now.

Wang Shi trembled, knocking her head on the ground and dared not address Wei Shi by her previous title. She pleaded, “Madam, spare me a way out. Even if it’s just for the sake of Yu’er, spare me a way out. If my runaway servant status is confirmed, Yu’er will become a lowly servant, and her future marriages will be filled with difficulties. I am no one, but she is your own niece.”

The Village Chief, who had been initially frightened by the revelation of the runaway servant, was just now coming to his senses. The madam mentioned earlier that the girl nearly sold off was Liu Yu, the Liu family’s girl. Thoughts of Liu Yu being brought by Wang Shi resurfaced, and the Village Chief finally realized the situation. Overwhelmed, he gathered the courage to interject, “Madam, Wang Shi… I mean, what Bao Shi said makes sense. Given the long passage of time, even if it’s for the sake of the child, can’t we discuss and settle this privately? Why involve the authorities? Please, reconsider for the sake of the child.”

Wei Shi remained silent for a while, seeming to harbor intense resentment towards Bao Shi. Yet, she also appeared to be concerned about Liu Yu.

Seeing the turning point, the Village Chief hurriedly kicked Liu Kangsheng: “Speak, do you still want the whole family to become official slaves?”

Liu Kangsheng was trembling all over and gasping for air.

Liu Kangsheng’s initial plan was to vehemently deny everything, insisting that he only knew Wang Shi as a refugee escaping calamity. He believed that by sticking to this story, he could blur the truth and avoid further scrutiny. Little did he know that the law did not recognize such denial tactics. If he had known earlier… No, even if he had known, Liu Kangsheng couldn’t be sure that, back then when he was light-headed with the promise of forty taels of silver and the youthful appearance of Bao Shi, he could have resisted the temptation.

Though Bao Shi didn’t possess the same refined appearance as Liu Yu, her original colors were not bad either. However, after years of toiling in the fields as a farmer, her appearance had lost its luster.

Liu Kangsheng could only be sure that, had he known the law wouldn’t accept his denial tactic, had he foreseen today’s consequences, he would have quickly rid himself of Wang Shi’s troubles as soon as the silver was in his hands. He wouldn’t have greedily clung to the prospect of having a woman take care of his child, letting the problem fester until it affected his whole family.

Now kicked back to his senses by the Village Chief, he hastily nodded, saying, “Yes, yes, for the sake of Yu’er.” As for the rest, he couldn’t muster any more words.

The Village Chief huffed with satisfaction. Even an old man like him was now searching for silver.

Yet, the Village Chief also understood the situation now. Bringing this person today, apparently caring about Liu Yu’s reputation, they could have just arrested the person directly. Why bother sending the family members outside and stationing guards at the courtyard gates? Two incidents happened simultaneously. It seemed they were afraid that the news of Liu Yu being a servant-born child might leak out.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, the Village Chief proposed, “How about you name your conditions? Either let Kangsheng redeem Bao Shi, or compensate us somehow. In any case, you should provide an explanation for your family. Can it be done?”

Wang Shi, hearing these words, saw a ray of hope and chimed in, “Yes, yes, I can redeem myself. I am Yu’er’s birth mother. Allow me to redeem myself. When Master Yu and Second Master bought me, it cost fifteen taels. Please allow me to redeem myself. I won’t be a burden to Yu’er.”

Every repetition of “Yu’er” struck Liu Yu’s ears like a blade or a shovel, cutting away the last traces of blood-related affection. Despite the waves inside her, Liu Yu’s face remained calm, her heart becoming clearer.

In the room, Liu Kangsheng heard about the fifteen taels, suddenly lifted his head to look at Wang Shi, fists clenched tight. After some internal struggle, he uttered, “How can our family afford fifteen taels?”

Wang Shi’s expression changed abruptly, discarding her usual fear of Liu Kangsheng in the face of life and death. “No fifteen taels? Liu Kangsheng, even saying such words makes you less than human!”

She got up and headed towards the main room, and Liu Kangsheng stood up to stop her. The couple, who had shared a bed for fifteen years, were instantly torn apart before their eyes.

Resentment, curses, and tearing – it was extremely ugly.

Observing all this with a cold eye, Wei Shi didn’t feel any satisfaction. She only thought of Liu Huaiyu, a young man whom she had almost raised single-handedly. Because of a little kindness, he had been manipulated twice. The first time, Liu Yu was born, and the second time, Bao Shi couldn’t achieve her wishes. As a result, her husband and younger brother both lost their lives in the depths of the mountains, their bodies mutilated beyond recognition. They never opened their eyes again.

Wei Shi’s body didn’t move, not even a blink. Her soul seemed torn in half. One half wanted Bao Shi to be executed immediately for causing harm to her loved ones, while the other half could only sit there hollowly, watching the ugly brawl unfold.

Yes, she wanted to end Bao Shi’s life. If there was a way, she would have torn her apart with a thousand cuts or turned her into a bloody spectacle for the wolves in the deep mountains.

Yet, all she could do was sit there and watch as Bao Shi, despite her aged and ugly appearance, still possessed a healthy body that engaged in physical fights.

After watching enough, after feeling enough hatred and pain, Wei Shi finally spoke in a heavy tone, “Shall I allow you to redeem yourself?”

Sansukini: Bao Shi’s a horrible person. The answer to the question in the previous chapter’s comment, Why did she bring Liu Yu when she escaped? It’s because she liked Liu Yu’s dad so much.

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