Chapter 110: The Encirclement and Imprisonment of Jia Family
Large numbers of Yamen runners abruptly ringed the residence of Jia family. All people inside were brought into panic. Since Jia Yin was in a coma, Mrs. Jia had no alternative but to come out to meet Ling Xingzhong.
“Lord Ling, why did you have Yamen runners encircle our residence?”
“Jia family secretly executed miners with utter disregard for human life. By order of Lord Tao, all members of Jia family shall be put in jail awaiting trail,” said Ling Zhaowen with a serious face, twenty Yamen runners standing behind him.
On hearing that these Yamen runners came here to arrest them, all members of Jia family panicked.
“Nonsense. We’ve always been law-abiding merchants. Someone must have framed us!”
“Those miners killed our mine director and snatched our money. Why didn’t Lord Tao arrest them instead of us?!”
“We want to see Lord Tao!”
Members of Jia family started yelling.
Ling Zhaowen coldly snorted. “It was Lord Tao who has ordered your arrest. If you want an audience with Lord Tao, come with us to Prefecture Yamen. Restrain them!”
“Stop! Who are you to arrest us?” Mrs. Jia let out a scream. “My brother-in-law Jia Zhong is the County Magistrate. We are all family members of the County Magistrate. You have no right to arrest us!”
“Even His Majesty enjoys no privilege whatsoever before law, not to mention people of Jia family. What are you standing there for? Restrain them,” Ling Zhaowen ordered coldly.
“Yes!” Yamen runners didn’t dare to delay. They rushed into the mansion and arrested everyone on sight.
“Stop! What are you doing? I’m the hostess of Jia family. Don’t touch me! Let me go!” Mrs. Jia screamed constantly when being grabbed,, her face deathly pale with fear.
“Mistress, help us! Please help us!”
“We have nothing to do with that. We’re just servants. It was our master who did all those things. Please don’t arrest us.”
“Let me go! Don’t you touch me! I want to talk to Lord Tao! I want to talk to Commander Zhang! Ling Zhaowen, you must have faked Lord Tao’s order. You’re abusing public power to get your own private revenge. You’re so vicious. My son has already died because of you, and now you want to take our lives as well?!” Mrs. Jia screamed constantly.
There had already been a lot of residents looking on near the gateway. After hearing this, they all started whispering to each other, occasionally pointing at Ling Zhaowen.
“Soon bodies of those miners who were secretly killed by Jia family in the mine will be transported back to Prefecture Yamen. Anybody who holds objection may go directly to Prefecture Yamen to take a look at those over ten corpses. Maybe you’ll find your friends or relatives among them.” Ling Zhaowen turned around to face those lookers-on and made these remarks in a cold tone of voice.
After he said this, the buzz of discussions gradually died down. Those people were somewhat afraid to look at Ling Zhaowen’s eyes.
Ling Zhang and his men were standing on the other side, watching those lookers-on, an apathetic look on his face.
‘These people always jump to conclusions from insignificant evidence. Even the likelihood of a red rain is greater than that of these people analyzing things rationally,’ he thought.
“Young Master, shall we go to Second Master’s help?” asked Wang Dashan.
Ling Zhang replied with a cold face, “Not for now. We’re not staff members of Prefecture Yamen, so we should not take any action unless there’s an emergency lest my uncle be put on the spot.”
“Let me go! Get your hands off me!” Mrs. Jia was dragged out of the mansion, struggling and cursing angrily along the way. All her curses were aimed at Ling Zhaowen.
“Ling Zhaowen, how dare you treat us like this! You’re going to die a violent death! I swear to God I’ll kill you!
You’re using your position to bully us. Is there still justice in this world? God, please open your eyes. This evildoer named Ling Zhaowen is forcing law-abiding good people to die!”
“Shut up, you shrew. Your family treat people’s lives as no more than grass. You murdered so many miners, yet you still have the nerve to malign His Lordship. Bah!” Finally, having had enough of her slanderous words, a Yamen runner pointed at Mrs. Jia and reprimanded her.
“What did you say? You’re just a stooge of Ling Zhaowen. You and him are jackals from the same lair!” yelled Mrs. Jia.
The Yamen runner was infuriated. “Lord Ling is a good official. Don’t you vixen wrong him! Your family murdered people in cold blood. All of you will be sentenced to death!”
“No! We didn’t do that! You’re slandering good people!”
Ling Zhang winked at Qiu Bing, who gave a bob of the head and wormed his way into the crowd.
After a while, someone yelled, “Hey, Mrs. Jia were you a good person, the sun will rise from the west. Would you please tell me who disfigured the face of a pretty maidservant and evicted her from your house leaving her to die?”
“That’s true. I heard that there was once a good-looking maidservant in Jia family whose hands were white and delicate. Just because Jia Yin had his eye on the maidservant, Mrs. Jia had her hands broken.”
“Tell me about it. Not long ago, didn’t she just abort the child of the concubine whose surname is Liu?”
“Tsk, tsk. She’s such a malicious woman. I don’t know how she has the nerve to slander others.”
“I’ve long ago heard that people of Jia family abused their miners. People as vicious as them might really dare to kill!”
“Yeah. I heard that, too. People of Jia family assaulted Supervisor Lin just because of a petty disagreement!”
“One time, when Jia Zhong was on his way back home, just because someone accidentally walked in front of his palanquin, he professed that the man deliberately blocked the path of an official with malignant intent, and put the man in jailhouse.”
“That’s true. These years, Jia family…”
At first there were only a couple of people criticizing Jia family. Soon, more people joined them. Before long, almost all lookers-on started discussing. One after another, all evil deeds committed by people of Jia family were brought to light.
Anger of the crowd gradually built up as the discussion went on. Eventually all lookers-on pointed at Mrs. Jia laying curse on her. Some women who were good at cursing doused her in a torrent of abuse, which made her blood boil. Cheeks burning with rage, she reprimanded, “You uneducated country bumpkins. Shut up! All of you! Otherwise I’ll tear your mouths!”
“Bah! Who do you think you are to call us uneducated country bumpkins? If it weren’t for that you’ve got money, nobody would have given a damn about you!”
“Tell me about it. You really think you were born in the purple? You’ve got nothing but some filthy money! And you got that by exploiting people!”
While Mrs. Jia were exchanging abuses with lookers-on, Qiu Bing wormed his way back to Ling Zhang’s side and said stealthily, “Young Master, mission accomplished.”
“You’ll be handsomely rewarded after we get back.” Ling Zhang flicked a satisfied glance at him.
With a grin, Qiu Bing expressed his gratitude and returned to the group beneath the envious gaze of his fellows.
“You’re not bad, Qiu Bing. It never crossed my mind that you have this kind of talent.” Zhao Shen smacked a fist onto Qiu Bing.
Qiu Bing smugly raised his head. Lately, he had fulfilled several tasks for his young master, and his young master’s trust in him had been growing, which he found more fulfilling than money reward.
In the crowd, Liu Yi glanced at him and then took away his eyes which gleamed with disappointment and resignation.
“Jia Yin was carried out,” Wang Dashan reminded others.
Everybody looked in the direction of the gateway and, as expected, saw that Jia Yin lying on a rough stretcher made of wooden planks was carried out of the mansion by Yamen runners. He was wearing thin clothes and the blebs on his face stood swollen, making him a sight of disgust and terror.
“Those things on Jia Yin’s face are so nauseating.”
“Tell me about it. This must be the retribution for all the evil he has done.”
Lookers-on began to point fingers at Jia Yin.
Jia Yin had already come around but was aching all over and thus unable to sit up. Because of that mouthful of blood he had spat out previously in overwhelming rage, his face was still ashen and he couldn’t even articulate properly. As he caught sight of Ling Zhaowen, he stared fixedly at him as if he wanted to eat him alive. Panting, he observed, “Ling Zhaowen, you base bastard!”
Standing on the staircase looking down at Jia Yin, Ling Zhaowen replied in a moderate, cold voice, “Jia Yin, you slew some innocent miners. This is the day you get your just deserts.”
Jia Yin glared fixedly at Ling Zhaowen, his face twisted in fury. He struggled trying to sit up but all his attempts proved unsuccessful. Having no alternative, he pointed at Ling Zhaowen with his trembling fingers. “You…You…”
Then his next breath failed him and he fell into unconsciousness again.
“Master? Master!” Seeing this, Mrs. Jia let out a screech and burst into loud sobbing.
“He’s still alive. There’s no need for you to wail so soon,” observed Ling Zhaowen after flicking a cold glance at her.
Mrs. Jia wept even louder.
After Jia Yin was carried outside, many other people were also escorted out of the mansion. The gateway was crowded with people.
There was still white cloth hanging on the walls beside the front gate of Jia family’s mansion, which had been prepared for the memorial service of Jia Yuanling. The combination of the sight of white cloth and that of those arrested people sent shivers of fear down the spines of lookers-on.
They had a sudden yet exceptionally distinct realization that Jia family was toast.
The nose count alone took quite a long time. Mrs. Jia had already fainted due to excessive weep. Eventually, she was carried to Prefecture Yamen along with Jia Yin.
Escorting members of Jia family, Yamen runners headed for Prefecture Yamen, followed by a lot of lookers-on.
Ling Zhang thought for a few moments, then bade Qiu Bing and Zhou Xiang to bring more than half of his men back to Ling family, which he himself took four men, including Wang Dashan and Liu Yi, and followed in the wake of the procession.
When Liu Yi heard Ling Zhang let him to stay, a slightly surprised look crossed his face, and then he silently followed.
Wang Dashan glanced at him and wanted to say something but didn’t know what to say. He also had no idea why Ling Zhang suddenly gave Liu Yi the cold shoulder, but he believed that there must be a reason. He had asked Liu Yi about it, but Liu Yi hadn’t told him anything.
Wang Dashan was fairly concerned. He regarded Liu Yi as a close friend who, like himself, had had the good fortune to work for Ling family, so he didn’t want Liu Yi to be fired.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
While the crowd progressing towards Prefecture Yamen, sounds of gongs came from the street near the western city gate. Someone was beating a gong to clear the way.
Tao Feng and his men, who had gone to the mine on the West Mountain to dig up bodies of victims, returned to the city.
Yamen runners were carrying wooden planks. Things on those planks were covered with white cloth. Anybody could tell what those things were without having to guess.
Residents found that during daytime, this scene was even more scary than that at the gateway of Jia family a moment ago.
All lookers-on were frightened somewhat and drew back.
“Are those bodies of miners murdered by Jia family that Lord Ling mentioned?”
“He was telling the truth?”
“Those goddamn people of Jia family really murdered miners!”
“Look at those planks. There are over ten of them. So many people died.”
“Goodness me. A relative of mine who lives in the countryside of Qi County works in the mine of Jia family. I haven’t contacted him for a long time. I don’t know if one of these… Bah! I shouldn’t have jinxed him.”
As those planks were carried nearer, people saw more distinctly. Beneath the white cloth were none other than bones.
Many residents didn’t even dare to look. They drew back to the side in fright.
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