CHAPTER 479: CHAPTER 479: THE ZOU FAMILY INFERNO

Magistrate Liang took the document and saw that the date was indeed during the half month of July. He then thought of Ms. Bao’s tragic death and the sordid affairs of the Zou family, paced back and forth, and finally slammed his hand on the table and said, "Pass judgment."

Deputy Magistrate Hu furrowed his brow and remarked, "My lord, if we pass this judgment, Ms. Bao’s two children will be handed over to the Bao Family to be cared for... The daughter is less of an issue, but the son, who is already of age to start a family, could pose a problem. If higher authorities inquire into the matter, it could be construed as concealment of a crime."

As the head official of the Prefecture, Magistrate Liang had the necessary resolve and responded, "One from the Bao Family is a scholar and the other is a Scholar, both holding official positions and having a level of reputation in the Prefecture. Their family has indeed been wronged, with their daughter brutally killed by the Zou family. Moreover, the Bao family delivered the divorce paper in July. There’s no issue with our judgment; it’s not as if the Bao family is using this to craftily absolve their grandchildren of any wrongdoing."

If he lacked the determination to judge even such a case, the Capital would surely perceive him as fearful of difficulties. Even if there were good positions available, he wouldn’t be considered for them.

Furthermore, due to the collusion between the government officials of two Prefectures and river bandits, scholars and madmen in Jiangnan are currently causing quite a ruckus. The Bao Family is a scholar’s family and also victims of wrongdoing. If he stands with the Bao Family, he could quell the fire of the scholars, perhaps earning their praise in the process.

"Alright, I shall see to it immediately," Deputy Magistrate Hu, assured by Magistrate Liang’s decision, confidently departed to the public hall to issue the judgment.

"The Zou family shows no kindness, disregards marital ties, destroys relations between clans, scorns life, and abuses descendants, utterly ruthless and vicious. This official hereby declares..."

Deputy Magistrate Hu uttered a long list of accusations, but, in the end, it simply meant that the judgment was in favor of the Bao Family.

The Bao Family and the Zou Family would completely sever ties, disowning any relation and vowing never to interact even in death; the Bao Family would represent Ms. Bao in the divorce from Zou Yuqian and choose a date to exhume Ms. Bao from the Zou family cemetery in Tianfu County and rebury her in the Bao family cemetery; the Bao family were permitted to take back Zou Chengzu and Zou Lanhua, but the siblings had to change their surname, be removed from the Zou family clan registry, and would no longer be considered part of the Zou family.

Elder Bao fainted from the overwhelming relief upon receiving the judgment.

Uncle Bao and the Bao Klan, in a frantic hustle, carried Elder Bao to the medical clinic for emergency treatment and managed to revive him.

The Bao Klan and relatives collectively breathed a sigh of relief, mopping the cold sweat from their foreheads, and gratefully exclaimed: "Thank the heavens, we’ve finally severed ties with the Zou family; otherwise, our whole clan would have been doomed."

After regaining consciousness, Elder Bao couldn’t wait a moment longer and instructed Uncle Bao to take the judgment document, along with over a dozen family servants, male members of the Bao Klan, and twenty hired Escort Masters from the Prefecture escort agency to Tianfu County to fetch people.

Uncle Bao first visited the county government and showed the judgment from the Prefecture Government Office to County Magistrate Xu.

County Magistrate Xu was surprised and greatly admired Magistrate Liang for having the audacity to stand by the Bao Family at such a time – a courage he conceded was beyond his own.

"Since the Magistrate Government Office has passed judgment, you may go to the Zou family to collect the people," he said.

County Captain Jiang, well aware of the Zou family people’s nature, feared that the other members of the Zou family might create trouble, and volunteered to accompany the Bao Family to the Zou Mansion to fetch people.

Uncle Bao was extremely grateful and respectfully bowed to County Captain Jiang: "I deeply appreciate your assistance, Lord Jiang."

Even with County Captain Jiang personally leading the way to the Zou family, Mrs. Zou, Zou Yunkun’s wife, and her two sons still made a scene, crying and making a fuss.

"Why, why should they be allowed to leave? They are all Zou family people; if there is to be death, we should die together. They cannot leave. If they must, they’ll have to step over my dead body!" Zou Yunkun’s wife, envious of how fortunate Ms. Bao was to have such a good family, compared it with her own worthless kin, thrashing on the ground and refusing to let Zou Chengzu and his sister leave, insisting they all die together.

Following suit, the brothers Zou Chengji also lay on the ground, crying, and refusing to allow the Bao Family to take Zou Chengzu and his sister away.

Uncle Bao saw the Zou family People behaving unreasonably and disgracefully, and looked towards County Captain Jiang. Seeing County Captain Jiang nod, he immediately said to the hired Escort Masters, "Gentlemen, take action and tie up those troublemakers to the side."

The Escort Masters immediately stepped forward and tied up the brothers Zou Chengji.

Zou Yunkun’s wife jumped up and shouted, "Stop, try laying a finger on me!"

With a bang, an Escort Master went behind her and knocked her unconscious with a stick, but they didn’t tie her up, fearing it might cause trouble.

Mrs. Zou was trembling all over, pointing at the Escort Masters and then at Uncle Bao, so angry that she couldn’t utter a single word.

Zou Chengzu opened the door and came out with Zou Lanhua, kneeling in front of Mrs. Zou, "Please have mercy, Grandmother, and let us siblings go... My mother has already sacrificed her life for the Zou family, do you really want us to lose our lives here too?"

Previously, the grandson Grandmother loved the most was him, but ever since their father got into trouble, the Grandmother, just like Grandfather, began to hate them siblings, and watched indifferently as they were mistreated by the servants.

He couldn’t understand why his father was the one who made the mistake, yet Grandmother hated them. She even revealed a gratifying expression when they were suffering.

Zou Chengzu was very sad, thoroughly disappointed in the Zou family People and only wanted to take his sister and leave, to return to the Bao Family and start living like a human again.

Mrs. Zou watched Zou Chengzu and his sister for a long time, tears streaming down her face, and finally waved her hand, letting them go.

Zou Chengzu and Zou Lanhua kowtowed several times to Mrs. Zou before leaving with Uncle Bao.

Once out of Zou Mansion, looking at the streets outside, Zou Chengzu felt as if he had come back to life. He truly never expected that as a man of the Zou family, he would have the chance to live another day.

...

Inside Zou Mansion, Zou Yuzhen learned that the siblings Zou Chengji were taken away by the Bao Family People, and flew into a rage, "Zou Chengji, the cheek of you! I never saw this coming."

The concubine was right, silent dogs are the most likely to bite. Zou Chengji was that silent dog who, after suffering for over two months, managed to leave unscathed and become a young master at the Bao Family.

After cursing Zou Chengji, he asked Zou Hai, "How is the plan progressing? This is a matter of life and death for us."

Zou Hai had already switched sides to Zou Yuzhen, and they had not been idle during this time, always looking for ways to save themselves: "Third Master, don’t worry, it’s almost ready. At the latest, the day after tomorrow, we can make our move."

"The day after tomorrow? No, too late... We have to act tomorrow night, otherwise once the people from the Capital arrive, none of us can escape." Zou Yuzhen knew the river bandit village had been eradicated and that the scandal enraged people from both governments. He was extremely fearful, knowing that there was no turning back for County Magistrate Zou, that he was doomed, and woke up in terror every night, afraid that a Military Officer clad in armor would storm into the mansion and drag them to the Execution Ground to be beheaded.

Zou Hai was also frightened and after thinking for a moment said, "Alright, I’ll handle it now."

Zou Hai left in a hurry with two Protectors he trusted.

The next night, as the people in the county were sound asleep, Zou Mansion was ablaze, the fire was large and spreading quickly, and many courtyards caught fire.

When the Government Officials rushed into Zou Mansion to put out the fire, they found that the courtyard where Zou Yuzhen, Zou Yuwan, Mrs. Zou, and their family lived was engulfed and impossible to enter.