Someone else remarked, "Yes, sending Liu Dazhuang to jail will rid the villagers of a scourge, otherwise my grandchildren would be too frightened to even leave the house."
Naturally, getting rid of the pest Liu Dazhuang would be more satisfying than sending Gu the Second and his wife to jail.
Listening to these heartening voices, Liu Dazhuang’s head exploded with noise.
If he were to go back, his life would be ruined. He didn’t want to return to jail and fight rats for stale bread. Life outside was so much better. How could he resign himself to spend his life in prison?
No, that was unacceptable!
No matter whether what that person said last night was true or false, he had to speak up. Flies don’t sting a seamless egg; if Gu the Third really hadn’t done it, there would be no reason to arbitrarily pin it on him. There must be something fishy, something tied to him, for it to be said like that.
Besides, if it weren’t for that meddlesome Gu the Third, he wouldn’t be in this mess—without the agreement, he was without defense. And later, it was possible that Gu the Second could turn on him in court.
Watching Gu the Third help Gu Feng across the courtyard to the house across, Liu Dazhuang couldn’t sit still any longer. Suddenly, he broke free from the ropes binding him and rushed into the courtyard, shouting, "Elder Gu, I have something to say, I know where Gu Youyou is right now."
The usually quiet Liu Dazhuang’s sudden outburst had caught everyone off guard, and they were momentarily stunned.
Gu the Third inwardly cursed their bad luck. With Liu Dazhuang causing unexpected problems, he quickly assisted Gu Feng toward the house, saying, "Father, don’t bother with that human trafficker. Leave him to me, you should go and rest."
But Liu Dazhuang would not have it, hastily saying, "Elder Gu, if you don’t listen to me now, you may truly lose Youyou forever."
On hearing this, Gu Feng couldn’t possibly return to his room to sleep. Breaking free from Gu the Third, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Gu the Third’s face changed color with anger, retorting, "Liu Dazhuang, what nonsense are you spouting? Our Youyou is perfectly fine. She went on a medical visit, that’s all. Didn’t you hear Shunzi say so?"
The whole house had come out to see. The rain had stopped, but the courtyard was still very wet.
They stood under the eaves looking on, not stepping into the courtyard. With so many of them around, they were not afraid that Liu Dazhuang would run away—as the saying goes, "You can run away from the monk, but not from the temple."
Liu Dazhuang looked at Gu the Third and sneered, pulling out a purse and then two gleaming pieces of silver.
Gu the Third’s eyes narrowed sharply.
It seemed Liu Dazhuang was desperate, willing to come up with two hundred silver pieces.
Heh, he was curious to see who would believe that this silver was willingly given.
Everyone’s eyes were dazzled by the two hundred silver pieces, and the head of the village, seeing the silver, was furious, banging his staff.
"Liu Dazhuang, don’t think you can bribe us with silver. You’re a scourge that must be eliminated, and no amount of silver will save you," he declared.
Although everyone coveted the silver, they just coveted it. The whole village, including the neighboring village, knew about Liu Dazhuang’s arrest. Even if they accepted his two hundred silver pieces, there wouldn’t be much to go around.
Liu Dazhuang laughed and said, "You misunderstand me. I, Liu Dazhuang, am not using this silver to buy my life, and the silver isn’t mine. It was given to me by Gu the Third. He used these two hundred silver pieces to take away Gu Youyou and the agreement."
As soon as these words were said, the crowd was in an uproar.
"What? The two hundred silver pieces were given by Gu the Third to abduct Gu Youyou?" the crowd murmured among themselves.
"How could that be? How would Gu the Third have such a large sum of money, and all in one go?"