CHAPTER 63

The county magistrate also realized that the old man and woman who came to complain had no feelings for their deceased second son and only wanted to extort money from this young man.

Despite his prejudice, the county magistrate still wanted to judge the case fairly. The son of Shen Lao Da is the grandson of Old Man Shen, and Shen Lin is also the grandson of Old Man Shen. There is nothing wrong with two grandsons respecting their grandparents with the same standard.

Su Wan also felt that the county magistrate’s method was fair. Privately, Su Wan didn’t want Shen Lin to take care of Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen, two shameless and biased people.

But Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen raised Shen Lin’s father, so even if they have no merits, they have worked hard. It would be a bit unreasonable to completely ignore these two people. It would be fair to apply the same standard to them as to Eldest Shen’s two sons.

However, according to Su Wan’s speculation, Eldest Shen’s two sons were not willing to pay anything for their grandparents. They also wanted to spend their grandparents’ money, let alone give them money.

Su Wan remained silent and listened quietly to the county magistrate’s questions to Eldest Shen’s two sons.

The county magistrate also saw that the two sons of Eldest Shen were brought over, so he asked, “The two below are Eldest Shen’s eldest and second sons.”

The two young men below answered in unison, “Your Excellency, we are.”

The county magistrate said, “You two are grandsons of old man Shen, so you should be filial. Today in this court, tell us how you will show your filial piety. How much money and food will you give to your grandparents every year? This will help us make a written agreement so that you two won’t forget to do it in the future.”

Old man Shen looked at his eldest grandson and second grandson with hope. Normally, these two grandsons would be very filial to him.

The eldest grandson said to himself that when he passed the imperial examination in the future, he would give his grandparents one hundred taels of silver every month so that they could buy whatever they wanted.

The second grandson said that when he passed the imperial examination in the future, he would buy a house for his grandparents that was several times bigger than the brick house of Shen Lin’s family so that they could live comfortably.

Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen were very pleased to hear this and used all their savings to support their two grandsons’ education.

Old man Shen firmly believes that his eldest grandson and second grandson are extremely filial, thousands of times better than Shen Lin. When the eldest grandson and second grandson tell him the amount of money and the house they will give him, Shen Lin will also be filial in the same way. Now the eldest grandson and second grandson are still studying and have no money to honor themselves, but Shen Lin is earning money continuously.

Old Man Shen rolled his eyes at Shen Lin and let this unfilial grandson see how respectful and filial his elder and second brothers were to their grandparents.

If the county magistrate had not forbade him to speak, Old Man Shen would have said this to Shen Lin.

Old Man Shen’s eldest grandson hesitated, “I am still studying and don’t have money to honor my grandparents.”

The second grandson also echoed, “I am also studying; where can I get the money to honor my grandparents?”

Old man Shen thought to himself, That’s right, the county magistrate’s question was vague. The two good grandsons are still studying, and they have no way to express their filial piety.

The county magistrate said slowly, “You two are of course studying now, but when you are twenty years old, you will also reach the age of youth. At that time, it will not make sense for your parents to support you. You will have to make a living on your own. You two tell your age.”

The eldest grandson broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, “I am a commoner. I am only 20 years old this year.”

The second grandson also stammered, “I am nineteen.”

The county magistrate said, “You two will soon reach the age of twenty, and by then you will have to show filial piety to your grandparents and parents. Tell me how you plan to show filial piety.”

The eldest grandson felt melancholy. According to what the county magistrate had just said, this required a written agreement. Once signed, the words he used to coax his grandparents would be different from what he usually said. What’s more, he always said that he would show filial piety to his grandparents after passing the imperial examination. The day of passing the imperial examination was far away, but the twenty-first birthday would be in this year. This meant that from this year on, he had to show filial piety to his grandparents.

This must be, this must be that my grandparents wanted me to show their filial piety, so they mentioned me when they were suing Shen Lin.

The eldest grandson hated Old Man Shen a little. He usually pretended to love him very much, but when it came to cheating him, he was really ruthless. This damn old man always told him that he should be filial to him in the future. He was afraid that he would break his promise, so he asked the county magistrate to make him sign a document. It was really hateful.

The second grandson didn’t think too much about it; he just felt a little confused. He wanted to ask his father and grandfather what was going on, but the court was silent and the atmosphere was too serious. He didn’t even dare to breathe, let alone ask. Well, just say whatever the eldest brother says. It’s always right to follow the eldest brother.

The eldest grandson felt that asking him to explain how he would show filial piety in the future and to write a written agreement showed that his grandfather was worried that he would be unfilial in the future. Seeing his grandfather like this, everyone would certainly suspect that he was unfilial in his daily life.

He was planning to pursue a career in politics, and being questioned for being unfilial was a big deal. Thinking of this, the eldest grandson became even more annoyed at the stupidity of Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen.

Seeing the two men in deep thought, the county magistrate asked again, “Tell me quickly, how will you two show filial respect after you turn 20, so that you can quickly sign a written agreement?”

The eldest grandson made up his mind, “My Lord, I am already twenty years old this year, but I have no income from studying. At the end of the year, I can only save a dozen or twenty cents. So, I will take out half of the money I save to honor my grandparents. I just hope that my grandparents will not think it is too little.”

The eldest grandson took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and said, “My Lord, this is all I can give to my grandparents in this year.”

When the second grandson saw his elder brother doing this, he quickly took out a handful of copper coins and said, “Sir, what I have saved throughout the year is not even as much as my elder brother. I only have 15 cents here. I am willing to give more than half to honor grandparents. After we leave the court, I will give grandparents 8 cents.”

Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen were knocked unconscious, but unfortunately the county magistrate did not allow them to speak; otherwise, they would be beaten with a stick, so they had to hold it in.

The villagers watching outside the court all laughed. Some were laughing while holding their stomachs, some were laughing while wiping their tears, and some were laughing while covering their mouths.

The eldest grandson didn’t understand.

The county magistrate said, “Then you two can only give these ten or eight cents to your grandparents as a filial gift from now on.”

The eldest grandson insisted, “I have studied very hard, and I really don’t know when I will be able to succeed, so it’s not good to make big promises too soon.”

The eldest grandson’s meaning was very clear. He could only give ten cents a year.

The second grandson followed the eldest grandson and said, “I am the same as my eldest brother.”

The county magistrate said, “You two are both studying, so you really don’t have much money to honor your grandparents. In this case, you two should write a letter to your grandparents, saying that every year, you two will give them ten and eight cents, respectively.”

After the county magistrate finished speaking, he asked his secretary to write two documents and gave them to the eldest and second grandsons to sign with red seals.

The two of them signed their names separately.

Old Woman Shen had collapsed to the ground. These two stupid grandsons, it would be fine if they only asked for a few dozen or a hundred taels. How could the two of us, the old people, really ask for so much money from them? If we asked for a few dozen or a hundred taels, wouldn’t we be able to get the money as a tribute from Shen Lin?

While feeling sorry for the money, Old Woman Shen suddenly felt that her eldest grandson and her second grandson did not seem to have any intention of honoring their two old grandparents. On weekdays, they did not say this. Could it be that when they were talking, they said whatever they wanted, but when it came down to it, they could only give these two old parents a few cents?

Old man Shen’s face turned the color of pig liver. Unfilial descendants, all the unfilial descendants in the same family. Ten cents is like giving money to beggars. When he spent money on his two grandsons, he was not vague at all. In the end, it was just throwing meat buns to a dog.

When the county magistrate saw the two men put their fingerprints on the paper, he looked in the direction of Shen Lin and said, “Shen Lin, your eldest and second cousins pay ten and eight cents, respectively, every year. How much do you plan to pay?”

Everyone turned their eyes to Shen Lin.

The county magistrate still didn’t let anyone speak, and everyone still didn’t dare to open their mouths. The five strokes of the board that the county magistrate had given Old Woman Shen just now were fine, but thirty strokes of the board were no joke. It would break bones, not to mention the suffering, but they would also have to spend money on medical treatment. They couldn’t speak; they couldn’t speak.

Shen Lin said, “The eldest cousin gave ten cents, and the second cousin gave ten cents. This is really not much.”

When Old Man Shen heard what Shen Lin said, he felt hopeful again. This Shen Lin was indeed an honest fool.

“Then I’ll pay fifteen cents.” Shen Lin finished the rest of the words.

Old man Shen immediately became so angry that he started coughing but still didn’t dare to speak.

The county magistrate ordered someone to bring Old Man Shen a cup of tea and then issued a verdict: “From now on, Shen Lin must give his grandparents fifteen cents of filial piety every year. If he fails to do so, he will be beaten with thirty sticks.”

Su Wan thought to herself, This county magistrate is really good; he has been using the thirty sticks beating to scare people.

The secretary wrote another document and asked Shen Lin to sign it. When Shen Lin was about to put his handprint on it, his eldest cousin’s voice came, “Shen Lin can earn a lot of money now; why did he only give fifteen cents as a filial gift?”

The county magistrate was unhappy: “You are the eldest brother, and you gave ten cents to him, but he is the younger brother, and he gave fifteen cents, which is better than you.”

Shen Lin decisively pressed his fingerprint on the document. He had completely lost hope for his grandparents and his uncle’s family.

If my grandparents really loved me, how could they have exploited and troubled me in this way? How could they have sued me in court for being unfilial? From now on, apart from the fifteen cents of contact every year, I will be a stranger to my grandparents and my uncle’s family.

Shen Lin signed his name, took out fifteen cents, handed them to Old Man Shen, and said, “Grandfather, this is the money I will give to you two as a gift this year.”

The county magistrate saw this and quickly said, “Now, you can all speak. You won’t be beaten.”