At this moment, Tuqiu Jiu deeply realized how naive he had been to think that overturning the case would solve everything. He knew that retracting a confession would lead to punishment, but he never expected the sentence to be so severe.
Guixin originally referred to those who gathered firewood for ancestral temples. Later, as it evolved into a punishment, it involved performing miscellaneous duties for officials, engaging in handicraft production, and undertaking various other heavy physical labor.
The sentence for Guixin lasted three years.
In Qin law, this punishment was not considered particularly severe, but that was for ordinary people. For those with weaker constitutions, these three years would likely be extremely difficult.
Upon hearing the verdict, Tuqiu Jiu couldn’t help but seriously contemplate the crucial question of how long he might survive during his sentence.
While others who traveled through time achieved wealth, prosperity, and official promotions, he found himself counting the days he had left to live. The feeling was somewhat bittersweet.
However, within the Tuqiu family, he was the only one worried. His cheap father and stepmother, along with his two younger brothers, were already weeping with joy. Oh, his cheap father and stepmother had also had their sentences changed.
His cheap father received the same sentence as them: Cheng-dan, while his stepmother was sentenced to Chun, a punishment specifically for women, which involved pounding grain.
Although the Qin interrogation record stated that the sentences were to take effect immediately, there were still some procedures to complete. For instance, their household registrations needed to be altered, and they had to be transferred to the relevant departments. Only after completing their sentences could their household registrations be restored. They also had to choose the location for their sentences. As a result, the Tuqiu family remained in prison, waiting for the procedures to be completed before being taken to their designated labor sites.
Since they were only staying there temporarily, they were placed in a specialized cell and did not need to be separated by gender for detention.
This was the first time Tuqiu Jiu had interacted with the couple. However, he felt extremely unfamiliar with them, and even with his memories as support, it was difficult to feel any familiarity.
Come to think of it, the original host wasn’t familiar with these two either. At home, he was treated worse than the Li-chen-qie, so how could he possibly become familiar with them?
His cheap father, Tuqiu Dun, sized him up, snorted through his nostrils, and said, “You do have some capability after all. At least you haven’t disgraced the Tuqiu family name.”
Tuqiu Jiu resisted the urge to roll his eyes. If you care so much about the Tuqiu family’s reputation, why didn’t you insist on your innocence after being convicted? What’s with the pretentious act now?
He sat to the side, head lowered, saying nothing. To Tuqiu Dun, this eldest son had always been gloomy and taciturn, making him unlikable.
Meanwhile, Tuqiu Zhi and Tuqiu Fei, seeing their parents present, finally found their pillars of support. They began complaining tearfully, taking turns recounting their grievances, even lifting their prison garments to show their scars.
Upon hearing that their two sons had been whipped multiple times because of Tuqiu Jiu, Tuqiu Dun and his wife were both heartbroken and furious.
The stepmother, holding her two sons, was filled with hatred for Tuqiu Jiu and wished she could kill him. However, she did not act on her own. Instead, she turned to Tuqiu Dun, weeping pitifully, “Husband, all these years, I have treated the eldest son with utmost care, if not as my own. Yet, who would have thought he could be so cruel to his younger brothers? If anything were to happen to the second and third sons, I… I wouldn’t want to live either.”
Beside them, Tuqiu Jiu wore an expression of indifference. When Tuqiu Zhi and Tuqiu Fei were sentenced to Dismemberment Execution, he didn’t see you rushing to die then.
Yet he could say nothing. A stepmother was still a mother. If this couple were not present, he might have schemed against those two little brats, but now he had to endure whatever came his way.
Tuqiu Dun had initially only frowned, but after hearing his wife’s tearful complaint, he angrily shouted, “You unfilial son! You won’t even spare your own blood brother. I never imagined that all these years of devoted upbringing would raise a man-eating wolf!”
Tuqiu Jiu felt his temples throbbing, but he could only grit his teeth and remain silent, nearly suffocating himself with the effort.
There was no other way. Defiance was also a form of disobedience. If he dared argue, Tuqiu Dun might immediately accuse him of disobedience, or even kill him right there in the cell—and the prison guard, Zhi Yuli, would not intervene.
Even convicts had to uphold filial piety. Although the Qin state governed by law rather than filial piety, filial duty was written into the legal code. If he defied his father, it would not only be unfilial but also illegal.
Tuqiu Dun cursed him a few more times. Seeing him remain silent, he took it as an admission of guilt. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He and his wife had suffered greatly these past days, and all that accumulated resentment pushed his rage to its peak. Unable to restrain himself, he stood up and kicked Tuqiu Jiu hard, striking him squarely on the shin.
Tuqiu Jiu immediately felt a sharp pain in his leg. He couldn’t help but cry out, curling up and clutching his leg as cold sweat broke out from the agony.
Though his constitution was weak, the fact that he was in such pain showed that Tuqiu Dun had held back none of his strength.
In that instant, Tuqiu Jiu trembled uncontrollably, his fear reaching its zenith.
The source of this fear was unclear—whether it was muscle memory or memories in his mind, perhaps both.
They told Tuqiu Jiu that once Tuqiu Dun started, it would not end with a simple kick. What followed would be a storm of beatings.
Moreover, the reasons Tuqiu Dun beat him were not always his fault. Sometimes, it was simply because Tuqiu Dun had been angered outside and, unwilling to vent on his wife or two beloved younger sons, naturally took it out on him instead.
Tuqiu Jiu suppressed the fear in his heart, released his leg, curled up, and covered his head with his hands.
This posture offered the best protection for his vital areas.
Since crossing over, Tuqiu Jiu had developed his first obsession—he must find a way to eliminate this couple.
Guixin might not take his life, but continuing to live with this couple truly threatened his survival.
From this perspective, Guixin might even protect him for three years. According to the law, during penal servitude, fathers and sons or brothers could not be kept together—reportedly to prevent collective escapes.
He had three years to slowly devise a plan. If he could avoid killing, that would be best.
The thought of wanting one’s enemies dead was perfectly normal, but acting on it was not so easy.
Tuqiu Jiu did not care about these two people’s lives, but he had never even killed a chicken since childhood. Taking a life right away required overcoming a psychological barrier.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, he felt another kick land between his ribs. In that moment, his breath was knocked out of him, his vision went dark, and he nearly fainted from the lack of air.
Instantly, that psychological barrier was effortlessly crossed—he and Tuqiu Dun must fight to the death!
Of course, for now, he could only continue to curl up and strive to survive this beating.
Just as Tuqiu Dun was about to kick him again, a loud shout suddenly rang out: “Stop!”
Tuqiu Dun’s body trembled instantly, thinking the prison officer had come to punish him, and reflexively lowered his foot.
However, he quickly realized that he was disciplining an unfilial son, which was not a crime!
He instinctively turned his head and saw that standing outside the door were not only the prison officer but also Wen Wuhai, who had previously been reviewing the case of the Principal Consort’s murder.
Tuqiu Dun’s heart sank with anxiety. He could no longer focus on beating Tuqiu Jiu and instead trembled as he bowed and said, “Greetings, Wen Wuhai.”
Wen Wuhai?
Tuqiu Jiu endured the pain and looked up, meeting Wen Wuhai’s slightly concerned eyes.
He took a deep breath, struggled to stand up, and bowed to Wen Wuhai, saying, “This guilty commoner greets Wen Wuhai.”
Wen Wuhai glanced at him and gave a slight nod before turning to Tuqiu Dun. After scrutinizing him for a moment, he said, “It’s been so long that I almost didn’t recognize you.”
Upon hearing this, Tuqiu Jiu ignored the pain in his body and pricked up his ears, eager to hear what followed: Did Wen Wuhai have a past connection with Tuqiu Dun? Could it be that the clothes he had sent earlier were because of this?
No, if it were out of consideration for Tuqiu Dun, why hadn’t he sent clothes to Tuqiu Zhi and Tuqiu Fei? Even though they had been death row prisoners before, after their case was overturned and they were moved to a different cell, he hadn’t shown any special care for them either.
Tuqiu Dun was clearly taken aback as well. After studying Wen Wuhai carefully for a moment, he hesitantly asked, “You look familiar, but I’m not sure what connection you have with my family?”
Wen Wuhai replied bluntly, “I am Tuqiu Yue.”
Tuqiu Dun’s face was filled with shock: “It’s… it’s you?”
Tuqiu Jiu was equally stunned: Wen Wuhai was actually surnamed Tuqiu? Could he be a member of their family? But how had he become an official of the Qin state? Moreover, shouldn’t the Qin judicial system have recusal rules? Why was Tuqiu Yue allowed to review their case?
The stepmother, who had been standing to the side all along, suddenly brightened up and looked at Tuqiu Yue, saying, “Sir, you are actually a member of the Tuqiu clan? Could you save our family?”
Tuqiu Yue didn’t even glance at her and continued looking at Tuqiu Dun, saying, “Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. I never expected we would meet again here.”
Tuqiu Dun seemed to have just recovered. After a long silence, he said, “You’ve been missing for all these years. The clan thought you had met with misfortune. My family has been in Xianyang for some time now. Have you come today to mock me?”
Huh? Mock? Could it be that these two had old grievances?
Tuqiu Jiu slowly inhaled to ease the pain in his body while feeling like a curious bystander, standing nearby and itching to ask for the full story.
The stepmother, who had just been excited about having an official relative, felt her heart sink halfway upon hearing her husband’s words. She might not have many other skills, but she was exceptionally good at sensing her husband’s emotions. From Tuqiu Dun’s attitude, she understood that the relationship between him and the other party was likely not good.
Sure enough, Tuqiu Yue said, “These are all old grievances from the past. I don’t have the time to remember so much. Besides, you’ve fallen to this state now, which can be considered heaven’s justice.”
Tuqiu Jiu turned to glance at his cheap father and found him looking furious yet helpless. He couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of satisfaction.
As for why it was only slight… mainly because it wasn’t him who had subdued Tuqiu Dun, and it had nothing to do with him.
As he was thinking this, Tuqiu Yue continued, “I did not come here to reminisce with you either. I have another matter to discuss. It has been just over a year since the fall of the Han state, so you may not yet know that the three-year Guixin sentence under Qin law is not easy to endure. I came to offer you another choice.”
Tuqiu Dun looked at Tuqiu Yue warily and asked, “What do you want in return?”
Tuqiu Yue pointed at Tuqiu Jiu and said, “If you give this child to me as an adopted son, I will pay to redeem your punishment.”
Tuqiu Jiu: Huh?
Author’s Note:
Tuqiu Jiu: Suddenly caught off guard by the drama turning to me. Confused bunny.jpg