Soon, the big ship arrived at a dilapidated pier. The pier was too shallow. Wu Chengsi was worried that the ship would run aground, so he had someone anchor down some distance from the pier.
Several small boats sent out to search for Helan Minzhi had already returned. Wu Chengsi ordered the sergeants to transport the masons ashore in small boats.
After everyone returned to Hangzhou, their expressions regained some vitality. After thanking Wu Chengsi, they each returned home.
Wu Chengsi said: "Li Si, let me go to your village with you to have a look."
"General, you saved the lives of the common people. The common people wanted to repay your kindness, but they were afraid that the village was simple and could not entertain a noble person like you, so they did not dare to bring it up." Li Si lowered his head and said.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Then we'll stop interrupting you. Please don't reveal my identity later."
Li Si agreed.
Han Cheng said: "Your Highness, General Li Lang must have entered the city. Let your subordinates go into the city to contact him."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "Okay, be careful and don't let He Lan Minzhi find out."
Han Cheng responded and turned around.
Wu Chengsi ordered all the sergeants to stay on the boat, and took only Zhuge and his son, plus Li Si, towards the village of Li Si's family.
After walking seven or eight miles to the southwest, we turned onto a yellow mud path. After walking for a short time, we saw a short stone bridge about ten feet long in front of us.
There is a large round stone next to the stone bridge, with three large maroon characters "Lijia Village" engraved on it.
After crossing the stone bridge and walking uphill for a while, a meadow appeared in front of me. Crossing the meadow, a large pond appeared in view.
There were two old women washing clothes and talking by the pond.
After seeing the two women, Li Si's eyes instantly became wet and he shouted: "Eight trials, Ju trials!"
The two women looked up after hearing the sound, then hurriedly put their clothes into the basin, turned around and ran away while holding the basin.
One of them dropped a piece of clothing on the ground and didn't care to pick it up.
Zhuge Nan wondered: "What's wrong with them? They make us look like bandits."
"Just follow me and ask," Wu Chengsi said.
There are two roads into the village, one is the avenue that goes around the pond, and the other is an uphill path to the north of the pond.
Li Si led Wu Chengsi and others along the uphill path and came to a farmyard. The doors of several rooms were tightly closed.
Li Si shouted: "Eighth Uncle, Eighth Shen, Brother Fengzi!"
After quite a while, a probing voice came from the north room.
"Is it Xiaosi?"
"It's me! Uncle Eight, open the door quickly!"
Bang!
The north door was pushed open, and an old man and an old woman came out timidly. When they looked at Wu Chengsi and the others, their eyes were filled with fear.
Until he saw Li Si, the old man stamped his feet and shouted: "Xiao Si, it's really you, where have you been this year!"
Li Si's eyes filled with tears and he said: "Uncle Eighth, what I have been living this year is really not a human life. How are my parents?"
"No matter what, it's all dead, dead!"
The old man sat on a millstone, his head lowered, and his hands kept tapping his knees.
Wu Chengsi's heart sank, and his bad premonition came true.
Li Si exclaimed and cried: "How could this happen? You lied to me. My parents have always been in good health. It's impossible. I don't believe it!"
Aunt Eighth lamented: "What your Uncle Eighth said is true."
After saying that, he covered his face with his hands, turned around and ran into the house.
"Uncle Eighth, please tell me quickly, what is going on?" Li Si knelt in front of the old man, his face full of tears.
Uncle Eight gritted his teeth and said, "You're not a kid, but you suddenly disappeared. Your parents can't find you anywhere, so they have to go to the government to report the case. We can't even try to persuade you."
Zhuge Nan interjected: "It's normal to go to the government to report the case if you lose someone. Why do you want to persuade him?"
"Who are you?" Uncle Eight glared.
Li Si quickly wiped his tears and said: "Uncle Eighth, they are... good people. They saved me."
Uncle Eight nodded and said: "Since you have rescued Xiaosi, you are guests of our village. A year ago, the old man would treat you to a good meal, but now... alas..."
"Uncle Eighth, please stop sighing. Please tell me quickly, what happened to my parents after they went to the Yamen?" Li Si asked anxiously.
Uncle Eight raised his head and sighed, saying: "What else can we do? The gate of the yamen can only be entered but not exited. They were all locked up until they died, and then their bodies were thrown out."
After hearing this, everyone was moved.
Wu Chengsi's heart tightened, and he said coldly: "Do you have any explanation for why the Yamen locked them up?"
Uncle Eight said bitterly: "They said that Xiaosi went to sea and became a pirate. His parents were both guilty, so they were locked up!"
Zhuge Nan shouted: "This is unreasonable. Even if my son really becomes a pirate, what does it have to do with his parents!"
"No, no, I didn't become a pirate, I didn't!" Li Si hissed.
"I know you haven't, it's just an analogy." Zhugenan quickly explained.
"Hmph! In a place like the Yamen, they do whatever they say, so there's no reason to argue!" Uncle Eighth grinned.
Wu Chengsi quickly regained his composure.
This matter is by no means just a matter of unfair law enforcement, especially since Li Si is involved with the Fire Phoenix Society.
When Li Si and his group of craftsmen were deceived into going to Changye Island, it was probably someone from the Hangzhou government who was behind it.
Behind Huofeng Society are the kings of Yue and Pei. This is easy to do.
From the violent reaction of the Hangzhou government to Li Si's family, we can see how much they attach importance to Li Si.
In other words, what John Doe had to do was very important, and they couldn't allow any mistakes.
However, Li Si and other stonemasons only did one thing on Changye Island. They worked together to carve a stone monument!
In other words, that stone monument is very important.
What did the King of Pei and the King of Yue want to do with that stone tablet?
"Uncle Eighth, where are my parents buried? I want to see them."
Uncle Eighth said sadly: "They are buried in the back mountain. It was me and you, Ba Shen, who buried them. Your brother Fengzi was buried next to your parents."
Li Si said in shock: "Brother Fengzi...is also dead?"
The old man lowered his head, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.
"In order to save your parents, your Fengzi brother united hundreds of people from the village and the village next door to rob the county government prison!"
Li Si opened his mouth in shock and was speechless for a long time.
Wu Chengsi said in a deep voice: "So, the families of the craftsmen in the next village were also arrested by the government, right?"
Uncle Eight gritted his teeth and said, "Isn't it? How powerful the yamen are. If you go to one, he will catch one, if you go to two, he will catch a pair."
"Later we found out that there were many missing people like Xiaosi, but the government said that these people had all become pirates!"
Zhuge Nan was so angry that his lungs were about to explode, and he said loudly: "Sir, let's go to the Yamen immediately and arrest the dog magistrate and question him thoroughly!"
Zhuge Sanyuan shouted: "Calm down, this matter is not that simple."
Zhugenan scratched his ears and cheeks, his cheeks turning red with anger.
Wu Chengsi said: "Then they went to rob the county prison and succeeded?"
Uncle Eight sighed: "If it succeeds, then Xiaosi's parents will not die. The county government's arrests came very quickly. Fengzi and the others only had time to save a few people before they escaped."
"Later, what happened next?" Li Si asked.
Uncle Eighth sighed in a low voice: "The people in the Yamen naturally refused to give up. They sent out Yamen servants to arrest Fengzi and the others."
"But Fengzi and the others were well prepared. As soon as they rescued the people, they hid in the mountains. Those stinky government officials couldn't do anything to them."
"How did Brother Fengzi die?"
Uncle Eight's face darkened and he said: "Those goddamn government officials couldn't catch Fengzi and the others, but they actually came to the village and sent out the army to take away all our villagers."
"The prison couldn't hold us, so we set up a tent outside the city and trapped us inside."
Wu Chengsi clenched his fingers and turned pale. The lawlessness of the Hangzhou government kept breaking through his imagination.
"After they rounded us up, they made us all stand together and expose ourselves to the sun. Some elderly villagers died of the sun on the spot." Uncle Eight said bitterly.
Zhuge Nan said angrily: "What a bunch of bastards, this Hangzhou County Magistrate must be a lunatic!"
Wu Chengsi took a deep breath and asked: "They asked you to stand under the sun. Did you do anything or ask anything?"
Uncle Eight was stunned for a moment and said: "They seemed to have sent someone to walk in front of each of us, staring at us all the time, and holding a portrait in their hands."