I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality
Chapter 187 - 114 Li Er, Unfixed Water

Chapter 187: Chapter 114 Li Er, Unfixed Water

In the Shabby Alley at the East Gate, many families live together; there are no wealthy households, and even those with their own courtyards share their space with several families.

In such a place, if anyone has a child at night, everyone in the courtyard can hear it; the inconvenience is real, and the poverty is even more so.

It was in such a place that the Water Worker spent his childhood.

Back then, he had a nickname, Li Er.

It was simply because he was surnamed Li, and he was the second child in the family, hence the nickname.

Li Er was diligent; every day before dawn, he would get up to clean the chamber pots in the courtyard. He could exchange these pots for quite a few copper plates from the Night Soil Man, and by the time it was fully light, twelve-year-old Li Er would have to take care of his baby sister, changing her diapers.

Li Er’s birth mother, with a big belly, had two children by her side, and two more behind her, fighting over a broken rattle.

One of the beads on the rattle had already fallen off, and the drum face had turned yellow, but it didn’t stop the two kids from fighting over it.

Inside the house with its worn and drafty door, there was hardly any household property—just some tattered quilts and worn-out clothes, and various clay pots and bowls scattered around.

The placement of these items was quite particular and purposeful: they were used to catch the rainwater that leaked from the roof.

One couldn’t understand why such a poor family would have so many children. Little Li Er certainly didn’t consider it; he just happily helped his parents take care of the kids. After all, as long as his parents had children, he would help raise them.

They were all siblings, meant to care for each other, and Li Er never thought anything was wrong with that.

Until one day, Li Er encountered Butcher Zhang, who had come to propose marriage.

Butcher Zhang, burly and bearded, was about thirty years old and wanted to take Li Er’s elder sister as his concubine.

"Zhaodi is already thirteen, at the age to get married. Though I have a wife, she is not capable; she has only given birth to a daughter and nothing more."

"I’ve heard Zhaodi is a good girl. Indeed, not long after she was born, her mother gave birth to a big, healthy boy."

"I hear his name is Li Er. It must be this kid here, so bright and clever..."

Butcher Zhang tried to pat Li Er’s head but was dodged.

This butcher did not seem like a good person!

Sure enough, the next moment, Li Er heard Butcher Zhang say, "I’ve come not for anything else, but to take Zhaodi as a second wife, to continue the Zhang family line."

Li Er’s mother, with her big belly, munched on the sunflower seeds Butcher Zhang had brought, her face full of slyness.

"My Zhaodi is only thirteen, while you’re over thirty, and you want her to be a concubine. Not only do I disagree, but my husband also won’t agree."

"Madam, don’t be so quick to refuse. I see there’s nothing much in your home. If Zhaodi agrees to marry me, I am willing to provide furniture, bedding, and other items for the house. I’ll also arrange for the roof to be repaired, and during festivals, I’ll bring you some gifts..."

Seeing his mother’s changing expression, Li Er didn’t know what came over him. Instinctively, he felt he couldn’t let Butcher Zhang continue, so he immediately grabbed a broom to drive him away.

"Li Er, you rascal, what do you think you’re doing? Put down that broom!"

Li’s father, who had been silent, finally spoke to stop him.

However, it wasn’t directed at Butcher Zhang, but at his own child.

The broom in Li Er’s hand was snatched away, and his father used the handle to beat him, driving him out and closing the door with a bang.

Li Er clutched his buttocks; the physical pain couldn’t compare to the agony in his heart.

His sister Zhaodi ended up marrying Butcher Zhang. At night, his parents counted the two strings of money over and over, as if in their eyes, those coins were their daughter.

Li Er would never forget how Zhaodi cried and begged for his help before she left for her new home.

Days passed, and the Shabby Alley at the East Gate seemed to return to normal. Li Er continued to carelessly look after four or five children, until the day when his mother delivered her seventh child, and suddenly bad news came from Butcher Zhang’s home.

Zhaodi, who was nine months pregnant, died from a miscarriage, and neither mother nor child survived.

Li Er’s parents were unmoved, but Li Er couldn’t bear it any longer. He took a knife and ran to Butcher Zhang’s stall at the Vegetable Market and furiously attacked the man who looked like a fat pig.

Butcher Zhang, thick-skinned, wasn’t killed but was greatly scared.

The Prefect of the Jin Sect learned of the incident and personally investigated, asking Li Er why he had attacked.

Li Er spoke of Zhaodi, and the Prefect asked Butcher Zhang about the cause of her death.

Butcher Zhang falsely claimed that it was because she was young and weak, leading to her premature death.

At that time, the Prefect of the Jin Sect was an old friend of Guo Dongyang. Sensing something amiss, he called the midwife to testify.

The midwife, stuttering, couldn’t give a clear answer. The Prefect, suspecting the truth, immediately ordered the government officials to use the torture rack, and she then confessed it was Butcher Zhang’s primary wife who often mistreated Zhaodi. The neighbors could also testify to this.

Upon hearing this, the Prefect summoned Butcher Zhang’s wife, falsely claiming her husband had confessed and accused her of being a jealous woman who murdered Zhaodi.

Upon hearing this, Butcher Zhang’s wife was enraged.

"My dear lord, how can you say such things? It was clearly this heartless man who forced himself on that girl. It was fate that marked her end. If she hadn’t been so fair and looked like a temptress, none of this would have happened..."