Chapter 227 Not only was he not a murderer, but he was also a hero who had performed meritorious service.

Fang nodded. "Yes."

Ning Jinli's heart began to race, and she bombarded her with questions, "He's fifteen years old now, right? Is this place called Ting County? Also, the Li family ancestors were high-ranking officials in Anguo, but they were framed and had to flee here, eventually becoming commoners, right?"

Fang was somewhat surprised, "Fairy Sister, you even know about his family's ancestral history? That's a family secret; they've only told me about it."

Ning Jinli couldn't contain her excitement.

It matches up!

Everything matches perfectly!

Unexpectedly, this place turned out to be Zeguo County, and Lihe was naturally...

At that moment, Xiao Qidi returned from outside.

This morning, just as dawn broke, he went into the city to inquire about the situation and told Ning Jinli that he had a way to rescue the kid who stole the roast chicken.

And it's very simple.

According to his inquiries, the local magistrate was a corrupt official who loved money.

As long as you give him money, he can solve any problem.

As the saying goes, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too." The county officials were petty thieves, but he was a big thief.

Since that's the case, let's just send him the money directly. That way, we can easily get the chicken-stealing boy out without causing a big commotion.

After saying this, Xiao Qidi asked mysteriously, "Jinli, I also found out the name of this place. Can you guess what it's called?"

Ning Jinli smiled and said, "It's called Ting County."

Xiao Qidi said, "Oh, the sick kid woke up. He told you, right? Since this place is Zeguo Ting County, I remember the historical documents you showed me recorded that Li He was born here. The Great Xuan Dynasty founded the unified Chinese dynasty, but it was destroyed by the tyranny of the Second Emperor. The founding emperor of the subsequent dynasty was Li He from Ting County. He is only three years younger than me, so he should be around fifteen years old now. Therefore, he must still be in Ting County!"

Ning Jinli probed, "You wouldn't be thinking of taking the initiative and eliminating him to prevent the world from falling into his hands in the future, would you?"

Xiao Qidi shook his head. "If my world had not changed because of your appearance, and if I knew this after I died, I wouldn't mind that the world had become his. He was a good emperor, with great talent and ambition, and he loved his people like his own children. Isn't he much better than that little beast, Xuan Ershi?"

Ning Jinli asked with a smile, "So... what do you want to do?"

Xiao Qidi said earnestly, "Find him and nurture him properly."

"So you're already planning to find a successor?" Ning Jinli's smile deepened.

Xiao Qidi smiled and said, "If he turns out to be a suitable leader, what's wrong with letting him take over? Jinli, after we rescue that kid who stole the roast chicken, let's look for Li He properly."

"Hahahaha!" Ning Jinli couldn't help but burst out laughing. "We've found it!"

"What?" Xiao Qidi was full of surprise, then suddenly realized something and guessed incredulously, "Could it be... that kid who stole the roast chicken?"

Having confirmed his location, and given the boy's age and unique personality, coupled with Ning Jinli's recent statement, it's hard for Xiao Qidi not to consider this possibility.

Ning Jinli's eyes gleamed. "That's right! It's him. Also, the one lying in the temple is named Fang Hui!"

Xiao Qidi's eyes widened instantly. "Fang Hui? Li He's capable lieutenant?!"

Yes!

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Xiao Qidi couldn't help but burst into laughter, and hugged Ning Jinli and kissed her several times.

The two originally went to the marshland only to find moth-wing grass, but they never expected to get such a great deal and run into Li He and Fang Hui when they were young.

Afterwards, Xiao Qidi went back through the time portal in the dilapidated temple and retrieved five gold ingots and some loose silver.

The five gold ingots together totaled a full one hundred taels of gold.

Ning Jinli stayed in the dilapidated temple to take care of Fang Hui, while Xiao Qidi, carrying a hundred taels of gold, headed straight for the city.

The county town was small, and Xiao Qidi found the county government office located in the town of Ting County in no time.

Then, he casually bribed the guards on duty with some loose silver, and soon he met the county magistrate who had just woken up and was eating breakfast.

The magistrate of Ting County was quite old, but he still drank and ate early in the morning.

When Xiao Qidi came to him, he was already slightly drunk, with several large plates of meat and vegetables on the table, looking very content.

"Who are you?" the magistrate asked casually. "What business do you have with me?"

Xiao Qidi cut to the chase, "I've come to redeem people."

The magistrate immediately became interested, but still pretended to be indifferent, saying, "What do you take this place for? You think you can just redeem someone as you please?"

Xiao Qidi took out a gold ingot and placed it on the table.

This is twenty taels of gold.

The magistrate's eyelids twitched involuntarily. He put down his wine cup and slowly asked, "Whom do you wish to redeem?"

Xiao Qidi said, "The fifteen-year-old boy named Li He who was arrested by the officials last night should be in the county jail right now."

The magistrate picked up a piece of meat, ate it, and asked, "Is that true? What crime did he commit?"

"Sir, you don't know?"

"Hmph, I'm too busy with official duties to know about such trivial matters."

Seeing his attitude, Xiao Qidi casually took out another gold ingot.

There are now forty taels of gold on the magistrate's table.

The magistrate's expression became somewhat uneasy. He wiped his mouth, picked up the gold ingot with both hands, and examined it carefully. "Oh... I remember now, that brat surnamed Li killed the One-Eyed Dragon couple. He's a murderer..."

Xiao Qidi then took out a third gold ingot, saying, "Li He is only fifteen years old. Please, sir, be lenient."

Now that the amount has been increased to sixty taels, the county magistrate is getting restless. "Since ancient times, murder has been punished with a life. Sixty taels of gold... how can this possibly compensate for it?"

Xiao Qidi remained silent and released the fourth piece of gold.

The magistrate's eyes widened in astonishment.

Eighty taels of gold!

Ting County can be described as one of the poorest and most remote places in the entire Zeguo region. It would have taken him more than ten years of embezzlement to amass such a large sum of money.

That was enough to tempt him.

“This…oh dear…this…” The magistrate held the four gold ingots in his hand and kept stroking them, his old face full of struggle. “I think that Li He was too young and committed the crime on impulse. It would be a pity to execute him, but alas…I’m afraid the people will not let the murderer go.”

Xiao Qidi took out the last gold ingot.

A full one hundred taels of gold.

The magistrate was now in an even more difficult position. Touching the gold, he complained, "You, you've put me in a really tough spot!"

Xiao Qidi smiled faintly, "Sir, you are mistaken. Li He is not only not a murderer, but he should be a hero who has made meritorious contributions. You should not punish him, but instead reward him."

"Huh?" The magistrate's eyes widened, and he slammed the gold ingot on the table with a loud bang. "What nonsense are you spouting, you brat!"

"Does the master not want me to redeem him?" Xiao Qidi picked up another gold ingot and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Huh? What do you mean?" the magistrate asked in surprise. "Why did you take it back?"

"The lord said I was talking nonsense, which clearly means he doesn't want to hear me continue. How can I waste the lord's time?" Xiao Qidi said as he continued to collect the gold.

The magistrate was immediately filled with anxiety and frustration.

Seeing the hundred taels of gold he had just touched being taken away bit by bit, it felt like money was being taken out of his treasury!

Who could stand this?!

"Stop!" The magistrate, unable to bear it any longer, stood up abruptly and grabbed Xiao Qidi's arm. "Why don't you try again! Did I say I wouldn't listen to you continue?! If what you say makes sense, I will still take it seriously!"

By this point, he was completely under Xiao Qidi's control, and Xiao was afraid that the cooked duck would fly away.

Xiao Qidi then said unhurriedly, "Sir, you should know what kind of people the One-Eyed Dragon and his wife are, right?"

The magistrate blurted out, "Of course I know them. That couple is a notorious scoundrel in the area. The locals avoid them and dare not provoke them easily. But... their roast chicken is really delicious, tsk tsk..."

"Have these two couples done anything immoral or heinous?" Xiao Qidi asked.

The magistrate looked somewhat embarrassed and stammered, "Oh dear, is there even a need to ask?"

"Isn't that easy to handle?" Xiao Qidi's lips curled up. "Since he is a villain feared by the people and has done heinous things, you might as well announce to the public that it was the One-Eyed Dragon couple who committed the violence first, and Li He was forced to resist, which led to the couple being punished. Therefore, Li He should be a hero who punishes evil and eliminates scourges, solving a problem for the people and the government."

"Huh? Your idea..." The magistrate frowned and fell into deep thought.

Xiao Qidi returned the hundred-tael gold ingot to the magistrate and said with a smile, "Consider this money as compensation for your hard work over the years, when you suffered greatly from the tyrants and worried about the people so much."

The magistrate immediately beamed, clutched the gold tightly, and praised, "I've discovered that you're quite the smooth talker, lad."

"My lord, in order to gain the people's trust more, I suggest that we give Li He a substantial reward." Xiao Qidi took the opportunity to make a further request.

"A commendation?" The magistrate glanced down at the gold in his hand, his face showing wariness. "You're not thinking of taking some of this as a reward for him, are you?"

Xiao Qidi laughed and said, "These are all for your hard work, sir. How can we give them to him? You only need to announce a reward of one hundred taels of silver for him. As for the one hundred taels, of course you don't need to pay for it yourself. In this way, it will show that you are fair in rewarding and punishing, and you won't lose out."

"Hahaha, you rascal!" The magistrate breathed a sigh of relief, his face crinkling with laughter. "Good, good, that's settled then!"

Immediately afterwards, the county magistrate personally wrote a notice and sent Xiao Qidi to the prison to retrieve the person.

——

Inside the county jail.

Li He lay on the cold, damp floor tiles, casually plucked a blade of grass from the corner of the wall and put it in his mouth, quietly watching the sunlight streaming in through the transom window.

A delicious aroma of food wafted over.

Li He twitched her nostrils, took a deep sniff, and her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Sigh, if I had known I was about to lose my head, I should have eaten at least one piece of roast chicken yesterday..." Li He rubbed his empty stomach and turned his head to look in the direction from which the aroma was coming.

It was three jailers eating breakfast.

A few bowls of coarse grains, a large plate of cooked and diced meat, and some pickled vegetables.

This kind of food is much better than what ordinary people eat at home.

Li He got up from the ground, hugged the wooden door frame of the prison, and tried to stick half of his head out. "Brothers, can you give me something to eat? I'm so hungry."

One of the prison guards joked, "You little rascal, you still have an appetite even when you're about to die?"

Li He, with drool in his mouth, grinned and said, "Death won't stop me from being hungry, big brother. Just give me a bite to eat, and I'll bless you when I become a ghost."

"Hahahaha!" The jailers burst into laughter.

One of the prison guards said, "I really admire this kid. He fell fast asleep as soon as he was locked up last night. It's the first time I've ever seen a death row inmate so calm. In the past, every single one of them would be crying and screaming."

Upon hearing the words "father" and "mother," Li He felt a sudden tightness in her chest. She pulled her head back, which was hurting from being stuck in the door frame, and silently squatted down.

"Hey? Why aren't you saying anything, kid?" The jailer grabbed a piece of meat and waved it at him from a distance. "Don't want to eat it?"

Li He sighed, looking up, "I suddenly have no appetite."

The jailer said, "You will be executed in three days. Are you sure you don't want us to send someone to inform your family? If no one sees you off and gives you some money for your last meal, you won't be able to die a full ghost."

Li He muttered, "I've never been ambitious, which has caused my parents a lot of worry. I guess... they don't care whether I live or die, or maybe it would be easier for them if I died."

"So, did you really kill the one-eyed man and his wife?" The jailer's tone was full of suspicion.

Li He immediately perked up, "What, you don't believe me?"

"Haha," the jailer laughed, "Don't even mention One-Eyed Dragon, his wife, who weighs over 300 pounds, is no match for most grown men. I reckon it would take at least two or three men to beat her. You're just a kid in your teens, someone could sit on you and kill you. I find it hard to believe you could kill that couple."

Li He raised his head, a smug look on his face. "Don't underestimate me. I really did kill those two! Otherwise, would I have been arrested and beheaded?"

The jailers, intrigued, asked him to recount the events.

Li He chuckled inwardly, leaning against the cell door and sitting cross-legged. "Give me a piece of meat, and I'll talk."

Several jailers immediately moved a table next to the cell door, intending to eat while listening to him, and then picked out a smaller piece of meat from the large plate and handed it to Li He.

Li He put the meat in his mouth, savored it carefully, and said slowly:

"The one-eyed man and his wife are burly, fierce-looking, and strong, but I'm more agile than them. Yesterday, I went to their shop to steal roast chicken, but the one-eyed man blocked me at the door. He punched me in the head, and I thought, 'That's it, my head is going to be smashed flat!'"

"But at the last second, relying on my natural reflexes, I suddenly ducked and dodged! Then I rolled on the spot and kicked him hard behind the knee! The one-eyed man fell to his knees, his buttocks in the air, and his chin slammed into the ground with a thud! And then..."

Li He spoke with great enthusiasm and vivid detail, piquing the curiosity of the jailers, who all asked him what happened next.

He grinned. "Then... give me a piece of meat. I haven't eaten anything all day yesterday, and I'm almost out of energy."

"Here you go!" The jailer shoved a fist-sized piece of meat and bone into his hand. "Speak quickly!"

Li He took a big bite of meat, her cheeks bulging. "When the one-eyed dragon fell like that, he saw stars and felt dizzy. I sprang to my feet, grabbed the broomstick next to me, aimed it at his sticking-out butt, and stabbed it down with all my might!"

"Hiss!" The jailers couldn't help but squeeze their thighs together and gasp.

Li He chuckled inwardly while keeping everyone in suspense, "And guess what happened?"