"Village chief, we've caught a thief!"

Upon hearing his voice, the villagers saw Li Shoucai running over from a distance.

The villagers, who had gathered together, were as excited as boiling water when they heard that the person had been caught so quickly.

For a time, everyone was speculating about which of the ten people was the thief.

Li Shoucai ran up to the village chief, panting heavily.

"Li Yuanxu!"

When Lu Qiqi said this, everyone surrounding Li Yuanxu was startled.

Even Li Yuantian, who had just separated from Li Yuanxu, stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his gaze lingering between Lu Qiqi and Li Yuanxu's faces.

“Miss Lu, you must be mistaken. My second brother is a scholar who rarely leaves the house. How could he do such a thing!”

Although Li Yuantian had separated from his younger brother, they had grown up together since childhood, and Li Yuantian knew his brother's character well.

When Lu Qiqi immediately accused Li Yuanxu, Li Yuantian's first reaction was to defend his younger brother.

Lu Qiqi continued, "The reason you passed by my window in the middle of the night the other day was to use the leftover wire from when the factory was being built to pick the lock and steal the incense powder and charcoal."

"If I'm not mistaken, the reason you risked going into the factory again last night was because you discovered that the charcoal cakes made without hardwood charcoal couldn't burn well, and you were afraid you wouldn't get a good price for them, so you took the risk again."

Li Yuanxu kept his head down and remained silent, while Lu Qiqi's words were reasonable and well-founded.

For a moment, Li Yuantian didn't know who to believe!

But he still couldn't believe that his younger brother, who was preparing for the imperial examination, would make such a foolish mistake.

This not only ruins your own future, but also brings shame to your brothers who have separated from you!

Li Yuantian, furious at his lack of ambition, said, "Say something!"

Li Yuanxu remained silent, which confirmed that he knew he was in the wrong and dared not argue.

After Lu Qiqi finished explaining her guess, she said, "You thought that if a little bit of incense powder was missing, no one would notice, and you would be able to do it again without any restraint. But you didn't expect that my third aunt would weigh all the incense powder again before locking the door every day."

"That very night, Wangcai kicked you out of the factory."

"You should be thankful that Wangcai doesn't bite easily, which is why you escaped. Otherwise, you would be found dead in the factory today!"

The word "death" turned Li Yuanxu's face deathly pale. He closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate, saying, "You're right! It was me! I lied about studying all night and did something despicable, and I even hid the stolen goods in the jar."

Li Yuanxu confessed to the theft, and Li Erma wished he could beat him to death with a hammer!

"Damn it, I never thought it was you, you bookworm, who did this! You even dared to frame me! Today I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your father!"

Li Erma rolled up his sleeves and punched Li Yuanxu in the face, knocking him to the ground with a red mark immediately appearing on his lip.

Li Erma made a move to attack, but Lu Dahai grabbed his wrist and stopped him, saying, "Erma, let's wait for the village chief to arrive before making a decision."

Li Erma angrily pulled his hand back, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at Li Yuanxu warily, as if afraid that he would run away.

Li Yuantian was extremely disappointed, but he couldn't say a word.

Soon, Li Shoucai summoned the village chief, followed by a large group of villagers.

Among them was Li Yuanxu's mother, Zhang Cuihua.

Zhang Cuihua looked at her youngest son sitting on the ground with a red mark on the corner of his mouth, and her heart ached terribly.

She immediately ran over, checked Li Yuanxu's head, and said with a pained expression, "Son, does your head hurt? Who hit you? How could they be so cruel!"

"My son is going to take the imperial examination next year. What if he gets a brain injury and fails the exam?!"

With Li Shoucai's help, the village chief was naturally not as fast as the young people. The two arrived late, and the villagers consciously made way for them.

The village chief looked at Li Yuanxu, who was sitting on the ground, with his cloudy eyes, and sighed softly, "Get up first."

Zhang Cuihua released Li Yuanxu's head and said seriously, "You should quickly explain to everyone that you didn't do this."

"If you want to take the imperial examination, you can't and shouldn't do something like this."

Unexpectedly, Li Yuanxu knelt down instead of standing up and kowtowed deeply to the villagers.

Seeing Li Yuanxu's actions, Zhang Cuihua knew that he really had done it.

Zhang Cuihua lunged at Li Yuanxu, repeatedly pounding his back with her fists. "I'll beat you to death, you good-for-nothing! How are you going to pass the imperial examinations if you keep doing this?! What academy would want to accept you as a student?! You're going to drive me crazy!"

Li Yuanxu just endured it, neither resisting nor making a sound, kneeling and letting Zhang Cuihua hit him.

Li Yuantian pulled Zhang Cuihua away, knowing that if she continued to make a scene, they might not be able to clear things up tonight.

Zhang Cuihua was crying with snot and tears streaming down her face when Li Yuantian pulled her aside and yelled, "You can't even pass the preliminary examination! What's the point of you living! You might as well just die and be done with it!"

What Li Yuanxu did completely provoke Zhang Cuihua. She realized that she could only dream of wearing a phoenix coronet and wedding robes in her next life!

Li Yuanxu's originally dull and gloomy face instantly turned ferocious as he roared, "I never wanted to take the imperial examination. It was you who forced me to study every day so that I could earn a phoenix coronet and wedding robes for you!"

"Why would I steal? You're the one who wants me to continue going to school next year to take the imperial examination. Going to school, paying tuition, buying writing materials—these all cost money! If I don't steal, how will I buy them?"

Zhang Cuihua said, "You shouldn't have done such a foolish thing. Shu Xiu Niang, come and think of a solution!"

Li Yuanxu sneered, "What methods can you come up with? It's nothing more than to pressure your elder brother and sister-in-law and make them pay money under the pretext of being unfilial."

Once Li Yuanxu started talking, he couldn't stop, as if he was pouring out all the grievances he had kept bottled up for years.

“Our brothers’ discord is all because of you! The day Erwa went missing, I wanted to go up the mountain to look for him, but you insisted on stopping me and made me stay home to study!”

"Who wouldn't be worried if their nephew went missing? But you actually locked me in the house! When my older brother comes back, he wants to divide the family property. If I were the older brother, I would want to divide it too!"

Zhang Cuihua showed no remorse whatsoever, "I...I just wanted you to pass the imperial examination as soon as possible, was I wrong to do that!"

Li Yuanxu said, "You're not wrong, it's all my fault. I'm not smart enough. I failed the imperial examination for five years. But have you ever thought that your son is simply not cut out for studying?"

Zhang Cuihua screamed, "Impossible! Our family has produced scholars in the imperial examinations. You will definitely pass. If you can't pass in five years, try ten! You will definitely pass!"

Zhang Cuihua became increasingly delirious as she spoke, so Li Yuantian could only restrain her tightly, no longer caring about the traditional taboo of a grown son avoiding his mother.

Li Yuanxu said, "Don't even mention ten years, even if you gave me fifty years, I still wouldn't pass the exam! A stone can never become jade!"

While Li Yuanxu was stabbing Zhang Cuihua in the heart, he also felt that he had never lived so freely and happily.

He seemed to derive a sense of vindication, saying, "Mother, it's time for you to wake up from your dream of becoming the top scholar!"