Chapter 71: When the Wall Collapses, Everyone Pushes Back

Ever since Li Ao angered the head of the Li family last time and was scolded and confined to his room, and with the instigation of Young Master Li and his mother, the relationship between the two has become increasingly tense.

But after all, the head of the Li family still felt sorry for his son, and after a few days when his anger was diluted, he released Li Ao on New Year's Eve, on the pretext that Li Ao's mother cried and pleaded for her son.

Li Chu and his mother felt it was extremely ironic when they saw that Li Ao had made the head of the Li family so angry, yet the head of the Li family still had a soft heart towards Li Ao.

No matter how bad Li Ao is or how disrespectful he is to the head of the Li family, he still regards him as a treasure. And no matter how well Li Chu and his mother do, the head of the Li family still turns a blind eye.

Fortunately, Li Ao is a fool, so their plan will not fail.

On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered around the table for dinner. Li Chu saw that Li Ao was still dissatisfied with the head of the Li family, so he deliberately advised Li Ao, saying how much his father cared about him and asked him to stop being petty with his father, and that the two of them should live in harmony.

On the surface, these words seem to be trying to persuade the father and son to reconcile, but in fact every word is biased, implying that Patriarch Li was right and it was Li Ao who was being unreasonable, and asking him to admit his mistake to Patriarch Li.

In the eyes of Mr. Li, this was indeed the fact, so he did not suspect that his eldest son had any ulterior motives in saying this.

But Li Ao thought completely the opposite. He always felt that the head of the Li family did not love him enough, so he did not help him find out who had played a trick on him in the brothel.

He just wanted the truth, he didn't think he was wrong.

So when he heard what Li Chu said, he immediately got angry. Regardless of what day it was, he stood up and threw the chopsticks in front of Li Chu.

He yelled, "Stop pretending. You all want me to stay grounded, but you let me out pretending to feel sorry for me. You are so hypocritical and mean. If you really love me, why don't you help me find the culprit who bullied me?"

When he said these words, his eyes were looking at the head of the Li family. This was undoubtedly a provocation.

But Patriarch Li still held his temper and said calmly, "Ao'er, sit down. Are there any more rules?"

Li Chu also asked the servants to bring another pair of chopsticks and personally handed them to Li Ao, but Li Ao not only refused to take them, but also frowned at Li Chu: "Brother, now you also want to stand on Dad's side, right?"

Li Chu smiled: "What's the point of standing or not? We are a family."

Li Ao looked at Li Chu with disappointment on his face.

At this time, the head of the Li family finally became serious and said in a stern voice: "Li Ao, I told you to sit down!"

Seeing that the head of the family was really angry, the aunt next to him quickly pulled Li Ao's sleeve.

Li Ao looked at his mother's pleading eyes, gritted his teeth, and finally suppressed his anger and sat down.

Everyone had no appetite for the New Year's Eve dinner. In the days that followed, Li Ao was no longer under house arrest, but he was still in a cold war with his father, and he also lost his temper towards Li Chu.

This situation gave the head of the Li family a false sense of "sympathy", because he felt that he and Li Chu both cared about Li Ao, but were not understood by Li Ao.

Once, he patted Li Chu's shoulder gently and sighed, "Ao'er is still too childish. I hope he can grow up quickly. Then he will understand our painstaking efforts."

Li Chu thought it was funny, you want Li Ao to get better and better, but what I want is for both you and him to die.

However, he had indeed worked hard for many years to achieve his wish, so he deserved what his father said.

"Don't worry, father. Ao'er is very smart. I believe it won't be long before we don't have to worry about him anymore."

Li Chu knew that Li Ao had always wanted to get Rong Yin, so he had sent people to keep an eye on Li Ao. It turned out that Li Ao also asked servants to monitor the palace gate every day and inform him once they saw Rong Yin leaving the palace.

Li Ao met Rong Yin several times using this method, but Rong Yin was just too lazy to pay attention to him.

In the days leading up to the Lantern Festival, Li Chu discovered that Li Ao had met with the leader of a street gang and they were discussing something.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, Li Ao went out early. Li Chu's people went to monitor him and saw him secretly follow Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin first, and then turned around and went to a small courtyard near the restaurant after the two of them entered the restaurant.

Then Wang Da, who had contacted Li Ao before, appeared in the restaurant. Rong Yin was kidnapped after a while, and what happened after that is known to everyone.

Rong Yin's fighting power was so strong that it was beyond Li Chu's expectation. He thought that if Li Ao really succeeded in humiliating Rong Yin, Zong Zhengxiao's anger would definitely reach its peak, and then Li Ao would die a more miserable death.

But unexpectedly, before Li Ao was beaten up by Zong Zhengxiao, he was beaten half to death by Rong Yin.

Li Chu's people watched Li Ao being carried away, and Li Chu told his mother immediately after receiving the news.

Knowing that Li Ao was finally finished, the mother and son, their desire for revenge was satisfied, finally revealed sincere smiles.

It was not until Li Ao was sent to jail that the head of the Li family knew what had happened.

The head of the Li family knew that his youngest son was not at home during the Lantern Festival, but he just thought that his son went to the brothel Nanfeng Pavilion or to one of his mistresses.

In fact, the head of the Li family guessed half right. He guessed that his son was going to sleep with someone, but he didn't expect that the person he wanted to sleep with was the person in the room of the current emperor.

After hearing that Li Ao was seriously injured and imprisoned, the head of the Li family felt dizzy and almost fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, Li Chu supported him in time and pretended to be worried and said, "Father, cheer up. If something happens to you, I will be doomed."

The head of the Li family was helped to sit down, his face as pale as paper.

"How could this happen? How could Ao'er be related to that mermaid?"

Li Chu suddenly fell silent. The head of the Li family turned to look at him, and his eyes suddenly became very sharp.

"Do you know something?"

Li Chu knelt down in front of the head of the Li family, but he refused to say anything.

The head of the Li family could only call all of Li Ao's servants over and interrogate them one by one, and finally pieced together the whole process of the incident.

Because of Li Chu's deliberate concealment and guidance, Li Ao's servants actually did not know the real role Li Chu played in these events.

In their eyes, it was Li Ao who took the initiative to provoke Zong Zheng Xiao and Rong Yin, and it was Li Ao who chose to hide it from the head of the Li family.

Li Ao still had lust for Rong Yin, and it was Li Chu who advised him not to cause trouble for the family. In order to appease him, Li Chu even spent a lot of money to find a Hu man who looked similar to Rong Yin for Li Ao.

But Li Ao was still not satisfied. He spent one hundred taels to buy milk tea that time, not because he wanted to research the formula of milk tea to make money for the Li family, but because he brought that Hu man to Rong Yin to show his disdain for him, and Rong Yin took revenge on him.

During this period, Li Chu repeatedly advised Li Ao not to be obsessed with Rong Yin anymore, but Li Ao not only did not listen, he also resented the kind-hearted Li Chu.

It was Li Ao's own idea to kidnap Rong Yin this time, which was why he did it in such a hurry and made so many mistakes that he ended up sending himself to jail.

After hearing the servants' confessions, Patriarch Li felt as if the sky had fallen.

It turned out that Zong Zheng Xiao had deliberately targeted him before, not because he just happened to dislike him, but because his son had provoked someone else's merman.

When he was exhausted from the torture, his youngest son not only chose to continue hiding the truth from him, but also followed Rong Yin again and again, and finally kidnapped him.

Patriarch Li seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. At this moment, he suddenly laughed like a madman, but his eyes slowly turned red.

"Haha, this is the good son I have spoiled all my life."

The Li family head's smile is uglier than crying.

At this time, Li Ao's mother also received the news and ran over. As soon as she saw him, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the head of the Li family: "Master, you have to save Ao'er. He is our only son. If he is killed by the emperor, what should I do?"

Li Ao wasn't dead yet, but my aunt was crying even harder.

The head of the Li family did not blame Li Ao because his aunt was unaware of what she had done. Instead, he said, "You get up first."

When the aunt saw that he did not immediately agree to save the people, she realized that her son had really gone too far this time and had really touched the bottom line of the head of the Li family.

But Li Ao is her son. If she doesn't consider him, who else should she consider?

The aunt did not stand up and begged: "Master, you will definitely save Ao'er, right? I beg you, Ao'er is my life, you can't not save him."

Seeing this, Li Chu also started to follow suit and said, "Father, even though Ao'er was wrong, he is still our Li family's child after all. Let's discuss everything after he returns safely, okay?"

In addition to these two people pleading for Li Ao, Li Chu's mother, who had always had a very low sense of presence, also spoke up: "The child of the Li family can't stay in prison forever, and make people laugh at him for nothing."

Patriarch Li had a cold expression on his face: "You are all begging me to save him, as if it was my fault that he was arrested, and that I am cold-hearted and don't intend to care about him."

Li Chu quickly said, "That's not what I meant. I was just worried about my brother. Mother and aunt are just worried. We never misunderstood father, and we didn't mean to force you."

Li Chu's words seemed comforting, but they were actually irritating.

Hearing his words, Patriarch Li inexplicably felt as if he was forced to do this. In fact, he had originally planned to rescue Li Ao, but after hearing what the three said, he felt uncomfortable.

But no matter how uncomfortable he felt, even if he was heartbroken by Li Ao's actions, he could not let Li Ao die, even if it was just for the Li family's face.

No one in the Li family could sleep that night. The head of the Li family and his aunt were worried, while Li Chu and his mother were excited.

Before dawn the next day, the news that Li Ao was thrown into prison spread throughout the capital, and all the dignitaries knew about the bad things he had done.

Zong Zhengxiao suspended court for three days on the grounds of illness, but he still reviewed memorials to the emperor, only refusing to see any ministers.

This time, the noble families had no time to find fault with Zong Zhengxiao, because they knew that if Zong Zhengxiao caught them this time, he would definitely not let them go easily.

Sure enough, three days later, as soon as Zong Zhengxiao came to court, the censors began to impeach the head of the Li family, on the grounds that he allowed his son to commit crimes and challenged the imperial power. Such an official was not worthy of standing in the court.

The noble family would naturally not let them curse at them, and they also fought back, finding various reasons to separate the head of the Li family and his youngest son, trying to implement the concept of "no disaster to the family" to the end.

The two gangs quarreled so fiercely that they were almost about to take off their shoes and throw them at each other, but Zong Zhengxiao and the head of the Li family, who were the parties involved in the incident, were surprisingly calm.

Zong Zhengxiao was calm because he was sure of victory, but the head of the Li family felt like he had lost his parents and had neither the energy nor the mood to make a fuss.

The next day after the incident, he went to the prison to see Li Ao and found that Li Ao was seriously injured and had been unconscious. After asking, he learned that Li Ao wanted to bully the mermaid, but the mermaid was very powerful and directly "killed" him.

Patriarch Li looked at his wounded son with resentment, heartache, and a little disgust in his heart.

The head of the Li family tried to shift all the blame to the servant and the dead Wang Da, but Zong Zhengxiao had both witnesses and evidence. Wang Da's brothers testified that it was Li Ao who found Wang Da and paid him to kidnap Rong Yin. They also found the silver and token that Li Ao gave to Wang Da in Wang's house, leaving him no room for denial.

The quarrel in the court ended in an undecided outcome. Zong Zhengxiao did not demote Patriarch Li from his post, but simply asked him to go home and rest for a few days. He would consider how to deal with him after the matter was settled.

But what the noble family didn't expect was that the impeachment in the court was just the beginning.

The next day, the young man who had been raped by Li Ao went to the government office with his father to sue the Li family, saying that it was the head of the Li family who used his status and power to put pressure on his father, and Li Ao went to the young man's academy to seduce him, so the young man was forced to become Li Ao's concubine and had been bullied by him all these years.

Once there is a first, there will be a second. The other people who had been bullied by Li Ao saw that Li Ao was indeed showing signs of overthrow this time, and that someone was taking the lead in the charge, so they gathered together and all went to the government office to sue Li Ao.

Since childhood, Li Ao has relied on his status as the young master of the Li family to bully men and women, some of which even involved several lives.

All of a sudden, all the victims' petitions flew to the yamen like snowflakes, and the cries of complaint were continuous, as if to shake the sky of the capital.

The front door of the Li family's house has become a gathering place for rotten eggs, rotten vegetable leaves and stones. The Li family has tried to catch the troublemakers, but now they are in a moral lowland. If they want to harm passers-by, they will be attacked by everyone.

As time went by, the Li family simply closed the door and tried to turn a blind eye to the incident.

However, even though they couldn't see it, the stench lingering over the entire Li Mansion was the best proof that the Li family had incurred public anger, and they couldn't hide from it even if they wanted to.

Until this time, the Cui and Chen families and the people from the aristocratic families were still actively helping the Li family, because they felt that Zong Zhengxiao was taking advantage of the situation and were afraid that Zong Zhengxiao would deliberately put the blame on them.

They felt that saving Li Ao was saving themselves.

But soon, they changed their minds.

Because someone reported that Li Ao had insulted the emperor and his family in a brothel, using words that were disgusting to the ear. The brothel dancers and some guests who were present at the time could testify to this.

Unfortunately, among those who were drinking with Li Ao at that time were several young masters from the Cui family and the Chen family.

Although they are not direct descendants, their surnames are Cui and Chen after all. If the matter is investigated, these two families cannot deny the blame.

This ultimate reversal directly changed the attitudes of the Cui and Chen families. They no longer wanted to save Li Ao. Saving Li Ao would be a real disaster.

And since Li Ao has already gotten into trouble, the only way to save the other two children is to let him take all the responsibilities alone.

After making the decision, the two heads of the Cui and Chen families immediately called the head of the Li family and told him their plans.

"You want my son to take the blame? Absolutely impossible!" The first reaction of the head of the Li family was to refuse.

Patriarch Cui was not in a hurry and spoke slowly, "Old Li, think about it yourself. How much have you given to your son over the years, and how has he repaid you? If he really considered your Li family, he would not have provoked that mermaid. You have been targeted by Zong Zhengxiao before, isn't it because of him?"

The head of the Li family stiffened his neck and said nothing.

Patriarch Cui continued, "Li Ao is gone, but you still have Li Chu. Moreover, Li Chu is already excellent and is a qualified heir to the family. Why should you lose the watermelon for the sake of picking up sesame seeds? Do you still need an old man like me to teach you the principle of sacrificing pawns to save the chariot? Weren't you very skilled in using this trick against the He family?"

Harming yourself is of course different from harming others. It is true that Li Ao disappointed Patriarch Li, but Patriarch Li did not want to watch him die.

The head of the Chen family also said: "Old Li, Li Ao has made a big mistake this time. The little emperor loves his mermaid pet so much, but Li Ao dared to bully him. Do you think the little emperor will let Li Ao go? Since we can't save him, why not let him serve our family for once, which can be regarded as repaying your kindness in raising him all these years."

After hearing such cold-blooded words, Patriarch Li no longer had the energy to get angry. He understood the despair Patriarch He had felt at that time.

Everyone is forcing you to contribute to everyone under the pretext of high-sounding reasons, even though everyone knows that you are unwilling to do so.

Maybe this is the wheel of fate, no one can escape it.

"Is there really no other way?" Patriarch Li still refused to give up.

Patriarch Cui only glanced at him calmly and said, "Do you really want him to kill everyone?"

Upon hearing this, the head of the Li family was shocked, sighed, and closed his eyes: "I understand."

When he saw his father come back and go into the study room in a daze, without seeing anyone, Li Chu knew that his plan had succeeded.

Li Chu suppressed his excitement and only let down his guard completely when he returned to his mother's side. He then lay on his mother's lap and laughed out loud.

"Mom, we have finally waited for this day. They are the ones who died, not you and me."

Li Chu's mother shed tears. She stroked her son's head and smiled, "Yes, we won. We got our life back."

It was Li Chu who asked someone to report the brothel incident. Now that it has come to this, he is determined to crush Li Ao to death and not give him any chance to get up.

Because from the very beginning, he and Li Ao were in a life-and-death relationship.

Unlike the two of them who were happy, Li Ao's mother ran to beg her husband as soon as she knew that the Li family leader was going to abandon his son. She hit her forehead and her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She knelt outside the study for a whole night.

But the head of the Li family did not give in until the very end. Just as the two heads of the family, Cui and Chen, had said, they could not bring down the entire Li family just for Li Ao.

He ordered people to drag Li Ao's mother back to the yard and keep her under good watch to prevent her from going out and causing trouble, while he himself went to the prison to visit Li Ao.

These days, Master Li and Li Chu would go to monitor from time to time.

Li Ao was seriously injured and it took him several days to wake up. After discovering that he had been thrown into prison, Li Ao did not care at first, thinking that his father and brother would be able to get him out.

Even at this point, he still had a lot of tongue. He either cursed the jailer for not putting him in a clean cell and complained that the food in the prison was unpalatable. Or he cursed Rong Yin, saying that if it weren't for him, he wouldn't have been injured so badly and his descendants would have been almost ruined.

This time he really didn't have any romantic thoughts towards Rong Yin anymore, he just wanted Rong Yin to die!

He still had a grudge against his father, so when his father came to see him, he didn't say a word to him.

On the contrary, when Li Chu arrived, Li Ao asked Li Chu to get him out and help him get revenge, just like before.

But Li Chu not only did not agree, but also brought bad news again and again.

He angered Zong Zhengxiao, who would not let him go; a large number of victims sued him for raping men and women and taking lives, and the censors in the court were impeaching the officials of the Li family; the news that he had insulted Zong Zhengxiao in a brothel was spread to Zong Zhengxiao's ears, and this time even the other families were unwilling to protect him...

As he heard more and more bad news, Li Ao gradually lost his arrogance. He was in a state of panic all day long. He changed from being arrogant at the beginning to being as timid as a mouse now. He was like a frightened bird every moment, afraid that someone would rush into the cell, drag him out and behead him.

At this point, he no longer cared to blame his father. Every time his father came, he would cry and beg him for help, asking him to save him and that he would be obedient in the future.

Every time, the head of the Li family agreed with tears in his eyes and promised him that he would let him leave the prison safely.

Seeing his father coming, Li Ao, who was originally lying in bed recuperating, ignored the pain in his body, got up immediately, grabbed the doorrail and looked at the head of the Li family expectantly.

"Dad, are you here to pick me up? You are so powerful, and our Li family has the final say in the capital. I will be fine, right?"

The head of the Li family did not say anything. He just looked at Li Ao steadily, his eyes gradually turning red.

Li Ao realized something was wrong, and he asked nervously, "Dad, what's wrong with you? Why do you look like that?"

"Ao'er..." Patriarch Li choked up, "Dad is sorry for you."

Li Ao was confused for a moment, but soon understood what he meant: "You want to give up on me? You want to give up on me, right?"

The head of the Li family said: "For the Li family, I can only do this."

Li Ao froze in place, his face full of disbelief. The head of the Li family did not dare to look at his face again and turned his head away.

"Dad, don't you love me the most? Why didn't you save me? Why?" Li Ao was scared, and tears fell from the corners of his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ao’er, I’m sorry…” It was the first time that the head of the Li family burst into tears in front of his son, sobbing uncontrollably.

Seeing his father like this, Li Ao knew that everything was irreversible. Thinking of his future outcome, his legs went soft and he fell directly to the ground.

When the conversation between the father and son in the cell was heard in the palace, Zong Zheng Xiao had just coaxed Rong Yin to sleep.

Since being kidnapped, Rong Yin has had nightmares almost every night. He is not afraid of nightmares, but they affect his sleep quality and make him miserable.

Rong Yin began to avoid sleep physiologically. Even if he felt sleepy at night, he could not fall asleep. In order to coax him to sleep, Zong Zhengxiao used all his tricks.