Chapter 169 Accusation of Murder

The lead constable waved his hand behind him, and dozens of constables rushed into the courtyard. Uncle Liu and Old Man Liu also ran into the courtyard. The constables searched inside and outside the house, as well as the front and back yards, but of course they found nothing.

Uncle Liu and Old Man Liu refused to believe it and suspected that Liu Ye had buried the body in the garden. Old Man Liu pointed at Liu Ye with resentment in his eyes: "Sir, she must have buried the body in the garden. Go and dig up the garden right now."

The leading officer sneered, "Hmph! Buried in the garden? Are you out of your mind? Even peeing is freezing now, the ground is all frozen solid. Go and try digging one up, you idiot, get out of here!"

"Little girl, come here." Liu Ye obediently came forward, and the leading officer looked at her and asked, "I'm asking you a question, and you must answer truthfully."

Liu Ye nodded obediently: "Yes, sir."

The officer then asked, "The Liu family accused you of killing Liu the Elder, Liu Wangshi, but we didn't find a body in your house. Can you explain that?"

Liu Ye said with a wronged expression, "Officer, it's like this. I am Liu Laoda, the eldest daughter of Liu Wangshi. Because I have never liked to talk since I was a child, they didn't like me. Last year, they kicked me out of the Liu family and cut off all ties with me. Later, I fled the famine with Brother Bai from the village and settled in Xiangshan Town, Xiancheng. Then, like this and that... Later, Brother Bai bought this house. Somehow, the Liu family found out. Today, the whole family suddenly came to the door, carrying sticks. I was too scared to be home alone, so I didn't let them in. As a result, they climbed over the wall and tried to beat me. I used a wood-chopping knife to scare them away."

“I’ve always been timid, I would never dare to kill anyone. The Liu family just left my house a little while ago. Sirs, you’ve searched my house thoroughly. If I really killed someone, there would definitely be a body. They say I killed two people, but where are they? Liu the eldest, Liu Wangshi, clearly left with them.”

The officer nodded. He looked at Liu Ye, a delicate and frail young girl, and didn't think she was capable of killing anyone. He turned to the Liu father and son with a dark expression and said, "Then you've made a false accusation. You've got some nerve, daring to play tricks on the officers. Do you know what the consequences of making a false accusation are?!"

Uncle Liu was so frightened that he hurriedly defended himself, saying, "We didn't falsely accuse her. I saw it with my own eyes. She chopped off my elder brother and sister-in-law's heads. Their heads were just lying there, and their bodies were lying by the garden. We didn't falsely accuse her. Don't be fooled by her. This girl is a good liar!"

"By the way, there was a lot of blood at the time. She buried the body, so there must have been bloodstains on the ground."

Uncle Liu ran to where the body had been lying, but the ground was clean; there was no blood at all. He was dumbfounded: "Where's the blood? There was clearly a lot of blood, how come there's not a trace of it?"

The official lay on the ground, sniffed the smell, then stood up and clapped his hands: "No blood smell, no signs of burial, you sons of bitches! Men, take them to the yamen and give each of them 50 lashes. Let's see if they dare to falsely accuse people again!"

Uncle Liu, Old Man Liu was so frightened by what he heard that his legs cramped up and he collapsed to the ground. The officials dragged him away like a dead dog. Once the officials were gone, the onlookers dispersed, and Liu Ye closed the door and went back inside.

Fortunately, she had the foresight to store the blood in her spatial storage, otherwise she would have been caught off guard by the Liu family father and son. Damn it! Fifty strokes of the cane shouldn't kill her, but it would be enough to give them a hard time.

What bad luck! Bloodshed on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and government officials coming to the door. Anyway, Brother Bai isn't coming back, so why doesn't she go stay in the village for a couple of days? The house hasn't been sold yet. She can come back on the 15th of the lunar calendar, when the shops can open again. Once she's decided, she'll sell grain.

After locking the doors inside and outside the house, Liu Ye drove the oxcart away. Qin's steward, who had been peeking at the Qin family's door, also hurried out of the courtyard to find the assassin from Nancheng.

Liu Ye drove the oxcart into Erdaogou Village. The villagers who were chatting at the door rushed back into their houses as soon as they saw her, as if they had seen a plague god.

Liu Ye pursed her lips and didn't take it seriously. She drove the oxcart into the yard, locked the gate, and went inside. The house was deserted and empty, but no one had come. The firewood she had taken out of her space last time was still there by the stove.

She quickly lit the stove, and the room was warm in no time. She would go into her space to sleep at night, and during the day she could come out if she wanted, or stay in her space if she didn't. It was a good way for her to have some peace and quiet and cultivate her mind and body.

In Erdaogou Village, the news of Liu Ye's return spread like wildfire. Every household knew, including Er Gouzi, Zhao Hanzi, and even the man whose leg she had broken that day. However, none of them dared to provoke Liu Ye again.

Zhao Hanzi had his leg broken and became disabled. Like Wang Ergou, he tied stilts to his leg, which didn't hinder his walking, but it looked a bit unsightly. He couldn't stop standing anywhere and had to keep moving, otherwise he would fall.

Er Gouzi had both legs cut off, so they tied two stilts to his legs. It didn't stop him from walking, but he couldn't steal chickens or dogs anymore. His movements were too obvious, and he made a clattering sound when he walked. He would even fall down if he was in a hurry.

At the town government office, the officials threw Uncle Liu and his son onto the street. The two of them cried out in pain, "Ouch, my goodness!" Each of them was given 50 lashes, their buttocks were bruised and their backs felt like they were broken.

Uncle Liu strained his waist and almost fainted from the pain: "Dad, it hurts so much, I can't climb any further. You should spend some money to hire someone to take us home, otherwise we'll freeze to death. Ouch, it hurts so much! Those sons of bitches were too cruel, and that little bitch Liu Ye, ouch, it hurts so much!"

Old Man Liu was in so much pain that he lay on the ground, too afraid to move: "I...I didn't bring any money. Ouch, it hurts so much! Is there any kind-hearted brother who can help my son and me? Please take us home. I'll pay you for your trouble. Ouch, it hurts so much!"

There are still many good people in the world. One man saw the father and son crawling pitifully on the ground, so he called a few more people to take them back to Sandaohe Village. He asked for five taels of silver as a reward for their hard work and then left.

Old Mrs. Liu looked at her empty purse, then at her badly injured husband, and slapped her thigh in grief, crying, "Oh, you damned bastards! It costs five taels of silver to send someone away. Why don't they just rob us? I curse your mother!"

In Uncle Liu's room, Uncle Liu was lying painfully on the kang (a heated brick bed), suffering from a high fever. Aunt Liu was so worried that she cried, "What are we going to do? Your father has a fever, and we have no money left. Waaah, what are we going to do? Waaah!"

Liu Baozhu took out ten copper coins from his pocket and looked at Liu Baotian: "How many do you have left?"

Liu Baotian pulled out 20 copper coins from his pocket: "That's all I have left."