Chapter 172 Finding the Real Culprit
Lu Jianping still tried to deny it: "Go ahead and investigate! We definitely didn't buy this medicine!"
Aunt Zhou looked at him with disdain: "Do you really think the police officers at the station are idiots? The Yang family has already emptied their savings to treat Xiao Yang's leg. This huge sum of money falling from the sky—even a fool would know something's wrong! Add to that Aunt Yang's testimony and the consecutive serial numbers of the money, and your Lu family has to give an explanation! If no one comes forward to take the blame, then the whole family will be locked up in jail until the real culprit is found!"
Upon hearing this, the faces of the Lu family members turned deathly pale.
Lu Xiaohui screamed in fright, "I didn't do it! You can't blame me!"
Lu Huaiyuan trembled violently: "That...that couldn't be me! I didn't even touch the medicine packet!"
Li Xuemei was horrified to find that her son's gaze was fixed on her, and a chill ran down her spine.
Aunt Zhou watched this dog-eat-dog drama with a cold eye, and finally delivered the fatal blow: "Have you thought this through? This is poisoning and murder! Someone has already died, and the mastermind will be shot. No one can escape!"
"Thump!"
The Lu family members were so frightened that their legs went weak and they collapsed to the ground.
Gu Mansheng screamed hysterically, "Why?! I've never enjoyed a single day of happiness in the Lu family, and you even beat my child to death. Now I have to go to jail with you? I wasn't involved in this at all! You can't arrest me!"
She grabbed Lu Huaiyuan frantically: "Divorce! I want a divorce! Even if I'm banished to the far northwest to eat sand, I'll never live with you again!"
Lu Huaiyuan's eyes also reddened, and he retorted fiercely, "Marrying you was the worst thing that could have happened to me! If it weren't for your treacherous uncle, would our family have ended up like this?!"
To save her own life, Li Xuemei pointed at Gu Mansheng and shouted, "That's right! It's all this bitch's fault! She gave us the medicine! She said it was a laxative, but it turned out to be poison! We were deceived too!"
"You stupid woman! Shut up!" Lu Jianping roared angrily, but it was too late to stop her.
Li Xuemei realized she had spoken out of turn, covered her mouth, and turned ashen-faced.
That last sentence was tantamount to admitting in front of the entire village that the Lu family was involved in the poisoning, completely blocking their escape route.
Aunt Zhou sneered, "It's easy now that they've admitted it. Take them all away! Hand them over to the police station! Sister Yang, don't worry, I'll have someone keep an eye on Xiao Yang."
The villagers took the group of people to the police station. Liu Zhixia and others also gave statements as suspects.
When Aunt Yang was caught red-handed, in order to protect herself, she confessed everything at the police station, implicating the Lu family to death.
The Lu family members, however, attacked each other like mad dogs, desperately trying to pin the blame on others, causing chaos and disorder.
By the time Liu Zhixia finished giving her statement, it was already dawn.
As soon as I stepped out of the gate, I saw a familiar black sedan parked on the side of the road.
He Shijie was sitting in the car, anxiously making a phone call, when he looked up and met the gaze of the Liu family. He glared at them fiercely and slammed the car window shut.
Liu Xiangyang rushed from the hospital to pick him up.
Aunt Zhou lowered her voice: "I heard that coward Lu Huaiyuan gave up Boss He. That kid's never seen anything like it. The interrogator slammed his fist on the table and he wet his pants and confessed everything!"
Liu Xiangyang chuckled: "This kid used to dream of becoming a cadre in the police station. Now he's got his wish and gone in, just with a different identity."
Zhang Xiuying asked worriedly, "How is Xiao Yang?"
"It's alright, he vomited out the poison. It wasn't a serious poisoning. He's on an IV drip and under observation. I arranged for someone I know to keep an eye on him, and I rushed over."
Liu Zhixia nodded: "We're fine. The matter has been investigated and we are the victims. Brother, you still need to keep an eye on things at the hospital. Mom and I will go back first. Dad and Lao Si must be very worried."
"Okay, then I'll go to the hospital again."
Liu Xiangyang bid farewell to everyone and turned to leave.
Aunt Zhou sighed, "What kind of mess is this!"
Liu Zhixia and Zhang Xiuying exchanged a glance, their feelings complicated.
Everyone had been tricked by He Shijie. It wasn't a laxative at all, but a deadly poison!
Although Grandma Yang died from greed, it was still a human life, and the Liu family still felt somewhat uneasy about it.
This debt must be settled with He Shijie!
Before I had taken more than a few steps, I suddenly heard the roar of an engine behind me.
The group quickly moved to the side of the road, and saw He Shijie's car speed past like an arrow, followed closely by police cars with sirens blaring.
Aunt Zhou narrowed her eyes, gloating: "Looks like this big boss's background isn't that strong after all. He's really done for this time."
"He's got a life, he can't escape."
Watching the convoy disappear into the distance, the group returned to the village with a sigh.
Back home, Liu Shouren asked anxiously, "How is it? Where's the eldest?"
Zhang Xiuying waved her hand wearily: "I went to the hospital to stay with Xiao Yang, afraid something might happen. This child has such a hard life. His grandmother is gone, his mother is in jail, and he's crippled. The days ahead will be tough."
Liu Shouren sighed.
"Alright, stop thinking about it. Get some sleep. The sky isn't going to fall."
Zhang Xiuying and Liu Zhixia went back to their room to catch up on sleep, Liu Xuejun went to school, and Liu Shouren went to the village entrance to keep watch for news.
After waking up, Aunt Zhou came to the door with dark circles under her eyes.
"We have news. The case has been classified. Sister Yang and Li Xuemei are direct participants and can't escape. The other members of the Lu family were released due to insufficient evidence. Most importantly, He Shijie has fled!"
Aunt Zhou's expression was grave: "The police station has issued an arrest warrant, saying this person is extremely dangerous and may be armed. Everyone be extremely careful. If you see him, don't fight him; report him immediately!"
Aunt Zhou had just left to inform the whole village when Zhou Juan rushed back in a great hurry.
"Mom! Why didn't you tell us about such a big thing? You scared me to death!"
Zhang Xiuying comforted her, "It's alright, it has little to do with our family."
Zhou Juan stamped her feet anxiously: "How could it not be big? The whole town is talking about how people in our village are dying from eating pickled vegetables! And those pickled vegetables even came from our family! Several factories have called to cancel their orders!"
"What?!" Zhang Xiuying exclaimed, then slumped helplessly into a chair. "That's true, this is the worst thing about making food. Alright, I'll have Lao Si sort out the deposit and return it to them later."
Liu Zhixia stopped her, her eyes resolute: "We can't return it! If we do, the reputation of our Liu family's pickled vegetables will be completely ruined! Who would dare to buy it in the future?"
"What should we do? Nobody wants them anymore." Zhou Juan was so anxious she kept pacing around.
"The one who tied the knot must untie it." Liu Zhixia pondered for a moment. "Second sister-in-law, go back and tell those factory managers that this was a case of malicious poisoning, and the police station has closed the case. Also, let's ask the health bureau to come and do some testing and issue an official certificate! We have nothing to hide if we're innocent!"
“If the factory staff ask again, and we are worried about poisoning again, we assure everyone that all villagers who participate in making pickled vegetables will strictly follow Lu Xiaohui’s previous instructions.”
Zhou Juan's eyes lit up: "That's right! How come I didn't think of that! With official proof, let's see who dares to spread rumors!"
Without hesitation, Zhou Juan immediately took action.
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