"Second Uncle, it's better to make some things clear."
Li Haoran blocked Li Erzhu and spread his arms to protect Li Youran behind him.
As the eldest brother, Li Haoran might not have much of an impression of Li Erzhu, but Li Youran remembered him very clearly.
Li Erzhu once snatched a candied hawthorn from him and tricked him out of his pocket money. He wouldn't even spare a child's things—is he even human?
Later, they even set their sights on Li Youran, believing that she was an adopted child and wanting to sell her for money.
If her father hadn't arrived in time, her younger sister might have been sold somewhere. Therefore, Li Haoran not only had no good impression of Li Erzhu, but also felt extremely disgusted with him.
The father and mother were both dim-witted and too soft-hearted. When they saw Li Erzhu shed a couple of tears, they assumed he was truly repentant.
Li Haoran didn't think so. Who knew what Li Erzhu was up to this time? He had only been in the house for two days when he started stealing things.
Even if Li Youran hadn't mentioned customs declaration today, Li Haoran would have reported it to the authorities.
"Little sister, you go and report to the authorities. I'll stay here."
Li Haoran turned to Li Youran and said.
Seeing that Li Erzhu was getting angry, and knowing that a vicious person was capable of anything, Li Youran hurriedly jumped into the carriage parked at the door and drove it quickly toward the yamen.
Because Liu Zhiyuan remembered Li Youran, the county magistrate dared not neglect the case and hurriedly sent people to investigate it.
As soon as she reached the alley entrance, she saw a crowd gathered in front of her house. Li Youran suddenly had a bad feeling and hurriedly pushed through the crowd to run inside.
"The authorities are investigating a case; all irrelevant personnel shall step back."
At the head constable's command, the accompanying constables rushed forward, clearing a path through the crowd of onlookers.
After Li Youran left, Li Erzhu and Li Haoran started fighting. The neighbors heard the commotion and came over.
Meanwhile, some kind neighbors ran to the pancake shop to deliver the news.
Amidst the argument between the two families, the onlookers learned the reason for the incident.
"Li Dazhu is an honest and kind man, how could he have such a brother?"
"I heard that he came from his hometown to seek refuge with Li Dazhu. He's such a grown man, yet he still needs his own brother to support him. He's really shameless."
The onlookers pointed and whispered among themselves.
"Brother, if you want to get rid of me, just say so. Why throw mud at me like this? It's really disheartening!"
"When our parents were alive, we brothers were inseparable, but now that they're gone, our brotherly bond is broken. Elder brother and sister-in-law, you are so heartless! How could you treat us like this?"
Li Erzhu and Li Erniang cried and wailed, while Li Dazhu and Li Niangzi frowned and remained silent.
"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, what you're saying is going too far. When you came to our house, we didn't kick you out. We treated you to good food and drink, and even let you work at the pancake shop to earn money. Not to mention your two children, in terms of clothes and food, how have we deprived you of anything?"
"Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. We've been so good to you, yet you still steal money from our home."
It was clearly Li Erzhu's family who stole the winnings, but they not only refused to admit it, they also threw mud at them.
Zhao Lanzhi couldn't just stand by and watch them spew nonsense and ruin her family's reputation, so she put her hands on her hips and started scolding them.
"This constable is investigating a case, everyone quiet down."
When the officials arrived, Li Erzhu's eyes darted around nervously, and he looked timid and hesitant.
After inquiring about the specific details of the matter, the clerk glanced at Li Erzhu and had a pretty good idea of the answer.
Li Erzhu was clearly a repeat offender; his eyes were filled with fear and unease, and he was timid and hesitant, as if the word "criminal" was written all over his face.
"Search inside the room."
"Wait a minute!"
Just as the constables were about to take action, the clerk waved his hand to stop them.
Just as the advisor said he was going to search the room, Li Erzhu visibly relaxed, looking relieved, and his eyes darted towards the outhouse.
Having handled cases for many years, how could he not discern something from such expressions and movements? Thus, the clerk concluded that Li Erzhu had hidden the stolen money in the outhouse.
"Go search the outhouse."
Sure enough, Li Erzhu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, became tense and uneasy when he saw that the clerk had suddenly changed his mind and wanted to go to the latrine.
"Dad, what should we do?!"
Li Erniang was, after all, a woman, and had never seen such a scene before. Seeing that she was about to be exposed, she didn't know what to do for a moment, so she looked at Li Erzhu in a panic.
While Li Erniang and Li Haoran were arguing, Li Erzhu secretly went to the outhouse and hid the forty-five taels of silver.
"Li Erzhu, do you have anything else to say?"
"Sir, I have been wronged! They clearly hid the forty-five taels of silver to frame me."
Although the silver was found, what does that prove? Li Erzhu thought that as long as he insisted on denying that he had hidden it, he wouldn't be able to be convicted.
"Guards, Shangguan Quan."
A constable led a government dog over. The dog sniffed the silver, then showed off to everyone present before barking incessantly at Li Erzhu.
"With witnesses and physical evidence all presented, why doesn't troublemaker Li Erzhu confess his crimes at once!"
The advisor was furious and shouted loudly at Li Erzhu.
Li Erzhu had never seen anything like this before. His legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, hurriedly kowtowing and confessing his sins.
"Brother, sister-in-law, second uncle, he was just confused for a moment. He just wanted to buy his daughter a nice outfit so she could find a good husband!"
Upon seeing this, Li Erniang hurriedly knelt on the ground to plead for Li Erzhu.
"Brother and sister-in-law, Erzhu is still your brother. Blood is thicker than water. Please forgive Erzhu this time. He will never dare to do it again."
Li Youran looked at Li Dazhu and Li Niangzi and knew that they had softened their hearts, so she spoke first before they could open their mouths.
"Second sister-in-law, you are mistaken. If we don't teach Second Uncle a lesson, he might do something foolish in the future. We are helping him to prevent him from going astray."
"Erzhu, you have really broken my heart."
After Li Dazhu finished speaking, he sighed heavily, looking disappointed, and then looked at Li Erzhu and continued.
"I can forgive your crime today, but from now on we shall have no further dealings with each other, and we shall leave each other alone."
Li Dazhu couldn't bear to part with him, after all, he was his own brother.
Li Hongxing, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly raised her head upon hearing Li Dazhu's words, a slight smile playing on her lips.
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