Chapter 61: Divorcing Stepsister
After Liu Lanzhi and Young Master Li were brought to the county government office, they both looked at Du Wanchun with shock.
Magistrate Li shouted at them, "Speak! Did you send men to kidnap Zhou's wife?"
Young Master Li stared wide-eyed at Magistrate Li, looking utterly bewildered. "Father, what kidnapping? What Zhou family wife? I know nothing about this."
Magistrate Li's face turned ashen with rage. He slammed his fist on the table. "Then why did these men claim they were acting under your wife's orders?!"
Young Master Li turned his gaze to Liu Lanzhi, who was trembling beside him.
Liu Lanzhi knelt on the ground, her head bowed low, looking guilty as if she had caught a thief.
At this moment, Magistrate Li took out the bracelet in his hand and said sternly, "You two, tell me, how did the bracelet I gave you end up in those people's hands!"
Upon looking at the bracelet, Young Master Li immediately understood what was going on. It turned out that the woman's brilliant idea was actually this very idea.
Is this any different from him kidnapping someone himself?
Doesn't she know that if they could just kidnap people like that, would she even need to come up with the idea?
Li's anger surged, and he stood up abruptly, kicking Liu Lanzhi. "You wretched woman, how could you do such a thing behind my back!"
Liu Lanzhi cried out in pain and fell to the ground after being kicked. With tears in her eyes, she said to Young Master Li, "Husband, wasn't I doing this all for you?"
Upon hearing this, Young Master Li kicked her again, yelling, "What do you mean, 'for me'? Don't talk nonsense!"
Magistrate Li realized that his son was unaware of the situation, but it wasn't entirely unrelated to him.
"Liu Lanzhi, tell me quickly, what exactly happened?" Magistrate Li turned his gaze to Liu Lanzhi and shouted at her.
Liu Lanzhi was so frightened that she trembled all over. She looked up at Du Wanchun with a pleading look in her eyes.
Seeing her hateful face, Du Wanchun felt no sympathy whatsoever.
Especially when she thought about all the things she had done to her in the past, her heart grew even colder.
"Liu Lanzhi, just say it straight," Du Wanchun said coldly, meeting her gaze.
Seeing that her pleas were in vain, Liu Lanzhi gritted her teeth and cried out, "Master, I only wanted to invite my sister to sit in our mansion for a while; I meant no harm!"
Aunt Zhou immediately stepped forward, pointing at her and saying, "No malice? No malice! These three people were either wielding fists or carrying large knives. If it weren't for my sons here today, my Wanchun would probably be covered in wounds by now!"
Then, pointing to the burly man with the bushy beard who was leading the group, he said, "And him, he said in person that you asked them to tie Wan Chun up and take her to Young Master Li's room. What do you mean by 'invite her to sit in the mansion'? It's clearly abducting a woman!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Lanzhi's face paled, and she turned her head to glare at the burly man with the thick beard.
The burly man with the thick beard saw this and said irritably, "That's right, she made it very clear that after I tied her up and brought her into the Li residence, I should throw her directly into Young Master Li's room. Magistrate Li, we were just following orders, so don't blame us!"
Magistrate Li's face was filled with rage. He slammed his hand on the table again. "Alright, I know what happened. Guards, drag Liu Lanzhi away and give her twenty strokes of the cane!"
Twenty strokes of the cane are an extremely severe form of torture for ordinary people.
Liu Lanzhi was stunned. "Father, I am your daughter-in-law! You can't treat me like this! I've done so much for my husband. He has always liked Du Wanchun and wanted to take her as a concubine, so he asked me to find a way to bring her to the mansion."
"Shut up! Don't think I don't know you did this because you're jealous of your stepsister!" Magistrate Li immediately interrupted Liu Lanzhi and ordered the bailiffs to take her away.
Liu Lanzhi wanted to say something, but the yamen runners stuffed something into her mouth.
Seeing Liu Lanzhi being taken away, Magistrate Li hurriedly said to Du Wanchun and Aunt Zhou, "Miss Du, this woman is so vicious. After she's been given twenty strokes of the cane, I'll have my son divorce her!"
Liu Lanzhi, who had just been dragged outside, trembled upon hearing these words and struggled desperately, but no matter how much she whimpered, no one paid any attention to her.
Du Wanchun turned to look at Young Master Li, "Although Liu Lanzhi did this, it was all caused by Young Master Li, so the two of them must be punished together!"
Magistrate Li frowned. "Miss Du, my son is unaware of this matter, so it has nothing to do with him."
Young Master Li chimed in, "Yes, Miss Du, I really didn't know about this. It was all Liu Lanzhi who took it upon herself to try and win my favor with you."
Du Wanchun sneered, "If you hadn't made the request, why would she have thought of this way to please you? Young Master Li, do you still dare to say that this matter has nothing to do with you?!"
Young Master Li, his eyes bulging with anger, stood up and said fiercely, "Du Wanchun, don't you dare spout nonsense here! I..."
"Lord Li! Are you trying to commit favoritism and corruption in front of so many people?"
Zhou Ruiyuan interrupted him sharply.
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