Chapter 148 Why don't you just rob it?
"Stop!" As soon as Lü Shizhu stepped out and saw the situation, he frowned and tried to snatch Ping'er away, but was pushed by the man.
The man was incredibly strong, and he was pushed away without even touching Ping'er's clothes.
He immediately looked at him with disbelief and said, "You want to fight me?"
"You're this child's father?" The fat man with big ears was surprised to see Lü Shizhu dressed like that. He seemed not to have expected that there would be such an elegantly dressed man in such a farming family. A glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes.
"Are you blind? How old am I to have a son this big? I'm... a good friend of this family, you can talk to me about anything!"
Lu Shizhu originally wanted to fight him, but it seemed he couldn't win.
He glanced at his son again; the boy looked really bad, his clothes were covered in blood, he had lost two front teeth, and his face was bruised.
He coughed lightly and looked at Ping'er.
How could it be Ping'er who did it? This kid usually looks very polite and well-mannered. He spends his days working and reading, and he rarely speaks. He doesn't seem like the kind of kid who could beat someone up like this.
He immediately looked at Ping'er beside him with a questioning look.
Ping'er pursed her lips and secretly clenched her fists, but remained silent.
"You're not from this family, so what's it to you?"
The man shoved Lü Shizhu aside, put his hands on his hips, and shouted, "This brat says he has a father, so what? Is he even a man? Why isn't he coming out of the house? Is he lame or deaf? How arrogant was your son when he was hitting people? Now, don't hide in the house like a coward!"
Inside the house, Li Rong listened to what was said. His eyes gradually turned cold as he glanced at the old man beside him: "Senior, could you lend me a hand and see me out?"
The old man shrugged: "I won't help."
As he said this, he stared intently at the expression on Li Rong's face, as if watching a show.
"Hey, I've got a short temper! I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
Outside, Lü Shizhu had already started fighting with the man, but he was quickly pinned to the ground by the man.
"Ha, is that all you've got? You little weakling, I've been in the military for seven years. Even if there were ten of you, I could still take you down!"
"Let him go."
Just then, a cool sound came from the window.
The man was taken aback, then sneered, "Oh ho, so the coward can talk now? If you've got the guts, stop sneaking around inside and come out!"
"I'll say it again, let him go." Li Rong's voice grew colder.
"So what if I don't let go?"
The next second, the sound of something cutting through the air came.
The man's hand, which was pressing down on Lü Shizhu, was suddenly struck hard by something, and he vaguely let go of his grip.
"Hey! You're trying to play dirty tricks on me!"
The man was clearly enraged and immediately rushed forward.
He hadn't taken more than two steps when his leg seemed to trip over something. With a thud, he knelt on the ground, looking utterly disheveled.
As the man knelt down, his hand, which was covering his other shoulder, trembled.
When I removed my hand, I realized that blood was seeping from the spot on my shoulder where I had been hit.
A hint of apprehension flashed in the man's eyes. He couldn't help but look up at the window, which was open, revealing Li Rong's cold and aloof face.
The man was stunned when he saw that face.
This face... why does it look familiar?
"Husband, how are you? Ouch! You're bleeding!" The woman beside her wailed, "Oh dear, this is outrageous! Everyone come quick! Their son hurt my son like this, and now a bunch of people are bullying our husband. They're trying to wipe us out!"
Li Rong rubbed his temples, frowned as he looked at them through the window, and asked coldly, "What exactly do you want?"
The woman fiercely wiped away her tears and pulled her son forward: "What should we do? Look what your son did to my son! And you're asking us?"
Li Rong glanced at the young man, who was half a head taller than Ping'er and much more robust. He had indeed lost two front teeth, and his face showed some bruises, with a few bloodstains on his clothes, but they didn't seem to be his.
After a quick glance, Li Rong had a good idea of what was going on. He then looked at Li Junping standing beside him and asked, "Ping'er, tell me, did you hit this person?"
"He's the one who hit me! He went crazy and even hit me with bricks!" the boy shouted, his eyes wide. "He tried to kill me!"
After saying this, the boy met Li Junping's gaze and shrank back in fright, hiding behind his mother.
Li Rong finally turned his gaze to Li Junping: "Ping'er, answer me."
Li Junping pursed his lips, but finally nodded: "I hit him, but it was him..."
"He admitted it! It really was you, you little brat, who beat my son into this pitiful state! He almost killed him!" the woman shouted, as if she had won a battle.
Li Rong rubbed his temples: "Since you admit it, go and kneel as punishment."
Li Junping silently entered the house and knelt down in front of the wall.
Li Rong looked at his son, his brows furrowed tightly. This wasn't the first time Ping'er had hit someone. Perhaps even back in the capital, people had frequently come to their door.
He once bit off half of the ear of the young master of the Ministry of Revenue. He broke off the finger of the eldest son of the emperor's brother-in-law. He also knocked out the teeth of the youngest daughter of the Duke of Dingguo with a stone.
Li Rong was used to such things and was quite adept at it. He simply took out two taels of silver from his pocket and tossed it into the man's hand from a distance.
"This is all the silver I can currently offer. You two can go and ask a doctor to give your son a proper check-up. If the money is insufficient, I, Li, will cover the rest."
The man vaguely saw the silver falling into his hand; at that moment, his stomach ached from the impact of the silver. Looking at Li Rong's appearance, he seemed somewhat suspicious and unsure of what to do.
The woman's eyes lit up when she saw the silver. She immediately shouted, "Just two taels of silver? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? It's not even enough to buy food for my son! I've made it clear to you that this matter won't be resolved without a hundred taels! Hurry up and give us the silver, and we'll let you off the hook. Otherwise... you'll regret it!"
These words caused an uproar among the onlookers.
"Good heavens, two taels of silver isn't enough, they want a hundred taels! Have these people gone mad?"
"That's right! Isn't this asking for the moon? Who can come up with a hundred taels of silver?"
"That Li family brat is a real spendthrift. He beat someone up like this, and now they want money. The eldest son of the Li family is a cripple, and the only fat woman in his family who can earn money has run off with a man. They're doomed now."
Li Rong frowned slightly. In the past, a hundred taels of silver wouldn't have been much; after all, the apologies from the people Ping'er had beaten up were worth many times more. But now…
“I am currently short of money and cannot afford this hundred taels of silver. Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll write you a note and I’ll make up the difference when I have the money.”
"Can't produce it?" The woman's eyes darted around. "If you can't produce it, then bring something from your house to exchange for it!"
As soon as she entered, the woman looked around the house and the yard, her eyes gleaming with calculation: "Since you have no money, you can have the carriage by the gate. I think your big pot is nice, I'll take it too. There's also a big cabinet inside, move those to pay for it."
Write me another note, and I'll give it to you once I've repaid the one hundred taels of silver.
As she spoke, her eyes gleamed as she stared at the things in the yard.
Seeing Li Rong frowning and considering, Lü Shizhu jumped up in anger: "Why don't you just rob him? Are you just taking advantage of him because he's an idiot and doesn't know anything? With your son being so energetic, why would he need a hundred taels to treat him? He could go to a clinic and he wouldn't even need two taels of silver!"
"Who said that! My son's teeth were knocked out, he'll have a hard time finding a wife in the future! Don't even mention a hundred taels, I'll take a thousand taels! Even if I empty your house today, it's only right!"
Li Rong frowned: "The things in the house cannot be touched; they belong to my...madam. If, as my young friend says, it wouldn't cost this much money to go to the clinic, then I cannot give you this hundred taels."
After hearing Li Rong's words, Lü Shizhu's anger subsided a little: "At least you're not completely stupid!"
"You won't give it to us? If you don't, I'll report you to the authorities!" The woman immediately put her hands on her hips. "I've heard that your whole family is exiled here, all criminals! You lowly people dare to kill my son? My son is a law-abiding citizen! If I file a complaint in court, the magistrate will surely punish you severely. You lowly people will be lucky to escape jail! You'd better think it over, because it won't be a matter of a hundred taels of silver!"
Lu Shizhu glanced at Li Rong and whispered, "Could it be that she really has him under her control?"
The Lü family had also been exiled here. They knew that going to the government office to accuse innocent people of crimes would not bring them any good. They were so angry that they gritted their teeth.
Meanwhile, Jiang Nuanzhi leisurely drove her donkey cart to her doorstep.
From afar, she saw a large group of people surrounding her house.
"Huh? What happened?"
She was puzzled, so she immediately jumped off the donkey cart and looked around with a frown.
"Jiang Pangya, you're back?"
She was intently looking ahead when she suddenly heard a voice from beside her, which startled her.
Turning his head, he saw Xie Liangchen standing in front of him with a head full of messy, unkempt hair.
Jiang Nuanzhi looked on in surprise and doubt, only to see that not only was his head a mess, but his dark circles were like a panda's, and his lips were so dry and cracked that they were peeling. He was completely different from the elegant young man he used to be.
"Young Master Xie, you... you've gone to escape the famine?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
