Just as the middle-aged man was beaming with smugness, a voice rang out: "It's no use if they hear it, but it's certainly useful if we hear it!"
The middle-aged man looked up in surprise and saw several constables standing in front of them.
He thought it was a scheme orchestrated by Tie Tou and Li Xiang'an, so he glared at Tie Tou fiercely.
Tie Tou was also extremely panicked. After all, he was young and had done such a wicked thing, how could he not be panicked?
Li Xiangping and Li Xiang'an then saw Li Xiangjian standing with the officials. The two brothers walked over and Li Xiangping asked, "Third brother, what brings you here?"
Li Xiangjian glanced at the two of them and said, "If I hadn't come, wouldn't you two have let the murderer slip away right under your noses?"
"And you two kept such a big thing from me? Don't I belong in the family?"
Hearing Li Xiangjian's complaint, Li Xiang'an replied, "Look at what you're saying! My brother and I are only doing this for your own good."
We're just afraid you'll feel bad if you know the truth, aren't we?
You've really taken my good intentions for granted.
Li Xiangjian looked up at Tie Tou, then looked away and said, "Mother said, never get angry over worthless people and things."
I treated others like brothers, but they treated me like a fool. What's there to be upset about!
Tie Tou felt terrible after hearing Li Xiangjian's words. He knew from the beginning that he had made a mistake, but there was no turning back now. He was already on a sinking ship; there was no way to get off.
The constables quickly took the two men away. Li Xiangping and his two brothers followed behind; as the aggrieved parties, they too would have to go to the yamen (government office).
The three brothers walked behind, talking quietly. Li Xiang'an asked, "Third brother, how did you get here?"
Li Xiangjian replied, "Of course, Mother sent me."
Li Xiang'an asked in surprise, "You and Tie Tou are so close, wasn't Mother afraid that you would be sad if you knew? That's why we deliberately didn't tell you."
Li Xiangjian snorted and said, "Alright, you two are just worried that my relationship with him will leak out."
I'm telling you, your mother isn't that stingy.
Besides, I can tell right from wrong and things from different perspectives. Even if he's my brother, he can't bring trouble to our family.
And they absolutely mustn't harm our chickens and ducks.
Upon hearing this, the two quickly changed the subject, asking, "Then why did you think of reporting it to the authorities?"
Li Xiangjian said arrogantly, "What do you know? This is called a series of schemes. From the moment Mother first spread the word to the magistrate's arrival, it was all planned in advance."
Mother said that even if you two catch them red-handed, they won't confess even if you take them to the county government office without strong evidence.
So Mother told me to secretly follow you and find other witnesses. I happened to run into a patrol of constables, one of whom had even visited our house. I thought they were perfect witnesses, so I invited them over.”
Li Xiangping and Li Xiang'an were very pleased to hear this. Their third brother had not only grown smarter, but also understood military strategy. It seemed that their mother had taught him well.
Soon the three followed the constables to the county government office. Magistrate Ling was quite surprised to hear the constables' report and asked, "You caught them so quickly?"
The constable nodded and replied, "Yes, sir, we caught them red-handed. They have no way to deny it."
Magistrate Ling nodded and said, "It seems that this Yan family member is indeed quite capable. Alright, now that the person has been captured, let's hold court. I want to see who is so audacious."
After finishing speaking, Magistrate Ling straightened his clothes and went to the main hall of the county government office.
Because Tie Tou and his gang were caught red-handed, the facts were clear and they couldn't deny it, so they confessed everything without any threats or intimidation.
It turned out that the middle-aged man was the manager of Chen's restaurant. Their boss was angry because Yan Qingqing's family had partnered with Jinsheng Pavilion and taken away his business, so he held a grudge and wanted to teach Yan Qingqing's family a lesson.
While the poisonous herbs and drugs won't kill the chickens and ducks, they will become addicted, leaving toxins in their bodies. As a result, the braised chicken and roast duck sold by Canghe Liji will also contain toxins. If people eat them, they will either suffer from the poison of the poisonous herbs, causing unbearable abdominal pain, or from the poison of the drugs, causing addiction and hallucinations.
Their intentions were undeniably malicious, but after a moment's thought, Magistrate Ling asked, "These poisons are relatively weak; they might cause symptoms in chickens and ducks, but they might not have any effect on humans. Wouldn't you be wasting your time?"
The middle-aged man's eyes flickered upon hearing this. Seeing this, Magistrate Ling sneered and said, "You audacious Chen Sifang! It seems you won't confess without severe torture. Men, take this Chen Sifang away and give him thirty lashes. If he still doesn't confess, then use the tiger bench and chili water. Let's see if the torture in my prison is tougher than Chen Sifang's stubbornness."
Chen Sifang was not a tough guy to begin with, otherwise he would not have confessed without even being tortured. Chen Sifang quickly said, "My lord, spare my life, I will confess."
Our manager said it's fine even if it doesn't kill anyone; he's already made arrangements. He'll just have someone add a strong dose of the drug. If someone dies, Canghe Li Ji will never be able to recover.
Magistrate Ling was furious upon hearing this. He was furious that the manager of Chen's shop was so vicious. He immediately sent men to arrest him.
Magistrate Ling looked at Chen Sifang and asked again, "Since Jinsheng Pavilion is your competitor, why don't you target them instead of letting the Li family suffer an undeserved disaster?"
Chen Sifang replied honestly, "Jinsheng Pavilion is owned by the Wu family of Beijing. Our manager can't afford to offend them."
Then they recounted how their manager had someone steal the new headdresses from Jinsheng Pavilion. Later, their family was severely suppressed by Jinsheng Pavilion, and Chenji almost went bankrupt because of it. It was only after their manager sent someone to deliver gifts and apologized that Jinsheng Pavilion let them off the hook.
The three Li brothers were furious. They felt that this was taking advantage of their family's lack of power and influence; it was too much of a bullying.
At this moment, they hated their own powerlessness. If one of them had been more capable, Chen Ji wouldn't have dared to vent his anger on them. At the same time, they were also very fortunate to have a capable mother; otherwise, they would have been eaten alive, with not even bones left.
Li Xiangjian clenched his fists tightly. At this moment, he made up his mind to join the army, to fight on the battlefield, to make meritorious contributions, and to make those scheming and despicable people never dare to look down on his family again.
Magistrate Ling glanced at Tie Tou again and asked, "The Li family has treated you well, so why would you do such a heartless thing?"
Tie Tou glanced at Li Xiangjian, then lowered his head and remained silent. Magistrate Ling, considering his young age, didn't say anything more, but simply ordered him to be imprisoned until all the witnesses and evidence were presented before the trial could continue. Then he adjourned the court.
Seeing this, Li Xiangping and the other two discussed hurrying home so they could tell their mother the good news and stop her from worrying.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com