Inside the yamen, the sound of drums shook the sky.
The county magistrate slammed the gavel and shouted sternly, "Bring the prisoner!"
Mr. Li was brought up, heavily tied up. Although he tried to appear calm, the beads of sweat on his forehead betrayed his nervousness. Wang Ergou knelt beside him, trembling.
Chen Xiaoru and Zhou Si stood in the hall with solemn expressions.
"Mr. Li, do you admit your guilt?!" The county magistrate's voice was loud and echoed in the hall.
Li Yuanwai's eyes rolled, and he quickly cried out, "Sir! This is unfair! I have always been law-abiding. How could I do something as heinous as poisoning? Someone must have framed me!"
Zhou Si sneered, stepped forward, and presented the packet of poison: "Sir, this is the poison we found from Wang Ergou. It was Mr. Li who ordered him to put it in the tofu!"
The county magistrate took the poison, examined it carefully, and then looked at Wang Ergou: "Wang Ergou, do you recognize this packet of poison?"
Wang Ergou nodded repeatedly: "I recognize it, I recognize it! This is what Mr. Li gave me! He also gave me fifty taels of silver and asked me to put this medicine in tofu and send it to Boss Chen's hot pot restaurant!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Li Yuanwai hurriedly defended himself, "Sir, this Wang Ergou is clearly slandering me! I don't even know him, let alone give him any poison!"
Chen Xiaoru stepped forward and said loudly, "Sir, I can testify! Wang Ergou delivers tofu to our hot pot restaurant every day, and we've known him for a long time. And Mr. Li has been holding a grudge against us because our hot pot restaurant's thriving business has blocked his path to wealth!"
The county magistrate stroked his beard and looked at Mr. Li: "Mr. Li, do you have anything else to say?"
Li Yuanwai saw that he couldn't deny it anymore, so he just threw in the towel and snorted coldly, "Even if I ordered it, so what? Your hot pot restaurant is doing well and it's taking away my business, so I'm going to shut you down!"
"You bold lunatic!" the county magistrate shouted angrily, "Come here, slap him in the face!"
The yamen runners immediately stepped forward, held Mr. Li down, and slapped him hard several times. Mr. Li's cheeks immediately became red and swollen, and blood oozed from the corners of his mouth.
"Sir, in addition to the poisoning incident, Mr. Li has also sent people to harass our hot pot restaurant many times in an attempt to disrupt our business." Zhou Si added, thinking to himself that this time, Mr. Li must get the punishment he deserves.
The county magistrate looked at Mr. Li with a sharper look in his eyes: "Mr. Li, do you have anything else to say?"
Mr. Li was beaten so hard that he was dizzy and slurred his words: "I... I..."
"Sir, I have a witness!" Chen Xiaoru suddenly said.
"Oh? Bring a witness!" The county magistrate waved his hand.
Several waiters from the hot pot restaurant were brought up, and they all testified that Mr. Li had sent people to cause trouble in the restaurant and even beat someone up.
With all the evidence, Mr. Li could no longer deny it. He slumped to the ground, his face ashen.
The county magistrate slammed the gavel again and solemnly pronounced the verdict: "Mr. Li, you instructed others to poison and attempted murder. You also repeatedly sent people to cause trouble, disrupting public order. For all your crimes, I sentence you to... five years in prison and a fine of 500 taels of silver!"
When Mr. Li heard the verdict, he completely collapsed and cried loudly.
Chen Xiaoru and Zhou Si exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief. The evildoer had finally received the punishment he deserved, and they felt relieved.
The bailiffs dragged Mr. Li away, and peace returned to the hall.
The county magistrate looked at Chen Xiaoru and Zhou Si, his tone much softer. "Boss Chen, Master Zhou, I'm very pleased that you have been so brave as to expose Mr. Li's crimes and rid the people of this evil. From now on, if your hot pot restaurant encounters any difficulties again, please feel free to come to me."
Chen Xiaoru and Zhou Si quickly bowed and saluted: "Thank you, sir!"
The two men walked out of the yamen, the sun shining on their bodies, making them feel warm.
"Xiao Ru, this time it was thanks to your cleverness that we were able to bring Mr. Li to justice so quickly." Zhou Si said sincerely.
Chen Xiaoru smiled slightly. "This is all the result of our joint efforts. Without your help, without Wang Ergou's testimony, and without the testimony of our fellows, we wouldn't have been able to do this smoothly."
Chen Xiaoru was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. She really didn't expect that Wang Ergou was so easily frightened and gave away Mr. Li in no time.
"That's great, it saves us a lot of trouble. If he had insisted on not giving in, I really don't know what to do." Chen Xiaoru patted her chest, looking relieved.
Zhou Si looked at her, his eyes full of tenderness: "Yes! Wife, let's get married!"
Chen Xiaoru was startled, blinked, and asked in confusion, "Get married? We... haven't we already been married?"
Zhou Si held Chen Xiaoru's hand and looked at her with burning eyes: "I want to give you a real wedding and marry you in a formal ceremony." His voice was low and magnetic, and every word struck Chen Xiaoru's heart.
Chen Xiaoru's heart skipped a beat. She raised her head and looked into Zhou Si's affectionate eyes. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, and she joked, "Zhou Si, are you wrong? I should be the one to marry you, but you are my live-in husband!" After that, she covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes curved into crescents.
"Yes, yes, I was wrong. My lady is right. I want to marry you." Zhou Si followed Chen Xiaoru's words, his tone became gentler, and his eyes were full of pampering.
The sunlight shone on the two of them, giving them a golden halo. The hustle and bustle around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them.
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