Chapter 72 So angry I jumped up and down
The moment Xu Ren suddenly went limp, it seemed as if the wind at the Xu family's main gate had stopped.
Wang first felt the pressure on her neck suddenly loosen, and then she felt Xu Ren slump down her back.
Then there was no further movement for half a day.
She was still trembling all over and couldn't move her legs at all. She could only turn around little by little, tentatively.
Xu Ren lay on the ground, his eyes still wide open, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth into the cracks between the bricks.
Xu Li gripped a dagger in his right hand, and drops of blood from the blade fell to the ground, splashing up tiny blood flowers.
His brocade robe was completely stained red on the front, and there were even a few bloodstains on his face, as if he had just been pulled out of a dye vat.
He stood frozen in place, his eyes glazed over, as if he hadn't yet realized what he had just done.
"ah……!"
Wang's scream was like a choked throat suddenly released, piercing the deathly silence in front of the gate with its sharpness.
She didn't care about anything else and turned to run outside. In her panic, she missed a step and was about to tumble down.
Pei Zhiwei swiftly rushed over and steadily supported Wang's arm.
She was genuinely startled; she had just been thinking about finding an opportunity to make her move.
No one expected that Xu Li, who knew absolutely no martial arts, would suddenly resort to deadly attacks.
Wang's once dignified face was now completely drained of color, and she kept muttering, "Murder...he murdered someone..."
He was clearly completely terrified by the series of shocks.
"Xu Li! You..."
Liu Jingchang was so surprised that he almost said something but then stopped himself.
He stared at the dagger in Xu Li's hand, then glanced at Xu Ren's corpse on the ground, his face turning pale and then flushed.
He was just thinking about how to take advantage of Xu Ren getting into the carriage when Xu Li suddenly turned "kidnapping" into "murdering his brother," completely twisting the situation.
Xu Li seemed to have just come to his senses; the panic in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a fierce edge.
He threw the dagger on the ground. "He's a beast!"
"He killed his father, killed Steward Chen, and now he wants to kill Wang Shi."
As his son, how could I let him go?
"You're confused!" Liu Jingchang finally couldn't help but shout, pointing at Xu Li.
“I’ve already made all the arrangements. As long as he gets on the carriage, there will be an opening to capture him!”
If you act now and save Wang Shi, that's true, but you've killed someone!
He's still your own brother!
Perhaps because of the blood splattered in his eyes, Xu Li's eyes were bloodshot. "When he killed his father, he never thought that he was his father's biological son."
When he wanted me to die, he didn't even consider that I was his brother.
Even though my father has a thousand and one faults, he has never lacked food or clothing for him, and he has raised him to his current age.
But this beast could be so cruel.
I killed him to avenge my father. What's wrong with that?
"To avenge my father?" Liu Jingchang was so angry he almost jumped up.
"You think this is a gangland feud? This is a government investigation!"
Even if your reasons are perfectly justified, taking vigilante justice is still against the law!
It's really no wonder Liu Jingchang was so angry.
If Xu Li hadn't said that last sentence, Liu Jingchang could have submitted a memorial to the Ministry of Justice, saying that he had made a mistake because he was too eager to save his mother.
Now, things have taken a turn for the worse. Xu Li openly declared in front of everyone that he wanted to avenge his father.
The nature of this is completely different.
As Liu Jingchang said, this is settling personal scores and carrying out private punishments.
Even killing a beast who murdered his father, killed his aunt with a knife, and held his stepmother hostage with a knife would still result in punishment.
Pei Zhiwei stood beside her, tightening her grip on Wang Shi's hand to make her lean more steadily.
She felt a little helpless looking at Xu Li's appearance.
"Guards!" Liu Jingchang took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and called out.
"Take Xu Li away! And bring back the bodies of Liu Shi and Xu Ren so that Coroner Han can examine them carefully!"
Several constables rushed over; some put iron chains on Xu Li, who was still in a daze, while others carried the corpse off the ground.
Supported by two maids from the Xu family, Wang was still crying softly, her eyes filled with fear, clearly not yet recovered from the shock she had just experienced.
Liu Jing rubbed his temples and said to everyone, "Go to the main hall. I want to ask what exactly happened today."
The tables and chairs in the main hall were still askew, and the bloodstains on the ground had been temporarily covered with a cloth, but the faint smell of blood still lingered.
Liu Jingchang sat in the chair at the head of the table, with yamen runners standing beside him. The servants of the Xu family stood below, all with their heads bowed, none daring to speak.
“You,” Liu Jingchang pointed to the old servant with gray hair at the front.
"I know you're an old resident of the Xu family. Explain today's events to me clearly."
From the moment you opened your eyes this morning until Xu Ren killed Liu Shi, what happened?
The old servant took two shaky steps forward, knelt in the middle, clutching his trousers with both hands, his voice still a little strained: "Reporting to you, sir, this morning..."
This morning, the lady was in the main hall arranging things for the household, such as shopping and cleaning.
Erlang suddenly rushed in from outside, his face extremely ugly. As soon as he entered, he shouted, "Wang, come out here!"
When his wife asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't say and started hitting her.
The lady's face was where he had just slapped her.
He paused, swallowed, and then said, "It just so happens that Aunt Liu also came."
She stood to the side, watching the lady being beaten, and even laughed, saying, "The master has only been gone a short time, and Erlang has already become so successful, daring to even slap the face of the mistress of the house."
Aunt Liu used to speak like that too; whatever she said was always sarcastic and ambiguous, but Erlang never took it personally.
But this time... this time, for some reason, Erlang suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed Aunt Liu.
Before we could even react, Aunt Liu collapsed.
"Is that so?" Liu Jingchang glanced at the servant beside him.
Several servants nodded hurriedly, and a younger maid said in a low voice, "Yes... we wanted to stop him, but Erlang moved too fast."
When Aunt Liu collapsed, blood gushed out immediately, and we were all too frightened to move.
Pei Zhiwei stood next to Xiao Yunzhan, listening to the old servant's words, and felt that something was not right.
Did Xu Ren kill Liu Shi because of a sarcastic remark made by Aunt Liu?
Xu Ren had planned the collapse of the scaffolding so meticulously before, so why would he suddenly take action based on just one sentence?
She subconsciously glanced at the servants standing at the far end, her gaze suddenly stopping on a man in a blue cloth robe.
The man looked to be in his thirties. Standing in the crowd, he had a look of lingering fear on his face, just like everyone else.
But the more I looked at that figure, the more familiar it seemed.
Pei Zhiwei pointed at the man and said, "You, come here for a moment."
The man paused for a moment, then slowly stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Liu Jingchang: "This humble one greets Your Excellency."
"Were you in the main hall this morning as well?" Pei Zhiwei asked.
"Yes," the man replied, his back bent, his eyelids half-open, his gaze fixed on the ground.
“I was serving nearby at the time and saw Erlang do it with my own eyes.”
Pei Zhiwei: "Are you a guard in the manor?"
The man quickly shook his head: "No, I am the deputy steward of the manor, in charge of miscellaneous affairs."
"Did you leave the manor today?" Pei Zhiwei stared intently at him, not missing any subtle changes in his face.
The man's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but his voice remained steady: "No, there have been many matters to attend to at the manor today. I have remained here the entire time and have not gone out."
Pei Zhiwei suddenly laughed, her tone revealing a hint of understanding: "Really? But we just met this morning."
It's right there in the Yihong Courtyard.
How come you don't recognize me after I changed my clothes?
Upon hearing this, not only did the man's face turn pale instantly, but Liu Jingchang was also stunned: "The assassin from the brothel? It was you?"
The man turned and tried to run away.
Xiao Yunzhan was prepared; he took a step and blocked his way, grabbing his arm.
Xie Ji wasn't idle either; he walked around from the side and grabbed his other hand.
The two men moved quickly and pinned the man to the ground before he could struggle.
"Speak! Who sent you to kill Han Yan?" Pei Zhiwei shouted.
The man gritted his teeth, pressed his head to the ground, and remained silent.
Just as Liu Jingchang was about to speak, he heard Madam Wang suddenly burst into tears: "Wang Heng! You...you are my dowry maid, a member of the Wang family, how could you collude with outsiders to kill someone?"
Pei Zhiwei paused for a moment and looked at Wang Shi.
Wang pointed at the man on the ground, her hand trembling violently, and tears streaming down her face.
“I brought you from the Wang family and treated you well. How could you do such a thing?”
Wang Heng then raised his head, his face no longer showing the toughness he had just displayed, but rather a hint of dejection.
He looked at Wang Shi and said in a low voice, "I am just a servant. I will do whatever my master tells me to do."
"Were you coerced?" Wang leaned forward, a glimmer of hope still in her eyes.
"Was it Xu Ren who forced you? Tell me, and I... I'll plead for you."
Wang Heng remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "A while ago, I stole one of your jade thumb rings, and Erlang saw it."
He said that as long as the villain helped him kill Han Yan, this matter would never be mentioned again.
If we don't help, he'll expose this matter.
I am not afraid of death, but I am part of your dowry. If outsiders find out, it will tarnish your reputation.
"Are you out of your mind!" Wang was so angry that she trembled all over and pointed at him.
"What good is reputation? What's a human life? You'd help him kill someone over something like this?"
Pei Zhiwei stood to the side, listening to their back-and-forth conversation, and the strange feeling in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
Wang Heng was part of Wang's dowry; how could he be coerced by Xu Ren because of a thumb ring?
"Did you tell Xu Ren that we have found out he was responsible for the collapse of the scaffolding?" Pei Zhiwei squatted down and looked into Wang Heng's eyes.
Wang Heng stiffened for a moment, then nodded: "Yes... When I failed to kill Han Yan, I knew she would reveal everything about Erlang, so I rushed back to tell her."
"Then why didn't he run away immediately, but instead rushed in to attack Wang Shi?" Pei Zhiwei pressed.
Logically speaking, Xu Ren's first reaction upon realizing that his scheme had been exposed should have been to run away. Why would he stay in the mansion waiting to be arrested?
Wang Heng lowered his head again, his voice muffled: "I don't know... After Erlang heard this, he said he was going to the main hall to find Wang Shi. I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen."
Pei Zhiwei laughed in anger. She looked at Wang Heng, her tone laced with sarcasm: "You make it sound so easy. Xu Ren is already dead, there's no way to verify anything, so you can say whatever you want, right?"
Wang Heng kept his mouth shut, refusing to say another word.
Liu Jingchang grew impatient and said to the yamen runner, "Stop wasting your breath on him!"
Take him and Xu Li back together, along with all these servants, and interrogate them one by one!
I refuse to believe that the death of Xu Ren can cover everything up!
The constables responded and stepped forward to take Wang Heng away.
"Wait a minute."
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