Chapter 187 Arrest at the Door
Liu Huazhi was unaware that she had given herself away. She was worried that Liu Erleng would expose her, but she was also secretly pleased that she could squeeze silver out of Liu Erleng every day for her own use.
When Xu Huaining returned home in the evening, he saw meat dishes on the table again. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and he asked casually, "How much of the money I gave you last time is left?"
Liu Huazhi wasn't completely stupid; she cautiously reported a number: "There are only twenty or thirty coins left. We don't have much rice at home, just enough to buy some brown rice."
Upon hearing this, Xu Huaining's brows furrowed: "Since you're spending more than you earn, don't buy meat anymore."
Liu Huazhi suddenly got angry and slammed her chopsticks on the table.
"What do you mean? I bought you meat and you're complaining? You know we're struggling to make ends meet, why don't you try to earn more money!"
If it weren't for Liu Erleng's insistence on eating meat every day, she wouldn't have been willing to go to the market every day to buy it.
Worried about arousing the man's suspicion, she didn't intend to serve the meat on the table, but he smelled the aroma of the meat on the very first day, and she couldn't hide it from him at all.
Now that she eats meat every day, she still complains that she spends too much money.
It's not like it's his money, why should he complain?
Xu Huaining ignored Liu Huazhi's attitude and put several slices of meat into his bowl: "This is all the money I give you every month. If you spend it all recklessly, will we starve together when we have no money?"
Liu Huazhi was choked and speechless. She glared at Xu Huaining several times, and was about to pick up her bowl and chopsticks to grab the meat when the old courtyard gate was pounded on, and the voice of the old lady next door came:
"Hey, Xu family, open the door quickly, this old woman needs to talk to you."
Upon hearing this, Liu Huazhi's face showed annoyance: "That old hag, she's probably here to ask for meat again!"
Xu Huaining put down his chopsticks, his expression equally unpleasant: "Open the door, or people will laugh at us."
Liu Huazhi cursed angrily a few times, but still obeyed him and opened the door with a long face.
This alley is inhabited by poor families, and the poorer they are, the more they like to take advantage of others.
The old lady next door is a prime example. These past two days, Liu Huazhi has been stewing meat at home every day, and the aroma has wafted over to the next door, making the old lady's grandson cry with envy several times.
The old lady next door couldn't bear to buy meat for her grandson, so she would bring him over to his house around mealtimes.
Xu Huaining was not home during the day, so Liu Huazhi pretended that no one was home and refused to open the door no matter how much the old lady next door banged on it.
The old lady next door has also become shrewd. She deliberately chose to come over in the evening when Xu Huaining returned home, figuring that he was a scholar who wouldn't be polite and would obediently open the door to let her and her grandson in.
Liu Huazhi opened the courtyard gate, about to say a few words to the old lady next door, when suddenly more than a dozen constables rushed in.
Her eyes widened in terror, and she opened her mouth to scream, but a bailiff swiftly covered her mouth and hissed in a low voice, "Don't speak!"
The other constables didn't even glance at Liu Huazhi before rushing into the courtyard to search everywhere.
The old lady next door shouted at the top of her lungs, "Xu family, everyone says that a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. You hide at home eating meat every day, but you won't let the neighbors have a taste. You are too stingy and too unsociable."
Oh dear, one shouldn't be so stingy. If you give your wife meat today, she'll give you some vegetables tomorrow. You won't lose out either way..."
When Xu Huaining realized something was wrong, it was too late. He received the same treatment as Liu Huazhi, and was gagged by the bailiffs and dragged to the courtyard to keep Liu Huazhi company.
In the cramped, dark storage room in the backyard, Liu Erleng was happily drinking wine and eating meat.
He was already used to hearing the old lady next door making a fuss in the front yard, but he cursed her in his heart for being greedy and never getting enough of taking advantage of him.
Liu Erleng touched his crotch, where he found seven or eight taels of loose silver, all the wealth he had accumulated over the years.
This amount of silver is enough for him to live on for a while; he can eat and drink well and hide away for three to five months without any problem.
Thinking of the culprit who had driven him to become a pariah, a sinister look appeared on Liu Erleng's face:
"Hmph, once this heat dies down, I'll go settle accounts with that bitch surnamed Sheng and burn her entire fortune to the ground!"
Imagining the wonderful scene of Shengyuan being engulfed by fire, Liu Erleng unknowingly drank a few more mouthfuls of wine, and his mind began to become hazy. He didn't even notice that someone had entered the backyard.
Then, with a loud crash, the broken wooden door blocking the storage room was kicked open, and flying pieces of wood hit Liu Erleng hard in the face.
He was so startled that he dropped the wine bowl from his hand onto his lap, the wine instantly soaking his trousers.
The light was dim, and before Liu Erleng could see who had kicked down the door, a loud shout rang in his ears: "Here!"
The next moment, seven or eight constables rushed over.
Only one thought occupied Liu Erleng's mind: It's over!
The bailiffs dragged Liu Erleng to the front yard like a dead dog. When Liu Huazhi saw this, she was so frightened that she almost fainted.
She didn't know where the strength came from, but she suddenly broke free from the constable's restraints and rushed to Xu Huaining, hugging his leg tightly: "Brother Huaining, save me, you must save me!"
Xu Huaining was stunned.
The moment the constables burst in, a thousand guesses flashed through his mind.
It's possible that some unscrupulous person was jealous of his talent and deliberately framed him.
Perhaps Liu Huazhi offended a powerful person, and the powerful person wanted to teach the couple a lesson.
Perhaps he inadvertently stirred the heart of a young lady, and her family found out and bribed the constables to cause trouble.
Xu Huaining never expected that there was a man hiding in his backyard, and that he was a wanted criminal who had caused a great stir in the past few days and whose wanted posters had been put up by the government.
Looking at Liu Huazhi kneeling on the ground, weeping and pleading, Xu Huaining closed his eyes, raised his foot and kicked her hard in the chest, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness: "You're very good!"
The kick was extremely powerful. Liu Huazhi screamed and fell heavily to the ground. Her palm was scraped raw and blood gushed out.
She dared not harbor any resentment, and rushed forward again to hug Xu Huaining's leg:
"I didn't mean it, I was coerced. I didn't want this to happen. You have to save me, you absolutely have to save me! I'm your bride, the one you swore an oath to with heaven and earth!"
Xu Huaining ignored Liu Huazhi's pleas for mercy, his eyes devoid of any warmth, as if he wished he had never met her.
The constables present showed no sympathy for Liu Huazhi, coldly watching her weep and wail like a drowning dog.
Only the old lady next door looked at Liu Huazhi as if she were a fool, her face full of disappointment and frustration.
"The wanted posters are all over the alley, offering a reward of ten taels of silver for information leading to the arrest of the wanted criminal, and fifty taels of silver for the capture of the criminal. You've let such a great opportunity to make money slip by. Even God can't stand it!"
"Speak," she said, giving Xu Huaining a pitying look. "What a tragedy! With a wife harboring a serious criminal, how can he continue studying and taking the imperial examinations? Tsk tsk..."
If Liu Erleng were to run to her home to evade being wanted, no matter how much she threatened or coerced him, it wouldn't deter her from her desire to get rich.
The Xu family was just too stupid and foolish. There were plenty of ways to send Liu Erleng to the authorities, or at worst, poison him to death. That would be better than being accused of harboring a criminal.
Sigh, could it be that the Xu family is having an affair with Liu Erleng? Otherwise, this doesn't make sense.
The old lady next door looked at Liu Huazhi, then at Liu Erleng who was being held down on the ground, and seemed to have discovered something extraordinary. She couldn't help but look up at the top of Xu Huaining's head.
Tsk, poor young man, his head is covered in green!
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