Chapter 22 The Arsonist "Dad." ...
"father."
As soon as the two entered the house, Lin Ziping hurriedly stood up and respectfully greeted them.
Liu Deshui responded and, seeing the food on the table, asked, "Haven't you eaten yet?"
Lin Ziping went over obsequiously and pulled out a chair, saying, "Yes, I'll be waiting for you."
Looking at his son and wife, Liu Deshui felt a pang of guilt, but it was only for a moment.
Lin Cailian diligently wiped Liu Deshui's hands and thoughtfully took off his outer robe and placed it aside, whispering softly in Liu Deshui's ear.
"Knowing you'd be coming these next few days, Ping'er went to the mountains to find some fresh bamboo shoots that you like. Come and try them."
Liu Deshui was extremely satisfied with the service; only here could he rediscover his manly demeanor.
"Actually, I shouldn't have come tonight, but I was afraid you two would panic, so I came to give you a heads-up and take the remaining half-bucket of pine oil with me."
I was in such a hurry last night that I didn't expect things to turn out this way, so I left this barrel of oil here to avoid arousing suspicion.
Liu Deshui put down his chopsticks, picked up his glass of wine and took a sip, then instructed in a tone that, "Remember this, from now on, no matter who comes to your door, you must deny to the death that you have anything to do with me, understand?"
Lin Cailian nodded vigorously, but Lin Ziping only responded with a faint utterance.
Liu Deshui thought for a moment, then looked at Lin Ziping with concern and said, "I wonder if that Lin guy will suspect us. We must be careful about how we talk to them, you know?"
"Okay, I understand."
Lin Ziping has always been very obedient. Over the years, he has never gone to see him unless asked to. Even though he knew his own identity from a very young age, he never revealed a word of it.
Liu Deshui poured half a cup of wine for Lin Ziping with admiration and praised him, saying, "My son is a remarkable person. In the future, everything in the Liu family will belong to you alone."
Lin Ziping hesitated for a moment before taking the wine. Lin Cailian reached out and took it from him, teasing Liu Deshui with a smile: "How could you, as the father, forget that this child gets rashes as soon as he touches a little wine!"
Liu Deshui then realized what had happened and laughed as he blamed himself for not fulfilling his duties as a father.
Lin Cailian was smiling on the surface, but she was feeling extremely sad inside.
Lin Qing'an watched everything happening inside through the crack in the window, hoping in his heart that Chen Gengnian and Lin Jing would appear.
Just then, someone patted his left shoulder. Lin Qing'an turned around alertly and saw Chen Gengnian.
Not only Chen Gengnian, but also the village chief and the village head, and next to the village head stood a tall, thin man. In the dim light of the night, you could see a sword strapped to his body.
Seeing Lin Qing'an's puzzled look, Chen Gengnian hurriedly whispered, "This is Constable Qiu, an assistant brought by the village head."
Lin Qing'an smiled politely and nodded to the group. He then remembered that in rural cases like theirs, the so-called reporting to the authorities was actually to the village head. If the case was true and the evidence was conclusive, the village head would then forward it to the county for processing.
"Shh~"
Just then, Chen Gengnian made a shushing gesture.
Then, the conversation between Liu Deshui and Lin Cailian could be heard continuing inside the house.
"Are you sure no one saw us setting the fire last night?"
"Of course! Ping'er and I made sure there was no one around before we called you over." Lin Cailian was instantly displeased to hear her husband's continued doubts, and feigned anger as she asked, "Do you think we would harm you?"
"Hahaha," Liu Deshui raised his hand and patted Lin Cailian's back, laughing and coaxing, "How could that be? You and Ping'er are the people I trust the most. Once I find a way to bring down that poisonous woman, you will be the only lady in charge of the Liu family."
Lin Cailian was overjoyed and kept winking at her son.
After receiving the message, Lin Ziping bowed to Liu Deshui and said, "Father, I've eaten my fill. I'll go rest now. Please enjoy your meal."
Liu Deshui waved his hand, and Lin Ziping opened the door and went out.
Only Lin Cailian and Liu Deshui remained in the house. Since they were husband and wife, they no longer cared about anything else as long as their son was not present.
Lin Cailian plopped down on Liu Deshui's lap and began to flirt.
Liu Deshui picked up Lin Cailian and headed towards her room, saying urgently, "We have to hurry. Erdan's mother will be back from town today. I only went out under the pretense of going to drink with the teacher. We must be home by the time it's time."
Lin Cailian replied with a coquettish laugh, "I know, you rascal~"
Just then.
Thud—
A loud bang startled the people in the room, who jumped up from the bed and began frantically tidying their clothes. Before they could go out to check what was happening, a fierce voice came in with the sound of the door opening.
"Liu Deshui, you've got some nerve! How dare you sneak food behind my back!"
It was Liu Deshui's wife, Zhao Yun, who led a group of people to attack.
Lin Ziping had just run out of the house when he was frightened by the large group of people and hid behind a pillar. He watched helplessly as the woman led a group of people into his mother's room.
"What a pair of adulterers! I'll tear you apart!" As soon as Zhao Yun entered the room, she saw the two disheveled people and was so angry that she ran over to tear them apart.
Having been pampered by her parents since childhood, she had never suffered such humiliation. The people who came with her seized Liu Deshui, and before he could even utter a word in defense, Zhao Yun slapped him repeatedly.
The battle inside the house was fierce, and Lin Qing'an and the others naturally emerged from the shadows.
They bumped into Lin Jing as soon as they went out, and the three of them exchanged a knowing smile without saying a word.
"Let's go in and take a look." The village head angrily flung his sleeves and led the way inside.
Chen Gengnian walked straight to the pillar in the shadows. As he approached the woods, a pungent, foul smell hit his nose.
Lin Ziping was so scared he peed his pants!
Chen Gengnian covered his mouth and nose with one hand in disgust, and pulled the person out with the other.
"What are you doing? Chen Gengnian, let me go!" Lin Ziping shouted and struggled, but Chen Gengnian threw him to the ground and, before he could react, grabbed one of his sleeves and dragged him into the house.
The friction between the floor and the threshold made Lin Ziping scream in pain.
At this time, the villagers nearby also heard the commotion and came to see what was going on.
As soon as they stepped inside, they saw Liu Deshui kneeling on the ground, his hair disheveled and his face swollen and red, his head turned into a pig's head by slaps.
Lin Cailian stood trembling to the side, sobbing softly.
When Lin Qing'an and the others came in, the fear in her eyes turned into doubt and vigilance. But the next second, when she saw her son being dragged into the house, all her emotions turned into fear.
She no longer cared about Liu Deshui and rushed towards Lin Ziping.
"Ping'er—"
Before Lin Cailian could even touch Chen Gengnian, Lin Jing stepped in and separated them.
She tried to step forward again, but Lin Jing delivered a powerful elbow strike that knocked her to the ground.
Instantly, the room was filled with cries and pleas for mercy, so loud it hurt one's ears.
Zhao Yun continued to teach Liu Deshui a lesson, completely ignoring who was behind her. But before she had finished beating him, Constable Qiu stepped forward and pulled Liu Deshui over.
"Who are you?" Zhao Yun was very dissatisfied that the person in her hand had been taken away.
"I am a constable under the magistrate's command. I have come here to arrest the arsonist in connection with the Lin family's arson case." Constable Qiu's voice was strong and clear, stunning Zhao Yun and the villagers who were crowding outside to watch the commotion.
"What?" Zhao Yun asked incredulously, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? This good-for-nothing could actually do something like this?"
"Yes, yes, Madam, you must believe me, it wasn't me..." Liu Deshui hurriedly found an opening to refute.
"Really?" Lin Qingan suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Then who do you think it is?"
"How would I know?" Liu Deshui denied it to the bitter end.
Just then, the village chief somehow found the remaining half-bucket of pine resin. He slammed the bucket down in front of Liu Deshui and angrily demanded, "What is this?"
Liu Deshui wanted to argue, but the village head also stepped forward, saying, "We have already heard your conversation. You yourself told the truth about setting fire to the Lin family's house!"
Constable Qiu chimed in, "That's right, we all heard it, and everyone present can testify to it."
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian kept their eyes on Liu Deshui.
Liu Deshui dared not look directly at Lin Qing'an. He was already anxious to shirk responsibility, so he didn't think much of it and pointed to Lin Cailian and Lin Ziping beside him, "It was them, they did it all!"
"I saw them set the fire with my own eyes." Liu Deshui rushed over and hugged Zhao Yun tightly, crying out, "Madam, you must believe me! I'm innocent! It's all this woman's fault! She seduced me! I'm innocent! In my heart, you and our son are the most important people. You have to believe me..."
At this moment, Liu Deshui was willing to abandon all dignity as a man in order to survive. He knew that as long as Zhao Yun was still willing to believe in him, he could live.
Zhao Yun kicked Liu Deshui in the chest, then stood aside with a look of disgust, as if afraid of getting dirty.
She looked at Lin Cailian, who was already breathless with anger at Liu Deshui, and said, "I didn't hit you today because I know that the root of the problem is that this damned man can't control his lower body. You've seen what kind of person he is; he'll sell anything for himself. Tell me! What exactly is your relationship!"
Lin Cailian has hated Zhao Yun to the bone all these years and ignores her completely. She walks step by step toward Liu Deshui, pointing at his forehead and crying with tears streaming down her face.
"You heartless, faithless, and fickle man! Back then, you abandoned my son and me to climb up to this woman. When we found you, you promised to give us a good life in the future. All these years, Ping'er and I have listened to you in everything. He has no father, and I was willing to be a widow, all because of your promise. But I never thought you would be this kind of person. You will be punished by heaven!"
Lin Cailian raised her hand and slapped Liu Deshui twice hard, then turned around and resolutely confessed her crime to Constable Qiu.
“Liu Deshui started the fire, and he also brought the pine resin. He thought that after Lin Yanfeng and his son had a conflict yesterday, Lin Qingan used our identities to threaten him, so he planned all of this.”
Lin Cailian knelt down in front of Lin Qing'an with a thud, crying and pleading, "This was all done by Liu Deshui and me, it has nothing to do with Ping'er, please, spare my son, please spare Qing'er..."
As Lin Cailian spoke, she kowtowed to Lin Qing'an, but Lin Qing'an was pulled aside by Chen Gengnian.
Chen Gengnian was afraid that his husband would be soft-hearted. In this era, being soft-hearted towards the enemy would leave a future problem for oneself.
So he said firmly, "Whether we did it or not, the officials will judge us. You burned down our homes and expect us to be magnanimous? We are not bodhisattvas; we cannot be merciful to everyone!"
Chen Gengnian's words left no room for doubt, completely extinguishing Lin Cailian's hopes.
The village headman said, "Take him away, Officer Qiu!"
Constable Qiu nodded and blew the whistle hanging around his neck. Soon after, two constables dressed like him ran in from outside.
Each person escorted one person out.
Liu Deshui desperately begged Zhao Yun for help, but Zhao Yun not only refused to help him but also spat at him.
"Pah! You coward!"
Liu Deshui had completely lost hope. The three of them cried and shouted that they were wronged as they were dragged out of the courtyard.
As they passed by the door, the villagers who couldn't stand it wanted to rush up and beat the man, but they were stopped by Officer Qiu and his men.
However, as they walked forward, someone picked up stones and threw them from behind, causing Lin Ziping to cry loudly.
The matter was over, but a group of people remained in the room.
Zhao Yun walked straight toward Lin Qing'an, while Chen Gengnian warily shielded her behind him.
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