He didn't think about his wife before he did all this; his wife was still working at Cheng Qingyan's place!
Now that Li Gang has colluded with bandits to rob Cheng Qingyan, he can't escape being imprisoned.
With elderly parents to care for and young children to raise, and now they've gotten involved with bandits, how are they going to survive?
Never mind, it's not something he can handle alone.
Meng Qiuliang sighed heavily, looking at the jovial crowd before him. Because of his age, and the deep wrinkles on his forehead, his brows furrowed, making the wrinkles appear particularly pronounced.
He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Stop it, all of you!"
Then he scanned the crowd with his eyes; "What kind of behavior is this! Everyone, take your hands off!"
The fighters looked at each other, then at Meng Qiuliang, their hands gripping each other's clothes and hair showing no sign of loosening.
Enraged, Meng Qiuliang shouted at Cheng Qingyan, "Cheng San, if they keep making a scene, we'll take them all to the yamen!"
"And anyone who doesn't want to stay in this village, get out of here right now!"
Meng Qiuliang lost his temper, and those people finally let go one by one.
Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu stood next to Meng Qiuliang. As the village chief, it was reasonable for Meng Qiuliang to let him handle these matters.
Now that he knew where the body was, Meng Jia quietly left after receiving instructions.
Everyone quieted down, and Meng Qiuliang then sat down, leaning on the table for support.
"Cheng San, what do you think we should do about this?"
Cheng Qingyan stood to the side with a smile and said, "You are the village chief, you have the final say."
He paused for a moment, then looked up at Cheng Qingyan. Was this kid playing with him?
When it comes to matters involving human lives, his word is worthless!
When will the officials from the yamen arrive?
"It's probably tomorrow; they might not be able to come back today."
Meng Qiuliang looked at Li Gang and asked Cheng Qingyan, "What do you plan to do about Li Gang?"
After the question was asked, everyone looked at Cheng Qingyan, waiting for her answer.
Cheng Qingyan pondered for a moment: "Village Chief, Officer Nie has already met with Li Gang. This matter is probably not something you or I can decide at will."
Meng Qiuliang, who had originally intended to plead for Li Gang, was silenced. He glanced at Li Gang again and sighed.
"Well then, let's leave it at that. We'll hand the person over to Officer Nie when he returns."
Li Gang's wife and father knelt down together, and his wife even pulled Bao'er down to kneel as well.
They kowtowed and begged for mercy to Cheng Qingyan and Meng Qiuliang together; they knew nothing and understood nothing else.
But by colluding with bandits and handing Li Gang over to the authorities, his life was effectively over.
"Village chief, Cheng San begs you, spare my son's life! We can pay compensation, even if it means selling our pots and pans, our fields and land, to make sure Li Gang returns what he stole to Cheng San."
Li Gang's wife also pulled Bao'er to kowtow to Cheng Qingyan: "Please, my lord, I can work for free in the threshing ground for the rest of my life to pay off the debt."
Bao'er timidly tugged at Cheng Qingyan's robe: "I know you, can you please stop people from arresting my father?"
“I only have one father, and he is rarely at home. I want him to stay home and spend more time with us.”
"I can go to work and earn money for you, even if he owes me money. When I'm older, I'll give you all the money I earn, okay?"
Cheng Qingyan squatted down and helped Bao'er up. What had the child done wrong?
After wiping away Bao'er's tears, Cheng Qingyan spoke softly, "Your name is Bao'er, right? You're your father and mother's precious darling, aren't you?"
“Bao’er, I can’t make decisions about your father’s affairs.”
“He has done something very serious, and someone has lost their life because of it. He has to go with the officials.”
Bao'er asked innocently, "After he leaves with the officials, will he be able to come back and stay with Bao'er?"
Cheng Qingyan rubbed his head but didn't answer him.
Because she herself didn't know how Li Gang's crime should be punished.
Perhaps she won't be coming back, but she doesn't know how to tell Bao'er.
The child can't understand why the adults did something wrong; he only knows that his father was arrested because of Cheng Qingyan.
They wouldn't have thought that his father was arrested because he had wicked intentions and colluded with bandits.
Moreover, this incident revealed that this was not the first time Li Gang had come into contact with bandits.
This is the most serious thing. Who knows why he contacted the bandits before?
Meng Qiuliang said he was very tired, really very tired.
Recent events have made him feel that the originally simple and honest villagers seem to be putting on an act.
Even the smallest bit of profit is enough to make them disregard their families and risk their lives.
He stood up, supporting himself on the table, and Cheng Qingyan reached out to help him.
Glancing at the man still kneeling on the ground, and then at Li Gang, Meng Qiuliang sighed: "Everyone, disperse. This matter is beyond what the village can resolve."
"The matter of Changgui will naturally be resolved when the officials arrive."
"This is not a courtroom, everyone go back."
The people who were standing outside Cheng Qingyan's house all went back home one by one, looking back every few steps, urged on by Meng Qiuliang.
Li Gang's wife, holding Bao'er's hand, looked at Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu, wanting to speak, but seemed unsure how to begin. In the end, she remained silent, turned around, and left with her family.
The once noisy courtyard was finally quiet at this moment.
Under Cheng Qingyan's instructions, Meng An re-tied up Li Gang and locked him up.
I wonder how Nie Yilin and his men are doing with their bandit hunt; there's still no word from them.
The assassins who were captured earlier became much more proactive after being stabbed by Meng Chuying for a while.
They eagerly waited to be pricked, and Meng Chuying would even brew medicine for them.
After some time, the person who was initially the most seriously injured had almost fully recovered.
Not to mention those who weren't injured at all; apart from taking the medicine given to them by Ruan Banxia, they had no other symptoms.
If they weren't thinking about escaping, they would be just like normal people.
However, no one ran away. Perhaps they had considered running away from the beginning.
But now they all seem to have behaved themselves. Cheng Qingyan wonders if it's just his imagination, but he even feels that they are enjoying their current life.
The previous enclosure served as their living quarters, with simple beds set up for them.
They can come out and move around sometimes, but they almost always stay inside and don't come out much.
Cheng Qingyan stood outside the enclosure and called out to Wen Hepingcheng inside, "Wen Hepingcheng, all of you come out for a moment."
After a brief commotion, eight people emerged from behind the curtain.
All their arrogance was gone; they stood in a row and seemed somewhat restrained.
Cheng Qingyan took a step back: "The government officials will come tomorrow, and then I will hand you over to them."
The brothers Wen Pingcheng and Wen Pingshuo knelt down with a thud, startling Cheng Qingyan.
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