Upon seeing a group of constables enter, Li Zhiyuan and the others tensed up, and the flames of their earlier argument instantly died down.
When the yamen runners come to your door, it's never a good thing!
Li Zhiyuan stepped forward with a smile: "Brothers, what brings you here?"
Officer Feng asked, "Is Gu Han here?"
Li Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat: "Gu Han? He's not home right now, he's out on some important business. May I ask what business you have with him?"
"Hmph! Doing something big? It really is something big." Officer Feng laughed when he heard this. "Last night, a petty thief sneaked into Madam Ye's house in Qinghe Village and stole more than 20 catties of cassava. He also trampled on a few of her flowers, which were worth ten taels of silver."
The true value of cassava couldn't be revealed, so Officer Feng made up an excuse, saying that he had trampled someone's flowers.
"Now that Madam Ye has reported the case, we went to investigate and found that the thief was a cripple. He's the only cripple around here!"
The Li family members suddenly felt dizzy.
Li Jiaojiao's eyes widened: "What did you say? Gu Han went to steal something? Steal what?"
"Didn't I just say that he stole more than 20 catties of cassava? Of course, cassava isn't worth much, but the problem is that when he was stealing, he trampled on someone's flowers, which were worth ten taels of silver."
Li Jiaojiao's face turned pale and then red as she clutched the letter tightly.
Granny Li was the first to explode: "Li Jiaojiao, you shameless hussy, didn't you just say he went to do something important? The important thing you're talking about is going to be a thief? Huh?"
Li Jiaojiao was also filled with shame and indignation. What kind of important thing was he doing? His important thing was to be a thief?
Being a thief is one thing, but when he steals gold and silver, she respectfully calls him "Big Brother" and "Master Thief." But he actually went and stole cassava!
How much is cassava worth? It's just a three or four wen a pound! Twenty pounds would only be seventy or eighty wen!
He stole this? That's all?
Li Zhiyuan and Zhang Shuiniang, mother and son, were also embarrassed, both angry and ashamed, and stared intently at Li Jiaojiao.
Li Jiaojiao said anxiously, "Wait, Brother Cha, is there some misunderstanding? Even if my Gu Han is a cripple, it doesn't necessarily mean it's him!"
Officer Feng said, "That's why we're here to investigate! Don't worry, we won't wrong an innocent person. Men, search them!"
The constables behind him immediately rushed into each room.
Finally, they brought over all of the Li family's shoes.
All the shoes were thrown on the ground, and a constable measured each shoe with a soft ruler.
The Li family members watched with wide eyes, but dared not utter a sound.
After the constables finished measuring, Officer Feng smiled and asked, "Which pair of these shoes belongs to Gu Han?"
Li Zhiyuan knew that the other party must have obtained the shoe print measurements and had already taken them, so he had no choice but to tell the truth:
"Those... the most worn ones, the ones with small holes, those are his..."
Officer Feng laughed and said, "You're quite honest. These shoes match the shoe prints left in Qinghe Village. Men, take Li Zhiyuan and the others away and lock them up in jail first."
Granny Li was startled and immediately wailed, "This is outrageous! Gu Han isn't even a member of our Li family! Why are we being locked up?"
Officer Feng: "Isn't he one of your servants?"
Granny Li cried, "No, that's not true. He's just a freeloader! Last year, my granddaughter took pity on him and brought him home, but he never left. He's not one of our family members, much less a servant. It's his business if he steals, and besides, it's just that he trampled on ten taels of flowers, it's not a big deal."
Li Zhiyuan also shouted urgently:
"No matter what, I'm still a scholar! Even if I see the county magistrate, I don't need to kneel. You all know that it was Gu Han who stole the things, so just arrest him. Why arrest us?"
"Hmph, I'm afraid you'll conspire with him."
"Why would we conspire with him? Just to steal a few broken cassava potatoes? I'm a scholar, I can easily earn ten or eight taels of silver, why would I need to steal a few broken cassava potatoes?"
Officer Feng frowned, after all, Li Zhiyuan's words made sense.
Li Jiaojiao quickly threw the letter in front of Officer Feng: "Look, this is his letter. He left on his own. What does it have to do with us?"
He nodded: "Okay. Once we catch Gu Han, if this matter is also related to you, it won't be too late to arrest you all."
After saying that, he left with a group of constables.
Granny Li and Zhang Shuiniang were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground.
Li Jiaojiao felt a wave of bitterness in her heart. When she saw Gu Han's letter that morning, she actually had a sliver of hope.
Little did I know, this would turn out to be a huge joke...
...
In Qinghe Village, Ye Caiping sat in the main room.
She nodded when she learned that Gu Han had indeed stolen it.
"I'll leave this matter to Constable Feng and Magistrate Lu. I hope you can apprehend Gu Han as soon as possible. Also, only a few of us know about the yellow cassava; I don't know how it got leaked."
Officer Feng said, "Don't worry, Madam Ye, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and bring Gu Han to justice."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Officer Feng left with his constables.
Ye Caiping, however, was somewhat worried.
Although the investigation was swift, Li Jiaojiao, as the female lead, was constantly guided by the power of the plot.
As the male lead, Gu Han is the one who is afraid of having the male lead's halo.
...
Since Gu Han left, the balance has been broken, and the atmosphere in the Li family has been oppressive and gloomy these past few days.
No one in the family wants to do housework.
What Granny Li was thinking was, she is an elder, why should she, as a mother-in-law and grandmother, have to serve her daughter-in-law and grandchildren?
Zhang Shuiniang thought to herself that she was a rich young lady, and Li Zhiyuan had shamelessly knelt in front of her and begged to marry her. She deserved to enjoy her life, and any work she did would be an insult to her status.
Li Jiaojiao felt that she was a reborn woman with great opportunities and good fortune, and that she would achieve great things in the future, so she was unwilling to do it.
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