An Rong led the man to the woodshed and tied him up with rope to prevent him from escaping.
"If you don't talk, we'll wait for the officials to come," An Rong said coldly. The poisoned wine and food were evidence; he couldn't escape.
The old man's face was ashen; he knew he had nowhere to escape.
"I was bewitched and thought of poisoning you and framing you to extort money from you. There was no one behind it as you claim." His wife and mentally challenged son were still in the hands of the other party, and he could not reveal the mastermind under any circumstances.
"Oh?" An Rong didn't believe it at all. His flustered appearance and shifty eyes betrayed him.
“Since there is no mastermind, you must take full responsibility for this. I will explain to the officials that it was all your doing and has nothing to do with anyone else. How the officials judge it is their business and has nothing to do with me.”
This guy is stupid. Even if he takes the blame himself, the people behind the scenes won't give him any benefits.
"But if you are the mastermind, then you are being instructed, or even threatened, and you and your family will be treated leniently."
An Rong made a simple assumption, intending to make him think it through, as concealing the truth would have even worse consequences.
The old man hesitated. He had only been after money, but now he had lost his money and was also risking his life and his family's future.
"I begged you, young man, to plead for me and not kill me," the old man cried bitterly.
An Rong: "..."
When did you say you were going to kill him? Aren't you just scaring yourself?
Fortunately, the old man told him everything, and that the person behind the scenes was not the one he was thinking of, and was not worth mentioning.
The constables arrived quickly. Fang Deming saw the name of Dou Dou's Tavern and chuckled to himself, wondering how it could have the same name as Yuan Dou Dou.
Upon entering, they were stunned to see Yuan Doudou.
"It really is you, DouDou." He had always called her Miss Yuan before, but in his excitement, he called her by her name directly.
Yuan Doudou was happy to see Fang Deming. In the past, when she went to see Zhao Anling, Fang Deming would always speak up for her. In her heart, Fang Deming was an absolutely good person.
"Officer Fang, I'm sorry, my shop has been open for a while now and I haven't been able to invite you for a drink. But you and your brothers can come here often in the future, and I'll give you a discount."
Fang Deming didn't continue with pleasantries; business was more important.
"He's in the woodshed." Yuan Doudou led him there.
His men tested the wine and food with silver needles; the needles turned black, confirming that poison had indeed been added.
"Are you An Rong?" Fang Deming entered the backyard and saw a man with a strong build and outstanding appearance.
An Rong nodded, "That's me."
Fang Deming thought to himself, no wonder Yuan Doudou couldn't forget her husband, she was no ordinary woman.
“He has already confessed; the mastermind is Li Juren,” An Rong said.
Fang Deming frowned; it was him.
Li, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, was a frequent visitor to the county government office. He would go to see the magistrate every few days. At first, the magistrate gave him some face, but after a while, he would find an excuse to refuse to see him.
Ping'an Town is not large, but it is small yet complete. All the officials on duty in each department are very young. The scholars who passed the imperial examinations should not be underestimated. However, if you want to become an official, you have to wait. Only when someone retires can the scholars have the opportunity to fill the vacancy.
Not just any position can be filled; one usually has to start as a county magistrate, but the current county magistrates are only thirty years old, and it will take fifteen years to retire.
Li, the scholar, is almost thirty. When the county magistrate retires, he will also reach retirement age.
This is also what worries Li, the scholar.
"Have you offended him?" Fang Deming didn't have a good impression of Li Juren, and Dou Dou shouldn't have anything to do with such a person.
Yuan Doudou found the name Li Juren somewhat familiar.
The customers in the shop seemed to have been discussing that the man who wanted to buy Huang Rong as a concubine was none other than Li Juren.
After she explained the situation, Fang Deming understood that Li Juren did indeed have a motive for committing the crime.
"Okay, I'll take the person back first. I'll let you know when I have the results." Fang Deming was worried that staying too long would affect their business, so he quietly left with the person.
The drinkers, always eager for a spectacle, noticed the elderly man being taken away and quickly craned their necks to ask DouDou, "Boss lady, what's going on? How come I was taken away after coming here for a drink?"
"Yeah, could he be a habitual murderer or arsonist?"
"Judging from his appearance, he's probably just someone who dines and dashes."
Yuan Doudou laughed and said, "You guessed right. After drinking and eating meat, you told me you had no money. I had no choice but to report you to the authorities. Don't you think so?"
“I support the boss lady. Opening a business isn’t charity. If you don’t have money, don’t come here and embarrass yourself.” The old customer, who was in a good mood after drinking, stood up to speak for Dou Dou.
"Me too. It's true that there are all kinds of people in a big forest. In this world, people still dare to eat and drink for free. Do they think officials are just sitting around doing nothing?"
Since the founding of the Ling Kingdom, the ruler has emphasized the rule of law and has always severely punished those who violate the law and break the rules.
These people, after drinking, would grab a stranger and chatter on and on until curfew approached, at which point they would stagger and reluctantly leave the tavern.
"You must be tired," An Rong said with concern, looking at Dou Dou who was slumped over the counter.
He somewhat regretted opening the tavern. It always stayed out very late, and all sorts of people came in. Many of them got drunk and acted crazy, making a lot of noise and giving him a headache.
Yuan Doudou smiled and shook her head, "I'm happy as long as I can make money."
A little tiredness and a little noise are nothing.
Compared to other types of shops, taverns are undoubtedly more profitable.
Anji will need to go to school in the future, and the baby in her belly will need to be fed. Money will be needed everywhere, so naturally, we need to earn more money.
After wiping the table and chairs, Lu Xi would place the chairs upside down on the table every night, and then put them back down the next day.
"Lu Xi, you did very well today." Yuan Doudou praised him, and when she asked him to keep an eye on the old man, he did so without hesitation. When she noticed him fiddling with something in his sleeve, she immediately told An Rong.
Lu Xi remained blushing, did not reply, and continued working.
"Lu Xi, Dou Dou is talking to you, why aren't you responding?" Huang Rong finished cleaning up the kitchen and came out to see this scene.
"It's okay, Rongrong. We all know he's not talkative." Not being talkative isn't a crime; he responds with his expressions.
Seeing that she said that, Huang Rong stopped scolding Lu Xi.
However, she thought to herself that she should make sure Lu Xi changes properly; being eloquent and persuasive will help her avoid being taken advantage of wherever she goes.
If you can't get a proper beating, you'll have nowhere to seek justice if someone bullies you in the future.
At night, Yuan Doudou lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?" An Rong was sleeping on the outermost side; Dou Dou wasn't asleep, and neither was he.
Angie was sleeping inside, already snoring.
"I just lamented how unpredictable people can be. I didn't do anything heinous, yet they wanted to kill me." She felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about the poisoning.
If they hadn't realized that the person had eaten poisonous food and drunk poisonous wine, they would have been unable to clear their name even if they jumped into the Yellow River.
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