Although Wang Decai was panicked, he still tried to argue his way out of it. He forced himself to remain calm and began to speak.
"My lord, I am innocent! This ledger is definitely forged. I swear to God that I have never embezzled a single penny. The shopkeeper saved my life and gave me a second chance. How could I repay kindness with enmity? Please, my lord, investigate thoroughly!"
"Wang Decai, stop making excuses."
Chen Feng sneered, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
"You destroyed these ledgers, but I unexpectedly discovered your secret. I didn't want to expose you and leave you a way out."
"But it's all my fault for being too kind-hearted; you almost beat me to death. So everything that happened today is your own fault."
"You're talking nonsense, these ledgers are clearly fake."
Wang Decai was absolutely certain. He had clearly thrown those account books into the river; even if someone had found them, they couldn't be in such perfect condition.
As long as he doesn't admit to embezzling money and insists that the account book is fake, no one can do anything about it.
Chen Feng gave a mocking smile, "Wang Decai, did you throw the account book into the river? Are you sure you really did?"
"What do you mean by that?" A hint of panic flashed in Wang Decai's eyes.
Do you remember last year's Ghost Festival?
After Chen Feng's reminder, Wang Decai suddenly remembered.
That day, he went to destroy the account books. As soon as he reached the riverbank, he saw a flickering light in the woods not far away, accompanied by a disheveled figure sobbing.
He was terrified, thinking he had encountered something unclean. He threw the account book in his hand with all his might, and with a "plop," he felt the account book fall into the river. He turned and ran.
His expression turned fearful and uneasy. "So it was you who was just pretending to be a ghost to scare me."
Chen Feng shook his head and recounted what had happened that day.
"I didn't do anything strange. There were few customers eating that day, which was the Ghost Festival, and the innkeeper was taking Cuihua to visit relatives."
That night was exceptionally hot and humid. After finishing my work, I wanted to take a cool bath in the river.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw you furtively carrying something and heading towards the river.
I wanted to say hello to you, but you walked very fast, so I followed behind.
When they arrived at the woods by the river, they found a woman with disheveled hair burning paper money behind the bushes to commemorate her deceased husband.
Because you were far away, the woman's sobbing could only be heard intermittently.
As the saying goes, "A guilty conscience is like a thorn in one's side." It is because you have a guilty conscience that you act like a thief, dropping what you are carrying and running away.
Out of curiosity, I went over to take a look and found these account books scattered along the riverbank.
Although I can't read, I had someone look at it, and that person told me it was a ledger for both the living and the dead.
I knew immediately you were destroying evidence, so I dug a hole under the wooden plank where I slept and hid these ledgers.
I planned to hand you over to Cuihua before leaving Qingfeng Restaurant so that Manager Wu could fire you, but I never imagined you would almost kill me.
Upon hearing these words, Wang Decai felt as if he had been struck a fatal blow. His face turned ashen, his eyes filled with despair and helplessness, and he collapsed to the ground, utterly powerless.
Wu Cuihua turned to Wu Shiren, who was still in a daze, and said, "Father, say something quickly! This Wang Decai not only embezzled money from our restaurant, but also almost beat Chen Feng to death. Such a heartless and ruthless person, are you still going to protect him?"
Wu Shiren glared at Wang Decai with bloodshot eyes, wishing he could rush up and rip his heart and liver out, filled with remorse.
“The only good thing I, Wu Shiren, have ever done in my life was taking you in out of a moment of pity. But I never expected you to be such an ungrateful wretch. It’s such a waste of all the trust I’ve placed in you over the years.”
After saying that, he looked up at Qin Shousheng and said loudly, "Sir, I want to expose this ungrateful scoundrel who wants to kill Chen Feng. My shop assistants can all testify. I hope you will severely punish this evil man."
Hearing the shopkeeper's words, Zhao Tian narrowed his eyes.
As the saying goes, "Those who share the same boat still stand together, but when the waves crash and the boat capsizes, they all flee in disarray."
Wang Decai, oh Wang Decai, I'm so sorry.
There are countless fair-weather friends, but you're nothing to me.
I don't care if you live or die right now, saving your own life is the priority.
Thinking it over, he put on a righteous and awe-inspiring look, "Sir, I can testify that it was Wang Decai who injured the man."
“Yes, yes, I saw it with my own eyes. He was hitting Chen Feng with a big stick, and he injured him.” Wang Qi quickly chimed in.
When Wang Decai saw that they were shifting all the blame onto him, he immediately let out a sinister laugh.
“Sir, Wu Shiren is the one who falsely accused me. He is afraid of Chen Feng, and he ordered the beating. I am just a hired hand and dare not disobey him. If I am guilty, Wu Shiren should be guilty even more.”
Wu Shiren's face turned pale with anger, and he immediately retorted, "Sir, don't listen to his nonsense. I admit that I am afraid of Chen Feng and that he will leave the restaurant to go out on his own and affect my business. But I have no intention of killing him. I just want to scare him and make him commit theft and be exiled. I have no intention of harming anyone."
Wang Decai added loudly, "My lord, I am truly innocent. Everyone attacked Chen Feng, Wang Qi, and Zhao Tian. You can ask Chen Feng if you don't believe me."
Qin Shousheng looked at Chen Feng, "Is what he said true?"
Although Chen Feng knew that Wu Shiren was involved in this matter, he understood Wu Cuihua's feelings for him over the years.
He kept running away because he felt he was not good enough for her. He always thought that he could make something of himself in the future and then propose to her father. Wu Shih-jen would naturally not object.
Turning to look at Wu Cuihua, he saw that she was also looking at him, her eyes filled with pleading and worry...
He couldn't bear to hurt her or make her sad, because she was kind and never looked down on him.
"Reporting to you, sir, everything he said is true. As for whether Wu Shiren ordered it, I don't know, since he wasn't among those who did it."
Wu Cuihua breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at Chen Feng. These few words clearly exonerated her father, proving that she had not misjudged him.
Chen Qingqing didn't miss the exchange of glances between the two and knew that there was something unusual between them. However, her older brother was acting too impulsively. Even if he spoke up for Wu Shiren, Wu Shiren would not be grateful to him.
But the words have already been spoken and cannot be taken back. It seems Wang Decai will not be loyal today.
Just as she was pondering, she heard Qin Shousheng shout loudly.
“You ungrateful Wang Decai, you embezzled the restaurant’s money first, then framed the manager, and almost beat Chen Feng to death. For all your crimes, you are sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane and exiled to the bitter cold of the far north.”
Wang Decai's face turned ashen. "No, I refuse to accept this, I refuse to accept this..."
His shouts went unanswered, and he was dragged away by two constables.
Wu Shiren grinned and said, "Your Excellency is wise. Thank you for clearing my name."
"It's all within my duty, Manager Wu, you're too kind." Qin Shousheng looked at Chen Qingqing and the others, his expression immediately turning serious. "Miss Chen, are you satisfied with this result?"
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