bullyxtreme Chapter 110 Arresting People
Chapter 110 Arresting People
Yanggu County is not a large area, so any news or interesting events can spread throughout the entire county in no time.
The couple couldn't possibly have been unaware of Li Chong's high-profile raid on the mountains to suppress bandits a few days ago, which is why they were able to pinpoint the timing.
Upon hearing that it was the Zhu family's doing again, Li Chong didn't react much, but Zhong Mei couldn't remain calm at all.
"Sir, send men to arrest them immediately! They must have killed someone; we must seek justice for the innocent!"
Seeing Zhong Mei jumping up and down, Li Chong glanced at her, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Ignoring Zhong Mei, Li Chong asked the woman before him, "Are you certain that your daughter's incident occurred at Zhu Taigong's residence?"
"That's right!"
The woman nodded firmly: "I've inquired. My daughter worked for Young Master Zhu, and she died there. What do you mean by accidentally falling into the water? My daughter has known how to swim since she was little, how could she possibly drown? She was just a maidservant in the inner quarters, where would she have ever seen a river?"
As she spoke, the woman wiped away her tears again, and her husband beside her kept comforting her.
Li Chong nodded to indicate that he understood, and then said, "Okay, I understand. You may leave now. I have my own arrangements."
The woman was somewhat anxious: "Sir..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Li Chong, with a stern face, raise his hand to stop her.
Seeing Li Chong's expression, the couple didn't dare to say anything more and could only take their leave with some worry, leaving first under the guidance of the yamen runners.
Once everyone else was out of the room, Zhong Mei could no longer contain herself: "Hey, why didn't you help them arrest him? A life for a life, a debt for a debt—that's only fair! Besides, that Zhu guy has a grudge against us; are you trying to protect him?"
"You wouldn't let me get revenge back then, and now you're not helping them seek justice. If this continues, I'll just..."
Li Chong flicked Zhong Mei's forehead with his finger, making a crisp "bang" sound.
He covered his head with his brows and glared angrily.
Li Chong then spoke up, saying, "When doing things, you can't just believe one side of the story. They said the second son of the Zhu family killed their daughter, and you believed them? What if they said I killed their daughter? Would you still believe that?"
"How can that be the same?" Zhongmei muttered.
"How is it different? You say that the man surnamed Zhu committed murder, there are witnesses, but where is the physical evidence? What about the motive? Yes, I have an old grudge against the Zhu family, but if I use this opportunity to retaliate, how am I any different from that old bastard Zhu Zhicheng?"
Li Chong's rebuttal left Zhong Mei speechless.
After a long silence, Zhong Mei turned her head and said unhappily, "No matter how nicely you put it, I still think that their daughter was killed by the second son of the Zhu family."
Li Chong smiled slightly. Although Zhong Mei's tone was still firm, she had become more obedient, indicating that she had been persuaded.
Leaning back in his chair, Li Chong said rather lazily, "Don't say it's just you, I think so too, but we still need evidence. Go, bring those people who chased and beat up their family here, and ask them if they are from the Zhu family."
Zhong Mei agreed.
Soon, several dejected men came to Li Chong.
Li Chong didn't give these people a friendly look. After a few threats, the people in the yamen all immediately gave up.
After all, they were just a few servants; the words "steadfast and unyielding" had little to do with them.
He ordered his men to take them away, and Li Chong sat in a chair, lost in thought.
Seeing Li Chong remain silent, Zhong Mei unconsciously became anxious again.
She couldn't help but wave her hand in front of Li Chong's face and ask, "So? Have you decided what to do?"
She thought Li Chong would either not answer or give her another lecture, but to her surprise, Li Chong suddenly jumped up from the chair.
"Let's go! It's time to hold court and hear the case."
"Huh?" Zhong Mei was taken aback, stood there for a moment, and then quickly caught up. "Okay, wait for me!"
Not long after, Wu Dalang, dressed in black, set off with a group of constables at the gate of the yamen.
"Get your hands and feet moving faster! If you delay the master's work, I'll break your legs!"
The constables responded in unison, "Yes!"
The group ran quickly toward Zhu Family Village.
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In Zhujiazhuang, at Zhu Zhicheng's residence.
The old man looked exceptionally aged these days. Giving away so much land was like cutting flesh off his body, making him appear much older.
Sitting in the grand chair in the main hall, the old man flipped through his family's account books and asked, "Have all those people settled in?"
The steward replied indignantly, "They've all settled in, and all they do is praise the government. They don't even look at who allocated the land to them!"
Zhu Zhicheng clenched his fist.
If he could, he wouldn't want that good reputation at all; he just wanted to get his own land back.
But now, he has lost his land and even his good reputation. How could he not be resentful and indignant?
"I'll endure it for another three years. Once my term is over, I'll make him pay back everything he's gained!"
The old man consoled himself in this way, and gradually calmed down.
Zhu Zhicheng continued, "Organize another caravan another day and go to Daming Prefecture with those people from the county. Since the bandits are gone, we should also get a share of the money."
"Yes, I'll go prepare it in a bit."
The butler took notes.
"Wait a minute." Zhu Zhicheng suddenly looked up. "Where is Erlang? He should be fine lately. He's impatient and can't stand being upset. In that case, let him go out with the caravan to clear his head, so that no one can find fault with him, and also to give him some experience."
The butler's face stiffened, and he said cautiously, "I heard that the second young master is throwing a tantrum again."
"What's wrong with you?" Zhu Zhicheng frowned.
"It's still because of that dead maid."
Zhu Zhicheng looked up and said, "Didn't we already compensate her family with several strings of cash? The matter is settled, so why is he still angry?"
The butler glanced at Zhu Zhicheng's expression and cautiously replied, "I heard that family wanted the body back, but the second young master wouldn't let them. Then it seems they were going to file a complaint, so the second young master sent a few people..."
"Nonsense!"
Zhu Zhicheng slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily.
He was not heartbroken by his son's behavior; he just felt that his son was too ignorant and had caused trouble for no reason. Didn't he know that these were troublesome times?
"You! Go and bring that person back right now. As for that family, let them sue. We've already paid them all; legally, they can't cause any trouble. Don't cause any more problems!"
The butler bowed in agreement and hurriedly turned around to prepare to carry out Zhu Zhicheng's instructions.
Just then, a servant rushed in, shouting, "Master, something terrible has happened! A bunch of constables have arrived outside, saying they want to take the second young master to court for questioning!"