Imperial Husband Chapter 80

If Li Jin's words earlier had made the villagers suspicious, then the village chief's words now made them shocked, and also furious.

They were all from Liujia Village, and they couldn't fathom how Liu Laicai could do such a thing that obliterates human conscience. Watching fellow villagers fall victim to the evil men one after another, wasn't he afraid when he woke from nightmares in the dead of night?

In an instant.

The angry gazes of all the villagers gathered on Liu Laicai.

This village chief of Liujia Village, unlike Liu Laicai, had always been a venerable presence in the hearts of the villagers. Therefore, when he appeared in a disheveled state, with a pale face and clothes stained with blood from whip marks, and uttered those words, the villagers believed him without a second thought.

"No... I didn't..."

Liu Laicai's face turned pale instantly, his eyes filled with panic and confusion.

It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be like this. I clearly tied the village chief firmly to the chair and gave him very little food. He shouldn't have had the strength to break free. Why is he able to appear here?

While the villagers' attention was fully captured by Liu Laicai, Zhou Yunting quietly appeared beside Li Jin and reported, "Young Master, the matter has been settled."

"Good, you can go in now to see Ping'an. Ping'an was worried about your safety when he didn't see you return with us."

"Yes, Young Master."

Zhou Yunting bowed to Li Jin and then quickly walked inside.

The village chief pointed at Liu Laicai, saying word by word, "Heaven is watching. Do you dare swear to heaven... that you did not do it?"

"I... I..."

Liu Laicai chickened out, his body beginning to tremble involuntarily.

Since ancient times, people had held a reverence for the gods, and this was especially true for farming families whose livelihoods depended on the heavens. So Liu Laicai, his conscience already guilty, dared not swear the oath for fear that divine punishment would indeed strike him down.

"What? Didn't you say you didn't? Why don't you dare swear now?"

The village chief pressed step by step, giving Liu Laicai no chance to catch his breath.

"I... I... That's right, it was her, she incited me to do it." In his panic, Liu Laicai actually pushed his wife Zhao Xiuhong out to be the scapegoat.

"Husband, what do you mean by that?"

Zhao Xiuhong had never imagined that Liu Laicai would shift all the blame onto her alone, feeling as if struck by lightning.

Slap.

Liu Laicai had already decided to sacrifice Zhao Xiuhong to absolve himself, so naturally, he felt no more pity. He directly slapped Zhao Xiuhong and said furiously, "You wretched woman, if you hadn't deliberately led me to those evil men, how could I have done such a thing as betray the villagers? Don't think I don't know, you even had an illicit affair with the leader of those evil men."

"You're talking nonsense, I never did that."

Zhao Xiuhong retorted loudly, her eyes red.

"Wretched woman, how dare you still not admit it now?" Liu Laicai grabbed the collar of Zhao Xiuhong's clothes and suddenly lowered his voice, "Better one dead than both of us dead. Hurry up and confess."

Hearing this, Zhao Xiuhong's heart turned to ashes on the spot.

Slap.

Seeing Zhao Xiuhong silent, the ill-tempered Liu Laicai slapped her again, "You wretched woman, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and confess!"

"Liu Laicai, what kind of man are you, framing your wife like this?"

A villager who couldn't stand it any longer spoke up.

Although Zhao Xiuhong wasn't a good person and often stirred up trouble in the village, she never dared to disobey Liu Laicai, let alone commit such a major offense as having an affair.

"I saw it with my own eyes, it's not your place to criticize me."

Liu Laicai retorted.

Having harmed so many people from Liujia Village, he would definitely not escape death. So, for Liu Laicai now, saving his own life was the most important, he couldn't care less about Zhao Xiuhong.

Zhao Xiuhong, her eyes red, said through gritted teeth, "Husband, it was clearly you who, upon seeing those evil men collecting silver from people in another village, got the idea and deliberately struck up a conversation, betraying Liujia Village..."

"Shut your mouth!"

Slap.

Enraged and ashamed, Liu Laicai slapped Zhao Xiuhong hard.

Zhao Xiuhong touched her swollen face, her eyes filled with resolve, "Liu Laicai, facts are facts. No matter how many times you hit me, I won't change my story. I'm taking you down with me."

"Wretched woman, you want to die? I'll grant your wish."

After saying this, Liu Laicai, as if gone mad, used both hands to tightly choke Zhao Xiuhong's neck.

Zhao Xiuhong struggled in agony.

"Let go... let me go..."

"You go die."

Hearing Zhao Xiuhong's words, Liu Laicai not only didn't let go but tightened his grip even more.

"Liu Laicai, what are you doing? You want to kill someone right in front of me?" The village chief was so angry he saw stars and quickly told the surrounding villagers to stop Liu Laicai.

"Liu Laicai, let go quickly. Zhao Xiuhong is your wife, how can you treat her like this?"

"Liu Laicai, you still want to kill someone?"

"Liu Laicai..."

Ever since learning about the heinous deeds Liu Laicai had committed, the villagers felt genuine disgust towards him and naturally didn't try to persuade him gently when intervening.

However, the villagers' words provoked Liu Laicai, making him subconsciously regard Zhao Xiuhong as a mortal enemy.

Liu Laicai's two children, hearing their parents arguing out front, both ran out and were immediately terrified. "Father, that's mother, let go of her!"

The two children had secretly followed them, unknown to Liu Laicai and his wife.

"You've made enough trouble." As the villagers were momentarily distracted by the children's sudden appearance, Li Jin stepped forward and delivered a sharp chop to Liu Laicai's arm, forcing him to release his grip immediately.

Several villagers who had been watching Liu Laicai seized the opportunity while he was off guard to rescue Zhao Xiuhong.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Having been choked until she was nearly deprived of air, Zhao Xiuhong coughed uncontrollably the moment she was freed.

"Mother."

"Mother is fine."

Zhao Xiuhong shook her head to comfort the two children.

"It's all your fault, it's all your fault. I'm going to kill you, kill you." Seeing that Zhao Xiuhong had escaped death with the villagers' help, Liu Laicai, acting crazy again, immediately pounced on Zhao Xiuhong, looking as if he wanted to kill her on the spot.

"The village chief is still here. This is no place for you to run wild."

Li Jin would not allow Liu Laicai to kill Zhao Xiuhong, who could testify against him, and directly knocked Liu Laicai unconscious.

"Quickly, bind him now while he is unconscious!" The village chief's eyes narrowed, and he decisively commanded the villagers to restrain Liu Laicai with ropes while also keeping watch over Zhao Xiuhong to prevent either from escaping.

Immediately after, the village chief walked up to Li Jin and bowed solemnly with clasped hands, "Thank you, Young Master Li, for your righteous assistance. Otherwise, I and the villagers would have been harmed by Liu Laicai."

Li Jin smiled slightly. "It was merely a small effort. But regarding Liu Laicai, how does the village chief plan to handle it?"

"This..."

Li Jin's question immediately presented a dilemma for the village chief.

The original magistrate of Zhuzhou had long been missing, and a new magistrate had not been appointed. Aside from temporarily locking up Liu Laicai, they had no other options.

Liu Laicai's crimes in Liujia Village were too numerous to record. The families of the villagers he had killed would surely seek revenge on him at any cost, something the village chief did not wish to see.

The village chief's reluctance wasn't for Liu Laicai's sake, but for the sake of those families who had been harmed by him. It simply wasn't worth it for them to bear the charge of murder for someone like Liu Laicai.

However, the looks those people gave Liu Laicai just now were filled with inextricable hatred.

Li Jin spoke unhurriedly, "I have a proposal, though I do not know if you would be willing, Village Chief."

"Please speak clearly, Young Master Li."

"It's very simple. Hand Liu Laicai over to me. I am going into the city in three days and will take Liu Laicai to the new magistrate."

The village chief was stunned.

"Ah, new... new magistrate?"

"Yes." Li Jin nodded. "Speaking of which, aside from visiting Liu Yin, another purpose of my visit to Zhuzhou is to reunite with my sworn brother, who has recently been appointed magistrate. It has been nearly three years since we last met."

"Young Master Li, are you truly acquainted with the new magistrate?"

The village chief swallowed hard and asked again, unable to believe it.

Li Jin answered the question with another question, "Is there any need for me to deceive you, Village Chief?"

"Uh... My apologies, I was impolite." Hearing this, the village chief stopped dwelling on it and decisively bowed to Li Jin, "Then the matter of Liu Laicai will trouble you, Young Master Li."

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one for Liujia Village.

As the village chief had anticipated, even after temporarily locking Liu Laicai in the woodshed and having people guard it, many people whose families had been harmed by Liu Laicai came demanding to teach Liu Laicai a severe lesson.

The village chief did not stop them, only saying that Liu Laicai's life must be spared. After all, many villagers in the village had been harmed, directly or indirectly, by Liu Laicai. Not letting them do something about it was unreasonable.

Therefore, the three days Liu Laicai spent in the woodshed were far from peaceful.

To avoid complications, the village chief did not disclose in advance that Li Jin knew the new magistrate or that he would take Liu Laicai away. He planned to announce it on the day Liu Laicai was to be taken away.

As for Zhao Xiuhong, heartbroken, she left Liujia Village with her children, and her whereabouts were unknown.

___

"Brother Jin, walk a bit faster, it's just ahead." Dongzi chattered about amusing village incidents as he led Li Jin and Ying Yuan. Dashu followed beside them, carrying a basket and occasionally laughing heartily.

Originally, Dongzi planned to go into the mountains alone to see if he could find some food to nourish Liu Rong. Later, when Li Jin learned of Dongzi's plans, his interest was piqued, and he decided to join. Seeing this, Ying Yuan naturally followed suit.

Dashu seemed to have known early that Dongzi would go into the mountains today. He finished his work in the fields early and waited on the path Dongzi was bound to take, leading to the current scene of the four of them heading into the mountains together.

The mountain Dongzi was going to was the safest one near Liujia Village, usually inhabited only by small animals, which was why Liu Rong felt at ease letting Dongzi go alone.

If circumstances had permitted, Liu Rong would have preferred Dongzi to have companions.

Unfortunately, the matter of Liu Laicai had somewhat implicated Liu Rong. Therefore, apart from Dashu who still occasionally came to find Dongzi as before, basically no one came to play with Dongzi.