flstandardbreds Chapter 187 Flattery
Chapter 187 Flattery
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have indulged my son in talking nonsense. Please give him a break and a chance to mend his ways considering his young age." Li Dajiang was scared now.
This kind of thing can be big or small. If it is a big thing, it will be out of control. If it is a small thing, it is just a child's joke. But looking at the appearance of the prefect, it seems that the matter will not be let go easily.
"Come here, arrest them all and take them to jail. We will set a date for trial. There is solid evidence against Zhang Yaozu, and there is no doubt. If anyone else talks nonsense or spreads rumors, I will not forgive them." As the prefect gave an order, several bailiffs came forward and detained all six of them.
Li Jiaojiao's legs were shaking with fear. She had not fully recovered from the beating she received from Zhang Wenbin on the day of her miscarriage. She had only been in confinement for three days and was so shocked and frightened that her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
"Daughter, what's wrong with you?" Liu, who had been silent all the time, broke free from the bailiff who was escorting her, ran quickly towards Li Jiaojiao, and barely supported her body which was about to fall.
"Take him to jail." Impatience flashed across the prefect's face. He had seen many people like this. They wanted to escape from jail by pretending to be faint, sick, crazy, and so on. Did they think they could be spared in this way?
But Li Jiaojiao did faint, and was finally carried away on the shoulders of a strong yamen runner.
All members of the Li family were taken away, and the crowd watching the excitement gradually dispersed, leaving only the prefect standing there.
Li Xiaoxiao stepped forward and bowed deeply to Prefect Liu: "Thank you for what I did today, Prefect."
"Hmm." Prefect Liu hummed, looked Li Xiaoxiao up and down, and then said, "Li Xiaoxiao, you are very courageous. Although those words came from Li Chengcai's mouth, he would never say that without your instigation."
"Thank you for the compliment, magistrate. I have been bullied since I was young. Only when I grew up did I understand one thing: doing good to evil people is to condone them to do evil." Li Xiaoxiao lowered her head and looked submissive, but her words were sonorous and powerful.
"How wonderful of you to condone the evildoers. Li Xiaoxiao, I will spare you this time because you are the victim. But if there is a next time..." The prefect did not say the rest of the words.
"Your Excellency the Prefect, you are honest and upright. Common people all give you a thumbs up when they talk about you. I didn't believe it at first, but today I see that it is just as the rumors say, even worse than before." Li Xiaoxiao understood that the Prefect was giving her a break and she flattered him at the right time.
"You girl, you are so sharp-tongued and smooth-talking." Although Magistrate Liu scolded, a smile appeared on his face. As long as one is a person, no matter whether he is a babbling child or an octogenarian, people of all ages like to be praised. Of course, Magistrate Liu is no exception.
"Your Excellency the Prefect, to be honest, Li Dajiang is my uncle. He is the eldest in the family and has three younger brothers. He passed the imperial examination when he was a teenager and has lived in the county town ever since. We are originally a farming family and we have devoted all our efforts to support his studies, but he used his brothers' hard-earned money to visit brothels. I saw it with my own eyes." Li Xiaoxiao changed the subject and mentioned Li Dajiang's matter.
The prefect was already annoyed with Li Dajiang, and after hearing what Li Xiaoxiao said, he hated him even more. Otherwise, he would not have been able to raise two lawless children.
"Oh, you two are related in this way." The prefect was surprised. He originally thought that there was a grudge between the two families.
"Yes, magistrate, it's getting late. It's better to do it today than to wait for another day. You have eliminated corrupt officials for our county. On behalf of the people of Jiunu County, I would like to express my gratitude to you. Please do me the honor of letting me host you and invite you to taste our special dishes." Li Xiaoxiao turned the topic to Shi Restaurant.
The reason why she brought up Li Dajiang's case was mainly to provide some information to the prefect in a subtle way, if she simply tried the Li family.
The prefect probably picked it up high and put it down low. After all, they didn't do anything. They just said a few words that they shouldn't have said.
However, her words would subconsciously make the prefect deny Li Dajiang's character and thus become disgusted with him. On a certain basis, the sentence for Li Dajiang would be increased, but the prefect would not notice this.
In this way, Li Xiaoxiao's purpose was achieved, killing someone with a borrowed knife, nothing more.
"Okay." The prefect agreed readily.
As Li Xiaoxiao expected, Li Dajiang and others were detained for two days, but the prefect still did not want to interrogate them.
Now there are only Old Man Li, his two children and Old Lady Li at home. Old Man Li knows what they are doing in the county town, and when they haven't returned by night, he becomes very worried. But it is already dark, and it is inconvenient for him to go out alone.
Old Mrs. Li is now lying in bed and can't do anything, but he still has to take care of her. Old Man Li immediately decided to go to the county town early the next morning.
After finally making it to daybreak, Old Man Li sent his two children to his neighbor's house to help take care of them, while Old Mrs. Li was left to fend for herself.
When they arrived at the county town, they went straight to Li Xiaoxiao's restaurant. When Li Dajiang left, he said he was going to the restaurant.
When he arrived, it was too early and the restaurant had not opened yet, so Old Man Li found the tofu shop again.
Sure enough, when he saw the second brother's family were here, his face immediately drooped and he shouted in annoyance.
"Second brother, your eldest brother and fourth brother came to the county town yesterday, why are they still nowhere to be seen?"
Li Dahai was busy counting the bills when he suddenly heard Old Man Li's voice. He looked up and saw his father standing at the door with a menacing look on his face.
He didn't say anything when he first came up, he just started to accuse me.
After so many things happened, Li Dahai's admiration for them faded a lot since then.
"Dad, you also know that my eldest brother and fourth brother came to the restaurant to cause trouble yesterday. They are your sons, so am I not your son?" Li Dahai was still sitting there. He did not stand up or answer the old man's words. Instead, he continued to question him.
Old man Li didn't expect that his son, who had always been submissive, would say this. He didn't know how to answer him for a moment. Yes, they are all his sons.
After hesitating for a long time, he managed to utter: "I didn't know it before, but Xiaobao told me later."
How could Li Dahai not notice the evasion in his father's eyes? He turned away, not wanting anyone to see the sadness on his face.
"Do you know where they are? The two children are making a lot of noise at home, and your mother is lying in bed and needs to be taken care of. There must be no one left at home." Seeing that his scolding was of no use, Old Man Li played the emotional card again. He knew that the second son was the most sentimental.
Sure enough, when Li Dahai heard what Old Man Li said, there was a hint of relief in his eyes.