PNB Chapter 169 All parties take action
Chapter 169 All parties take action
The entire Li Xiaonuan family was taken away, causing widespread panic in Zhoucun. Some said they had noticed something was wrong with them long ago, while others said they were framed.
Among those voices, there were none from Aunt Zhou's or Aunt Huang's families. They were all gathered in Li Xiaonuan's courtyard, discussing what to do.
Zhou Liufeng leaned silently against the loquat tree in the Li family's courtyard, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty. Grandma Yu could only sigh and offer no solutions.
Aunt Zhou and Aunt Huang did think of Wei Yu, but they couldn't come up with a reason to go to his door. Even if they went regardless, it was uncertain whether he would even see them.
Finally, Old Song and his two grandsons arrived after hearing the news. After finding out why Li Xiaonuan and her family had been taken away, they poured cold water on everyone's hopes.
Old Song said, "Throughout history, anyone who has been associated with treason, regardless of whether they are innocent or not, has only one fate: to disappear. The imperial court's attitude towards traitors is: it is better to kill a thousand innocent people than to let one guilty person go free."
Those who had initially clung to the hope of finding someone to save the Li family were instantly plunged into despair. Granny Yu was especially heartbroken. She had lived next door to the Li family for over ten years and had been deeply cared for by them. Now, seeing that kind family about to be murdered, how could she not be furious and resentful?
"Oh dear, who is this heartless, rotten-hearted person who would frame an innocent person like this? Aren't they afraid of retribution, being struck by lightning, and being condemned to the eighteenth level of hell after death, never to be reincarnated again?" Granny Yu cursed and swore.
“That’s right, people like that should be ground to dust and their souls scattered. That way they won’t be reincarnated and come out to harm people again.” Aunt Zhou chimed in.
"I wonder how Jingjing is doing? I really hope that pendant will work, and that Doctor Jing can help a little." Aunt Huang still held onto hope.
The village head and the elders of the clan had gathered in the Zhou family ancestral hall to discuss matters concerning the Li family. Throughout history, any place where someone had been labeled a traitor would be a key focus of the imperial court's attention.
"Uncles and elders, what should we do now? To be honest, I don't believe the Li family is colluding with the enemy. But the court doesn't care; they only care about what they see and hear, and they never listen to the people's petitions," the village head sighed. He was genuinely worried about the Li family.
"Yes, everyone knows that family is good. It's just that the court doesn't believe them. They only look at so-called evidence, then fabricate charges and eliminate all suspicious individuals." This was the oldest member of the Zhou family, the husband of Zhou's grandmother.
“No matter what, we have to protect our village first before we can think of a solution. Our village has more than 10,000 people on both sides combined. If we don’t handle such a large village well, we could all be implicated,” said one of the white-bearded old men.
“Although it won’t necessarily bring shame on our village, if our village leaves a stain on the imperial court, will our students still be able to take the imperial examinations in the future? Logically speaking, we must help the Li family clear their name to avoid any future worries. However, this matter is too important, and we need to come up with a foolproof plan,” said Grandpa Zhou, Grandma Zhou’s husband.
“We have to think of a way,” said a thin, wiry old man. “Originally, the crime of treason was so serious that there was no way to reason with the people or cry injustice. But if we shift our focus elsewhere and try not to rely on the charge of treason, perhaps the Li family’s situation can take a turn for the better.”
“Oh, that’s an interesting point. Let’s think about how to argue with the officials. Anyway, I think the Li family must have a way to save themselves. When the time comes, we just need to cooperate. Also, we should act according to the situation and steer the characterization of the matter in a crooked way.” This was the village head’s great-uncle, his own great-uncle.
A dozen or so old men spent an afternoon discussing with the village head in the ancestral hall, and the conclusion they reached was to act according to the circumstances. It was as if they hadn't discussed it at all. But they all knew perfectly well that when they were actually called in for questioning, they would all unanimously steer the conversation toward the matter of Li Xiaonuan being wrongly accused and framed several times before.
Regardless, the villagers still had to go on with their lives as usual. After feeding the two little hens of the Li family, Grandma Yu went home somewhat melancholy. Zhou Liufeng leaned against the loquat tree and thought for an entire afternoon. Finally, he shouldered the large knife he had brought back from outside and went into the mountains alone.
Jingjing returned to the Li family when Granny Yu and the others were filled with despair. At that time, besides the two young soldiers, she was also accompanied by someone from the clinic. In fact, that person was not from the clinic, but rather someone from Prince Jing's faction.
Besides protecting Jingjing's safety, he also had another mission: to thoroughly investigate the Li family and take away anything suspicious.
Not only did Li Xiaonuan's family have people helping to clear the area, but several of Li's brothers and Li Xiaonuan's aunt's family also had people doing the same thing. This action by Prince Jing greatly surprised Zhao Wangchuan and General Qian, who had been paying close attention to the Li family.
In fact, Zhao Wangchuan had already made a decision when the incident occurred. His plan was to forcefully reclaim his identity, then lead the forces to protect the lives of everyone in the Li family. Afterwards, he would find those who had framed the Li family and make an example of them.
That person is in a hurry to bring him back, isn't he? Then before he goes back, give that person a big gift, otherwise he'll really be considered unfilial. And that woman, she always thinks everything she does is flawless. But he already has evidence of several heinous crimes, enough to exterminate her and her entire family.
He has held back until now, simply because he doesn't want to have anything to do with them anymore. Of course, his mother, Wei Lu, is also partly to blame. Perhaps Wei Lu wants to sever all ties with that person and live out the rest of her life peacefully with him.
After some thought, Zhao Wangchuan decided to meet with Prince Jing privately. He was currently unfamiliar with many matters of the court, and he also lacked connections within the court.
Although his master had planted dozens of informants for him thirteen years ago, who knew if they were still reliable after all this time? Besides, he had a feeling that this matter was far from simple, so he had to confirm it with Prince Jing.
"Zhao Fan, hurry up and deliver a message to the clinic, saying that I want to see Doctor Jing privately," Zhao Wangchuan commanded the air.
After a while, a person darted in through the city gate. Before the gatekeeper could stop and check him, the person had vanished. Meanwhile, in the backyard of Cang Baicao, Zhao Fan stood in the corner and whispered to the person who had tried to intercept him, "Our young master wants to meet your master privately."
After saying that, Zhao Fan returned along the same route. This time, when he was leaving the city gate, he obediently stopped to allow the guards to check and question him. There was no other way; the crackdown on spies had been very strict these past two days.