The Bully General's Spiritual Husband

The villagers were already shocked by the fact that Li Jiang had killed his own brother and sister-in-law, and then Li Zhe brought up the matter of them killing his nephew's wife.

Now that Li Jiang had given up, he threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Hahaha... Li He, I still can't beat you. Even in death you can't find peace. I really regret not sending that little bastard Li Zhe down to reunite with your family sooner."

The madman Li Jiang startled everyone in the village. They hurriedly retreated a few steps away from him, fearing he might pounce and hurt them. After all, Li Jiang was capable of killing even his own elder brother.

Wang Huanhua didn't care about anything anymore. She clutched her chest and shouted, "I don't know! I didn't poison Fang Ling! It was all Li Jiang's doing! I don't know anything!"

Soon another carriage arrived and drove into Peach Blossom Village. Several constables jumped down from the carriage and bowed respectfully to Yin Baicai: "Young Master Yin, as per your orders, we will immediately arrest these thieves and bring them to justice."

Yin Baicai was puzzled, but he still nodded calmly. He knew it must have been Li Zhe's two underlings who did it again. They must have some reason not to reveal their identities.

In just a short while, Li Jiang's family and Liu Dashan, who was tied up on the ground, were all arrested. The yamen runners who came didn't even glance at the others.

He Qi and Jiang Su also hurriedly took their leave, as they needed to go back and handle the aftermath.

Li Zhe stared coldly at the people who had been taken away, his hands clenched into fists hidden in his sleeves. He wished he could personally deal with Li Jiang and the others, but his position forbade him to do so.

But he won't let them get away with it.

Yin Baicai tugged at Li Zhe's sleeve, "Let's go home, Xiao Mo should be awake by now."

Li Zhe tugged at the corner of his lips. The past is the past, and he is not alone now; he still has family!

Yin Baicai, holding onto Li Zhe's sleeve, walked towards home. Walking ahead, Yin Baicai whispered, "Li bully, if you don't want to smile, then don't. You're not handsome anymore."

Li Zhe didn't know what "handsome" meant, but he knew that the young man was trying to comfort him.

Her heart softened a little: "Mmm."

The villagers were puzzled by the officials' attitude towards Yin Baicai. Yin Baicai was just a country boy, so why were the officials treating him so respectfully?

The fact that Li Jiang and Wang Huanhua poisoned Fang Ling shocked them. No wonder the two of them had rushed to bury her under the cover of night; they were afraid that people would find out that they had done something heinous.

Later, Li Jiang even moved his entire family into Li Qian's house; it turned out they had this in mind.

The story of Wang Huanhua and Li Jiang left the villagers sighing with regret. Some whispered among themselves, "Are Li Jiang and the others going to be beheaded? What about them...?"

"Of course it's true. They've already killed people. Do you think the officials will let them off the hook?"

……

When Yin Baicai and her companion returned, they saw Li Mo crying in the yard, her face flushed red. They hugged her tightly, saying with heartache, "Li Xiaomo, why are you crying? We're back now."

Li Mo clutched Yin Baicai's collar tightly, sobbing, "I...I thought Mother and Uncle didn't want me anymore..."

Yin Baicai wiped away his tears: "Who said that? I'll tear their mouth apart."

Li Mo's stomach growled, and Yin Baicai glanced at his little belly while suppressing a laugh.

"I'm hungry...we'll eat in a bit."

Yin Baicai looked at Li Zhe, who was standing behind her in a daze, and said, "Li the bully, you're here to help too."

Li Zhe nodded, turned around and went to the woodshed to fetch a lot of firewood.

Li Jiang, who had been arrested and thrown into jail, slumped in a corner, muttering, "Li He, I hate you. Why do Mother and the others side with you? What do I lack compared to you...?"

Wang Huanhua clutched her chest and groaned, "It hurts so much... That ingrate Li Zhe, my heart hurts..."

Liu Xiaolian sat there blankly, holding the crying Li Xiaobao in her arms, feeling utterly lost and regretful. She wished she hadn't married into the Li family; now she might be spending her whole life in prison with him.

Li Lin kept shouting to the guards outside, "Sir...please let me go! I don't know anything. It was all my father and his men who did it. Please let me go!" The shackles on his hands made a loud thud as they hit the bars of the cell.

The constable, who had been dozing, walked over with a displeased look on his face, waving his stick: "What's all the noise about? If you keep making noise, you'll be in for a world of trouble."

Li Lin, that coward, immediately fell silent, looking at Li Jiang huddled in the cell, filled with resentment towards him.

three days later

The news that Li Jiang, together with Liu Dashan from Heya Village, murdered his own elder brother and sister-in-law, and that he and his wife Wang Huanhua poisoned his nephew's wife, has swept through Qingshui Town.

Li Zhe, along with Yin Baicai and Li Mo, stood aside listening to the county magistrate read out the crimes of the individuals.

"Li Jiang, Liu Dashan, and Wang Huanhua were convicted of murder and will be beheaded in public on West Street at noon the day after tomorrow. Li Lin and Liu Xiaolian knew about this but did not report it, and will be exiled to a harsh and cold place along with their son Li Xiaobao."

Upon hearing the announcement, Li Jiang showed no remorse whatsoever. He simply stared coldly at Li Zhe and said, "Why didn't I strangle you, you little brat, back then? Why did I send you to the army... Hahaha, I still hate you—"

Wang Huanhua and Liu Xiaolian couldn't bear the shock and immediately fainted. Yin Baicai watched indifferently, thinking they both deserved to die.

Li Lin cried and screamed, crawling over to hug Li Zhe's leg: "Little brother, please let me go, I beg you, I know nothing about what Father and the others did, please let me go."

Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Li Zhe, holding Li Mo and taking Yin Baicai's hand, turned and left the county government office.

A crowd of onlookers gathered at the entrance, making way for the three of them.

Li Zhe looked up at the azure sky and silently prayed: Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Sister-in-law, I have avenged you. I have sent Li Jiang down to apologize to you.

Yin Baicai looked at the hand being held by Li Zhe and remained silent. He thought to himself: Li Zhe is in a bad mood, so let him hold my hand for a while! It won't hurt me.

It was a strangely hot day; the sun felt scorching on my face.

The onlookers pointed at Li Jiang and his companions and exclaimed, "How vicious! They actually poisoned their own brother and sister-in-law. They have no conscience!"

"Who says otherwise... If you ask me, this family doesn't look like good people either."

The noisy chatter of the crowd reached the ears of the people of Peach Blossom Village, who felt extremely ashamed, as their village's reputation was now completely ruined.

Who would dare to marry into their village in the future? There are still many young men in their village who are not yet engaged!

The reputation of Peach Blossom Village plummeted, and some people would hurriedly stay away from them as soon as they heard that someone was from Peach Blossom Village.

Some families who had already arranged marriages with people from other villages rushed to break off their engagements after learning about Peach Blossom Village's reputation.

The villagers' hatred for Li Jiang's family deepened. On the day Li Jiang and Wang Huanhua were beheaded, no one came to collect their bodies. In the end, their heads were carried away by wild dogs on the roadside, and their bodies were dragged to a burial ground by the yamen runners and carelessly abandoned.

Hearing the surrounding comments about the village, Huang Zhong was so angry that he fell seriously ill. He had worked diligently for the village all his life, but now the village's reputation had been ruined, as if all his vitality had been drained away.

Hearing the rumors in the village, Tang Xiaoyan thought that this was a time when Li Zhe was grieving, so she dressed up specially, wore a plain long dress, and knocked on the gate of Li Zhe's house.

She called softly from outside the door, "Brother Li, are you home?"

Li Zhe put down the wood-chopping knife in his hand, opened the door, and frowned: "What's wrong?"

Seeing Li Zhe's dejected mood, Tang Xiaoyan knew that her chance had come. She should take this opportunity to show herself to Brother Li. Maybe Brother Li would be so happy that he would break off the engagement with the jinx.