Chapter 29: Li Er Gou

After the Su family’s house and courtyard were cleaned up, Old Mrs. Su called everyone together in the main hall to assign rooms.

Su Lao Er and Wu Chunhe, the couple, would live in the east wing of the front courtyard, while Su Lao Si and Liu Yingying, the couple, would live in the west wing of the front courtyard.

Su Yan’s family, which included Su Yan He, Su Yan Qi, and Su Yan Xing (the four grandsons), would each share a room in pairs. Yan Jia and Yan He would stay in the east side room of the east wing, while Yan Qi and Yan Xing would stay in the west side room of the west wing.

Su Lao San and Zhang Xiaolan, the couple, would live in the east wing of the back courtyard, while Su Lao Wu and Li Sumei, the couple, would live in the west wing of the back courtyard.

Old Mrs. Su would stay in the left side room of the main hall, while the right side room was temporarily set up as Xiao Su Huan’s nursery. Once the child grew older, it would be converted into her bedroom.

As for the guest room in the front courtyard, it was left untouched for the time being, to be prepared when any guests arrived.

After the family made the arrangements, Li Sumei went to change the medicine for her daughter. Suddenly, she noticed the person who should have been on the kang was nowhere to be found. While searching, she was horrified to see a small figure wearing a belly band crawling toward the dark, pitch-black cellar.

It was Wu Ya?

No, that couldn’t be right! Could it be that this house wasn’t clean after all, and her daughter had been possessed?

Li Sumei’s heart leaped to her throat, and she quickly grabbed a coat and rushed after her. She picked her daughter up and held her tightly. “Silly girl, why did you come here?”

Someone had been stealing things and came to their house. Xiao Su Huan had originally planned to handle them herself, but she hadn’t expected her mother to arrive so quickly. Xiao Su Huan pointed to the cellar and reminded, “Yiya, yiya!”

Seeing her daughter act strangely, Li Sumei cautiously looked at the cellar and then called for Su Lao Wu to come.

Su Lao Wu, who was discussing how to make a few small stools with his uncle, rushed out upon hearing his wife’s call. “What’s wrong, wife?”

Li Sumei looked uneasily at the cellar. “Just now, I was changing the medicine for the girl, and when I turned around, she was wearing only a belly band and came out. She kept pointing at the cellar. I’m afraid there’s something unclean inside, trying to harm our girl. Go take a look.”

Su Lao Wu’s ears perked up as he heard something sneaky coming from the cellar. He didn’t dare be careless and immediately called for his three other brothers. They grabbed sticks and headed into the cellar.

Xiao Su Huan closely watched the movement of the cellar.

Soon after, the sound of intense fighting echoed from the cellar. There were also voices shouting, but the soundproofing was so good that Li Sumei standing outside couldn’t hear clearly.

Xiao Su Huan, however, could hear everything clearly.

“Damn it, we’ve been robbed! Lao Si, Lao Wu, don’t show mercy, beat them to death!”

“A Fei, Daozi! Cut them!”

“This is bad, Second Brother! They’ve smashed the wine jars! They’re going to set fire to it!”

“Quick, get out first!”

“Don’t worry about them, just save the grain!”

After a flurry of noise, several dark figures rushed out of the cellar, heading towards the yard gate. The cellar was soon engulfed in flames. Su Lao Er, Su Lao San, Su Lao Si, and Su Lao Wu hurriedly carried the grain out, while Li Sumei’s face changed and she immediately shouted, “Not good! Mother, we’ve been robbed!”

Xiao Su Huan saw that the group was about to escape while Su Lao Wu and the others were busy saving the grain. She quickly reached out and placed a few stones in front of them to trip them up. When Su Old Lady and the uncles, aunts, and brothers arrived, she immediately pointed to the yard gate and warned, “Yiya, yiya!”

Yan Jia and Yan He saw the tripped figures and immediately rushed over to restrain them. Yan Qi and Yan Xing were not to be outdone. One went to find ropes to bind the people, while the other helped his brother to hold them down.

Wu Chunhe and Zhang Xiaolan were both shocked and hurried to help.

When they saw that the thieves were still trying to use knives to hurt people, Zhang Hongzhuang quickly knocked the knives out of their hands and kicked them two meters away.

These people struggled in anger, but they were no match for the Su family’s boys. Moreover, Wu Chunhe was very strong, and they were truly subdued.

Old Mrs. Su, with Li Sumei’s help, walked over and stared at them with a mix of anger and shock. “Who are you? Why did you set fire to my family’s cellar?”

The group exchanged glances. Perhaps they had done such violent acts many times before, because they didn’t panic at all. The leader even raised his head and tried to argue, “Who set fire to your cellar? Which of your eyes saw us setting the fire? We were just passing by!”

“That’s right, that’s right. If you don’t release us, I’ll report you for conspiracy to kill for money!”

The leader tried to shift the blame. Su Yan picked up the lock that had been pried off the yard door and threw it at his face. “Passing by? Then how do you explain the lock to our house being pried open? The knife marks on the lock align perfectly with your knives!”

The thieves spat back, “Pah! Who knows if it’s because your family has bad karma that someone pried your lock!”

Su Yan He narrowed his eyes. “Grandmother, since they aren’t saying anything, let’s just kill them and throw them in the mountains to feed the wolves. After all, they broke into our house and set fire to it. If they die, they deserve it. And feeding them to the wolves will destroy the bodies and prevent the officials from coming after us.”

The Su family was known for their strength, and this group had already experienced it. Hearing Su Yan He’s words, they couldn’t help but be frightened and looked at their leader. “Boss! You didn’t say this family was so ruthless!”

Wu Chunhe’s gaze locked on them and immediately grabbed the head of the leader who was pretending to be submissive, dragging him over to Old Mrs. Su.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Old Mrs. Su slapped the leader several times, then sternly interrogated, “You’re the one who brought them here to set fire to my house? What’s your name? Where are you from? Why do you want to harm my family? If you don’t speak, I’ll immediately tell my son to beat you to death!”

The leader, stunned from the slaps, suddenly threw himself at Zhang Hongzhuang’s feet, crying, “Wuwu! Brother-in-law, please save us! This was all my sister’s idea. It has nothing to do with me!”

Brother-in-law?!

Everyone was taken aback and looked at Zhang Hongzhuang.

Zhang Hongzhuang was both surprised and angry. “You’re Li Er Gou?”

Old Mrs. Su understood instantly when she heard him say “this was all my sister’s idea.” It seemed that Zhang Li Shi, angered by the family division that day, couldn’t wait to harm them.

Old Mrs. Su’s eyes grew cold as she signaled Yan Jia and Yan He to separate them. After they did, Old Mrs. Su grabbed the oil lamp and shone it on Li Er Gou, smiling mockingly. “I wondered who was so bold as to come to my house to pry the lock and set fire, and to be so familiar with my family’s cellar. Turns out it’s that useless younger brother of Zhang Li Shi.”

Li Er Gou shrank his neck to avoid the light and smiled ingratiatingly. “Old Aunt, this was all my sister’s idea. It’s not my fault. Please let us go, we’re family after all, just let it go.”

“Pah!”

Wu Chunhe spat directly on his face. “Not your fault? Then who set the fire in our cellar? Who’s going to compensate for all this damage?”

“Mother, it’s bad!”

Suddenly, Su Lao Wu, covered in dust and looking grim, rushed over. “The grain in the cellar is completely burned. The grain we rescued has also been ruined by lime and water. It’s inedible.”

Old Mrs. Su paused, stunned.

Li Er Gou realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled out all the valuables on his person. “Old Aunt, I’ll compensate! I’ll compensate! This money was given to me by my sister. Please look at the fact that we’re relatives and let us go!”

The others, seeing this, didn’t dare act tough anymore. They quickly joined Li Er Gou in begging for mercy.

Old Mrs. Su looked at the few pieces of silver on the ground, sneered, and said, “Li Er Gou, not only did you and your sister scheme to take my brother’s house in Chang’an Alley in the capital, but now you’ve come to my house to set fire. You’ve ruined our winter grain. Adding all these things up, do you think you can compensate for it?”

Her tone grew cold. “Lao Wu, lock these people in the horse stable. Don’t let them drink a drop of water without my orders!”