Chapter 639: Thorough Investigation

“You heartless bunch of wealthy scoundrels! You caused the death of your own daughter, yet you blame it on our Village Chief,” the villagers accused.

“That’s right. Our Village Chief’s son is also an outstanding young man. You’ve left him bedridden and unable to move, and yet you still think it’s not enough?” they continued.

“Since you’ve left us no way out, if you dare to lay a hand on us today, we’ll fight back,” the Village Chief declared, feeling a mix of emotions as he looked at the villagers. It was clear that his family had caused harm, yet the villagers had never complained and were now coming to their aid.

The representatives of the two families who had come looking for trouble furrowed their brows as they observed the villagers, who were clearly on edge.

To them, the deaths of the villagers wouldn’t be a big deal, but it would certainly lead to trouble. If all the villagers in Fulu Village suddenly died, it would surely attract the attention of the county magistrate and the Governor, especially since the County Princess was aware of the place. Ordering a thorough investigation would not be in their favor.

Despite their influence, they knew that they couldn’t afford to antagonize the authorities, and they couldn’t win against the people.

The Village Chief knew that they were just ordinary people, and there was nothing to gain from confronting these individuals.

He stepped forward with a sharp glint in his murky eyes. “We all know the truth about what happened back then. After all these years, you’ve already caused enough damage to our village. If you continue to cause trouble, I will go to the Governor, even if it costs me my life.”

“The current Governor and county magistrate are both good officials, not like those corrupt officials you could buy off,” the Village Chief said calmly, looking at the people in front of him.

His words angered the person standing opposite him. “You’re asking for trouble, Fu!”

“Then go ahead and try to kill me. It would be best if you did it right in front of the County Princess’s people,” the Village Chief said, refusing to back down.

The surrounding villages had started to prosper under the County Princess’s administration, and he couldn’t let the people in his village miss out on this opportunity because of him.

The person opposite him, with a fat face, was visibly shaking with anger.

Yuan Xu glanced at the Village Chief. The man was smart and knew what to do to benefit them. It had to be this way, or else they would continue to be bullied.

“Fu, you’re very brave,” he said.

“Do you really think we won’t dare to lay a hand on you? Not a single one of them should be let go,” the person threatened. As long as the County Princess’s people died here, who would know what they had done?

“Go ahead, don’t let any of them escape,” he ordered. The people behind him moved forward to attack, but Yuan Bao coldly snorted and kicked, causing them all to fall to the ground in an instant.

Seeing Yuan Bao’s skill, the other side finally began to feel some fear. “Who are you? Why are you opposing us?” they asked.

Yuan Bao remained silent, refusing to speak to such despicable individuals.

“What’s going on here? It’s quite lively,” a voice suddenly spoke up. All eyes turned to see the source of the voice, and when they saw that the Governor and the county magistrate had arrived, the representatives of the two families immediately panicked.

As they pondered how to leave, Yuan Bao spoke up, “Young master, these people think they can play with people’s lives just because they have a bit of money. They just said they want to keep all of us here.”

Su Yu gave the other side a cold glance. “Is that so?”

The other side was taken aback and quickly spoke up, “This… this is all a misunderstanding.”

Upon seeing the Governor and the county magistrate, the Village Chief immediately knelt down and implored, “Your Excellencies, the Lei’s and the Wu’s have gone too far in their bullying. Please, intervene on our behalf.”

The representatives of the Lei and Wu families, seeing the Village Chief’s actions, wore extremely unpleasant expressions. “This is all because of you. If it weren’t for your son, would my daughter have died?” they retorted.

“The young lady from the Wu family and my son were in love with each other. It was you who disregarded her objections and insisted on marrying her to the son of the Lei family, who already had many concubines. On the day of their wedding, you had my son crippled. It was only after she learned of this that she took such drastic action,” the Village Chief angrily explained.

“If it weren’t for you, my son would have already become an official. It’s all your fault. The young lady from the Wu family wasn’t killed by our family. The one responsible for her death is you, as her father. You refuse to acknowledge this fact and instead shift the blame onto my family, claiming that we are the masterminds behind it all. Aren’t you afraid that your daughter won’t rest in peace even in the afterlife?” The Village Chief was now speaking boldly.

He had also been fond of the gentle girl, but the head of Wu family was only concerned with power and status, thinking only of how to climb up to the Lei family, without caring about his daughter’s happiness or well-being.

To now claim that it was their family’s fault was simply preposterous.

“Shut your mouth! What kind of person is your son? Is he even worthy of my daughter?” the head of Wu family said with a fierce expression.

He didn’t raise his daughter to marry a poor scholar.

The Governor narrowed his eyes and looked at the Village Chief. “Does your son hold an official title?”

The head of Wu family  felt a sense of unease. What did the Governor’s sudden inquiry mean?

The Village Chief nodded quickly. “Yes, my son passed the imperial examination with the seventh highest score three years ago. He was supposed to travel to the capital for the examination the next day, but everything was ruined by the Wu family.”

Upon hearing this, the Governor’s temples throbbed visibly, and his expression turned grim. “You have some nerve. How dare you lay a hand on an imperial examination candidate? Is there no justice left?”

“Why didn’t you report this to the authorities?” he asked.

“We did report it, Your Excellency. But at the time, the officials were bribed by them. Not only did they not address the matter, but they also beat us,” the Village Chief explained.

The Governor chuckled in exasperation. “I can’t believe such a thing happened.”

Both the Governor and the county magistrate had been transferred to their current positions three years ago, and they hadn’t expected to inherit such a mess to deal with.

The head of the Wu family, observing the Governor’s angry demeanor, felt a sense of foreboding, especially in the presence of the young man by the Governor’s side, which made him feel a bit fearful.

“Corruption and playing with people’s lives, very well,” the Governor said, causing a chill to run down his spine.

The Governor was genuinely angry this time.

“Sir…”

“Where was the previous Governor transferred to?” Su Yu asked coldly.

“He was transferred to serve as a Governor in Yong’an County,” the Governor hurriedly replied.

At this moment, he didn’t dare to provoke Su Yu, but he also knew that the man was in deep trouble this time.

Wu and Lei felt wary, uncertain of the young man’s intentions.

“Go and check on the Village Chief’s son. Bring a doctor and record his condition. Then, decide on the next steps accordingly,” Su Yu said calmly, making a few remarks that would determine the other party’s future.

Wu gritted his teeth and looked at Su Yu. “Who are you exactly? Why do you meddle in our affairs?”

“You don’t deserve to know who I am. Just know that you won’t have a good ending,” Su Yu replied.

“Should we detain these two, young master?” Yuan Xu asked.

“Yes, arrest them. Who dares to cripple an imperial examination candidate? Who are they dissatisfied with?” Su Yu ordered.