Chapter 160: Academy 1/2

Yao Zuming’s friends, hearing Li Qingzhi’s words, also felt weak in the legs, and when Yao Zuming knelt down… they all knelt down one after another, “Your Honor, we didn’t know anything, we just took Yao Zuming’s money to help him with something!”

“Your Honor, this has nothing to do with me.”

“We were just here for show.”

…

Yao Zuming was even more panicked than his friends, “Your Honor, I… I was just so sad about my father’s death that I lost my mind…”

The folk customs of Miaoqian Village were not aggressive. Fights were relatively rare in everyday life.

Yao Zuming was just a small-time bully in the village, and he was terrified of the government.

If he was caught and thrown into the dungeon by the government official, he might get beaten up and never come out!

Magistrate Wang hadn’t expected these people to react this way, but he still said, “Since I’m already here, this matter must be investigated!”

In any case, the deceased was lying there, the matter definitely needed to be clarified.

Magistrate Wang called for the village chief of Miaoqian Village to inquire about the incident.

The village chief of Miaoqian Village was staying at the Jin family’s house.

Yao Zuming and his friends said they were blocking the door, but they didn’t actually prevent anyone from entering or leaving — they still had to live in Miaoqian Village, so they naturally didn’t dare to go too far.

The village chief and several people with some status in Miaoqian Village all came out to greet Magistrate Wang, and naturally Aunt Jin’s family also came out.

Aunt Jin’s husband and son supported Aunt Jin, who was limp all over, hiding behind Jin Xiaoshu and not daring to lift their heads.

Aunt Jin’s mother-in-law hid behind Aunt Jin’s grandmother, and Aunt Jin’s father-in-law hid behind her mother-in-law.

Aunt Jin’s grandmother felt extremely frustrated.

When she was young, she was like Jin Xiaoye, someone no one dared to mess with in the village!

But her daughter was like her husband, very timid!

She was afraid her daughter would be bullied, so she found her a gentle husband, but as a result…

The saying “gentle is foolish” had some truth to it, this family was beyond help.

Jin Xiaoye also felt frustrated, but not because of Aunt Jin’s family.

Li Qingzhi had come back, bringing a magistrate with him, so Aunt Jin’s family’s little matter would definitely be resolved, and the following matters wouldn’t have anything to do with her.

What made Jin Xiaoye feel uncomfortable was her appearance when she was hitting people, which was seen by Magistrate Wang, Zhu Qian, and Li Qingzhi’s friends!

Especially that Du Yongning, who kept looking at her with shock in his eyes!

When Du Yongning looked over again, Jin Xiaoye glared at him fiercely.

Du Yongning was startled and dared not look again.

This wife of Li Qingzhi’s was too fierce!

Magistrate Wang had already started inquiring about the “case”, and Li Qingzhi came to Jin Xiaoye’s side, asking her, “Xiaoye, are you okay? Does your hand hurt?”

Jin Xiaoye said, “It doesn’t hurt… I just hit someone, will I embarrass you?”

Li Qingzhi said, “No. Xiaoye, you’re doing great, you won’t be bullied.”

Jin Xiaoye pinched Li Qingzhi’s hand, thinking of what Yao Zuming and his friends had said earlier, “Will you despise me?”

“How could I despise you, I like you the most.” Li Qingzhi whispered.

Jin Xiaoye smiled, feeling especially good, “That’s great! If you dare to despise me, I’ll take the money and live my carefree life, and I won’t care about you anymore.”

Actually, she didn’t think Li Qingzhi would despise her.

As for Li Qingzhi not wanting her and such… could Li Qingzhi bear to part with her?

Even if he wanted to, he definitely wouldn’t want to part with Li Damao and Li Ermao!

“I’ll let you control me for the rest of my life.” Li Qingzhi smiled.

As a man, if he wanted to take concubines in the future, Jin Xiaoye wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

But with Jin Xiaoye’s personality… if he really did that, Jin Xiaoye would definitely have some resentment towards him and wouldn’t be sincere to him anymore.

There are many couples in this world who seem harmonious but are actually distant, but he doesn’t want that kind of life.

He wants someone who is sincere to him, someone he can trust completely and relax with.

Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye were whispering to each other on the side, and this scene didn’t attract much attention.

Everyone went to watch Magistrate Wang handle the case!

But Du Yongning wasn’t very interested in the case, he was just staring at Li Qingzhi.

Seeing Li Qingzhi actually standing aside and chatting affectionately with his wife, he felt particularly uncomfortable.

Why would this Li Qingzhi be so happy when he has such a wife?

If his wife were like this…

Du Yongning hadn’t gotten married yet, his family wanted him to pass the imperial examination, and even get married after becoming a successful candidate or even after becoming a Jinshi.

That way, he could marry a wife from a prestigious family.

Du Yongning also thought this way, and in his imagination, his wife should be gentle, virtuous, dignified, and beautiful.

This wife of Li Qingzhi’s… he had never seen such a woman before!

He didn’t dare to imagine living with such a woman… would he get beaten?

As Du Yongning was thinking like this, he was glared at by Li Qingzhi again.

Li Qingzhi was very dissatisfied with Du Yongning, who had been staring at Jin Xiaoye.

At this moment, Magistrate Wang suggested going to see that persimmon tree.

Naturally, everyone followed along.

Since this matter had nothing to do with their family, Li Qingzhi didn’t squeeze to the front, but stayed behind with Jin Xiaoye and said, “Xiaoye, I was selected as the case head again…”

He talked about the events in the provincial capital these past few days, and Jin Xiaoye also talked about what had happened in Chongcheng County.

As they were talking, Aunt Jin suddenly came over, grabbing Li Qingzhi’s sleeve and crying, “Ah Qing, nothing will happen to me, right? I really didn’t mean it, how could I know he would fall…”

“Auntie, don’t worry, nothing will happen to you.” Li Qingzhi said.

Aunt Jin was still crying, “It was so terrifying when old Yao died, will he come to find me at night? Waaah…”

“He was glaring at me when he died, he was difficult when he was alive, and he’ll definitely be even more difficult when he’s dead…”

Li Qingzhi had already realized from chatting with Aunt Jin before that Aunt Jin was a bit superstitious.

Now… Aunt Jin’s superstition was a bit serious!

At this time, they had already arrived at Aunt Jin’s house.

The “scene of the incident” from last night was still there, there were still blood stains on the stones under the persimmon tree.

It was obvious that this stone pedestal had been under the tree for a long time, it was still a bit smooth on top, indicating that people often sat on it, but in the future… no one would dare to sit on this stone pedestal anymore.

It was already dark, and Magistrate Wang ordered the bailiffs to move the stone pedestal, revealing the insects and soil hiding underneath. This stone pedestal had been placed here for who knows how long.

There were no signs of tampering with the persimmon tree, which was enough to prove that Aunt Jin’s family didn’t intentionally harm anyone, it was the deceased who accidentally fell.

The villagers also said the same.

Magistrate Wang lit a candle to handle the case, whether Old Yao accidentally fell to his death or died while stealing, it had nothing to do with Aunt Jin’s family, so Aunt Jin’s family didn’t need to compensate, and the five taels of silver Yao’s family wanted to leave with yesterday had to be returned.

In addition, Yao Zuming and his people went to Aunt Jin’s house to make trouble, not only damaging some things in Aunt Jin’s house, but also delaying the work of Aunt Jin’s family, so they had to compensate with two taels of silver.

However, Magistrate Wang also expressed understanding for Yao Zuming’s father’s death, so he let Aunt Jin’s family cut down the persimmon tree and throw away the stone pedestal to make Yao Zuming’s family feel a little better.

Magistrate Wang did this because during the trial, he sensed that Aunt Jin’s family was a bit superstitious.

By cutting down the tree and throwing away the stone pedestal, he comforted Aunt Jin’s family a bit more after a few words, and Aunt Jin finally stopped being afraid.

Apart from this matter… Li Qingzhi mentioned to Magistrate Wang what Aunt Jin had told him before, about Yao Zuming secretly occupying their land, so Magistrate Wang asked the village chief to remeasure the land and distribute it properly.

Magistrate Wang handled the case very fairly, not favoring Aunt Jin’s family just because Li Qingzhi was there.

And because of this, Yao Zuming didn’t dare to show any dissatisfaction. He took out seven taels of silver, gave five taels to Aunt Jin, two taels to Aunt Jin’s mother-in-law, and then sneaked back home.

But the end of this case was just the beginning. After such an incident, Li Qingzhi felt that the people in the village would definitely hold a grudge against Yao Zuming’s family.

Living in the village, many times one had to rely on the help of neighbors. Not to mention Yao Zuming’s father’s death… according to custom, neighbors not only had to help with funeral arrangements, but also lend their own tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks to the family.

In the past, even if Yao Zuming had a bad character, everyone would still help, but now… who would still be willing to help?

Yao Zuming’s family’s days in the village would probably be difficult.

But this was their own fault, they were too greedy.

Li Qingzhi had already asked and knew that Jin Xiaoye had hit Yao Zuming because Yao Zuming had a foul mouth.

A person like Yao Zuming was truly disgusting.

Jin Xiaoye lived freely and passionately, daring to directly use violence when someone badmouthed her, but what about another girl?

If Yao Zuming spoke nonsense like that, he might ruin that girl’s life!

Everyone’s ability to endure is different, some people have a low tolerance and might not be able to bear it, or might even consider drastic actions.

After handling the matter, Magistrate Wang was planning to leave, Li Qingzhi walked at the back and said to the village chief, “Village chief, with such a family in our village, Magistrate Wang might think our village has a bad atmosphere, so you must manage it well.”

He planned to cause trouble for Yao Zuming.

Now that he was a scholar, and he even knew the county magistrate, and even knew the county magistrate’s assistant and the prefect… the village chief would definitely take his words to heart and give Yao Zuming some lessons.

“Li Xiucai, rest assured, I will

 definitely manage him well!” The village chief immediately promised.

Li Qingzhi and the others finally boarded the boat back to Chongcheng County.

It was already late, so they all went home separately. Since Du Yongning was not from Chongcheng County, he went to the inn.

When Li Qingzhi returned home, he immediately went to hug his two sons, Li Damao and Li Ermao, “Damao, Ermao, Dad misses you so much!”