Green Lotus Peasant Girl

95

The moonlight was as cold as water in the pond. Hearing her cold and sarcastic reply, Mr. Yang wanted to show his anger. But seeing his son tied up miserably on the ground, he had to suppress his anger. He changed his emotions quickly and said, "There must have been some kind of misunderstanding. Allow me to ask him clearly, okay?"

Once the rag was removed from his mouth, Yang Lanhong immediately shouted, "Father, it has nothing to do with me. I was on my way to the village and I just passed by their doorstep when they caught me and tied me up!"

"Once they started chasing me I ran. But they caught me and then they grabbed me and tied me up."

"Look, you all heard it." Mr. Yang put on a serious expression and continued, "I've already said that my son wouldn’t steal fish. He had a good upbringing since he was a child, so he can't even think of doing such things. How could he come and steal fish? It's all a misunderstanding. And since this chaos is over, I'll take him back home with me now."

After he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to untie the ropes that were binding Yang Lanhong. Zhou Chengkang stepped forward and stopped him quickly and said, "Master Yang, analyze this situation for yourself. He claims he wasn't stealing fish, but it is so evident and yet you dare to believe him? Don't think of us as mere fools."

"Then, you won't let go of him, right?" Mr. Yang's expression looked ugly, "The county magistrate commended you for your help and has a good relationship with you. If we go to the town for the verdict, he will definitely side with you. Whether my son is innocent or not, he will definitely be accused of stealing anyway."

He was just too shameless!

The problem was that his son really did steal. But if he spouted such nonsense, people would believe that it was Zhou Chengkang who wronged them.

"Brother Min, please help us drag the thieves into the yard. We will take them to the town tomorrow in the morning." Li Qinghe said impatiently. If it wasn't for the thieves, she would have been sleeping soundly right now. "Mr. Yang if you are not convinced yet, then you can also come to the town to listen to the verdict. After that, you are still not convinced with the verdict declared by the town magistrate, you may approach the county, or to the capital to redress your grievances."

Yu Yan and Min Rui helped them drag people into the courtyard. After they were shifted to the courtyard, the Zhou couple closed the door with a bang and went directly to bed!

The next morning, Mrs. Zhou stayed back at home to take care of her grandson, while Li Qinghe and Zhou Chengkang took the two thieves to the town. They went straight to the magistrate's house and let him call the shots.

The two were locked up in jail. Zhou Chengkang mentioned, "They also had an accomplice, who ran away. Please help us look for him."

It was impossible for the two of them two confess by themselves. So they had to use special means to make them confess, which can only be legally done by the magistrate. The magistrate also wouldn't interrogate them in front of outsiders, including the two of them.

However, Li Qinghe believed that the magistrate would definitely investigate the person who ran away, since it was the magistrate's job to look after the management of the town. If someone stole something every three days, it would soil the town’s image and make it unsafe for the locals. It was best to catch a thief using another thief; and prevent this kind of thing from happening, straight from the roots.

When the two walked out of the magistrate's courtyard, they saw someone waiting for them at the door.

It was the fish seller from the town. Her aunt took her to his shop to buy fish. He lived in Liu Village. Looking at him, one could easily say that he has been waiting for them for a while now. Seeing the two coming out, he threw away the weeds that he held in his hands and said, "Let's have a talk. We can go to the restaurant. It will be my treat."