Chapter 435: Absence of the Living, Absence of the Dead!

d not spared Mu Xu's reputation, causing the Marquis to laugh heartily. Mu Xu could only roll his eyes in exasperation...In just three days of operation, the hot pot restaurant snatched away one-thir...The magistrate frowned, glanced at the frowning Mr. Li, and asked again, "Who is Liu Sanzi Why did he want Miss Gong to go to the Li family… to attract Mr. Li"

The words reached his lips, but he abruptly changed them, after all, "seduction" sounded too harsh.

Gong Wu hesitated for a moment, and the attendants immediately began beating their water-fire clubs.

Gong Wu reached out and protected his injured butt, admitting readily, “Liu Sizi is the nephew of the manager of the Seasons' Delight Gambling Hall. It was the manager who found Liu Sizi, and Liu Sizi then found me.”

They said, looking down on the uncouth Li family for suddenly getting rich, they wanted to find someone to cause trouble for them. Ideally, they'd marry into the Li family - to become Mrs. Li - so that the Li family would be under their thumb!

In the hall, from top to bottom, everyone was so stunned that they didn't dare to breathe.

What guarantee does this thing have, what a huge appetite, to actually want to hold the Li family in their hands!

The magistrate didn't know what to ask anymore, so he turned to Li Yusheng, "That, Lord...What do you think..."

Li Yusheng's face was very bad, as if he had just learned about this, with three parts surprise and seven parts anger.

He directly asked Gong Yunshu, "Do you know their schemes"

Gong Yunshu immediately kowtowed to the ground, sobbing and saying: "Please, Master Uncle and adults, see clearly! Our Gong family is a scholarly family. I was strictly educated from a young age to distinguish right from wrong. I could never harm anyone!"

"I do know their schemes, but my grandmother was taken by them, so I had to become an accomplice. But before that, my brother and I almost got killed, it was Grandpa who saved us. Everyone in the Earl's mansion treated my siblings and me with kindness."

"How can we go against our conscience and repay kindness with hatred We were torn between right and wrong, but last night my grandmother appeared in my dream. I guessed that she had been murdered. That's why we came to report it. We want revenge for grandma!"

Gong Yu had been holding onto the old woman, and at this moment, he was choking back tears as he shouted, "We have to avenge Grandma!"

Gong Wu hated these two sisters for their evil deeds, but he was even more afraid of being sentenced to a heavier punishment. He choked out his words and shouted, "Your grandmother isn't a good person either! It was she who agreed to send her granddaughter out to seduce men. I am guilty, but the Gong family's grandmother is not a good person either!"

Gong Yu couldn't stand this and, dragging his broken leg, rushed forward to fight. For a moment, the courtroom was in utter chaos.

The magistrate slammed his hands on the table and looked at Li Yusheng, "Master Li, do you have any ideas about this"

Li Yusheng shook his head, "Since this matter involves my family, I absolutely cannot participate. Everything relies on the adults to uphold justice!"

The magistrate was very pleased and said, "Gong Wu and the others have killed Elder Gong. There is both circumstantial and physical evidence, and they have confessed openly. Now, they will be beaten twenty times with heavy bamboo sticks and imprisoned, awaiting the capture of Liu Sizi and Bao Guanxi. After they are caught, the case will continue to be investigated."

All property belonging to the Gong family, including their ancestral home and farmland, as well as all their assets, must be returned in full if they have been seized. If any items are concealed, the relevant Gong family members shall be charged with robbery.

Gong Yunshu and her brother immediately burst into tears and kowtowed, "Thank you, Lord of Heaven, thank you, Lord of Heaven!"

Finally, someone took charge!

With their property back in their possession, and no one coveting it anymore, they were fearless.

The magistrate waved his hand and said, "I will send two officers to escort you back and supervise your clansmen's return of the property. However, you are not allowed to leave the vicinity of Xin Du for the next two months. If the case requires your cooperation, you must be available at a moment's notice."

Yes, thank you, sir.

Gong Yunshu and her brother thanked each other again, then turned their heads to thank Li Yusheng, but Li Yusheng simply flicked his sleeve away, obviously not wanting to see these siblings.

Although they didn't harm the Li family, their good intentions saved someone with ulterior motives. Who would be happy knowing this

Gong Yu was somewhat flustered, but Gong Yunshu's half-closed eyes held a calmness.

Today, Li's family came forward to help report the case, and even the mayor of Aokizhen crossed county lines to bring Grandma's body to the capital's government office. Behind all this was the support from the Li family, and she is truly grateful for their help.

But she also knew that the bond between her, her brother, and the Li family had reached its end. The Li family wouldn't help them anymore...

The commotion has, for now, come to an end.

The yamen dispatched a good number of officers to apprehend Liu Sizizi and Bao Guan, but unfortunately, both seemed to have vanished into thin air, neither alive nor dead!

The yamen guards searched for two days, but didn't find even a single hair.

So, all the tea houses and restaurants in Xin Du were abuzz with speculation, wondering who was behind the plot to harm the Li family

Also, Liu Sanzi and Bao Guan Shi have never been found. Were they silenced by someone behind the scenes

Some people say that perhaps Gong Wu fabricated a mastermind to cover his own tracks.

Ke Gongwu can lie, and Gongjia's daughter can also lie!

Thus, the key to everything rested on this pair of cousins, Bao Guan Shi and Liu San Zi!

And because the manager of Si Ji Ruyi Gambling Hall was involved, the Huo family was also suspected.

But the Huo family has been low-key for two years. Besides liking to secretly meet his widowed mistress, Huo Ming hasn't committed any other misdeeds and has no dealings with the Li family whatsoever. There's just no way it could be him.

Moreover, the Huo family is also looking for someone responsible. It is said that all the cash flow from the casino that night was stolen by the person in charge...

Of course, in such a large new city, it's impossible for everyone to be unaware of the truth, such as the Wang family.

As night fell, the lamps in Old Master Wang's study were still brightly lit.

Wang Sanye paced back and forth in the room, his hands behind his back. His face flickered between anger and cruelty as he muttered, "Damn things, useless! They can't even handle such a small task! What use are they Even dogs know how to guard the house…"

Old Wang listened to her son's words getting increasingly dire and frowned, stopping him. "Alright, don't worry too much. In our household, the only one who had contact with those people was the second steward. I sent him back to his hometown long ago, no one can find you."

Wang Sanye managed to sit down, but his hand trembling as he held the teacup, his lips pale with terror, like a sparrow shivering in the cold without a nest. “No, no, Father! You don’t know, the Li family is too cunning! Liu Sanzi and Bao Guanxi must have been taken by them.”

They're just waiting, waiting for a good opportunity to let them out, and then they'll bite me, drag me into prison!

Seeing her son like this, the old lady Wang felt some pity.

He suspected that his son had suffered too much in prison after being caught harboring an assassin, and this had left a deep psychological scar on him.

He quickly advised, "No, those two just heard the news and were afraid of being implicated, so they ran off with the silver. Our family can't find them, and the government office won't be able to either!

Even if it's the government officials who come looking, now that the Second Master is gone, our family can say that he acted on his own accord and you wouldn't be implicated!

"Don't worry, go back and have some wine, get a good night's sleep, and by tomorrow morning everything will be fine."

Wang San's personal attendant, also hurried forward to help his master and went to the backyard.

The third Madam had been thinking about it, and finally managed to wait for her husband's return. She wanted to go up to him, but was pushed aside by Lord Wang San, who went straight to his study.

The third mistress was aggrieved and wanted to speak, but Chang Sui dissuaded her: "Madam, the Third Master doesn't look right. You won't be of much help by staying here now. Why don't you go back to rest The servants will take good care of him, and we'll report anything important to you."

The third wife also listened to the advice and led the people back.

Long Sui quickly called for people from the courtyard, "Hurry and boil some hot water! Bring two more blankets! Also, tell the kitchen to start cooking, make a lot of food, and send it over immediately!"-stocked with everything he could possibly need.Setting up the yard might sound troublesome, but it's really just about hanging bed curtains, adding some furniture and utensils, and laying out new bed...