RYEY – Chapter 193 Destroying the Evidence

“Qiao, the meal’s ready. Has Li Huan come back yet? If he’s back, come eat.”

“Mother, he’s back, but he went out again. Look at these footprints—someone must have come in to set a fire. There’s even a gap here at my window.”

“Ah, who on earth would do such a wicked thing! Harming people like this—heaven will punish them!”

“Shh, mother, don’t say that. If anyone hears, it’ll bring trouble.”

Mother Li nodded and wiped away her tears. Ever since Cheng Qiao married into their family, their lives had improved so much. Surely, someone must be jealous and wanted to harm their daughter-in-law.

“Qiao, we can’t stay here. Why don’t you take little Cheng Li to the county town? Set things up there; everything will be easier.”

“Mother, have you forgotten that your son is the village head? How can the village head leave the village?”

Mother Li paused, then sighed. If they stayed here, Cheng Qiao and her grandson could be in danger. Perhaps it wasn’t even worth being the village head.

“Don’t worry, mother. Li Huan knows what he’s doing.”

No sooner had she spoken than the village gong rang. Of course, it meant Li Huan was calling another village meeting.

This time, fewer people attended; many had gone to repair the river, but those at home came out. Cheng Qiao carried little Cheng Li, Ye Jun held Xuhui in front, and Mother Li locked the door and followed.

“Fellow villagers, ever since I became the village head of Xiangyang Village, have I wronged anyone? If I have, speak up. If not, let us continue to improve together.”

The villagers whispered among themselves. Aunt Wang shouted, “Ever since Huan became village head, our lives have improved. This year, even when grain was short, the chief led us to hunt in the mountains and exchanged the meat for food!”

“That’s right! He even organized the security team and caught human traffickers!”

“And our village’s Chen Damao was recommended to attend the Workers’ and Peasants’ University!”

“Huan, speak your mind—we’re listening.”

Uncle Niu said loudly. He knew that even though the young rascal was mischievous, he wouldn’t be careless in serious matters.

“Alright, here’s what happened. This morning I sent Goudan to school. While I was gone, someone climbed over the wall and set fire to my house. And it was deliberate—it targeted my room.”

“What…?”

“Good grief! Whoever did this, we’ll catch and hand them over for justice!”

“So vicious! Could it be Xu Laidi?”

“Xu Laidi’s long dead, don’t talk nonsense.”

Li Huan’s sharp eyes scanned the crowd. He watched Fenqiu—on Fenqiu’s face was uncontrollable delight. Serves you right for trying to burn my kitchen!

Then his gaze shifted to Chen Tiezhu. Chen Tiezhu looked shocked and guilty; he hadn’t expected anyone to dare set fire to Li Huan’s house. Don’t doubt yourself—after all, they had just argued.

Next, Li Huan looked at Cheng Weimin. Cheng Weimin appeared calm but smiling. Karma for using my money to build a house—burned down, deserved it.

Then he looked at Zhaodi. Zhaodi seemed nervous and confused. Li Huan felt a bit frustrated. Judging by everyone’s expressions, clearly they weren’t the arsonists. Then who was?

Chen Chunjian and Chen Chunli stood at the back, hiding behind a few burly men, successfully avoiding Li Huan’s gaze. Secretly, they were pleased, wondering if Cheng Qiao would have been burned alive.

But when they saw Cheng Qiao holding little Cheng Li safely among the crowd, their hearts filled with hatred. Indeed, a fox reincarnated—she survived even the smoke rising from the house.

Cheng Qiao suddenly felt someone watching her back. She restrained the urge to turn around and tried to sense with her mental focus.

However, her current mental power only allowed her to observe things at a distance, not sense anything beyond one meter.

Little Cheng Li understood his mother’s intention. He hugged Cheng Qiao’s neck, stretching upward, trying to see higher.

Cheng Qiao held him with one hand and lifted him a bit higher with the other. Little Cheng Li’s big round eyes looked around.

Anyone who met his gaze received a gentle smile. The little guy was just as handsome as Cheng Qiao.

But when his gaze fell on Chen Chunjian and Chen Chunli, he sensed strong hostility. Chen Chunjian even made a chopping motion.

Little Cheng Li’s eyes turned slightly. Suddenly, he cried out loudly, “Waaah!” His cry drowned out all the surrounding chatter.

“What’s wrong, my treasure? What’s the matter?”

Little Cheng Li wanted to say that those two were going to kill him. His mouth couldn’t speak clearly, but he lifted his arm, pointing at the Chen brothers.

The villagers were puzzled, but Li Huan felt a chill. Could it be that his son saw the arsonists? He scooped up little Cheng Li and shouted: “Son, who set the fire? Show me!”

Li Huan followed the direction of Cheng Li’s pointing. A villager quickly stepped aside, “Not me, not me!” But little Cheng Li ignored him, still pointing straight ahead.

They continued until every person pointed at moved aside in fear. When they reached Chen Chunli and Chen Chunjian, little Cheng Li finally lowered his arm. Whew! Too many clothes, lifting arms was tiring.

“Son, you saw these two set the fire?”

Little Cheng Li was confused. Fire? They just made a move like they wanted to kill him—killing and setting fire are probably similar, right? He nodded resolutely.

“Qiao, hold the child.”

Li Huan handed little Cheng Li to Cheng Qiao, then immediately executed a reverse arm lock, flipping Chen Chunli to the ground. Chen Chunjian panicked. Could the little brat really have seen him light the fire?

“You bastard! What are you doing? Let go of my son!”

Cheng Weimin was furious. This rascal was getting out of control. He even believed what a six-month-old said! Living to this age and being this foolish.

“Your son is an arsonist! I’m taking him to the police!”

“Evidence? You’re relying on a six-month-old baby? He probably can’t even talk yet.”

Li Huan knew Cheng Weimin was right, but he believed his son. His wife was a celestial being incarnate; a child of a celestial being must have extraordinary aura.

“Evidence. Let them walk through my backyard. If the footprints match, I’ll take them to the police. If not, I’ll apologize to you.”

“That’s right! If we didn’t do it, we didn’t do it.”

Cheng Weimin grabbed Chen Chunli, heading toward Li Huan’s house. Chen Chunjian turned to run. Cheng Qiao realized what he was about to do and shouted loudly: “Stop him! He’s going to destroy the evidence!”

Li Huan, hearing this, released Chen Chunli and chased Chen Chunjian. But Chen Chunli clutched Li Huan’s legs tightly, immobilizing him.