TSWPF -Chapter 183 The Truth

After seeing Granny Ding off, Li Qingling went straight to find Zeng Tietou and asked him to arrange a few more people to investigate Li Laifu.

As soon as Zeng Tietou heard this, his expression turned serious, and he nodded solemnly.

Li Qingling told him to go about his work. She herself went to the chicken farm, personally patrolled the area once, and instructed the guards there to stay extra vigilant and watch the chickens carefully—there could not be the slightest mistake again.

All the fish in the pond had died. If something were to happen to the chicken farm as well, her losses would be even greater.

After settling matters at the chicken farm, Li Qingling finally headed home.

When she finished cooking and was about to start the meal, Liu Zhimou returned, with Xiang Yunfei following behind him.

“Little Sister Ling, what delicious food did you make? It smells amazing!” Xiang Yunfei sniffed exaggeratedly, practically drooling. Following Liu Zhimou back here was definitely the right choice.

For the next few days, he’d get to eat Li Qingling’s cooking again.

Ever since he’d tasted her dishes, he’d been thinking about them nonstop. Unfortunately, he’d been busy reviewing for exams and hadn’t had time to come by. This time, after passing the provincial scholar exam, he told his grandmother that he wanted to stay at Liu Zhimou’s place for a few days, and she agreed.

This time, he was determined to stay longer and play more with Li Qingning.

Li Qingling greeted Xiang Yunfei with a smile. “I just made a few simple home-style dishes. Young Master Xiang, have you eaten yet? If not, stay and eat with us.”

She knew Xiang Yunfei was a foodie—once he saw good food, he couldn’t move his legs. If she didn’t invite him, he’d probably resent her to death.

Before she even finished speaking, Xiang Yunfei nodded eagerly. Even if he’d already eaten and was full, he’d still eat her food.

Just the smell alone was irresistible—no need to even mention the taste.

He automatically ran into the kitchen and helped carry the dishes to the table.

Seeing Li Qingning, he grinned and said, “Ningning, I’ve come to play with you again. How about we go catch fish tomorrow?” He hadn’t had enough fun last time and wanted to keep going.

Li Qingning sat obediently on her chair, glanced at Xiang Yunfei, and shook her head with a frown. “I don’t have time to take you out to play these next few days. Maybe next time.”

Her sister had said that until the bad person was caught, she wasn’t allowed to go out and play.

“What are you busy with? Tell me—I’ll help you. Once we’re done, we can go play.”

Li Qingning looked up at Li Qingling. Seeing that she didn’t object, she sighed like a little adult. “Someone poisoned the fish in our pond and killed them all. Until the bad person is caught, Sister won’t let me go out.”

Her eyes rolled, and she continued, “Brother Yunfei, can you help us catch the bad person?”

If Xiang Yunfei helped, they might catch the culprit quickly.

She really wanted to go out and play—staying at home all day was too boring.

But before the bad person was caught, she didn’t dare go out casually. If she were kidnapped, she’d really be done for.

For the sake of her little life, she had to obediently listen to her sister.

“When did this happen?” Upon hearing this, Liu Zhimou immediately turned to Li Qingling and asked with a frown.

No wonder he felt something was off about her expression earlier. He’d planned to ask her after dinner.

Li Qingling glanced at him and gave a bitter smile. “It happened after I came back from the town.”

She roughly explained the situation. As soon as she finished, Xiang Yunfei slammed the table.

“This is outrageous! How dare they bully my brother’s family? I, Xiang Yunfei, won’t let him off!” He spoke righteously, then looked at Liu Zhimou. “Ziqian, I’ll help with this too. Let’s send people to investigate and see what’s really going on.”

Liu Zhimou didn’t refuse and thanked him.

With Xiang Yunfei helping, it probably wouldn’t take long to find the culprit.

Xiang Yunfei scratched his head and chuckled foolishly. “Ziqian, if you really want to thank me, just let Little Sister Ling cook a few more meals for me. Ever since I ate her food, my family’s chef’s cooking just doesn’t suit my taste anymore—really.”

Li Qingling laughed and replied, “That’s easy. If Young Master Xiang wants to eat, just stay at our place for a few more days.”

Aside from being a foodie, Xiang Yunfei had good character. She didn’t mind him staying longer.

“Great! Great!” Xiang Yunfei nodded happily. “After I finish eating, I’ll have people investigate the culprit.”

The sooner the culprit was caught, the sooner he could go play with Li Qingning.

For the sake of having fun, he was really going all out.

Li Qingling thanked Xiang Yunfei again. Seeing his eyes practically glued to the food, she smiled and said, “Let’s eat.”

After the meal, Liu Zhimou helped Li Qingling carry the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen and washed them. Then he asked Li Qingning to entertain Xiang Yunfei and led Li Qingling back to their room.

Once inside, he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head and gently swaying her.

“Ling’er, you’re unhappy.”

Even though she was smiling, he could feel that she wasn’t happy.

In front of Liu Zhimou, Li Qingling dropped her disguise. Leaning against him somewhat vulnerably, she nodded. “Seeing so many dead fish—it really hurts my heart.”

Naturally, her mood couldn’t be good.

Liu Zhimou lowered his head and kissed her forehead, holding her even tighter. “Since it’s already happened, don’t think about it too much. Try to take it easy, alright?”

He wanted her to always be happy, not trapped by these troubles.

“I won’t let the person who poisoned them get away. He’ll receive the punishment he deserves.”

Daring to lay hands on his family’s fish pond—did he think his courage had grown fur?

Li Qingling let out a soft breath, as if trying to expel the gloom in her chest. “What I’m really afraid of is that the person behind this might make a move against us.”

She looked up at him, worry unmistakable in her eyes. “How about you don’t go out for a while either—wait until the culprit is caught before going out again.”

Seeing how worried she was, Liu Zhimou’s heart ached. He kissed her eyes gently and comforted her softly. “Alright. I’ll stay at home with you during this time. I won’t go anywhere.”

He was worried too—afraid something might happen to her.

Even if he didn’t visit his teacher for now, studying at home was the same.

Anything he didn’t understand could wait until later.

After he agreed, the tension in Li Qingling’s heart finally eased a little. With him by her side, she felt safe.

“Brother Zhimou, do you think this could have been done by Li Laifu? A few days ago, Granny Ding saw him wandering around the pond alone. Could he be taking revenge on us for cutting off relations with him?”

“That’s very possible. But if we want to expose him, we’ll need evidence,” Liu Zhimou said in a low voice. “Leave this matter to me. You just wait for the results, alright?”

Having someone she could rely on was the best thing. Li Qingling nodded without hesitation.

His shoulders might not be very broad, but they were broad enough to hold up a piece of sky for her.

Seeing how obedient she was, Liu Zhimou smiled, kissed her a couple more times, and chatted with her about other things to distract her attention.

With Xiang Yunfei’s help, a few days later, they finally found the person behind the poisoning.

Sure enough, it was Li Laifu.

When Li Qingling heard the result, her face darkened, and a surge of anger rose in her heart.

This time, she absolutely would not let Li Laifu off. She would make sure he was punished.

“Brother Zhimou, let’s go. Let’s pay Li Laifu a visit and see how he’ll still try to argue his way out of this,” Li Qingling said angrily, pulling Liu Zhimou along toward Old Man Li’s house.

Li Qingning, Liu Zhirou, and Xiang Yunfei hurriedly followed behind.

Along the way, villagers saw Li Qingling’s grim expression and knew something serious had happened. Driven by curiosity, they followed along.

By the time they reached Old Man Li’s house, the group had grown into a large crowd.

Standing outside the courtyard gate, Li Qingling kicked the door hard. “Li Laifu, get out here right now!”

This time, no matter what, she was determined to send Li Laifu to jail.

If he wasn’t given a lifelong, unforgettable lesson, he would never change.

Hearing Li Qingling’s voice accompanied by loud bangs on the door, Madam Liu’s face changed. She rushed over and opened the door, pointing at Li Qingling and cursing loudly.

“Li Qingling, are you looking for death? This isn’t your home—who do you think you are, coming here to make a scene?”

Li Qingling shot her a cold look. “Where is Li Laifu? Tell him to come out immediately.”

She didn’t have time to tangle with Madam Liu—she just wanted to see Li Laifu as soon as possible.

“Get out? Get out of what? This is my home—if anyone’s getting out, it’s you!” Madam Liu grew more and more irritated the longer she looked at Li Qingling. “Get out! You’re not welcome here!”

They’d already cut off relations—what was she doing coming here? Looking to be scolded?

Taking a deep breath, Li Qingling forced herself to calm down. She looked at Madam Liu and said coldly, “Is Li Laifu at home or not? Tell him to come out and see me. I don’t have a good temper—don’t make me say it a third time.”

Seeing Li Qingling’s icy expression, Madam Liu felt a little intimidated. She swallowed, then straightened her back stubbornly. “Who do you think you are? Just because you say it, my son has to come see you? Huh?”

Her son wasn’t anything to her—why should he listen to Li Qingling?

“Fine. He doesn’t have to come see me. Then I’ll just have the constables come and arrest him.”

“Constables?” Madam Liu’s eyes widened as she stared at Li Qingling. “Just because my son won’t come see you, you want to have the constables arrest him? Li Qingling, you’re ridiculous. Who do you think you are—able to order the constables around?”

Did she think the magistrate’s office belonged to her? Just saying they should arrest someone, and they’d do it? She was dreaming.