TSWPF -Chapter 187 Escape

Time ticked by little by little. Li Laifu grew more and more anxious. Unable to sit still, he shifted restlessly, then couldn’t help standing up. He walked to the door and peered through the crack, only to see Li Qingling and the others still standing outside the courtyard. He turned back again.

With them there, there was no way for him to escape.

After thinking for a moment, he glanced at Old Li, who was smoking his dry tobacco pipe, and, left with no other choice, called out, “Father.”

Old Li spat out the tobacco smoke and looked at Li Laifu slowly. “What is it?”

After hesitating for a while, Li Laifu finally decided to come clean.

His father had only him left as a son. If something happened to him, his father wouldn’t stand by and do nothing—he would definitely find a way to protect him.

With that thought settled, Li Laifu spoke quickly. “Father, I’ll be honest with you. I was the one who poisoned Li Qingling’s fish pond.” Seeing Old Li’s expression change slightly, he continued, “I couldn’t stand her insisting on cutting ties with us, so I wanted to teach her a lesson. I just don’t know whether she really found out it was me who poisoned it, or if she’s just bluffing to scare me.”

He had suffered losses at Li Qingling’s hands before and knew she was cunning and devious, always digging traps for others to fall into.

So this time, he wasn’t sure whether she had truly uncovered the truth.

Hearing Li Laifu’s confession, Old Li took several quick puffs of his pipe before slamming it down heavily. “You—” Realizing his voice was too loud, he quickly lowered it. His hand trembled as he pointed at Li Laifu, glaring at him in fury and disappointment. “How could you do something so brainless? Huh? Are you trying to kill me from anger?”

He had thought his son was smart. Who would have guessed he’d be this foolish?

“My son, I think you did the right thing,” Madam Liu suddenly said. “If you’d told me earlier, I would’ve helped you. I’d have ruined that little slut Li Qingling’s chicken farm too. Once she has no income, let’s see how she stays arrogant!”

“Shut up!” Old Li roared, trembling with anger. “You still dare to spout nonsense? Believe it or not, I’ll deal with you myself! I’ve never seen a mother teach her child like this—utterly idiotic! If you want to see your son dragged off to prison, then keep talking. I won’t stop you!”

The older Madam Liu got, the more foolish she became, doing nothing but things that harmed the family.

If this went on, she would drag the entire household to ruin.

Scolded like that, Madam Liu shivered. She had only this one son left—she would rather die than see him taken away to prison.

Her hands and feet went weak as she grabbed Old Li’s hand, begging him to think of a way to save their son.

Old Li let out a heavy sigh. “With things this urgent, what good idea can I possibly come up with?”

“Then hurry and think!” Madam Liu shook his hand anxiously. “If you can’t think of anything, our son is finished. Li Qingling, that little slut, will definitely never let him go!”

“Stop yelling!” Old Li yanked his hand back forcefully. He clasped his hands together on his knees, frowning deeply as he began to think in earnest. “If you keep making noise, how am I supposed to think of anything?”

Madam Liu pressed her lips tightly together, staring at Old Li, not daring to disturb him again.

After pondering for a long time, Old Li still couldn’t think of a good solution. He looked at Li Laifu and asked, “Have you thought of any ideas?”

Li Laifu blurted out his plan. “Father, I was thinking of running away. Once I’m gone, it won’t be easy for Li Qingling and the others to catch me.”

“Run away to where?” Old Li asked. “Are you planning to never come back for the rest of your life?”

“How can that be?” Madam Liu’s eyes reddened as she grabbed Li Laifu’s hand, choking up. “Son, you’re all I have left. If you don’t come home, how am I supposed to live?”

Li Laifu gently patted the back of her hand to comfort her. “Don’t worry, Mother. I won’t stay away forever. Once things die down, I’ll come back.”

If only he had money—then he could buy a house outside and never come back at all.

Thinking of this, he looked eagerly at Madam Liu. “But if I hide, I need somewhere to stay. Mother, can you lend me some silver so I can buy a house to live in for now?”

As soon as he said this, Madam Liu hesitated. She didn’t have much silver on her—she wasn’t sure if it would be enough to buy a house.

That was the money she had saved over her entire lifetime. To take it all out at once made her reluctant.

What if they ran into some emergency later? What would she do then?

She had to plan ahead.

Hearing her tone, Li Laifu immediately sensed hope. He excitedly held her hand. “Then how much silver do you have? If it’s not enough, I’ll just rent a place.”

Once he had a place outside, he could even bring Huang Meiniang to live with him.

Thinking about that bright future, the last bit of worry in his heart disappeared.

Just as Madam Liu was about to answer, Old Li cut in, “So what if you get the silver? Can you even get out? Li Qingling and the others are right in the courtyard. The moment you step outside, you’ll be discovered.”

Li Laifu’s excitement was instantly doused with cold water, and his mind cooled a little.

He propped his head with both hands, racking his brains. How could he slip away right under Li Qingling’s nose without anyone noticing?

“Mother,” he suddenly asked, “isn’t there a door at the back of our house?”

“Yes, there’s a small back door,” Madam Liu nodded repeatedly. “Son, are you thinking of escaping from there?”

Li Laifu hummed in agreement. “But the problem is, how do I get to the back courtyard? I have to avoid Li Qingling and the others.”

The back courtyard…

Old Li’s mind lit up. “Laifu, you can go through the cellar. Our cellar has two entrances—one in the kitchen and one leading to the back courtyard.”

They had dug two openings back then for convenience. Who would’ve thought it would end up helping his son escape now?

Hearing this, Li Laifu’s eyes lit up. Heaven was truly on his side.

“Mother, hurry and get me some silver. Once I have it, I’ll escape through the cellar. We can’t delay any longer—if we do, the constables will arrive.”

Madam Liu didn’t dare waste another second. She rushed to her room, dragged a box out from under the bed, unlocked it, counted out fifty taels of silver, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and hurried back out. She shoved it straight into Li Laifu’s hands.

“Son, this is all the silver left at home—fifty taels. With this much, you should be able to buy a house.”

She had saved only sixty taels in her entire life. When her son wanted to marry, she had steeled her heart and said she had no money, even setting her sights on Li Qingling’s betrothal gifts. She never expected things to turn out like this—yet in the end, she still had to hand the money over.

Hearing that it was only fifty taels, Li Laifu frowned, displeased. “Mother, is that really all? There’s nothing else? This amount isn’t enough to buy a house.”

Could it be that she was lying to him and holding back money?

He clearly remembered her saying before that she had no money for him to marry, yet now she suddenly produced fifty taels. Could she be deceiving him again?

He looked at Madam Liu suspiciously.

Madam Liu slapped his shoulder hard, her voice filled with hurt. “This is the silver I saved my whole life. I’ve given you everything, and you still doubt your own mother? How could that not break my heart?”

Realizing he had spoken wrongly, Li Laifu quickly held her hand again and apologized, saying he didn’t mean it that way and wasn’t doubting her—he just felt that the money wouldn’t be enough to buy a house, so he asked one more question.

Comforted by his words, Madam Liu softened again. Suppressing her reluctance, she gently pushed him. “Go quickly. Don’t waste any more time.”

Li Laifu nodded. He didn’t even pack clothes. Holding the fifty taels, he hurried into the kitchen, lifted the cellar cover, and started down the ladder.

“Laifu, be careful in everything you do,” Old Li reminded him.

Madam Liu added, “Son, take good care of yourself out there. Once things calm down, come home, alright?”

She didn’t know when she would see her son again.

And yet she blamed it all on Li Qingling—if it weren’t for her, her son wouldn’t have been forced to flee.

Selfish to the core, Madam Liu never once considered that if Li Laifu hadn’t poisoned Li Qingling’s fish, how would any of this have happened?

“Father, Mother, take care of yourselves too. Wait for me to come back.”

Whether he truly meant it or not, at least to Old Li and Madam Liu, their son sounded filial.

They responded, but before they could say anything more, they heard Li Qingling knocking on the door.

Old Li’s heart leapt. “Laifu, hurry and go. Don’t worry about us—we’ll deal with Li Qingling.”

No matter what, he had to stall her long enough for his son to escape.

Li Laifu also heard Li Qingling’s voice. He answered twice and quickly descended the ladder.

Once Li Laifu was gone, Old Li and Madam Liu hurriedly closed the cellar cover and restored everything. Only then did they slowly make their way to the main hall.

They stood by the door for quite a while. When they heard Li Qingling say she was going to smash the door, they finally opened it.

The moment the door opened, before Old Li could even see who was outside, he started cursing, “Li Qingling, you’ve really become lawless! Don’t think that just because you have a scholar husband, I can’t do anything to you—”

“Elder Li,” Li Qingling said calmly, “I just wanted to tell you—the constables have arrived.”

Hearing this, Old Li finally saw several constables standing in the courtyard.