Chapter 619 - 621: Why Am I So Unlucky?
The only one who had a chance to harm anyone was also knocked down by Bai Ruozhu. The rest were not match for the Tu siblings. Even some tried to flee, they were all apprehended and brought back by Tu Ying.
"Tie them up and send them to the Government Office," Tu Bai said. But looking at their number, he added, "Forget it, we would need too much hemp rope. I’ll go notify the officers."
Li Mazi, who was the first to be beaten, barely regained some strength to ask Tu Bai, "Who... who are you people?"
Tu Bai grinned at him, "You’ve kicked an iron plate today."
Bai Ruozhu glanced at him and thought that Tu siblings were far from ordinary. Despite Tu Bai’s simple-minded look, if you truly believe he is a fool, then you are the real fool.
"Little sister, you watch out here, I’ll be back soon," after instructing Bai Ruozhu, Tu Bai rapidly rode on a horse towards Beiyu City.
Bai Yihong and Bai Zepei felt a wave of fear as they asked about Lin Ping’s situation. On the other hand, Tu Ying patted Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder and said, "Didn’t realize you have some skills to build on after all, then I really should teach you a thing or two."
"Thank you, please come to my house when you have the time and also teach my younger brother. I just want him to learn the basics and strengthen his foundation," Bai Ruozhu said.
Tu Ying looked at her approvingly, "Not bad, forward-thinking. Your little brother is young, good seed to be nurtured. With a solid foundation, he will develop even better in the future."
"What I mainly want to learn is light work and increase my inner strength," Bai Ruozhu’s eyes shone as she spoke. As modern people who grew up watching martial arts films, who hasn’t dreamed of leaping onto roofs and vaulting over walls?
"Sure, no problem," Tu Ying agreed immediately, "You are good material. You didn’t flinch when you fought with others, your reaction was quick. You are much easier to instruct than the ladies who close their eyes when they lift their hands."
Bai Ruozhu chuckled twice. She thought, well, she does have some foundation.
Tu Ying eyed the man Bai Ruozhu had knocked down, gave Bai Ruozhu a wink, and whispered, "Your kick just now was cruel. But I like it."
Amused by Tu Ying’s behavior, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing how Bai Ruozhu was happily chatting with Tu Ying, Bai Zepei sternly said, "Little sister, you better accompany mom more, look at how terrified she was earlier."
Bai Ruozhu thought, aren’t we both accompanying mom right now? You want to simply ignore Tu Ying who just helped us and leave her alone? That would be too disrespectful. With this thought in mind, she pulled a smile and said, "Okay, I’ll go with mom while you chat with Tu Ying. After all, she just helped us out big time."
Red instantly appeared on Bai Zepei’s face. He glared at Bai Ruozhu fiercely, but didn’t refuse to keep Tu Ying company, it was as if he didn’t hear Bai Ruozhu’s words at all.
On the other hand, Lin Ping quickly thanked Tu Ying, "Miss Tu, thank you so much for your help just now."
Tu Ying quickly walked to Lin Ping and said, "Aunt Bai, you are too courteous. We would have stepped in if we saw any injustice on the road, let alone helping friends."
Lin Ping found Tu Ying’s character straightforward and extremely liked her, and also noticed her feelings for Bai Zepei. But thinking of how fierce Tu Ying was when she fought earlier, Lin Ping was a bit afraid to have such a daughter-in-law.
At that moment, Li Mazi tried to escape. Tu Ying’s reaction was quick, she charged over and kicked Li Mazi to the ground again. She then said menacingly, "Looks like I didn’t kick you hard enough earlier. You still have the energy to run?"
This time Li Mazi couldn’t get up anymore. He lay on the ground without even the energy to scream, he could only moan.
Lin Ping couldn’t help but shudder, a hint of fear appearing in her eyes as she looked at Tu Ying, thinking to herself, this girl was really too formidable.
Bai Ruozhu walked over and said loudly, "Li Mazi, were you trying to run away just now, leaving these people to take the fall for you?" She clicked her tongue appreciatively and continued, "You are really cunning. You are the mastermind and they are only your underlings. If they were taken to the Government Office, they wouldn’t be severely punished. But if you ran away, they would have to bear the blame."
Many of the men lying on the ground who had been beaten looked at Li Mazi. He definitely was trying to escape earlier. Everyone seemed to bear grudges against Li Mazi, and when they were taken to the Government Office later, almost everyone informed on him.
Li Mazi wanted to explain, but he was out of breath from Tu Ying’s kick and didn’t have the energy to speak.
Not long after that, Tu Bai brought the officers back. The officers took the guilty parties back to Beiyu City. Bai Ruozhu and the others rode in a horse carriage and went to the Government Office to wait first.
Kuai Minglang, the prefect, remembered the Bai family. Seeing them together with the sons and daughter of the Tu family’s Field Marshal this time, his attitude improved. Bai Zepei briefly told him what had happened, then with Tu Bai and Tu Ying’s testimonies, they confirmed the guilt of Li Mazi’s group quickly.
"Li Jinsheng, Sui Lun, you two tried to defraud the Bai family by selling them land, and when you failed, you gathered a mob to commit assault. What punishment do you deserve!" Kuai Minglang struck the courtroom wooden block and shouted sternly.
Li Mazi had recovered a bit by now. Still speaking defiantly, he said, "Please see justice, sir! They signed the contract but didn’t trust me and even grabbed the deed. How would I know if they were trying to trick me into selling my land? That’s why I called for help."
"Bold! It seems you want to bear with physical punishment rather than confessing. Guards, give them twenty lashes each!" Kuai Minglang ordered.
Li Mazi and Sui Zhongren kept claiming their innocence, but Kuai Minglang was obviously a decisive person. The twenty lashes landed quickly, and the two were first able to bear a few, but then they couldn’t help but to scream in pain.
"Sir, I confess, I confess everything!" Li Mazi shouted.
Sui Zhongren, a scholar at heart, had turned white after the beating. He was unable to speak anymore.
Bai Ruozhu sneaked a peek and thought to herself how she expected them to be hardened men. They couldn’t even endure all twenty lashes before they broke down.
So, the two confessed everything honestly. Originally, Li Mazi was not the owner of the plot of land, but a local rogue head. Sui Zhongren on the other hand, had been serving in a rich household, and even held a managing position. That piece of field used to belong to his previous master.
Sui Lun was not a middleman either. He was disgraced for his immorality and driven out by his master. Out of resentment, he stole his master’s field deeds before he left. Since he didn’t steal a lot, his master didn’t notice.
Having the deeds in hand but not being able to monetize them, he roped in Li Mazi. They planned to trick others into buying the field. Once his previous master would find out in the future and reclaim the land, the buyer would be the unlucky one.
As Bai Yihong was always cautious and the negotiations took a long time, Li Mazi and Sui Lun had lost their patience long ago. Sui Lun was thinking about taking the money and disappearing. As for today, they thought they could force the Bai family to sign the contract and rob them of their silver, never expecting to encounter tough opposition.
Hearing this, Bai Yihong felt a chill in his heart. Why was he so unlucky? He had just been trying to buy some land, how did he end up getting into a situation like this?