Transmigrating into a peasant family to fight against the best, leading my parents to earn gold and

Chapter 330 The Murderer Chen Sheng

Since Lord Yang has already sent his constables to arrest him, it means that the matter has most likely been exposed.

It must have been that stupid woman, Pan, who betrayed him. I had warned her countless times, but she still betrayed him.

If he had known it would turn out this way, he shouldn't have provoked that bitch Pan.

Now that he has killed Pan's husband, he has a life in his hands, and the authorities will certainly not let him go.

How to do?

What should he do?

Are we just going to be arrested by the authorities and lose our lives here?

He's the manager of Qianxiulou, and he earns a lot of money every year. He's still young, and he can open his own restaurant and do business in the future. His future is limitless. How can he be sentenced to death because of that cowardly husband of Pan?

No, he is not willing to give in!

With a pained expression, as if he were visiting a grave, he was dragged into the yamen by two yamen runners.

Pan turned her head and saw Chen Sheng being dragged in and forced to kneel beside her. She immediately lowered her head, not daring to look at Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng swayed his body, and after kneeling firmly, he saw Pan Shi beside him. He abandoned his usual gentle and refined demeanor and began to rebuke her angrily through gritted teeth.

"Pan Yingying, you shameless woman! If you hadn't seduced me, how could I have gone astray and become involved with a married woman like you? You've deceived me so cruelly. You were the one who disliked your husband because he was ugly, couldn't speak properly, and was clueless about romance, and even beat him. You've wanted to kill your husband for a long time, but you insisted on dragging me into it. You've made me hold a life in my hands. You shameless woman, I'll haunt you even as a ghost."

He was extremely flustered and frightened, fearing that Lord Yang would accuse him of murder, so he immediately knelt down and begged Lord Yang.

"My lord, I know I was wrong, I was wrong. I beg you to have mercy. It's all my fault for being confused for a moment, unable to resist temptation, and being bewitched by Pan's beauty. I committed a terrible crime, and I regret it deeply. I shouldn't have argued and fought with Pan's husband. I accidentally killed him. I know I'm guilty, and I dare not presume to ask for your mercy. I beg you to spare my life and give me a chance to reform."

He wept bitterly, first blaming Pan for his affair, saying he was seduced by her, and then claiming he had killed her by mistake during an argument with her husband.

Although it was a tearful complaint, it was presented in a very logical and convincing manner, making the speaker appear pitiful and attempting to absolve themselves of any responsibility.

What a fine restaurant manager! He's certainly seen the world. Dealing with all sorts of customers every day has honed his eloquence; he can make black seem white and the dead seem alive.

Unfortunately, he encountered Lord Yang!

When the deceased's relatives saw Chen Sheng, they gritted their teeth, wishing they could beat him to death with sticks right then and there. If looks could kill, they would have torn Chen Sheng to pieces.

"Hmph, as the manager of Qianxiulou, he should be a respectable person, yet he committed such a shameless and despicable act, having an affair with a married woman. When the woman's husband caught them in the act, he actually killed her. He is truly guilty of heinous crimes and deserves to be executed!"

"Bah! Adulterous couple, you two despicable people deserve to die!"

"My lord, I beg you to do justice for Xiaoshan and sentence this adulterous couple to death, otherwise Xiaoshan will die with his eyes wide open in disgrace!"

"My lord, please do justice for the deceased! The death was so unjust!"

"Please, Your Honor, do justice for Xiaoshan and give the deceased the due..."

"..."

The relatives all knelt down, covering the ground, all pleading with Lord Yang to sentence Chen Sheng and Pan Shi to death.

Lin Qingchuan and Shui Sheng looked at each other, remaining silent.

They couldn't interfere too much in Chen Sheng and Pan Shi's affairs, but now they vaguely guessed why Pan Shi had framed their Lin Family Pig Trotter Shop.

Because Qianxiulou and Wanhe Restaurant are competitors, Wanhe Restaurant previously became famous for its braised pig's trotters, standing out from other restaurants and becoming the most famous restaurant in the county. Wanhe Restaurant's braised pig's trotters are supplied by Lin's Braised Pig's Trotter Shop. If they successfully frame Lin's Pig's Trotter Shop and ruin its reputation, Wanhe Restaurant will inevitably be affected as well. This plan can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, their pig trotter shop uses only legitimate ingredients, seasonings, and recipes for their braised pig trotters, so there's no way there could be any problems. And the people in their pig trotter shop aren't stupid; they wouldn't let bad people smear them.

A flash of anger crossed Lin Qingchuan's eyes as he questioned, "Chen Sheng, we have no grudges against each other. In fact, we only met once today. You killed someone for business competition and then framed our Lin's Pig Trotter Shop, damaging our reputation. You are narrow-minded and wicked. You are not worthy of being a man. I despise you!"

Chen was so angry he almost bit his lip off. If things hadn't been exposed and he hadn't taken a life, he would have definitely cursed Lin Qingchuan.

He's just a country bumpkin who got rich by sheer luck, making his fortune with braised pig's trotters. What's he so arrogant about?

He was the manager of Qianxiulou, overseeing a dozen or so cooks and waiters. He was handsome, refined, and well-educated, possessing a certain level of knowledge. He was far superior to this peasant who was questioning him.

But Chen Sheng was also extremely clever; he knew what it meant to assess the situation and act accordingly.

"I'm sorry, I accidentally killed someone. I was so scared that I panicked and I don't know why I came up with such a despicable plan. Fortunately, the truth has come out today, and I have given your Lin's Pig Trotter Shop justice. It's all my fault. I'm not human. Please forgive me this time."

Lin Qingchuan snorted coldly and did not reply.

Lord Yang said, "What kind of talk is this, making such a racket in the courtroom?"

The advisor coughed lightly and immediately continued, "Silence!"

Subsequently, Lord Yang delivered his verdict, sentencing Chen to death and Pan to ten years in prison. As for the damage to Lin's braised pig's trotter shop, the Pan family members who had caused the disturbance were to be responsible for compensating them.

To avoid any further wrongful convictions, Chen Sheng's execution is scheduled for after March. If anyone recants their testimony in the meantime, there will still be a chance. He will also send people to investigate the case thoroughly from beginning to end.

After the court session ended, Lord Yang and his advisor left, and everyone else also left the county government office.

Those relatives of the Pan family who were supposed to compensate Lin's Pig Trotter Shop looked at Lin Qingchuan and the others again. They had lost the toughness and resentment they had shown when they came to demand justice and smashed the shop. Their eyes were full of guilt, and they all lowered their heads.

Although Pan's relatives were also misled by Pan and acted irrationally in a moment of passion, Lin Qingchuan did not intend to forgive them.

The due compensation should not be less than what is due.

Lin Xiaotang glanced at those people, then turned to her father and said, "Dad, let's go back. They smashed the shop, and we still need to buy new tables and chairs. We've wasted a whole day and lost a lot of money. We can't keep the braised pig's trotters that we made in the shop. Let's go back and clean up quickly."

"Yes, hurry back and pack up, then go to the brokerage to buy some tables and chairs, so as not to delay opening for business tomorrow."

When they returned to the pig's trotter shop, the shop was in a mess, and Aunt Xiangqin was cursing as she cleaned up.

"These damned bastards! We're just running a legitimate business, how did we ever mess with them? Look what they've done to our shop! All of this stuff is ruined, what a waste of money..."

Her eyes were filled with heartache as she sighed and slowly packed up.

Xiaoyu's eyes reddened with anger as she looked at the broken tables, chairs, and stools on the ground, along with the scattered, dusty braised pig's trotters.

She pouted and said, "Bad people, they're all bad people!"

The two female workers sighed repeatedly, "How much silver is all that has been smashed? How much does an ordinary family spend in a year? A thrifty person can live on one tael of silver for several years. These troublemakers don't look like wealthy people. How could they bring themselves to smash things like this? Why can't they take it to court?"

"Fortunately, the people from the county government have taken stock of our shop's losses. If the case is cleared up and we are exonerated, those people will definitely have to compensate us."

"They're the ones who smashed it all, they have to pay for it!"

The two women became more and more agitated as they talked, wishing they were Judge Yang, the judge who would solve the case, and would immediately convict those people!

Aunt Xiangqin said with great distress, "If they break things, is it enough to just pay for the damages? They've smashed our shop like this, how much business will be delayed? We don't even know if we can open for business tomorrow, this is a huge loss."

Lin Qingchuan stepped into the shop first and saw Aunt Xiangqin and the others tidying up. He immediately said, "Auntie, stop tidying up and take a rest. We can handle it."

"Oh dear, the shop is smashed up like this, I'm so confused. I can't sit still until it's cleaned up, how can I possibly rest?"

Lin Qingchuan was deeply moved. Although the shop was jointly owned by his family and Manager Su, Aunt Xiangqin's attitude clearly showed that she regarded the pig's trotter shop as her own.

With everyone working together so well, what's a little trouble?

He immediately comforted everyone, "Oh, auntie, we've been doing business every day, and we'll make more money than we can ever go around. Don't worry about this little loss. Just consider it a day or two of rest. Otherwise, how could we bear to close down if we hadn't gone through this? Right?"

Upon hearing Lin Qingchuan's voice, everyone looked up.

When Xiaoyu saw her father, older sister, and aunt return, she was so excited that she immediately got up and ran over, hugging her father's leg with great joy.

"Father, you're finally back! The officials took you away for so long, it scared me to death. I wanted to go find you, but Grandma Xiangqin wouldn't let me."

Lin Qingchuan patted his youngest daughter's head and said with a smile, "This matter has nothing to do with us. We are doing legitimate business and we are not afraid of anyone framing us. They just took a few of us away for questioning, but the investigation will be completed soon. What's there to be afraid of? In the future, no matter what happens, just stay home with your mother and wait for your father to come back. Remember that?"

Xiaoyu nodded obediently, "Yes, I'll remember."

When Aunt Xiangqin saw her son and Qingchuan return, she was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Oh, you're finally back! Did you explain things to the authorities? Is everything alright?"

Shuisheng smiled and stepped forward to help his mother up. "What could be so serious? That person didn't die from eating our braised pig's trotters at all. Lord Yang has already investigated and found that this case has nothing to do with us from beginning to end, so he let us come back."

Aunt Xiangqin glanced at the messy place and asked with a pained expression, "The case has been resolved, but what about our losses? Did they order those people to compensate us?"

"Of course she was sentenced, Mom. Don't worry about it. Go back and take care of your sister-in-law. She's all alone in the backyard taking care of the baby. There's no one to help the baby when he wakes up."

Aunt Xiangqin suddenly remembered something and slapped her thigh, saying, "Oh dear, what a lapse in my memory! I was so worried about the things that were smashed in the shop that I forgot about Feng'er and her daughter. I'll go take care of them now, and you can clean up here."

After saying that, she rushed back to the backyard and fussed over Feng'er and her son.

Lin Qingchuan told Liu Cai'er and the two female workers to rest first. With the help of Shui Sheng and Wu Yu, the three men worked together to move all the damaged items in the shop to the backyard.

They put a small portion of the repairable parts in one place, deciding to move them into everyone's rooms after they were repaired. The rest of the unrepairable parts were simply used for chopping wood and burning.

After they had moved all the damaged items out of the store, Liu Cai'er and two female workers began cleaning and wiping the items.

Lin Qingchuan was leading Shui Sheng and Wu Yu out to buy new tables, chairs and other items when Manager Su arrived in a hurry with two shop assistants.

Manager Su said, "I rushed over as soon as I heard about what happened today. The shop encountered such a major incident, and I wasn't even in the county. I've been a terrible partner."

He looked annoyed, feeling that he had only invested half the capital, but the shop was actually opened by the Lin family. He hadn't been able to help when things went wrong, and had taken such a big advantage from the Lin family. He regretted not investing in the first place.

Lin Qingchuan hurriedly said, "Oh, it wasn't a big deal to begin with. Our shop hasn't done anything wrong, so we're not afraid of anyone trying to smear us. There are so many people in our shop, so there's nothing to be afraid of. If we weren't afraid of getting into trouble if we fought back, we could have all gone at once, and those troublemakers might not have gotten the better of us."

Besides, Lord Yang is a fair and upright official. He is impartial in judging cases, and even if you go with him, you can't make him show favoritism or protect us.

Lin Xiaotang continued, “It would be unwise for us to go to the government office together. Lord Yang’s trial went smoothly today, and Pan confessed easily. If we encounter a stubborn person who refuses to admit it, and there is insufficient evidence, and the case cannot be solved in three to five days, we will be imprisoned and released only after the government has investigated the matter.”

If we all go in, our reputation and cleanliness will be severely damaged. Uncle's restaurant and our pig's trotter shop will be in chaos without anyone in charge. Uncle may not go to the authorities, but he can still mediate for everyone outside. And even in jail, we'll have people bringing us food, won't we?"

Manager Su chuckled, his eyes full of admiration.

"Xiao Tang is so thoughtful. It's true. If I stay, I can help everyone. I know a lot of people in this county. If you encounter any problems in the future, please let me know as soon as possible."

"Okay, I know, Second Uncle, don't overthink it."

Manager Su breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "I heard that the case has been solved and the murderer is the manager of Qianxiulou, right?"

Lin Xiaotang thought to herself, "Manager Su just got back and already knows about this. His information network is really good."

"Yes, it's Chen Sheng, the manager of Qianxiulou."