False evidence

Chapter 76 Destruction of the Family
The way I will narrate next is very similar to Chen Zudao's, but more concise and more like a diary.

By this point, the plain noodles had already served my intended purpose.

Chen Zudao had already decided in his heart—I am the reincarnation of Lü Xin.

That's why he seemed so cautious and even somewhat afraid of me.

I would never admit it to myself.

The truth is, when I saw certain scenes through the dialogue and then thought about the details, I made up my mind.
Even if Lü Xin was indeed kidnapped and sold by that rich man, he deserves to die even more than that rich man.

I may use platitudes, but I would never use the identity of someone I despise.

Therefore, in the brief narrative and in the subsequent discussion with Chen Zudao, I only referred to Lü Xin by his given name.

Another version of the story begins with Chen Zudao scaling the wall with kerosene that night.

As soon as he entered, he was captured by Lü Xin, who came out of the embroidered tower.

Lu Xin and he sympathized with each other, so Lu Xin didn't kill him. He went back to the embroidery tower to get clothes for him to change into, and then the two of them went to the front street to eat noodles and drink.

Lu Xin told Chen Zudao that he recognized the rich man as the one who had abducted him many years ago, and said he would wipe out the man's entire family.

Chen Zudao was indifferent to minor evils, but he was fiercely opposed to evil when it came to matters of principle.

Most importantly, Lu Xin had shown him mercy before, so he owed Lu Xin a life.

Upon hearing Lü Xin's detailed account of the rich man's crimes, Chen Zudao was furious and vented his anger by drinking bowl after bowl of wine.

Lu Xin also drank too much because he recalled his tragic past.

The more they talked, the closer they became, and the more they drank, the deeper their feelings for each other grew.

However, at this moment, Lü Xin suddenly made a request to Chen Zudao.

The request was to allow Chen Zudao to return to the landlord's house and set it on fire.

Chen Zudao naturally agreed without hesitation.

So, at daybreak, the rich man's backyard really did catch fire.

The fire did not destroy the entire house of the wealthy man; it only burned a corner of it, and the house itself was not greatly damaged.

However, because of this fire, in the next few days, this large family was torn apart, with wives and children separated and people killed!
……

Chen Zudao's face was far from pleasant, but he slammed his hand on the table and said:
“You’re absolutely right. I just set a fire, burned only one pillar, and within seven days, the family was either dead or arrested, and the whole family fell apart. I only found out the reason for this later. Half of it was what I thought of, and the other half was what my younger brother explained to me.”

I sneered: "You know the truth, and you still think you did nothing wrong?"

Chen Zudao shook his head: "I do have some regrets, but on second thought, although it was only the rich man who did evil, he caused my brother to suffer a miserable life for half his life. Let his whole family be disgraced in this world, and let him pay for my brother and other victims with his life. Even if the methods are ruthless, is it too much?! Considering all this, I still feel that I am not satisfied!"

Bai Jing finally couldn't help but say, "I think I've figured out some of the possibilities, but I still don't understand how that fire could have led to such a serious outcome?"

I said, "The pillars under the embroidered building were soaked in kerosene from top to bottom, and once they were set on fire, the flames went straight up to the second floor."

Lu Xin put the medicine in the water tank before dinner, and the effect should have worn off by dawn.

When a fire breaks out, you must put it out; the ultimate goal of firefighting is to save lives!

A group of men, women, and children all rushed to the backyard, their first instinct being to rescue the wealthy man's young lady from her boudoir. However, before they could even reach the top floor, they saw the person rushing out of the second-floor room amidst the flames.

One was an unmarried young lady; the other was a bodyguard who was absolutely forbidden from trespassing into the backyard! And both of them were naked, running downstairs under the watchful eyes of a dozen, or even more, pairs of eyes…

Jiao Tong suddenly started using sign language:
"That doesn't make sense. If that's the case, just beat that guard to death. The young lady of the main family… family scandals shouldn't be aired in public; even killing her wouldn't be too much. But that alone shouldn't lead to this family's ruin."

I pointed at Chen Zu and said, "His appearance was an accident. If he hadn't been there that night, even without setting the fire, Lü Xin would have had a way to lure everyone in the courtyard to the back."

That's right. In the old society, family reputation was paramount. To protect one's reputation, killing one or two people and then silencing everyone who knew the inside story was perfectly acceptable.

I lowered my hand, still staring intently at Chen Zudao, and said, word by word, "But if it weren't just two naked men coming out of the boudoir, but more, then trying to keep this a secret would be as difficult as climbing to heaven!"

Chen Zudao lowered his eyelids and said somewhat indistinctly:

"I didn't leave right after I lit the fire; I was crouching by the wall diagonally opposite. A total of four people ran out of the boudoir. They weren't all naked, but their clothes were disheveled. One man and two women ran downstairs, and another woman jumped straight down from the second floor. And... there was another woman. The owner of the boudoir, the daughter of a wealthy man, supposedly hanged herself inside."

I picked up the wine bowl and looked at the dark brown liquid inside. "And then... after you finished upholding justice, you went back to the breakfast stall on the front street, continued drinking and eating noodles, and even ate two baskets of soup dumplings?"

Seeing Chen Zudao lower his eyes and remain silent, I sneered: "One man and four women. The man is a guard. The clothes you changed into belong to him."

"Hmm, the one who hanged herself was the prostitute; the one who jumped was the rich man's legal wife; and the one who ran down..."

"Go to hell!" I splashed a bowl of wine in his face.

Jiao Tong suddenly stood up, but Chen Zudao grabbed his shoulder and forced him back into the chair.

Ignoring Jiao Tong's angry glare at me, I turned to Bai Jing:
Do you think it's still necessary to talk to him?

Bai Jing had already stood up, and said angrily:
"Chen Zudao, you've really opened my eyes today! Although I know you're not the mastermind, but... you... you're really not a..."

She couldn't bring herself to say those two words; she grabbed her purse, turned, and walked out.

After Bai Jing left, I leisurely got up, turned around, and waved as I walked out:

"I'll go back and rest my voice first. I'll come see you with Bai Jing once she's calmed down."

……

"What the hell is this?! What the hell is all this stuff?!"

Bai Jing finally couldn't hold back any longer and exploded, jumping up and down and cursing, "No wonder that bastard said, 'A thief is a thief, and all that talk about honor among thieves is bullshit!'"

"Which bastard is it? Is it your doctor ex-boyfriend again?" I said as I walked forward with my hands behind my back. "If he says that... I really don't think there's anything wrong with him."

"Don't mention him to me! Or I'll tear your other mouth apart too!"

I grabbed her arm, "I'll go..."

She turned her head and glared at him angrily: "Want to fight? Are you even human?"

I touched my throat and then rubbed my lip, which had only recently healed. "Attorney Bai, did you drink alcohol just now?"

"Yeah! What's wrong?"

"Don't be so stubborn, just tell me first, how are we going to get back?!"

(End of this chapter)