Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 170 Should I go up the mountain and see what's going on?
The clerk said, "According to the law, he should be given thirty strokes of the cane and fined 50 taels of silver."

Magistrate Chu sneered, "And that Xiao Yishan who spouts nonsense, that kid shouldn't be let off lightly either."

Chu Xiu's face turned red with anger: "Father, you can't catch the murderer and you're blaming others? Damn it... Aunt Li never lies, she said she saw it, so it must be true."

Besides, so many years have passed, wouldn't Manager Qian have found someone to remove the mole?

His words woke up Constable Xing. He was about to speak when he heard Magistrate Chu angrily say, "What kind of bewitching drug did Li give you? That made you distrust your father, Constable Xing, and the clerk, and only trust her?"
She's just a village woman; her eyesight might be failing, and it's not impossible that she's gossiping.

He didn't know what was wrong with his son; he was so stubborn.

They didn't trust the officials in charge of handling cases, yet they sided with that village woman.

Chu Xiu didn't want to argue with him, since he couldn't win anyway; his father wouldn't listen to him.

He then said, "Whatever Father says goes."

Magistrate Chu felt as if he had punched cotton, a deep sense of powerlessness washing over him.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Since you put it that way, then let's handle this officially. Officer Xing, go to Chenjia Village now and arrest the people, and deal with them according to the law."

"Who are you going to arrest?" Chu Xiu's temper flared up instantly, and he asked with bloodshot eyes.

"Of course it's that Li family member who talked nonsense and disrupted the yamen's handling of the case, and that Xiao Yishan," Magistrate Chu said coldly.

"Father, why are you so stubborn?" Chu Xiu was almost in tears, but Magistrate Chu remained unmoved.

The two remained deadlocked for a long time. Chu Xiu couldn't win the argument and was afraid that he would really harm his godmother.

Thirty strokes of the cane would leave someone either dead or severely injured.

Overwhelmed with grief and indignation, he knelt down with a thud and pleaded, "Father, I beg you. Please don't arrest them, they are truly good people."

Even though he felt a thousand resentments and anger, he had to endure it.

To prevent his father from arresting his godmother and Xiao brother, he was willing to kneel down and beg his father.

"What...what are you doing? Get up!" Magistrate Chu was terrified.

In his memory, his son had never begged anyone like this, let alone knelt down before anyone.

I've never begged him so humbly before.

Beneath Chu Xiu's carefree and playful exterior lies a stubborn heart.

Even when his mother passed away, he only had red eyes, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Seeing his son's red eyes and trembling tears, Magistrate Chu's hardened heart was deeply touched.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that he might have been too strict with his son.
Am I not a good father?
Constable Xing, his advisor, and Xiao Wu all rushed to help Chu Xiu up, but Chu Xiu remained kneeling and refused to get up.

He looked distressed and said, "Father, I won't get up unless you agree."

Magistrate Chu sighed and nodded, saying, "I promise I won't cause them any trouble."

This matter could be big or small; it could be decided with just a word from him.

Chu Xiu turned his head away, swallowing back his tears. He stood up and said, "Father, from today onwards I will study hard."

He had promised his godmother that he would study hard and take the imperial examinations, but after a few days he couldn't concentrate on his studies. The pressure was too much and he even made himself sick.

Later, he said he didn't want to study anymore, and his godmother didn't force him.

But today's events made him realize that if he is not strong, he will never be able to protect his godmother's family.

He wanted to study hard, pass the imperial examinations, and become a strong support for his godmother, so that no one would dare to bully them.

As for the hardships, fatigue, and illnesses, those are minor matters and not worth mentioning.

The magistrate of Chu was so excited he was incoherent, "You... what did you say? You're going to study hard?"

He had tried everything to get his son to study hard, from beatings to scoldings, but his son just wouldn't listen.

Now that his son has suddenly taken the initiative to say he wants to study, Magistrate Chu was moved to tears.

Chu Xiu nodded, "Father, you two are busy, I'm going to read a book."

With that, he strode out of the room, and Xiao Wu hurriedly chased after him, holding an umbrella. Watching his departing figure, Magistrate Chu was still in a daze: "Xiu'er, has he suddenly grown up?"

He felt both relieved and heartbroken.

As your son grows up, it's the beginning of growing distant and more polite with him.

The advisor chimed in, "Growing up is good, and studying is a good thing too."

The head constable said, "Sir, I just remembered that although Manager Qian doesn't have a mole on his hand, there are faint marks. It seems... like the marks left after a mole was removed."

A silence fell over the atmosphere. After thinking for a while, Magistrate Chu said, "This matter needs to be considered carefully and cannot be rushed."

Officer Xing nodded.

-

Chenjiacun.

The sky looked as if someone had spilled an ink bottle, the ink spreading wildly, thick dark clouds pressing down heavily, and large raindrops pelting the earth.

In the fields shrouded in rain, a group of men are busy working in the irrigation ditch.

They were dressed in tattered coarse cloth clothes, soaked through by the rain, clinging tightly to their backs and outlining their sturdy spines.

Wang Tieniu stared at the rampant weeds growing in the ditch, raising his hoe high as the muscles in his arm bulged and contracted.

The hoe fell with a powerful force, precisely digging into the soil around the roots of the weeds. With a forceful pry, a clump of weeds was turned upside down, roots and all.

Wang Tiezhu gripped the shovel tightly with both hands, his palms turning slightly white from the force. He plunged the shovel into the pile of weeds, then swung it forcefully, quickly sending the chopped weeds flying to the edge of the ditch.

The rain was too heavy, and raincoats and straw hats were of little use. Rainwater kept pouring into everyone's necks and running down their collars.

They were too busy to care about these things, only occasionally raising their hands to wipe the mixture of rain and sweat from their faces, and continuing to swing their hoes and shovels in the rain.

He Dajiao complained after a few tries, "I say, everyone should take a break. If we keep working like this, we'll either be exhausted or get soaked to death in the rain."

In the pouring rain, his voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, which only annoyed Wang Tieniu and Wang Tiezhu, who were leading the group.

Wang Tieniu said, "Uncle Big Foot, this canal needs to be repaired as soon as possible, otherwise our village will be flooded."

Unlike his brother, Wang Tiezhu was not easy to talk to. He said coldly, "Uncle Big Foot, everyone has a responsibility to repair the canal. You have to do it whether you like it or not."

He Dajiao wasn't afraid of Wang Tieniu, but she was somewhat intimidated by Wang Tiezhu.

He listlessly picked up the shovel and pretended to work for a while longer.

The large team that was repairing the canal arrived at Li Ruru's house. He Dajiao pointed to the high slope in front of Li Ruru's house and said, "I don't think this section of the canal needs to be repaired. The water level is too high."

At this moment, water was flowing down the slope in front of Li Ruru's door, like a small waterfall.

Wang Tieniu sensed something was wrong. "Is there too much water in Aunt Li's house?"

Wang Tiezhu also noticed this, "Could it be... flowing down from the mountain?"

He Dajiao was taken aback, then suddenly realized something and quickly lowered her head, no longer speaking.

Wang Tiezhu said, "I need to talk to Aunt Li about this."

As he spoke, he knocked on Li Ruru's door, and Xiao Yishan quickly opened it.

As soon as Wang Tiezhu entered, he saw that Li Ruru's yard was full of water. Xiao Yishan was barefoot and leading Li Ruru, Chaochao, and Fang Xingzhi to clean up the ditch in the yard.

Li Ruru waved and said, "It's Tiezhu. Are you tired? Come in and rest for a while."

Bai Lu quickly poured a bowl of hot water. "Brother, have some water!"

Peipei brought over two meat buns. "Brother Tiezhu, here you go!"

Li Ruru didn't let the two of them do any work. Bai Lu was a rich young lady, and Pei Pei had just recovered from her illness and couldn't be overworked.

Wang Tiezhu took the water and steamed buns, and said worriedly, "Aunt Li, the water in your yard probably comes from the mountain. Should I go up the mountain and see what's going on?"

(End of this chapter)