The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 62 The Demise of the Li Family

Before long, Li Shichang and Li Liyuan were brought over, and Eunuch Wang also rushed to the government office.

When Eunuch Wang heard the news of the fall of Wangzhuang, he was so angry that he fell into a coma for a whole day and only woke up this morning.

Upon seeing the Li family father and son, he flew into a rage, grabbed Li Shichang by the collar, and began to hurl insults:

"You surnamed Li, you owe me the Prince Qing's estate!"

"You bastard, of all people to mess with, you had to provoke those murderers!"

Li Shichang's face was ashen; he had already foreseen his fate.

He stood silently in the courtyard, letting Eunuch Wang point at him and hurl insults at him without uttering a sound.

Seeing that he was unyielding, Eunuch Wang became even more furious.

"Fine, you're playing dead, huh! You're not going to say anything, are you!"

"Men, go and drag his son, Li Lihui, out of the jail!"

Upon receiving the order, the guards of the Prince's Palace immediately went to the prison, dragged Li Lihui, who was crippled in both legs, out of the cell, and threw him into the courtyard.

When Li Shichang saw his second son, he finally reacted and immediately knelt on the ground, pleading:
"Eunuch Wang, it's all my fault! Please, spare my son's life!"

Wang Gonggong ignored him and coldly ordered the guards behind him:

"Beat them! Beat them to death!"

"I'd like to see if you, Li Shichang, still dare to play dead with me!"

The guards of the Prince's Palace took the fire-and-water sticks from the yamen runners and beat Li Lihui, who was lying on the ground, with each blow aimed at a vital spot.

Li Lihui was beaten and kept howling in pain. His body was curled up in a ball and rolled around on the ground, spitting out blood.

The guards showed no mercy, raining down their clubs. Each blow made a dull thud, the cracking of bones breaking mixed with the sight of flesh tearing open, sending chills down one's spine.

Li Shichang knelt to the side, crying and begging for mercy with all his might. He struggled to step forward to shield his son, but was held down by several guards and could not move.

As the stick continued to fall, Li Lihui's screams grew weaker and weaker until his body suddenly convulsed and he became still. He had clearly been beaten to death.

Even so, Eunuch Wang was still not satisfied and ordered his guards to drag Li Liyuan out, preparing to kill another one.

Today, he's going to beat both of Li Shichang's sons to death in front of him!

Zhang Nian frowned upon seeing this:
"Forget it, Eunuch Wang, even if you kill them both, there's no way to undo the damage now."

"In my opinion, we should first confiscate the Li family's house and then seal off their shops. That way, we might be able to salvage some of our losses."

The saying goes, "You raise a dog for a thousand days, but only use it for one."

Zhang Nian also urgently needed to confiscate the Li family's wealth so that he would have the money to recruit militia; he was reluctant to use his own money.

Eunuch Wang snorted coldly and nodded reluctantly:
"That's all it can do."

"Lord Zhang, the confiscated goods will be split equally between us."

Seeing that he had agreed, Zhang Nian immediately gave the order:
"Issue my order to arrest Li Shichang and remove Li Liyuan from all his positions in the government office."

"Immediately send men to ransack the Li family's house and seal off all their markets and shops in Yan'an Prefecture."

After saying that, he turned and left, completely ignoring Li Shichang in the courtyard and his "son-in-law" Li Liyuan.

In Zhang Nian's view, his "son-in-law" was a bookish sycophant who was arrogant and useless.

He spends his days engrossed in the Four Books and Five Classics, dreaming of one day soaring to great heights and passing the imperial examinations. In reality, he's nothing but a nobody, still a lowly merchant at heart. Whenever he sees an official, he's both respectful and fearful, to the point where he can barely speak properly.

Zhang Nian originally wanted to throw Li Liyuan into prison as well, but then he thought better of it.

Li Liyuan is, after all, her "son-in-law," so if she goes too far, it won't sound good if word gets out.
So he spared Li Liyuan's life and allowed him to collect the bodies of Li's family members outside.

Having narrowly escaped death, Li Liyuan stood dumbfounded in the courtyard, his mind completely blank.

He didn't understand why things had turned out this way.

He watched helplessly as his younger brother was beaten to death and his father was imprisoned, but he dared not do anything, not even beg for mercy.

From a young age, his father instilled in him the principle that the Ming Dynasty was a large family with a strict hierarchy, from the emperor to the ministers, and then to the officials and clerks, with a clear order of rank and status from top to bottom.

Those businessmen are just lowly figures; only the officials can be high and mighty.

Therefore, Li Liyuan has dreamed since he was a child that one day he could transform himself into one of those big shots sitting high in the clouds.

But now that his family has suffered misfortune, he has been dismissed from his post and abandoned, shattering all his illusions in an instant.

Li Liyuan walked out of the government office in a daze, his mind blank. He wandered aimlessly around the city and somehow ended up in front of his own house.

He instinctively lifted his leg to go inside, but was stopped by the constables at the gate:

"Get out! Can't you see we're ransacking your house?!"

Li Liyuan raised his head and glared angrily at the constable. How dare a mere constable be so rude!

He was about to step forward to argue when he was slapped across the face.

"Why are you glaring at me like that? Do you think you're some noble son-in-law of the prefect?"

"Let me tell you, the Li family is finished! Their property is going to be confiscated! Your father is still in jail!"

After being scolded by the constable, Li Liyuan finally came to his senses. His father was still locked up in jail, and he had to hurry to rescue him.

Li Liyuan scrambled to the prison, hoping to get in and rescue his father, but the warden blocked him at the door. "You think you can get in and get someone out without money? Dream on!"
So he hurriedly returned to the government office, intending to retrieve all his belongings from the duty room. He could pawn his writing implements and paper to get some money.

But as soon as he reached the door of the duty room, he was stopped outside by several former colleagues.

The leading clerk arrogantly placed one foot on the doorframe and sneered:
"Oh, isn't this Young Master Li? What's up?"

Li Liyuan quickly apologized, saying that all he wanted now was to retrieve his belongings and rush to the pawnshop.

But the clerk wouldn't let it go:
"Aren't you usually so arrogant? Just because you married the prefect's maid, you never take us colleagues seriously!"

"Want to get in? Fine, crawl between my legs!"

Upon hearing this, Li Liyuan's face turned pale with anger, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

But seeing the arrogant face of the clerk, he ultimately didn't dare to make a move. He could only take a deep breath in frustration and slowly loosen his fist.

The common people cannot fight against the officials. Even if this clerk is just a nobody, Li Liyuan is currently a commoner.

Let's drill then, saving lives is the priority!
He gritted his teeth, lowered his head in humiliation, and crawled between the clerk's legs, followed by a burst of shrill laughter.

Li Liyuan grabbed the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the duty room and fled the government office as fast as he could. After exchanging some money at the pawnshop, he rushed to the prison without stopping.

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(End of this chapter)