Chapter 51 Who is my lover?
Li Ji was sixteen years old, and this was the first time he heard such a strange and novel thing.
A bride was carried in two sedan chairs in one day. Which one was real? Which one was fake?
Li Ji slammed the gavel and shouted, "Bring the man to the party."
At this time, a man in his forties came in crying.
He fell to his knees and cried out:
"Sir, you have to make the decision for me."
When Li Ji heard this, he felt as if he was falling into a cloud of fog.
He asked, "You want me to make the decision, how can I make the decision?"
The man said, "My family spent fifty taels of silver as a betrothal gift, but we didn't get a wife, and the silver is gone."
Li Ji looked at Li Ai, "Butler, what do you think?"
Li Ai pondered for a while, "Sir, this seems strange?"
"Now what?"
Li Ai walked towards Li Ji and whispered something in Li Ji's ear.
When Li Ji heard this, he nodded slightly.
He shouted outside: "Yucheng, come in."
Woo-sung walked into the lobby and knelt on his knees.
"Yucheng, change into casual clothes and follow this man to his house. You will know whether what he said is true or not at a glance."
Li Ji shouted sternly:
"Don't make this public, don't let any information leak out."
The man kowtowed and agreed.
Yucheng followed the man out.
Li Ji looked at the old woman on the ground and said gently:
"Old man, I understand how you feel. I want to reenact this incident."
When the old woman heard this, she was confused.
She thought to herself, this young man is interesting.
I only have one granddaughter, and I don’t even know whether she’s dead or alive. Where do you want me to get another granddaughter?
When she was doubtful, Li Ji whispered:
"Old man, tell your neighbors that you have two granddaughters. The second granddaughter was given away when she was little, but now she is back."
The old woman asked hesitantly:
"Will people believe it? Besides, where is the second granddaughter?"
Li Ji said: "You spread this news first, and then tell the man's family that the first granddaughter is missing, so you can use the second granddaughter to marry."
Li Ji winked at Li Ai, and Li Ai turned and left.
"Go home and wait. Your second granddaughter will be brought to you by Butler Li in the evening."
After the villagers who came to petition left, Li Ai brought a girl into the lobby.
Li Ji took a look and realized that the girl was Cuixiang who was bullied by two soldiers.
Cuixiang knelt on the ground, lowered her head and dared not speak.
Li Ji asked gently, "Miss Cuixiang, has Steward Li told you everything?"
Cuixiang said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, Butler Li told me."
Li Ji asked: "Are you willing or not?"
She blushed and replied shyly:
"Sir, I would like to find a family to marry into, but my body has been..."
Li Ai hurriedly said, "Don't worry about that. We've got the money and the people. That man won't make things difficult for you."
Cuixiang bowed her head to express her gratitude.
Li Ji ordered, "Cui Xiang, follow Butler Li and get dressed."
"promise!"
Cuixiang thanked Li Ji, got up, turned around and followed Li Ai out of the yamen.
After a while, Yucheng came in from outside.
"Report, sir."
Li Ji asked, "Have you checked everything?"
Yu Cheng replied, "Sir, I went to the man's house and there is indeed no new bride. I also visited his neighbors and they all said that they did not receive a new bride."
Li Ji thought to himself, what an embarrassing thing that happened in this day and age, a living person actually disappeared.
His expression suddenly changed, and he ordered sternly: "Prepare the horses!"
It's late at night and everyone is asleep.
Li Ji brought Yu Cheng to the old woman's village.
They walked quietly into the old woman's house.
The lights were on inside the house.
Li Ji knocked on the door and the old woman hurriedly opened it.
At this time, Li Ai was already sitting in the house with Cuixiang.
Li Ji asked quietly, "Old man, have the neighbors on both sides told you?"
The old woman hurriedly said, "Master Li, I have already said it."
Li Ji said, "Well, tomorrow you can still handle it as a normal wedding."
Li Ji looked at Yu Cheng and said, "Notify the man's family at night and come to pick him up at that time."
Yu Cheng took the order and left.
Li Ji and Li Ai almost did not sleep all night. They stayed in the inner room of the old woman's house all night.
The next day.
A red sun has just risen, and the old woman's house has been decorated with new decorations.
The big red wedding character shines brightly in the sun.
Cuixiang had already followed the prior arrangement, wearing a red jacket and red pants, with a piece of red cloth on her head, and was sitting quietly in the main room .
The old woman was very happy. Although she didn't know where her granddaughter was, she was able to silence the man's family.
Just as the old woman was overjoyed , drums and music suddenly sounded on the path at the entrance of the village, and four people carried a sedan chair towards the old woman's house.
Li Ji was shocked. What the old woman said was absolutely true. The fake wedding procession appeared again.
Yucheng and the man agreed to meet at noon.
It was morning and the bridal sedan had already arrived.
There must be a trick here.
These people all had pale faces and thin bodies, and their eyes were rolling around.
A man in his thirties said, "We are here to pick up new people."
The old woman said, "Okay, it will be ready soon."
After Cuixiang got into the bridal sedan, Li Ji and Li Ai stood behind the sedan, staring at her from a mile away.
Cuixiang didn’t know the details of the matter, she only knew that Li Ji had found a good family for her.
When she was looking forward to a happy and beautiful life in her heart, the sedan chair suddenly stopped in a small mountain village.
She was supported and walked forward. According to custom, the red cloth on her head would be uncovered by the groom after the ceremony.
Li Ji, Li Ai and Yu Cheng lay on the gate of the courtyard and listened quietly to the noise.
This house doesn't have the atmosphere of a wedding. There are no auspicious signs posted and no guests coming and going.
The sound of drums could no longer be heard.
Li Ji thought, are people so poor these days that they have no money to marry a wife, so they take the opportunity to snatch one.
This is too bold.
There are also those who blatantly try to steal a wife.
But the next scene was completely beyond his expectations.
"let me go!"
Li Ji suddenly heard Cuixiang shouting.
Then I heard "crackling" and "crackling" sounds, as if it was the sound of clothes being torn.
Li Ji gave a wink and Yu Cheng kicked the door open.
When they rushed into the room, they were stunned by the scene before them.
Cuixiang's clothes were torn into several pieces, and a man was holding a sharp cow-ear knife in his hand.
There is also a large washbasin next to it.
Li Ji shouted, "Stop it! What are you doing?"
When several people saw Li Ji and his men barging in, they were so frightened that they trembled continuously.
Yu Cheng said sternly, "Why don't you pay your respects to Master Li?"
Several men knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously.
An old man shouted, "Please spare my life, sir."
Li Ji asked sternly, "Where is the girl you picked up yesterday?"
Several people were silent.
Li Ai went to the room to check and suddenly found a water jar. She opened the lid and took a look.
The scene in the water tank made him gasp...
