Chapter 14: Accused of Swindling Money

“Lunatic!” Seeing Liu Bingbing shouting madly, Constable Zhao looked at her with utter disdain and didn’t bother to respond.

Liu Bingbing refused to give up. “Is this how incompetent and corrupt all government officials are? Is bullying commoners all you’re good for? The real culprit goes unpunished while you arrest the innocent? If you don’t let my cousin go, I’ll go to Jincheng, I’ll file a complaint before the Emperor himself!”

“Complain? I am the law here! Go on, file your complaint! File it against me! Crazy woman!” Constable Zhao shot her a glare from the side, clearly exasperated.

“Boss, what do we do now?”

Constable Zhao’s eyes narrowed as he turned and strode forward.

“Liu girl, stop talking! Are you insane? Even daring to provoke an officer!”

“She really must be mad. Thankfully, it’s only Constable Zhao. If it were someone else, she’d be beaten half to death, if not killed.”

Liu Bingbing tried to break free, but Madam Liu pulled her back and quickly covered her mouth.

“Bingbing, for heaven’s sake, stop talking! My little ancestor, I can’t leave you alone for a moment before you cause trouble again.”

Others stepped in to restrain Liu Bingbing, trying to reason with her. “Honestly, letting Qin Hanzi go to jail is the best option right now.”

“The officials want money. Either someone pays, or someone gets taken. There’s no other way to settle this.”

“Look at your cousin-in-law’s face, it’s turning paler by the second. If she goes, she might not make it out alive.”

“And if you keep digging, you won’t escape blame either!” Madam Liu finally snapped, and only then did Liu Bingbing fall silent, tears streaming down her face.

Qin Mingyue saw that Hua Qinci was utterly motionless, not even reacting when struck, and fresh blood was seeping from her back.

A pang of guilt struck Qin Mingyue; thinking back, her daughter-in-law truly bore little responsibility for what had happened.

The Qin family had no silver to spare. All she could do was bid her son farewell and try to borrow some money, hoping to lighten his punishment.

“Tian’er!” Qin Mingyue, eyes brimming with tears, rushed after him. “Don’t worry, Mother will find a way to get you out.”

“Mother, don’t worry about me! Take care of yourself. Don’t quarrel with Qinci. She’s young, helpless, and now she’s injured!”

Qin Youtian squeezed his mother’s hand reassuringly, glancing at the motionless Hua Qinci in the crowd, his brow furrowed.

What a cold, heartless woman. He was going to prison for her, but she couldn’t spare even a word of comfort.

He sighed inwardly, offered a few more words to comfort Qin Mingyue, and then said to Constable Zhao, “Let’s go.”

The murderous glint in Constable Zhao’s eyes faded a little. He lifted his hand and strode forward.

“Wait—” Hua Qinci was about to speak, but before she could, Liu Bingbing had already broken free.

Seeing them about to leave, Liu Bingbing could no longer hold back. “I’m sorry, cousin, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it. No, no, I can’t let you go to jail alone. If someone must go, this woman should go with you.”

She mumbled through her tears, face twisted in distress, ignoring everyone’s attempts to stop her.

“I want to file a complaint!” she shouted. Madam Liu tried to pull her back, but it was too late.

“Complain against me?” Constable Zhao stopped in his tracks, glaring at her.

“No!” Liu Bingbing trembled with rage, gritting her teeth as she pointed at Hua Qinci. “I want to accuse her and her father of conspiring to cheat everyone out of their money!”

Hua Qinci, hardly able to stand, lifted her lips in a faint sneer, her eyes wide with disbelief. Such wild accusations—she could say anything!

“You crazy girl, accusing me of fraud? And what proof do you have?”