Chapter 42: Second Brother, why must you stoop to being a thief?

"Ahem!"

One of the men stepped forward and looked at Li Feng. "We were invited here. Brother Qingyun says that you, the second brother, stole all the family's silver. Is that true?"

The speaker was a notorious loafer from Li Family Village known as Laitou. He usually spent his time idling in town or frequenting various gambling dens, having ruined countless lives. Furthermore, this man was the most cowardly of all; without a profit to be made, would he ever stick his neck out for someone else?

Dagou and Erniu were incensed at the sight of Laitou. Dagou couldn't help but speak up: "Uncle Laitou, how can you spout such nonsense?"

"Our family has nothing. The things in this house are all things we slowly scraped together ourselves. How could we possibly be thieves?"

"Uncle Laitou, what exactly did we steal?"

Faced with Dagou’s questioning, Laitou was stunned for a moment. Once he came to his senses, he began to curse: "You ill-bred brat, I am your uncle, after all! Is that any way to speak to your elder?"

"Truly, you are a piece of trash born of a mother but raised without one!"

"Brother Qingyun, you tell us, what is going on here? If your family's silver..."

Before he could finish his sentence, several sharp slaps landed squarely on his face!

As Li Feng struck him, he said coldly, "A good-for-nothing scoundrel like you dares to come to my home and hurl insults?"

"Do you think I am still the same Li the Second as before?"

"Now that we have separated the household, my parents haven't said a word, yet you, an outsider, dare to shout at my family?"

"Dagou, Erniu, what are you waiting for? Pin him down and beat him to a pulp!"

Li Feng’s sudden outburst caught everyone off guard. The trauma of the family separation had been so severe—look at what a fine, sturdy man he had been turned into!

With Li Feng taking the lead, those who held grudges against Laitou seized the opportunity, listing off his many past misdeeds. In the process, they also took the chance to berate Li Qingyun.

"What is the third son of the Li family doing? Has he gone mad? Why is he associating with a lowlife like Laitou?"

"Running over here to slander his own second brother—is there something wrong with his brain?"

"No wonder he can't pass the scholar's examination; his character is lacking!"

"The village head has already said that the village thief hasn't been caught yet. Just two days ago, he notified the whole village about forming a patrol. And now, someone is running around slandering others? What kind of behavior is this?"

"The Li family is truly shameless. Li the Second must have been framed like this many times!"

"Go fetch the village head and the elder! Let them handle this!"

Someone rushed out of the crowd. Before they had taken two steps, they saw the village elder and the village head approaching.

"Village Elder!"

The crowd bowed and cleared a path. The village elder, his face ashen, walked in with the village head. Just as they entered the courtyard, they saw Dagou and Erniu pinning someone down and raining blows upon him.

The village elder glanced at Li Feng. Seeing Li Feng’s calm and collected demeanor, for some reason, he did not order Dagou and Erniu to stop.

"Ah, help!"

Laitou had never endured such suffering. Even when he lost at the gambling dens, the people there were always polite to him, as long as he brought in new suckers for them. He never expected that back in Li Family Village, on his own turf, he would be beaten by someone!

He tried to struggle, but he was no match for the farm hands. Being pinned to the ground and beaten, the pain in his back forced him to cry out for help.

The village elder came back to his senses and looked at Li Feng.

"Stop!"

Li Feng said lazily. Dagou and Erniu stopped instantly and returned to Li Feng’s side, holding their sticks.

"Village Elder, Uncle Village Head!" Li Feng cupped his hands to the two men, then pointed at Laitou and the visibly shaken Li Qingyun behind him. "These two slandered me as a thief. I ask the Village Elder and the Village Head to grant me justice!"

"Smack!"

Before the words had even faded, the village head stepped forward and, without a word of explanation, struck Li Qingyun across the face. "You scoundrel!"

"To think you would start slandering your own family! Is this how the Li family taught you to behave?"

"Village Head?" Li Qingyun was stunned, staring at the village head in disbelief. This man had once praised his intelligence, called him a talent, and declared him the hope of Li Family Village. How had things changed so much?

He clenched his fists. As expected, it was impossible to reason with these old fools. He looked at Li Feng and said coldly, "Mother said that only you knew where the family money was kept. Now that the family is divided, who else but you would have taken that money?"

"Second Brother, I know you hold a grudge, but that silver was meant to save the lives of our parents and younger brother!"

"I don't want to make a scene, either. We are all villagers. As long as you hand over the silver, I can let bygones be bygones!"

"If you feel the division of the property was unfair, we can discuss it properly. It is not impossible to redistribute the assets. Second Brother, why must you stoop to being a thief?"

His words were filled with a feigned sense of righteousness. Dagou and Erniu glared at him in fury, wishing they could beat him to death if not for the fact that he was their elder.

Li Feng remained calm and indifferent. "Third Brother, do you even know how to write the words 'propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame'?"

"What?" Li Qingyun was confused.

Li Feng turned to look at the village elder and the village head, his face showing indignation and the heartbreak of being betrayed by a brother.

"Village Elder, you have seen it for yourselves."

"Barely after the family was divided, I have already become an outsider."

"To ensure our parents had support in their old age, I stepped back so much and received the smallest share of the property. In this house, I was the most silent and endured everything. And what did I get in return?"

"The tuition and town expenses for the eldest and the third brother were all supplied by me."

"Especially the third brother. His schooling has lasted a long time, and every year, between tuition, brushes, ink, paper, and living expenses, it cost at least ten taels of silver!"

"I never complained about any of this. I gritted my teeth and kept going, hoping that one day the third brother would make a name for himself, bring honor to the Li family, and give the village someone to rely on!"

"But I never imagined that the brother I loved most would speak of his second brother this way, and even believe me to be a thief!"

Li Feng’s tone was heavy and cadence-filled, drawing everyone in. It was true! The one who had suffered the most in the Li family was Li the Second. If he had really wanted to be a thief, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?

In an instant, the crowd began to condemn Li Qingyun.

"This man is ungrateful!"

"To slander his own brother—his character is truly flawed!"

"It’s outrageous. A family shouldn't be airing its dirty laundry, but to start a conflict like this? A brother who doesn't act like a brother, someone who doesn't remember kindness—it’s truly disgusting!"

"..."

The surrounding voices flooded into Li Qingyun's ears. He clenched his hands tightly, his eyes bloodshot! Why did no one believe him? Why! He was a man who was about to become a scholar! How could these people be so ignorant!