Chen Yutian was intimidated and quickly lowered his head, while Jia Shi stared defiantly at Chen Anbang.
"Chen Anbang, you heartless man! You forced me to kill Chen Xiaobei, and now you hide behind the scenes pretending to be a good person."
Chen Anbang coldly replied, "You should speak with conscience. How did I force you? Besides, your son Chen Ermao is still on the run. I suggest you have him return to face justice."
These words sounded righteous, but Chen Yutian understood the hidden meaning clearly.
Jia Shi also understood, but at this point, she couldn't care less.
"You blackmailed me with my son Chen Ermao. He went to Chen Xiaobei's house to steal, was caught, and I gave you fifty copper coins. You let him go in the middle of the night, and then you came to me saying that only if Chen Xiaobei dies can my son return to the village."
Chen Anbang's face changed dramatically. Pointing at Jia Shi, he said to Hu Fan, "Lord County Magistrate, this woman must be crazy, speaking nonsense. Their family is poor, how could they have fifty copper coins?"
"Besides, her son escaped in the middle of the night, and the village's village protection team members can testify to that."
He then looked at his grandson, Chen Ping.
Chen Ping immediately understood and echoed, "Yes, Chen Ermao indeed escaped in the middle of the night when the village protection team was asleep."
This turned into a muddled situation.
Hu Fan turned back to Jia Shi. "You say you gave Chen Anbang fifty copper coins, who can testify to this?"
Jia Shi glanced at Chen Yutian. "Old man, that was our funeral fund, why aren't you speaking up?"
"You said, didn't you, that it was Chen Anbang who came to our house that day and said that to get Ermao back, Chen Xiaobei had to be killed?"
Chen Yutian hesitated for a long time before finally sighing. "Wife, it's come to this, let's just admit it. I did it."
These words were filled with bitterness and helplessness.
Chen Anbang's mouth curled into a barely noticeable smile, but this fleeting smile was caught by Chen Xiaobei, who couldn't help but be startled.
For Chen Anbang to smile at a time like this was clearly an abnormal behavior.
But what did it mean? Chen Xiaobei couldn't figure it out at that moment.
Hu Fan slammed his gavel down.
"Chen Yutian, Jia Shi, I'll ask you both—did you instruct Yang Dazhi and Ding Laosan to kill Chen Xiaobei? Do you admit it or not?"
Chen Yutian nodded without hesitation. "I admit it. I went to Wugongling to find that big black guy."
At that moment, Jia Shi finally erupted.
She shouted with a choked voice, "Great Lord, I'm telling the truth! That fifty copper coins was our funeral fund! He, Chen Anbang, promised that Ermao would be let go to wander far away, and after some time, he could return."
"Then, a few days ago, he came to me again and said that unless Chen Xiaobei dies, my son will never be able to come back."
"I was forced to go to Wugongling, where I found Big Black and had him send someone to eliminate Chen Xiaobei."
Hu Fan looked at Jia Shi, then at Chen Yutian. "Who exactly went to find Big Black?"
"It was me. Big Black is a distant relative from my mother's side," Jia Shi interrupted and answered quickly.
Hu Fan nodded.
"Yang Dazhi, you intended to break into a house to kill someone, do you plead guilty?"
"My lord, I did plan to kill him, but as soon as I went in, I got knocked out," Yang Dazhi replied, looking rather aggrieved. After saying this, everyone in the room started laughing.
"Ding Laosan, do you admit to alerting them outside?"
Ding Laosan immediately bowed, "My lord, please understand, I... I didn't watch for them. As soon as there was any movement in the yard, I ran."
At this, the officers and Chen Xiaobei and others laughed again. What had been a serious trial scene now had a touch of lightheartedness.
Hu Fan then turned to Chen Anbang.
"As the village chief, you must be fair and impartial, and keep your hands clean."
"I hope you continue to serve diligently and do not disappoint the expectations I have for you."
Chen Anbang quickly agreed, "Please rest assured, Lord County Magistrate. I will set an example and lead by example."
Hu Fan waved his sleeve. "Those who are guilty should be arrested, and those who are innocent may leave."
As they walked out of the county office, Chen Anbang let out a long sigh of relief, the crisis was now over.
Chen Xiaobei kept his word, and he and Chen Ping went to eat meat buns with open appetites.
These meat buns, costing one coin each, were ridiculously expensive.
Fortunately, they were quite large, so four buns each were enough to fill them. Before leaving, Chen Xiaobei generously bought two more buns for each person to take home to share with their families.
Chen Xiaobei also made sure to buy some for the people left in the village to look after his house, like Chen Daqiang. He always keeps his word and made sure to get them some as well.
Although he spent a few dozen copper coins, Chen Xiaobei felt it was worth it.
Chen Ping returned home, visibly excited, holding two meat buns and rushed into Chen Anbang's room.
"Grandfather, grandfather, meat buns, brought back from the county, try them!"
Chen Anbang looked at the two meat buns, then looked up at Chen Ping.
"Sit down, I have something to discuss with you."
Chen Ping obediently sat down, looking confused as he stared at his grandfather.
"Grandfather, what's wrong?"
"Chen Ping, I need to discuss something with you. Tomorrow, you need to step down from the position of captain of the village protection team."
Chen Ping was instantly confused.
"Grandfather, I caught two bandits. By rights, I should be credited for this, why are you making me step down?"
Chen Anbang waved his hand.
"You don't understand."
"Who were the ones who tried to kill Chen Xiaobei? Those were the bandits from Wugongling."
"Now that Yang Dazhi and Ding Laosan have been sent to the county and locked up, do you think Big Black will just let it go?"
Chen Ping shook his head. "He'll probably come to take revenge."
Chen Anbang nodded.
"Yes, and if he comes for revenge, as the captain of the protection team, will you protect the village or not? Will you fight or not?"
Hearing this, Chen Ping immediately understood. "If that's the case, grandfather, wouldn't it be better to just let Chen Xiaobei take over as the captain?"
Chen Anbang stroked his beard, nodding in approval. "Yes, that's what I mean. Also, these days, you need to keep a close eye on Cui Hongyu. If anything happens to Chen Xiaobei, you need to make sure she's protected."
Chen Ping was stunned.
"Grandfather, I think the village has been a bit unstable recently. It's likely because of that woman. Don't forget, she's already had three husbands die."
Chen Anbang glared at him. "What nonsense are you talking? They didn't die, they never even married her."
"But Cui Banjian said that Cui Hongyu has a prosperous husband's fate. Once she gets past Chen Xiaobei, I was even thinking of having her marry you."
Chen Ping shook his head vigorously. "Grandfather, what nonsense are you saying? What if something happens to Chen Xiaobei? Then Cui Hongyu would have killed four men."
"A woman like that would probably only belong in the Baihua Tower..."
Chen Anbang sighed. "No, you don't understand. When Cui Hongyu married, Cui Fugui gave a dowry of dozens of taels of silver. If another man dies, Cui Fugui will probably give all his wealth as her dowry."
Chen Ping didn't quite understand his grandfather's meaning and shook his head. "Grandfather, I don't want to be killed."
Chen Anbang slammed the table. "What do you know? After Cui Hongyu marries, she'll mysteriously disappear. Do you understand now?"