Traveling through the mountains and farming

Chapter 126 Is He a Li Family Member?

Li Chongwu and a few others brought a basin of prepared potion, ready to force the bandits to drink it one by one.

Li Chongbai noticed something was wrong. They had been tied up and left in the wild for the past few days, hanging with only porridge every day, and from time to time, a few of them were pulled out to lead the way and point out the houses that had been robbed.

Although he was a member of the Li family, he was not taken care of. No matter how he begged, it was useless.

Seeing the strange color of the water in the basin, he felt that it was not a good thing, so he started begging for mercy again:

"Brother Chongwu, I am your cousin. You can't treat me like this. I was wrong. I will definitely change in the future."

"Don't call me cousin. I don't have a cousin like you."

Li Chongwu put the basin of medicine on the ground, picked up a small bowl and scooped some out. The other people also came over, each holding a small bowl.

Li Chongbai's face turned pale: "Of course I am not, I am Li Changren's son, so I am naturally your cousin. You can't do this to me."

"He's just a stepson, and a stepson of bad character at that."

Li Chongwu snorted disdainfully and continued with his work, preparing to feed Li Chongbai the medicine first.

Li Chongbai struggled desperately and shouted, "I am my father's biological son. Please ask my great-uncle to come over. I am his nephew's biological son."

Li Chongwu sneered, "Humph, you are still quibbling even now. We have seen through your lies a long time ago. You deserve to be forced to drink this medicine today."

Li Chongbai's eyes were filled with fear, and he didn't know what kind of medicine they were going to feed him. He kept twisting his body, trying to break free from the restraints, but to no avail.

Just when Li Chongwu and others were about to pour the potion into Li Chongbai's mouth, they heard the voice of Uncle Li.

"and many more."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Uncle Li.

Uncle Li looked at Li Chongbai and walked over quickly: "How can you prove that you are Li Changren's biological son?"

He just passed by here and heard this conversation. Thinking that Li Changren's life or death was uncertain, Li Chongwen was missing on the battlefield, and Li Chongsong was also missing. Now only Li Chongle was left. If Li Chongbai was Li Changren's biological son, he had to handle it with caution.

"My eldest brother and I have the same birthday. My mother said that she remarried because she was pregnant with me. Dad knows all this. Otherwise, why did he insist on changing my name to be included in the family tree and was willing to split up the family business and live with me without Li Chongle?" Li Chongbai sat up straight, a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

Uncle Li calculated the time and found that it was acceptable.

What he said was reasonable. It also explained why Li Changren wanted to include Li Chongbai in the family tree immediately after marrying Zhang. He also caused a farce of splitting up the family and abandoning his young son and daughter in order to support Li Chongbai in the imperial examinations. He also took Li Chongbai with him when he fled to Jiangbei County and abandoned Li Chongle and his siblings.

All these things seem to really prove that Li Changren knew that Li Chongbai was his biological son.

However, it cannot be ruled out that Li Chongbai made up a lie to escape punishment, or that Li Changren was deceived by Zhang.

It’s hard to judge at the moment.

Uncle Li thought for a while and said to Li Chongwu, "Keep him in solitary custody for now."

Li Chongwu then had Li Chongbai taken to an empty room, and prepared to continue giving medicine to other people.

"Uncle Li, I am a great man, please let me go too. After all, we are related."

When Zhang Daniu saw Li Chongbai being released and taken away, he shouted hurriedly.

"Yes, Chongbai is the son of your nephew, so we are real relatives. Please be merciful and let us go." Zhang Erniu also echoed.

After hearing their pleas, Uncle Li felt that he had found a breakthrough and perhaps he could learn the truth from them.

Uncle Li walked up to Zhang Daniu and Zhang Erniu, looked at them sharply, and said:

"Okay, as long as you tell me truthfully whether Li Chongbai is Li Changren's biological son, I can consider giving you a lighter sentence. Otherwise, just wait for you to drink these mute pills."

When the others heard that it was a mute drug, they all showed fear on their faces and shrank back involuntarily.

Uncle Li asked Li Chongwu to bring Zhang Daniu and Zhang Erniu to the side and let them watch with their own eyes the bandits being forced to drink the potion and soon becoming unable to utter a sound and could only scream "ah ah".

Zhang Daniu and Zhang Erniu turned pale with fear. Zhang Daniu said in a trembling voice:

"Uncle Li, don't give us that medicine. Let us tell you. Let us tell you all."

Uncle Li stared at the two of them and said coldly, "Then hurry up and tell me. If I find out that you are lying, you know the consequences."

Zhang Daniu swallowed his saliva and began to narrate: "In fact, I don't know whether Li Chongbai is Li Changren's biological son or not, but I secretly overheard my younger sister talking to my mother before she married Li Changren for the second time. She said that Li Chongbai's background must not be revealed, otherwise... I didn't hear the rest of the conversation clearly."

"But I think Li Chongbai is not Li Changren's biological son. Li Chongbai doesn't look like a member of the Li family. He looks more like my deceased former brother-in-law." Zhang Daniu added.

Uncle Li's face became increasingly gloomy. "So, in your opinion, what is going on here?"

Zhang Daniu scratched his head and said hesitantly, "Uncle Li, I'm just guessing. Maybe my younger sister deliberately concealed Li Chongbai's background and deceived Li Changren in order to find someone to rely on."

Uncle Li snorted coldly: "Okay, if that's the case, then the mother and son are really going too far."

At this time, Zhang Erniu, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke up: "Uncle Li, you don't have to guess anymore. Li Chongbai is not Li Changren's son. I heard it from my mother with my own ears. At that time, in order to borrow food from my younger sister, my mother told me this secret and asked me to threaten her with this matter, so my younger sister agreed to lend the food so readily."

After hearing this, Uncle Li slapped his thigh angrily and said, "Ridiculous! How dare they, mother and son, deceive each other like this."

Li Chongwu said angrily, "What should we do now? We can't just let Li Chongbai go."

"As planned, we'll send him away tonight." Uncle Li said this and left.

No matter how the two Zhang brothers cried and begged, he turned a deaf ear to them.

Everyone present understood what Uncle Li meant, and they forced the Zhang brothers to drink the medicine.

Afterwards, he took the medicine to the room where Li Chongbai was imprisoned, and regardless of his noises and struggles, he poured the medicine into his mouth.

After taking the medicine, Li Chongbai's voice suddenly became hoarse and he could no longer utter clear words.

He collapsed to the ground with despair on his face, his eyes full of resentment and fear.

In the evening, Li Chongwu, Luo Dashan and others calculated the time to set off. They wanted to escort this group of people to the city gate before it opened at dawn.

Since the roads were all mountainous, there was no way to knock them out and drag them along, so we could only ask Doctor Zhong for a potion that would reduce a person's ability to resist but give them the strength to walk.

Doctor Zhong's medicine box really met their needs.

Li Chongwu and his group of about ten people, with the bandits who had been drugged, set out on the road to the county town outside the mountain.

That night, Lin Wan heard Li Chongbai's life story and felt that there was finally an explanation for Li Changren's previous unreasonable behavior, such as dividing the family property and his stepson not wanting to have his own youngest son.

How sad this man is. I wonder if he would feel shocked when he found out that the son he loved the most was not his biological son; if he would regret his previous preference and dedication; if he would feel guilty for neglecting and ignoring his own child; if he would be devastated by the blow of the truth, or would he wake up.

Lin Wan sighed softly, looked at Li Ke who was sleeping beside her, and gently tucked the corner of the quilt for him, thinking that after tonight all the food stolen by the bandits would be returned, and when Li Chongwu and the others sent the bandits to the city gate, the matter would be completely over.

I hope Li Chongwu and his friends have a safe journey to the county town.