Upon receiving the command, arrest officer Guan led a group of government officials straight into the Li Residence to apprehend someone.
The house servant by the door panicked upon seeing the officers and quickly tried to intercept them, asking, "Government officer, brother, what’s happening? Please allow me to inform them first."
One of the government officials swung his arm, pushing the house servant far away, "Stand aside, don’t delay the government officer’s duties; we are here to arrest Li Fugui!"
Upon hearing that the Eldest Young Master was to be arrested, the house servant scurried to the front hall to report to Master Li.
Master Li and his wife were leisurely warming themselves by the fire in the bedroom when they heard the house servant’s report, and quickly made their way to the hall, only to discover the government officials already waiting there.
Master Li, calm and composed, "Arrest officer Guan, good to see you well. May I inquire why you have personally intruded upon my home today?"
"Master Li, sorry for the offense! The Magistrate requests your son to appear before the court; we would appreciate it if you would let your son come out to avoid us having to search for him."
"..." What on earth did his son do? Could it be the previous incident involving an arrest? Now that the government officers had come knocking, it truly was a blow to his dignity.
Master Li was furious, yet he didn’t show it on the outside, "Arrest officer Guan, what crime has my son committed that warrants your personal attention to arrest him? Please inform me."
In the County, Master Li was a man of stature, and his words naturally carried weight.
Therefore, arrest officer Guan said, "Master Li must have heard about the poisoning case causing an uproar in the County town, right? The perpetrator has been caught; we are here to arrest the person behind the scenes!"
"Cough! Cough!" Fugui was the mastermind behind the scenes? Master Li choked and coughed several times, covering his chest with his hand, shocked by how bold Fugui was.
"Arrest officer Guan, could there be some misunderstanding? My son has been at home recently and has never gone out. How could he be involved in a poisoning case?"
"Whether he’s involved is not for us to say, just bring the young master out quickly and come with us!"
Seeing that arrest officer Guan was determined not to rest until someone was taken into custody, Master Li sent someone to call Li Fugui out.
As soon as Li Fugui came out, arrest officer Guan waved his hand, and two government officials immediately restrained Li Fugui.
Seeing himself overpowered by the government officials, Li Fugui was clueless about what was happening and struggled desperately, "What are you doing? Let go of me, let go of me!"
"Take him away!" Arrest officer Guan saw that much time had already been wasted, "My apologies, Master Li; with this, I take my leave."
Li Fugui was taken away just like that, shouting the whole time, not knowing why he was being arrested, "Let go of me, on what grounds are you arresting me!"
After the government officials left, Mrs. Li, grasping Master Li’s arm, began to cry out of anxiety, "Master, what shall we do! You must save him! He’s our only son."
"Hmph! Look at what your well-raised son has done! Last time it was an arrest, and now he dares to poison someone?"
Mrs. Li continued to cry, "It can’t be, it can’t be, my son would never do such a thing."
"Could the government office have wrongfully accused him? Let him stay in jail. I do not acknowledge him as my son," said Master Li, flinging his sleeve and leaving, not caring whether his wife fell from being pushed away, as he went back to his room.
Mrs. Li was left alone, with the words "Let him stay in jail" echoing in her mind.
No, she had to save her son; even if he had killed someone, he was still her son—her only son.
Hurriedly, she went back to her room, took out her years of savings and jewelry, determined to bribe her way through, to save her son.