The incident happened so suddenly that no one had time to react before Yun Wangcai rushed towards Xiao Xitian.
This little brat, if it weren't for her, those bricks wouldn't have been discovered, and his ancestral five mu of grain-producing land wouldn't have fallen into her hands.
Yun Wangcai knew that once he was imprisoned, he would never get out.
So, dragging someone down with him was worth it.
Everyone gasped in unison.
Yun Wangcai, that mad dog, actually dared to harm Xiao Xitian.
He was playing with the King of Hell!
"Sister, be careful..." Yun Daman and Yun Erman shouted simultaneously.
Xiao Jinheng's heart leaped into his throat. He instinctively yelled, "Guards!~"
The two hidden guards should be lurking in some corner, and now was the time they were needed.
Gu shi and Yun Laotou, forgetting everything else, ran towards Xiao Xitian.
Even if they themselves were to be struck by a sickle, they absolutely could not let their little daughter suffer any harm.
"Haha, die!~"
Yun Wangcai's eyes were bloodshot, like a rabid old dog.
The crescent-shaped sickle glinted with a cold, eerie light under the sun.
If this were to land on Xiao Xitian, even if she didn't die, she would lose half her life.
At the critical moment, a dart flew out from the darkness and accurately struck Yun Wangcai's wrist.
He cried out in pain, dropped the sickle, and blood gushed out, dripping onto the ground.
Xiao Jinheng glanced back and saw that Hidden Guard Jia was hiding in the corner and was about to shoot Yun Wangcai dead with another dart.
Xiao Jinheng frowned and subtly shook his head.
He couldn't kill him yet; he had to be handed over to the yamen for disposal.
Hidden Guard Jia saw this, blew on his hair, and coolly put away the dart.
He intended to continue hiding, but as he turned, he bumped into the wall with a "bang," getting a large lump on his forehead.
He had been too smug and forgot there was a wall behind him.
Xiao Jinheng: "..."
The constables rushed forward, took out ropes, and tied Yun Wangcai's hands securely.
Daman and Erman then unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, beating Yun Wangcai until he cried and wailed, almost to the point of death.
"Daughter, are you alright? Are you injured?" Gu shi hugged Xiao Xitian tightly, her clothes soaked with sweat.
She couldn't even imagine how she would live if her daughter were harmed.
Yun Laotou and Advisor Zuo also ran over, their faces filled with fear and panic.
"Mother, I'm fine!" Xiao Xitian was a little scared, but she couldn't cry now.
Otherwise, Father and Mother would be even sadder.
Yun Wangcai was clearly beyond caring. Killing one person wouldn't be too many; killing two wouldn't be too much.
At least he would have company in the underworld.
"Quick, let Daddy see!" Yun Laotou turned Xiao Xitian's shoulders and looked her up and down.
The family had too many boys, and the old woman had only given birth to this one precious daughter.
The whole family doted on her, loved her, protected her, and spoiled her.
Who knew that Yun Wangcai, that blind dog, would actually want to kill her with a sickle.
The more Yun Laotou thought about it, the angrier he became. He rushed in front of Yun Wangcai and slapped him twice.
"We still have a blood relation, and even if this kinship is severed, we all share the surname 'Yun'!"
"You've lived this long, and you've done something so inhumane and morally bankrupt. Are you even human? Hmm?"
"What did my daughter do to you? Tell me, what did she do to you? Speak..."
Yun Laotou raised his arm and slapped him twice more.
"Pah, you've lived all your life in vain. In your next life, you won't even be fit to be a pig; you'll be worse than an animal!"
Yun Laotou vented his anger, and Yun Wangcai didn't dare to utter a single word.
The villagers were also furious and picked up small stones to throw at Yun Wangcai.
"You old scoundrel, you won't even spare children. Have you lost your mind?"
"Officer, hurry and take him away, I'm scared!"
"Who isn't? This mad dog bites indiscriminately. I'm afraid my Caogen will be harmed by him too!"
"People like this should have their heads chopped off immediately to prevent future trouble!"
"..."
Advisor Zuo heard this, his brows furrowed so tightly they could trap a fly. "Yun Wangcai, you truly won't give up until you're at the Yellow River, piling up charges on yourself!"
"Originally, for your theft, Prefect Chen might have shown leniency out of consideration for the villagers. Now, you probably won't even live to see the Laba Festival..."
After speaking, Advisor Zuo ordered the constables, "Go, stuff him into the carriage! Tie him up!~"
"Yes!"
Yun Wangcai, filled with despair, was thrown into the carriage.
He tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice. He didn't even touch a single hair of Xiao Xitian, and his wrist was already bleeding.
Lu Jinping wasn't worried about her father-in-law's fate at all; instead, she felt a bit of schadenfreude.
Once the old man died and Yun Goudan went missing, she could sell these two dilapidated houses.
Although they weren't worth much, at least she could get some travel expenses.
"Officer, all the mistakes were made by my father-in-law. It has nothing to do with me. Do I not need to go to the county yamen with you?"
Lu Jinping asked with a smile.
Advisor Zuo was still pondering where that dart had come from when a large face appeared before him.
"Ugh!" He gagged, feeling a bit nauseous.
"Someone, tie her up and take her away!"
She might be spared the death penalty, but she wouldn't escape punishment.
If this matter wasn't clarified, Prefect Chen would skin him.
Amidst a flurry of shouts and screams, Lu Jinping was also stuffed into the carriage.
"I apologize for frightening Baby Tian. Everyone, please rest assured, when we return to the county yamen, I will definitely inform the Prefect of the truth and deliver justice to your family."
Advisor Zuo cupped his hands towards the Yun family and then left with two constables.
The villagers were a bit disappointed.
Not for any other reason, but they also wanted compensation.
"My big iron pot has been missing for half a year. Every time I cook, I have to borrow a pot from the neighbor. Shouldn't they compensate us with a new one?"
"You say how wicked this person is, stealing even a pot. Why didn't he go to the latrine to steal dung?"
"You don't understand. Iron is valuable. Such a large iron pot, sold in the county town, would be worth at least this much!"
"..."
Yun Wangcai's family was so poor that the villagers had nowhere to turn to get anything as compensation.
They were too poor.
Since the bricks had been found, the Yun family had no worries.
Seeing that the sky had already darkened, Yun Laotou led his family home for dinner.
Xiao Jinheng stood in the yard for a while and instructed Kong Xingzhuo, "Have someone move the bricks from the cellar and send them to the construction site!~"
"It's best to finish moving them tonight so as not to delay the masons' work tomorrow!"
"Understood, young master!~"
On the way home, Yun Laotou casually plucked some halaha grass.
He heard that they were making dumpling soup at home tonight, and sprinkling some halaha grass on it would make it taste amazing.
Unexpectedly, as the family reached the doorstep, Xiao Jinheng came following behind them.