A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 270 There's no turning back

It was already noon when Mu Liang came back to the Li family from the government office. The sun was blazing and the heat was at its peak, but he saw Li Yunye anxiously waiting alone at the gate of the government office. He couldn't help but blame him with distress:

"Why are you running out in such hot weather instead of staying indoors? Where is An Yun?"

"Where is Ma Ming?" Not seeing Ma Ming coming back, Li Yunye ignored Mu Liang's words and asked anxiously.

At first he did have some complaints about Brother Mu Liang taking in Ma Ming, but after going to the farm twice, he saw that Ma Ming and his grandmother were honest and dutiful in the farm. He also learned from Manager Li that although Ma Ming was usually dull and taciturn, he never made enemies with others and was devoted to staying in the dyeing workshop to study tie-dyeing skills. Only then did Li Yunye let go of his old prejudices and regarded the grandparents and grandchildren as members of the Li family farm.

"He has been wanted by the government. Naturally, he cannot come back before the case is tried. Captain Zhou will take him to Lin County for trial tomorrow." Mu Liang said slowly as he and Li Yunye returned to the mansion together.

"Isn't he wronged? Wouldn't it be enough for him to explain clearly in the government office? Why does he have to go to Lin County for trial? Could it be that Magistrate You also suspects Ma Ming and our famous Li from Jiangnan?" Li Yunye became nervous when he heard this. Could it be that the situation he was worried about would really come true?

Seeing his brother so impatient, Mu Liang laughed helplessly. He was about to speak but looked around with some concerns. Seeing Wu Ren lowered his head, he suddenly leaned close to Li Yunye's ear and whispered, "With our Li family as witness, You Zhizhou naturally believes that Ma Ming is innocent. But after all, the Majia Village tragedy is of great importance, and Ma Ming was sued to the government by the village chief Ma, the only survivor of the tragedy. Therefore, even if Ma Ming is wronged, he must strictly follow the trial process. Only in this way can he leave the government with a clean slate, and the government can give an explanation to the people."

But Mu Liang also learned that the village chief Ma had done a favor to Ma Ming, and Ma Ming was a grateful child. When the two were in court, he was worried that Ma Ming would waver in his defense in order to repay his favor. But You Zhizhou believed that if Ma Ming was ambiguous in court, it would muddy the waters and make the other party complacent and reveal his true colors, and the government could take the opportunity to track down Jiuhe.

However, once Ma Ming goes to trial, if he does not defend himself vigorously, the government can take advantage of the situation and make the case more confusing, but public opinion will inevitably be unfavorable to Ma Ming, and the famous Li from Jiangnan will naturally be criticized for having taken Ma Ming in.

On that hot summer day, Li Yunye's ears were filled with the hot and mature breath of Mu Liang. His lowered eyes rested on Mu Liang's sexy warm lips again. His throat rolled involuntarily twice and his heart trembled violently.

"When it's hot in the future, just stay indoors. Look how hot your face is." After Mu Liang said this, he saw that his brother's face was red and he was sweating. He thought it was because of the hot weather, so he smiled helplessly.

Although he was laughing, Mu Liang quickly took out a towel to wipe the sweat off Li Yunye's face, but the other party impatiently opened it with one hand.

"I'm also worried that this will bring trouble to the Li family!" Li Yunye, who had just come to his senses, was upset about the emotions that almost led to his fall. He immediately took two steps back, glanced at Mu Liang, turned around in annoyance and continued to walk towards Qingyun Garden.

"Brother Mu Liang is here, so what are you worried about?" After Mu Liang reacted, he quickly followed and continued to smile gently.

"So in this matter, the famous Li from Jiangnan will not be implicated?" Li Yunye asked calmly after his chaotic mood calmed down.

"If Ma Ming is fine, the Li family will naturally not be implicated." Mu Liang nodded but answered evasively.

But he really could only answer like that, after all, Ma Ming's attitude in court tomorrow would determine the direction of the matter. He also knew that Ma Ming's matter was only one part of the story, and even if Ma Ming was not there, the famous Li from Jiangnan would still be a thorn in the other party's side, and there was no possibility of him staying out of it.

Therefore, from a long-term perspective, Mu Liang hopes that Ma Ming will repay the kindness shown to Village Chief Ma in court. Although this will temporarily damage the reputation of the Jiangnan famous Li, if Zhizhou You can take this opportunity to find out the person behind Village Chief Ma and the killer organization Jiuhe, this will be beneficial to the stability of the Jiangnan famous Li and even the entire Jiangnan.

The two had already entered Qingyun Garden while they were talking. Ice stones had already been placed in the attic room to cool it down, so when they entered the room, they instantly felt the refreshing coolness. Li Yunye poured a cup of cold tea and handed it to Mu Liang, and continued to ask in confusion:

"Brother Muliang, do you think that Village Chief Ma really wanted to frame Ma Ming because he was jealous of him? But isn't it stupid for him to do this?"

"Of course it's not just a personal grudge. Village Chief Ma instigated the villagers of Majia Village to run a private dyeing workshop, and then encouraged Ma Ming to come to Li's house to steal the tie-dyeing skills. All of this was instigated by the person behind the scenes. Even though the secret workshop in Majia Village was later closed down by the government and Village Chief Ma was thrown into prison, the person behind the scenes still helped him get out of prison..." Mu Liang, who was thirsty and hot, drank the cold tea in the cup before speaking slowly. However, before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Li Yunye with sudden realization:

"I think the reason why Village Chief Ma was able to escape death this time was because someone behind him saved him... No, should I say he was spared?"

"Well, brother Yunye has made a lot of progress again." After listening to Li Yunye's words, Mu Liang raised his hand and patted him on the head gently, smiling and joking.

Li Yunye rolled his eyes, pushed Mu Liang's hand away again, turned around and sat back on the couch in front of the window.

At this time, the maid Wu'er came in with two meals. Mu Liang then realized that his brother was waiting for him to have lunch together, and he couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in his heart.

"Why aren't An Ge and An Yun here?"

"I heard that Manager Li will be here tomorrow, so I asked them to prepare some things for my mother so that Manager Li can take them back to the farm." Li Yunye said hurriedly, and suddenly asked seriously: "Do you think the person behind this is the boss of Shuiliu Cloth Shop, Wu Cangguo?"

Mu Liang's hand holding the chopsticks froze for a moment. His brother had guessed it by himself. It seemed that he had made a lot of progress. He looked up at Li Yunye in front of him with his bright eyes flickering, and smiled softly: "It's possible."

"I was just wondering why a small cloth shop owner pretends to be so mysterious, afraid that others will know his identity. If this isn't something he has to hide, what is he hiding?" Li Yunye saw that Mu Liang's brother's eyes lit up slightly, and thought that he was enlightened by his guess, and he couldn't help but feel happy.

"So you should understand why Village Chief Ma wanted to frame Ma Ming?" Mu Liang immediately turned back to the previous topic.

"Was it the person behind him who instigated it? That person is the owner of Shuiliu Cloth Shop, who is competing with Jiangnan famous Li. So, it seems that they framed Ma Ming for Jiangnan famous Li?" Thinking of this, Li Yunye couldn't help but have a headache again. They really never stopped. Can't they just do their own business? Although he came from the modern era, he didn't have the brains to engage in conspiracy and vicious competition.

"Don't worry too much. If enemies come, we will fight them. If water comes, we will block it with earth. The famous Li from Jiangnan never harms anyone, but he will not allow himself to be bullied either." Seeing that his brother's face was full of worry again, Mu Liang hurriedly smiled and comforted him.

Seeing Brother Mu Liang's calm and composed appearance, Li Yunye felt as if he had taken a reassurance pill. He knew that Brother Mu Liang must be confident to be so calm.

On the second day, Ma Ming was taken to the Lin County government office by Captain Zhou himself, while Mu Liang, Manager Li from the farm, and two other farmers also went to Lin County as witnesses.

In the court, village chief Ma suddenly burst into tears when he saw Ma Ming, and incoherently recounted the tragic experience of Majia Village on the night of the incident, causing the onlookers outside the court to shed tears as well.

Ma Ming was also filled with mixed feelings when facing the village chief Ma. He had never thought that one day he would end up in court with Uncle Yong. At this time, the grief of the village chief Ma also moved his sympathy. Uncle Yong might have been devastated by the tragedy in Majia Village, so he took out his anger on him. After all, he left Majia Village when Uncle Yong was still in prison, so it was reasonable for Uncle Yong to have resentment.

Seeing that the people outside the court were getting more and more emotional due to the instigation of Village Chief Ma, the magistrate of Lin County naturally saw through Village Chief Ma's thoughts and simply announced in court that the court trial was serious and needed to be cautious, so today's court trial was temporarily closed to the public and all the outsiders immediately left. Later, under the drive of the yamen runners, the onlookers were driven out of the county yamen, and only those related to the case were left in the court.

Village chief Ma was helpless when his plan to incite the masses failed. He could only cry and use the kindness of the past to influence Ma Ming in front of him.

Ma Ming was young and kind-hearted. He couldn't bear to blame Uncle Yong, who had taken good care of him and his grandmother. Although he denied colluding with the bandits to massacre and burn Ma Village, he remained silent about the conflicts and disputes between him and the villagers before leaving the village fabricated by Village Chief Ma.

Then Village Chief Ma suddenly changed his words and said that he heard Ma Ming's name from the bandits on the night of the incident. Faced with Village Chief Ma's nonsense, the young Ma Ming was speechless. He did not say a word but just lowered his head and remained silent.

Manager Li was also very anxious when he saw Ma Ming remained silent. He was about to speak but was stopped by Mu Liang. The courtroom was not open to noise, and Ma Ming's silence was also within Mu Liang's expectations. He glanced coldly at Village Chief Ma, who was showing a smug look, and then nodded slightly to Captain Zhou.

The magistrate of Lin County had learned of the prefect's plan from Captain Zhou before the court session, so he deliberately acted extremely impatient with Ma Ming's silence.

Ma Ming remained silent. The originally simple trial became complicated as Ma Ming just shook his head and said nothing. The magistrate of Lin County had no choice but to temporarily detain him in the Lin County government office and keep him under strict supervision until later.

Seeing Ma Ming being taken away by the yamen runners, a trace of pity flashed in the eyes of the village chief Ma, but he had no choice and could not turn back.