Chapter 132: I Don’t Want You to Be Wronged

“Why are you out here too?”

Tang Xue smiled but didn’t speak; instead, she flipped her palm and placed two chicken cakes in front of Li Yi.

“What’s this?”

“I know you haven’t eaten much. Go ahead and eat these!” Tang Xue said with a smile.

She had seen clearly just now that Li Yi had been forced to drink so much he hadn’t eaten a single bite of food.

So when she came out earlier, she had quietly taken two chicken cakes from the main room and brought them out for him.

Li Yi was touched. Without hesitation, he took the chicken cakes and took a bite.

These old-fashioned chicken cakes had a crispy exterior and a soft, dense interior—a taste that was definitely a childhood favorite of Li Yi’s.

With every bite, the aroma lingered on his lips and teeth.

After swallowing the cake, the burning sensation in his chest had all but vanished.

Li Yi held out another piece of sponge cake to Tang Xue and said with a smile, “Here, this one’s for you!”

Tang Xue shook her head and said, “I’ve already eaten plenty. I can’t eat any more. You go ahead and eat it!”

“Okay!”

Li Yi devoured the sponge cake in two bites, then turned to Tang Xue and said, “Shall we go for a walk?”

“Sure!”

It was just getting dark. Although most of the villagers were at home eating dinner, you could still spot a few stragglers here and there.

Everyone who saw Li Yi and Tang Xue greeted them with warm smiles.

Although it had only been a month since his rebirth, Li Yi had completely transformed his image in the villagers’ eyes through his shrewd tactics, earning the approval of most of them.

Of course, there were still those who didn’t approve of him, but they had all been sent to the police station by now.

A couple of days ago, during Old Man Wang’s birthday celebration, Wang Anguo had specifically spoken to him about Xu Hong and the others.

The case had been thoroughly investigated: Xu Hong had harbored malicious intent and incited the male educated youths to deliberately poison people.

Moreover, he had deceived not only Li Yi but also the male educated youths.

He told the male educated youths that the mushrooms given to Li Yi contained only ordinary poisonous mushrooms, and that even if someone accidentally ate them, the worst that would happen was an upset stomach—it wouldn’t be fatal.

However, in reality, he had mixed highly toxic mushrooms into Li Yi’s basket.

In other words, the other male educated youths were unaware that he had laced the mushrooms with a deadly poison.

Nevertheless, the male educated youth could not escape severe punishment for their involvement; after all, they had indeed participated in the scheme and would all be held accountable.

However, when the procuratorate brought charges against them, Xu Hong would be treated as the principal offender, while the others would be classified as accomplices.

It is possible that the court might reduce their sentences somewhat during sentencing, but such a criminal case cannot be dismissed.

For those male educated youth, the situation felt somewhat unfair.

But Li Yi didn’t feel the slightest bit of pity for them. Thankfully, those poisonous mushrooms were detected immediately; otherwise, just thinking about the potential consequences sent a chill down Li Yi’s spine.

People with such malicious intent deserve to be taken out and shot.

Li Yi just felt a bit of regret that it was only 1980; if it had been 1983, every single one of those six would have been shot.

After walking around the village for a while, Li Yi suddenly asked, “Honey, shall I take you into town tomorrow?”

“Why go into town? If there’s anything you need to buy, just buy it yourself. Why drag me along?”

To be honest, Tang Xue was actually a little afraid of going into town with Li Yi to shop.

He was such a spendthrift, especially when it came to her. If she so much as glanced at something, he’d buy it without a second thought.

Now she had to check the price of everything she saw first; if it was too expensive, she’d steer clear of it.

“We’re getting married soon. We’ve got to buy a few nice outfits. I don’t know your size, so of course you have to come with me!” Li Yi said.

“Haven’t we bought plenty of fabric already? Why not just have my older sister and Mom make you a set? Why waste the money?” Tang Xue said.

“That fabric is for Mom and Dad. We should buy ready-made clothes—they have nicer designs and look better when you wear them out!”

In truth, Li Yi wanted to take Tang Xue to buy a wedding dress. After all, who gets married without a wedding dress, unless they can’t afford one?

Although Li Yi didn’t know how much a wedding dress cost these days—or even if they were sold at all—he figured his financial means should be enough to afford one.

“If we can’t afford it, we’ll just make it ourselves. Ready-made ones are so expensive!” Tang Xue said.

She knew Li Yi could make money—in a single day, he might earn more than the average person makes in a year, or even several years.

But no matter how rich he was, he couldn’t just waste money like that!

Besides, Li Yi had mentioned that his mountain produce business was seasonal—it might stop at any moment.

So Tang Xue still hoped Li Yi would save up some money, just in case they couldn’t make any in the future.

However, she had underestimated Li Yi’s determination. He took Tang Xue’s hand and said with a smile, “After all, marriage is a lifelong commitment. I want you to look your absolute best when you marry me.”

“Don’t worry about the money—providing for our family is my responsibility. All you have to do is look as beautiful as a flower!”

Tang Xue felt warm inside at his words. Knowing she couldn’t win an argument with him, she could only nod and say, “Just this once—no exceptions!”

“Okay, from now on, you’ll be in charge of the household finances. Spend it however you like!” Li Yi said.

“I’m not taking care of it—managing money is such a hassle! As long as you don’t waste it, that’s all that matters!”

“I won’t splurge—I’ll just give it all to my wife!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“You’re such a smart aleck!”

Just then, Li Yi suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, you haven’t been back home for a while. Are your parents…”

Before he could finish, Tang Xue immediately replied, “I wrote them a letter saying I still have some paperwork to take care of here. That should buy us some time.”

“Fudging it isn’t a solution. Sooner or later, we’ll have to face this!” Li Yi said.

“By then, the die will be cast. Even if they find out, what can they do?” Tang Xue said calmly.

Yet a hint of worry still flashed across her eyes; after all, a marriage without her family’s blessing was hardly a cause for joy.

Besides, no one knew her family better than she did. Once they found out she’d gone and married without their consent, they were bound to make a scene.

But just then, Li Yi spoke up: “Let’s get married first. After we’re married, I’ll take you back to your parents’ house!”

“No… we can’t go back!”

“Why?”

“They won’t accept you. I… I don’t want you to suffer any humiliation!” Tang Xue said.

She knew her family well—with their snobbish, money-grubbing nature, they’d certainly never be happy about her marrying a country bumpkin.

Besides, if they found out how much money Li Yi made, they might turn into leeches, constantly draining the hard-earned money he’d worked so hard for.

Neither of those outcomes was what she wanted to see!

So, rather than risk that, it would be better not to go back at all.

Li Yi clearly sensed her concerns and immediately said, “Don’t worry, I can handle this.”

“Well…”

“It’s settled then. No matter what they think or say, you’re the legally wedded wife of the Li family.”

Li Yi continued, “If they accept me as their son-in-law, we’ll visit them more often; if they don’t, we’ll visit less. But we can’t go back on the sly—it’s not like we’re doing anything shameful!”

Seeing how serious Li Yi was, Tang Xue could only nod in agreement.