Chapter 152: Li Yi’s Thoughts
Li Yi’s reaction left everyone present stunned, including the Li family members.
They had anticipated that Li Yi might refuse the Yang family’s request, but they never imagined he would reject it so decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
Yang Yongjun and his wife turned deathly pale. They watched Li Yi’s retreating figure as he went inside, their faces etched with despair.
Although Yang Yi wasn’t their only son, he was still their child.
If he were actually sentenced, his life would truly be ruined!
Most importantly, before coming here, they had specifically visited the county bureau and used their connections to inquire—it was confirmed that Yang Yi and the others had indeed been manipulated.
Apart from Xu Hong, who was truly malicious and intent on harming others, the other five educated youths had originally intended only to teach the victim a lesson; they had no intention of poisoning him.
Therefore, if they could secure the victim’s forgiveness, the court would most likely impose a lighter sentence—or even exempt him from punishment.
And that is precisely why Yang Yongjun and his wife traveled hundreds of kilometers to Nianzishan Village, begging Li Yi to forgive Yang Yi.
Yang Yongjun glanced at Feng Kai with a look of embarrassment and said, “Secretary Feng, what do you think about this…”
Feng Kai frowned and said, “Wait here for a moment. I’ll go inside and see what Yi wants.”
With that, Feng Kai walked straight into the inner room.
Inside, Li Yi sat impassively on the edge of the kang; Feng Kai couldn’t tell what mood he was in at all.
“Yi, tell your uncle—what exactly are you thinking?”
Li Yi replied calmly, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—it’s only natural!”
“Are you really planning to send them all to the DXMBang prison?” Feng Kai asked, frowning.
“Hmph. They should’ve been prepared for this when they poisoned people!”
“But… but they were deceived by Xu Hong—that’s why they did such a thing!”
But Li Yi shook his head and said, “Uncle Feng, they’re all adults. If they can’t even tell the difference between truth and lies, they deserve whatever misfortune befalls them!”
“Xiao Yi, they’re certainly at fault, but I truly believe those kids are different from Xu Hong!”
“They’re all cut from the same cloth—there’s no difference!” Li Yi said.
“Xiao Yi, is there really no room for discussion?” Feng Kai asked again.
Just as Li Yi was about to speak, Tang Xue walked in from outside and said to Feng Kai, “Uncle, I’ll talk to him!”
Feng Kai nodded, then turned and walked out!
Tang Xue closed the door behind her and said, “I…”
“Xiao Xue, are you trying to plead their case?” Li Yi frowned.
Tang Xue shook her head and said, “No. They did what they did—even if they’re sentenced, they deserve it. It’s their own fault!”
“Then what are you doing?”
“From what I know of you, you probably don’t want to sentence them all…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi cut her off: “You’re wrong there. I have absolutely no intention of going easy on them!”
However, Tang Xue shook her head and said, “You know deep down that what really angers you is Xu Hong, not Yang Yi or Liang Jianjun. Although they made mistakes too, it was merely a momentary outburst of resentment and a lapse in judgment; they didn’t have any real ill will!”
“They’ve been locked up for so long now, and their families have even come to plead with you. Why are you still being so unyielding?”
Li Yi looked at Tang Xue, then smiled and said, “You’re still too young. You tend not to cherish what comes too easily!”
“Are you worried about them?”
“Yes. Even children know that mistakes deserve punishment, let alone adults who’ve committed crimes.”
Li Yi continued, “This matter isn’t exactly major, but it’s not minor either. Regardless of whether they were deceived or whether they truly intended to mix poison into our mountain produce, the mere fact that they conspired to harm me is a grave mistake!”
“If I forgive them too easily this time, they might think the consequences of their mistake aren’t that severe, and who knows what trouble they might get into in the future!”
Tang Xue nodded and said, “You have a point, but are you really willing to just stand by and watch them get sentenced?”
“It won’t come to a prison sentence, but giving them a lesson is certainly in order!” Li Yi said.
“What do you plan to do?”
Li Yi replied immediately, “I’ll go talk to Captain Wang and have him reopen the case!”
“Re-examine? Why? Isn’t that just causing trouble for them?” Tang Xue frowned.
“Heh, it won’t require them to do anything. We’ll just resubmit some evidence and go through the process again!”
“What’s the point?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “By going through the process again, their trial will be postponed, and they’ll have to stay in detention for a while longer.”
Tang Xue immediately understood and said, “So you mean to keep them locked up a little longer, then pardon them at the next hearing? That way, they’ll have been punished without actually having to serve a prison sentence!”
“Yes. The role of the law is not only to eliminate evil and promote good, but also to heal and save people. This time, we’re doing both—eliminating evil and healing the sick!” Li Yi said.
Tang Xue knew that the one Li Yi intended to eliminate was naturally Xu Hong, while those he intended to rehabilitate were Yang Yi, Liang Jianjun, Zhou Guangya, and the others.
“Alright, whatever decision you make, I support you!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Mm-hmm!”
“So, how do you plan to handle Yang Yi’s parents?”
“Send them back. Their son has turned out to be such a troublemaker—as parents, they bear an inescapable responsibility!” Li Yi said.
“Mm-hmm!”
Then, Tang Xue opened the door again and stepped outside.
At that moment, Feng Kai and Yang Yongjun and his wife all fixed their gaze on Tang Xue, eager to know Li Yi’s final stance.
“Comrade Tang, what about Yi?”
“Uncle, please take Auntie and Uncle back home first. We’ll think this over and get back to you later!” Tang Xue said.
Yang Yi’s mother hurriedly interjected, “But how long will you need to think about it? Young Yi’s trial is coming up soon…”
Tang Xue frowned and said, “Auntie, what do you mean by that? Are you saying we have to give you a satisfactory answer today?”
Seeing that Tang Xue was getting angry, Yang Yongjun hurriedly said, “Miss, please don’t get upset. My wife is just worried, that’s all.”
“Being anxious doesn’t give you the right to speak like that. Besides, it’s the court that’s going to judge Yang Yi. If you want to plead your case, you should be pleading with the judges—what are you doing here at our house?”
Tang Xue continued, “You think Yang Yi and the others are innocent, but what about us? Are we supposed to believe we’d poison someone just out of jealousy? How could their intentions be so malicious?”
Yang Yi’s mother was about to say something else when she saw Tang Xue glance at Secretary Feng. Tang Xue then spoke up loudly, “Uncle Feng, we have things to attend to at home, so we won’t be able to entertain you any longer!”
Hearing Tang Xue’s bold words, not only was Feng Kai stunned, but the rest of the Li family stood there speechless as well.
Was this really the Tang Xue they knew?