The person before him still looked the same, yet her temperament had undergone a complete transformation.
Li Chutian felt that although his daughter was covered in injuries, she now carried a hint of unruliness she’d never had before—like those street ruffians and hooligans. No sense of hierarchy, no respect for rules, no shame.
“How did you turn into this?!” Li Chutian looked at her in deep distress, as if trying to awaken her conscience. “If you refuse to listen to me, then even if you walk out of this prison, don’t ever say you’re my daughter again!”
“If you truly don’t want me as your daughter, just hire someone to draft a letter cutting off our family ties,” Li Shu said, a careless smile curling at her lips, her sarcasm undisguised. “But would you dare? You loathe me for disgracing you, yet you’re afraid that severing ties would have people pointing at your spine. So all you can do is come here to force me to die—quietly step onto the Yellow Springs—so this case can finally be closed. Isn’t that right?”
“But keep dreaming. You’re my real father—there’ll be plenty more chances for you to lose face in the future!” Li Shu grinned, bright as sunshine.
To Li Chutian, that smile looked sinister.
He was so angry his face flushed red, pointing at Li Shu. “You—you dare talk back to me like this! Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death!”
“If you’ve got the guts, come in,” Li Shu glanced at the cell door. “Father, you break me out—I’ll cooperate.”
“……” Li Chutian’s hand trembled uncontrollably.
Li Shu was utterly shameless and even went on to instruct him. “Why are you angry? If I were you, right now I’d be doing my best to play the role of a loving father—go to the Qi family and stand up for me. The more you do, the better your image will look in others’ eyes.”
“Did Madam Zhou tell you that once I pay with my life, everything will be settled?”
“She’s never liked me, so of course she wants me gone. But for you to actually listen to her—you’re so stupid it’s almost pitiable.”
Li Chutian fell silent for a moment.
“If I die, Ma Xiaowei will, for the sake of his own reputation, definitely push all the blame onto you. When that happens, people will only think you’re worse than a beast—abandoning your own daughter and blocking Ma Xiaowei from saving her. Have you thought that through?” Li Shu reminded him.
Li Chutian’s pupils quivered.
The reason he’d come to visit today was precisely because rumors were spreading outside.
People were saying that Ma Xiaowei had gone to him, wanting to take Ali out of the Qi household—but that he had refused…
“Ali, that day your father did want to go save you,” Li Chutian finally said. “It was just that it was already late, and I thought… perhaps it was already too late to change anything…”
“You don’t need to say more,” Li Shu smiled. “If you want our family’s reputation to recover, it depends on whether you can act well. The more convincingly you play the loving father, the better it’ll be for the Li family. Father, you and I aren’t enemies right now—we should be cooperating to crush the Qi family.”
Li Chutian suppressed his emotions. He wasn’t happy hearing this.
What did she mean by acting like a loving father? Wasn’t he one already?
If he weren’t, how could he have raised her this long?
Still, the wretched girl wasn’t entirely wrong. Her death would end everything for her, but the filth clinging to him would remain. He also lacked the power to oppose the Ma family. If things went poorly, he might suffer for it too.
Li Chutian’s gaze softened somewhat; he no longer looked like he wanted to strike her.
“Oh, right,” he suddenly asked, “after you married into the Qi family, did you take any of their silver or belongings? The Qi family is missing twenty taels of silver and a lot of tung oil…”
“I came into prison wearing convict’s clothes. There’s nowhere to hide anything,” Li Shu replied calmly.
That Qi mother really had some nerve—her son was dead, yet she still dared inflate eight taels into twenty.
Li Chutian nodded sharply. “That old woman really is unreasonable! Since it wasn’t you, then there’s nothing more to say… Our Li family has always been upright and clean. Who would’ve thought that by my generation, I’d have a daughter who ended up in jail? You’re so unruly—I don’t even know how I’ll explain this to our ancestors! But since things have come to this, we’ll do as you say for now. However… you are not to disgrace me while you’re in here!”
“I reckon your case won’t be punished too harshly. Once you’re out, I’ll have my own arrangements. Don’t think about relying on your uncle anymore!” Li Chutian added.
Back when the engagement was set, so many people had praised Ali’s maternal uncle—said he cared more than her own father!
And now? If not for that engagement, none of this disaster would have happened!
That wretched girl’s habit of favoring outsiders—that was the true source of chaos in the family!
“You’re right,” Li Shu nodded earnestly. “So Father, from now on I’ll rely on you. Everything in this prison costs money—give me some silver first.”
“……” A breath lodged in Li Chutian’s throat, his face turning green with anger.
“You don’t look too well,” Li Shu continued casually. “You’re not about to die early, are you? If you die, where will I put my face? People will say I’m a child without a father… though… I suppose it wouldn’t make much difference anyway…”
She spouted nonsense without restraint, not caring in the slightest how furious Li Chutian was.
These few words wouldn’t kill him outright—how utterly incompetent she was!
“You damned wretch! Just wait until you’re out—I’ll deal with you then!” Li Chutian glared fiercely and stormed off.
Li Shu watched his retreating back, her eyes flickering. Then she called out loudly toward the outside:
“Guard brothers! Thank you so much for taking care of me these past days. My father says he’ll treat you all to wine to repay your kindness—please don’t be shy, or I’ll never dare accept your care again!”
Li Chutian’s steps faltered. He turned back and shot Li Shu a murderous glare.
But since the words were already spoken, if he were stingy now, people would surely look down on him.
Yet spending money for nothing made his heart ache!
After thinking it over, Li Chutian decided his daughter needed a lesson.
When he saw the two guards, he immediately put on a respectable smile and took out one tael of broken silver, handing it over. “Brothers, my daughter has caused you trouble…”
The guards had seen all kinds of prisoners—the pitiful, the infuriating, the tragic—so their sympathy for Li Shu wasn’t as strong as that of the physician. Still, Ma Xiaowei had spoken with the county magistrate, instructing them to treat the girl well, so naturally they maintained a courteous attitude.
But no one ever refused benefits placed directly into their hands. With a few polite words, they promptly pocketed the silver.
“My daughter was a troublemaker at home,” Li Chutian sighed gently, as if justified. “But I never imagined she’d dare kill someone. I’ve heard the magistrate intends to treat this case lightly. While I’m glad she may escape death, I worry she won’t learn her lesson. So… could I trouble you brothers to take extra care of her? That way, when she returns home, she’ll behave herself and never dare make such a mistake again.”
The guards weren’t surprised—there were all kinds of fathers in this world.
“Your daughter’s injuries are severe. She nearly didn’t survive,” one guard said. “Her food and treatment are arranged from above—we can’t interfere with that. So… how exactly do you want us to ‘teach’ her?”
Li Chutian froze.
This meant he had to come up with an idea first—only then would they decide whether to carry it out?
What ideas could he possibly have?
Wasn’t it said that prisons were full of punishments? Yet none of them could be used…