The next day, as always, the whole family got up before dawn to get busy. Lin Yu didn’t make many buns today — he only made two trays of offal buns, one tray of dried bamboo shoot buns, and one tray of mushroom buns. That was all. Once they were sold, they would close up shop.

When daylight came, Wei Qingshan opened the shop’s front board. Seeing that the Wei family actually opened their shop today, the neighbors all looked over. Some busybodies even stayed on purpose to wait and see if that beggar woman would come make a scene, and how the Wei Qingshan couple would explain themselves.

If it was true that they didn’t support their own mother and had murdered their own younger brother — if they were such unfilial and vicious people, then how could they be allowed to remain? They would have to be reported to the authorities.

Over the past few days, Wei Laotai had her food snatched from her every single day in the shanty. After she found out who had looked for her, she went to find him, guarding the entrance of Qiu Laoliu’s house and asking him to find her a place to stay.

When Qiu Laoliu returned from the yamen, he saw a beggar at his door. He kicked her, “You didn’t even look at whose door this is and dared to come here? Get lost.”

“Master Qiu, Master Qiu, it’s me.”

Only then did Qiu Laoliu see clearly who it was. His face darkened, “Who told you to come here? Get out, get out.”

“Master Qiu, I really can’t stay in that place anymore. Please find me a place, I’m begging you.”

Wei Laotai refused to leave. Qiu Laoliu, afraid that what he had done would be exposed, became both anxious and angry. He dragged her to the corner of an alley. If it weren’t for the fact that she was still useful to him now, he would have already dragged her off and given her a good beating. Right now, he could only pinch his nose and endure, “Why the hell are you so troublesome? Just find a random place to lie down, isn’t that enough?”

“Master Qiu, give me some silver. The copper coins you gave me aren’t even enough to buy a bun.”

“Didn’t we agree that I’d give you more after you finished the job? You dare blackmail Lao Tzu?”

Wei Laotai refused to accept it. She went every day to make trouble, but since Wei Qingshan’s shop was closed, it was useless for her to cause trouble. Seeing that Wei Qingshan had not returned, Qiu Laoliu also stopped bothering Wei Laotai. She was now starving to the point of dizziness. This time, no matter what, she had to get some silver, otherwise, all her trouble would be for nothing.

“No, I’m about to starve to death. If you don’t give me silver, I won’t do it anymore. I’ll stay at your door every day.”

Qiu Laoliu kicked Wei Laotai, “Damn old woman, you dare to blackmail Lao Tzu? You’ve got some guts.”

Wei Laotai cried out from being kicked, but she clung to Qiu Laoliu’s trouser leg and refused to let go. Qiu Laoliu hadn’t expected that someone like him, who played the eagle every day, would one day get pecked in the eye. This damn old woman was hard to deal with, but he still needed her for now.

Qiu Laoliu took a string of coins from his chest, “Get lost, go again tomorrow.”

That small string of coins had one hundred copper coins. Only after Wei Laotai received the coins did she finally let go. “Master Qiu, rest assured, I will definitely get the job done for you.”

With the copper coins, Wei Laotai could finally eat something. That night, she found a deserted corner to sleep in. The hard ground made her whole body ache; it wasn’t even as good as the broken shanty at the edge of town.

The next day, Wei Laotai came again to the entrance of Wei Qingshan’s shop. She saw that the shop was actually open today, and quite a few people were buying their buns.

Wei Laotai quickly walked over, “Qingshan, Qingshan, ah, my son, you can’t refuse to support your old mother. Your younger brother is gone, who is going to support me?”

As soon as Wei Qingshan opened the shop today, he found that many people were standing on the street, not buying anything but waiting to see whether that beggar woman would come cause trouble again today. Sure enough, that beggar woman had come again. Not only were the spectators watching, but even Boss Jin was stretching his neck to look this way.

Wei Qingshan ignored her, just moving his knife to cut meat for the customers. In the courtyard behind, Lin Yu and Madam Wu also heard and came to the front.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Wei Laotai drove away the customers at the bun shop, “No one is allowed to buy! None of you is allowed to buy his buns! Go away, go away!”

Some people, disturbed by the commotion, left. Some people, having queued for a while, were unwilling to leave. Since there were fewer people now, they could finally buy some. “You still have offal buns, right? Quickly pick some out for me.”

“Here!” Shi Xiaoliu quickly handed the customer the buns.

Wei Laotai kept making a scene at the door, and more and more people came to watch the spectacle. Even Zhou Gaozhong, who heard the commotion, ran over.

Wei Laotai sat at the entrance crying, accusing Wei Qingshan of refusing to support her, that he, a butcher shop owner, let his own mother become a beggar wandering the streets. Truly unfilial, truly unfilial.

The surrounding people all began to discuss it. Some were regular customers of the shop, so they naturally knew what kind of people Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu were. But the accusations of not supporting his own mother and murdering his own younger brother were truly serious crimes.

“Boss Wei, say something.” Someone called out, and even Zhou Gaozhong squeezed to the front, “Wei Qingshan, our Great Zhao Dynasty has always governed the world with benevolence and filial piety. You truly have too cruel a heart. How can you refuse to support your own mother?”

Wei Qingshan slammed the bone-cutting knife down on the chopping board. “Xiucai Zhou, if you can’t stand to watch, go ahead and take her to your home to support her yourself.”

Xiucai Zhou was startled and shivered, but still criticized with his mouth, “Boss Wei, no matter what your own mother did, you cannot refuse to support her. This is great unfilial piety, great unfilial piety!”

People who didn’t know the truth pointed and whispered. Wei Qingshan took a document from his waist, “Look carefully. This is the severance of the kinship agreement that this old woman personally pressed her handprint on back then. If you want to know why I don’t support her, go ask her if, back when I was gravely ill with a cold, she was willing to spend money to get me medicine.”

“Ah, so there was such a thing. This old woman is too cruel-hearted.”

Wei Laotai repeatedly waved her hands, “I didn’t, I didn’t, that day, that day I wanted to get you medicine.”

Xiucai Zhou felt that Wei Qingshan was not a good person. That day, he had looked down on his writing, and now he even refused to support his own mother. “Boss Wei, this is your fault. The grace of parents is greater than the sky. Even if this old woman was confused for a while, you cannot let her wander the streets.”

“Yes, yes, it’s really pitiful, just take her home.”

The crowd was all talking at once. Wei Qingshan’s face remained cold. Some things, when spoken, might sound small, but when they piled up one after another, they naturally chilled the heart. Besides, that day when Wei Qingshan was gravely ill from wind-cold, Wei Laotai had actually been unwilling to get him medicine.

Lin Yu became anxious and defended Wei Qingshan, “It’s not like that, it’s not like that. My husband isn’t like that.”

Just based on the matter of not getting medicine, it sounded as if it was not serious enough to sever ties, but if it did not happen to oneself, outsiders simply could not feel the danger inside.

It was one thing for Wei Laotai to be biased, but she even took the money that Wei Qingshan had worked hard for several years to earn, and after the family was divided, he only got a broken-down courtyard.

Two sons — first, they built a house for the younger son to get married, never once considering the elder son. Wei Qingshan was truly disappointed to the extreme, and that day, even while sick, he insisted on splitting the family.

Wei Qingshan gave a cold snort. “Since you are asking her, then ask her this — since she lived with the second son, why is it that the second son did not support her?”

Wei Laotai’s tone was somewhat evasive. “Wasn’t it because you caused your own younger brother’s death? If that day you hadn’t brought people to catch him, how would he have died? You heartless one, not only did you cause your younger brother’s death, but you even sold off our courtyard and farmland, causing me to have no place to stay. Truly, heaven cannot tolerate this!”

“Ah, this Boss Wei is truly too heartless. It’s one thing not to support his own parents, but how could he even forcefully sell their courtyard and farmland?”

“That’s right, selling off the courtyard and farmland is going too far. Isn’t this bullying this old lady — her younger son is dead, and now they even want to force their own mother to death!”

Inside and outside, three layers of people deep, everyone pointed fingers at Wei Qingshan and the others.

Someone threw a clod of dirt toward Lin Yu. Wei Qingshan pulled Lin Yu into his arms to protect him. Lin Yu cried out in surprise and nearly fell over. Wei Qingshan steadied him, then lifted his foot and kicked that clod of dirt back. That clod hit the head of the person who had been watching the commotion, and that man clutched his head and groaned in pain.

Zhou Gaozhong pointed his finger to accuse Wei Qingshan. “You villain, how dare you hit someone in public? Truly arrogant. Fellow villagers, let’s send him to the magistrate right now!”

“No, no, Wei Er was clearly a bandit and robber!” Lin Yu explained.

Zhou Gaozhong was still listing off Wei Qingshan’s crimes, thinking that he was upholding justice. “Wei Qingshan refuses to support his old mother, murdered his younger brother, forcefully occupied the family property — every single thing is truly hateful. If we do not take him to the magistrate, it will be hard to appease the anger of the common people!”

“Yes! Yes!” Those who did not know the truth echoed.

Shi Xiaoliu naturally did not believe it. Following Lin Yu’s words, he shouted: “Wei Er is a bandit and robber! Didn’t you hear?”

Zhao Yueniang was also frightened. The shop entrance was surrounded by people, all shouting that they wanted to take her brother-in-law to the magistrate. No matter what they said now, nobody believed them.

Seeing everyone following him, Zhou Gaozhong was very pleased. People like this should be punished.

Wei Qingshan protected Lin Yu as they retreated into the shop. Lin Yu was a bit flustered. “Qingshan, what should we do?”

“Don’t be afraid. For now, we have no choice but to confront them in court. There must be someone behind Wei Laotai, inciting her to make trouble and make it so that our shop can no longer stay open. If we don’t confront them in court, I fear we really won’t be able to keep it open.”

“I’ll listen to you.” Lin Yu nodded.

Zhou Gaozhong heard Wei Qingshan’s words. “Good! You even want to turn the tables and bite back!”

Wei Laotai stood at the front, very pleased. Whether or not Wei Qingshan was willing to support her, Qiu Laoliu had said that after the matter was done, he would give her one tael of silver.

She hated Wei Qingshan and the others bitterly. Since Wei Er was gone, that house and farmland should have been hers — why should Wei Qingshan sell it off, leaving her to wander the streets?

She also wanted Wei Qingshan to taste what it was like to be unable to live. Seeing Wei Qingshan and the others being surrounded and unable to explain themselves, she felt delighted inside. If not for the fact that everyone was watching, she would have laughed out loud a few times.

Zhou Gaozhong cupped his hands toward the crowd. “Everyone, be at ease, I will write Wei Laotai’s lawsuit free of charge!”

But Zhou Gaozhong did not hear any words of praise from the crowd, and his face looked a little awkward.

After all, he was still a scholar, willing to lend a hand to help Wei Laotai and gain a name for himself — it should have sounded nice when spread around, but who knew that no one praised him. But since he had already said it, he could not pretend he had not said anything.

Lin Yu also heard it, and he tightly gripped Wei Qingshan’s sleeve. “Qingshan.”

Wei Qingshan held Lin Yu’s hand. “She wouldn’t dare.”

When Wei Laotai heard what this poor scholar said, her expression changed. What if he really did write a lawsuit and took it to the yamen — then all the things she had said would be exposed, and that would not do!

She quickly pretended to wipe her tears. “Thank you, kind person, but Wei Qingshan is my own son. How could I sue my own son? I only hope he can give me some silver, then I will leave.”

Zhou Gaozhong’s mouth twitched. “I am Xiucai Zhou of this town.”

This round of accusations from Wei Laotai, along with her forceful performance, convinced the crowd by seventy to eighty percent. No matter how Lin Yu and the others said that Wei Er was a bandit, no one believed them.

Amid the noisy crowd came a shout of reprimand. “What are you doing! What are you doing! Make way, make way!”

Two constables with knives at their waists pushed through the crowd. As soon as everyone saw that an official had arrived, they quickly made way. They were just ordinary townsfolk — how would they dare offend people from the yamen?

A tall and thin constable with a handlebar mustache swaggered in. “What are you making a fuss about? What are you making a fuss about? The year has just turned peaceful, and you’re making trouble here already?”

These two were Wang Jinbao and Duan Dahu, constables of the nearby few streets. Though they were constables of these streets, they did not often come around. Occasionally, when idle, they would carry their knives around to flaunt their power. The merchants nearby all recognized them. Sometimes, when they saw someone had good things at home, they would casually take some, and nobody dared say anything.

Wang Jinbao and Qiu Laoliu’s wife, Wang Bao’er, were paternal cousins. The job Qiu Laoliu had at the yamen as a gatekeeper was something Wang Jinbao had gotten him through connections.

A few days ago, Qiu Laoliu had invited the two of them for drinks, asking them to lend a hand when trouble started over here, to get Wei Qingshan and the others locked up. The two of them had readily agreed. For a little shop, wasn’t shutting it down just a matter of lifting a hand?

When Xiucai Zhou saw the yamen constables come, he quickly cupped his hands. “Constable Wang, constable Duan, this Wei Qingshan is truly guilty of heinous crimes — refusing to support his old mother, murdering his own younger brother, forcefully seizing the family property — every one of these things provokes the wrath of both man and god. If we don’t hand him over to the government to investigate and punish, it will be difficult to satisfy the public!”

After the constables came, whether they were just watching the commotion or following along to cause trouble, everyone quieted down. Wei Qingshan stood inside the shop protecting Lin Yu. When Lin Yu saw the constables come, he actually felt a bit relieved. If this matter were not clarified, there would be no way for their business to continue in the future.

Standing off to the side, Zhao Yueniang’s face turned a little pale from fear. Shi Xiaoliu, after all, was still young. Naturally, when he saw the constables, he was also afraid. When he had been a little beggar in the past, he had often been scolded by constables.

Wang Jinbao stepped forward. “Enough, enough, stop making a fuss. You’re Wei Qingshan, right? Hurry up and shut down your shop. A man like you still dares to do business in town? Shut the shop and get back home quickly!”

Wei Qingshan naturally refused. They had only rented this shop for two years, and they had already spent over one hundred taels of silver in total. Now, just when business was doing well, they wanted him to shut it down.

Wei Qingshan was not afraid in the least. “This constable, our family does proper, legitimate business. If just one sentence from you can shut down our shop, I, Wei Qingshan, refuse to accept it!”

“Tch, if I tell you to shut it down, you shut it down. Why so much nonsense? A man like you still dares open a shop in town!”

“What kind of man am I?” Wei Qingshan stared coldly at the constable across from him. This matter seemed even more complicated than he had imagined. He vaguely sensed that the people behind this had some connection to the yamen — this constable surnamed Wang had come up and, without even distinguishing right from wrong, ordered him to shut his shop.

“What kind of man are you? Didn’t everyone just hear it clearly? You still want to quibble?”

Wang Jinbao was a little intimidated by Wei Qingshan. When he looked at him, he felt as if he was being stared down by some kind of fierce beast. But he was used to being arrogant and, relying on his identity as a constable, he managed to muster up some courage.

Zhou Gaozhong said from the side, “Constable Wang, constable Duan, this Wei Qingshan’s attitude is truly vile. Why don’t you just take him away for questioning?”

Lin Yu was so angry that his body trembled slightly. “Zhou Gaozhong, you!”

This Zhou Gaozhong was truly hateful, leading the crowd to heap false charges onto Wei Qingshan. Where was there even a trace of a scholar’s conduct?

When Zhou Gaozhong said this, someone echoed, “Yes, if this Wei Qingshan really committed these three crimes, then driving him out of town would be too light a punishment. This would be letting him off too easily.”

“Yes, yes.”