Wang Jinbao and Duan Dahu had originally just come to scare Wei Qingshan and make him shut his shop, but now they were forced into a corner by the crowd and could not back down. Wang Jinbao glared at Zhou Gaozhong. This was all because of that poor scholar messing things up. Now, what was he supposed to do?

Everyone was watching, so if they didn’t take Wei Qingshan away now, it would not make sense. All Qiu Laoliu had said was that someone was stealing his business and asked him to scare them into shutting the shop — who would have thought that Wei Qingshan’s matter was not so simple!

Hearing Zhou Gaozhong say again and again that they should take Wei Qingshan away, Lin Yu became flustered. It was one thing for Wei Laotai to write a lawsuit, but if they directly took him away, that meant being thrown into a big prison. How could that be allowed?!

Wang Jinbao and Duan Dahu whispered a few words to each other. Duan Dahu clicked his tongue. “What’s so hard about this? Just lock Wei Qingshan in prison for two days and then let him out. Aren’t those jailers all people we know? Once the shop owner is gone, do you think that the husband can make a fuss? Naturally, the shop will be shut.”

When Wang Jinbao heard this, he also thought it made sense. As long as they didn’t let the higher-ups find out, it was fine. Just throw the man into jail for two days to scare him — he didn’t believe there was anyone who wasn’t afraid of sitting in jail.

Wang Jinbao coughed. “Wei Qingshan, come with us. You’ve got a life on your back — how could we just let you go so casually?”

Wei Qingshan merely gave a cold snort. “The matter of Wei Er being a bandit and robber is known to everyone in our village. I suppose we must indeed take a trip to the public court.”

Lin Yu gripped Wei Qingshan tightly, but after Wei Qingshan said a few quiet words to him, he followed the two men away.

Lin Yu’s face turned a bit pale. He held onto the table to barely steady himself. Zhao Yueniang quickly helped him. “Brother!”

Lin Yu took two deep breaths. Now that Wei Qingshan was gone, there were not many people left at home. Wei Qingshan was still waiting for him to save him. He braced himself. “Xiaoliu, close the shop first.”

“Okay!” Shi Xiaoliu and Madam Wu closed the shop together.

Lin Yu pushed Zhao Yueniang’s hand away. “I’m fine. Your Madam Wu will be fine too.”

Lin Yu did not know whether he was saying this to Zhao Yueniang or to himself. He hurriedly ran into the room to look for the thing Wei Qingshan had mentioned. Sure enough, he found a small wooden box in the cabinet at the foot of the bed.

He quickly took it out. If it had not been for Wei Qingshan’s reminder, he would have almost forgotten about this matter. Inside lay a piece of milky-white jade pendant. It was not very big, but its carving was very exquisite. Only when Lin Yu held it in his hand did he feel much calmer.

Shi Xiaoliu and Madam Wu stood in the courtyard, not knowing what to do. But since such a big thing had happened, naturally, the two of them would not leave — they stayed to see if there was any way they could help.

Zhao Yueniang had no experience with such matters, and her face turned completely pale with fright. When she poured water, she even spilled it. Lin Yu, after looking at the jade pendant in the room, carefully put it away again.

He straightened his back and walked out. Shi Xiaoliu hurriedly came over, “Lin Ama, are you alright?”

Lin Yu shook his head. Zhao Yueniang handed him a bowl of water. “Brother, drink some water.”

Madam Wu also stepped forward and said, “Lin Ama, we have all seen the conduct of you and Boss Wei with our own eyes. If there is anything you need help with, just say it. If there is something we can help with, we will definitely help.”

The kindness that Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu had shown to her family, she had always remembered in her heart. Now that they were in trouble, they could not help with big matters, but small ones they could still help with.

Lin Yu drank the water and calmed his heart. He could not panic, Wei Qingshan was still waiting for him.

“Xiaoliu, do you know anyone in town who is good at writing complaints?”

“I do, Lin Ama, I will go with you!” Shi Xiaoliu immediately agreed.

“Yueniang, you and Madam Wu stay home. I must trouble Madam Wu to help me look after the house. Xiaoliu and I will go out for a while.”

“Alright, Lin Ama, go without worry.”

Lin Yu and Shi Xiaoliu went out through the back door. When he reached the head of the street, he glanced toward the street where their shop was. After the shop was closed, the people who had been watching the commotion had already dispersed.

Shi Xiaoliu led him toward a marketplace not far from where they lived. After walking for a while, they arrived. On the way, some of the people who had seen the commotion earlier naturally recognized Lin Yu and whispered to others about the matter between the two.

Lin Yu straightened his back. They had done nothing wrong, so they were naturally not afraid. Right now, he needed to quickly rescue Wei Qingshan.

Lin Yu saw the letter-writing stall that Shi Xiaoliu had mentioned. It was a young scholar, and since there were no customers in front of his stall right now, he was holding a book and reading.

As Lin Yu walked toward the stall, he also saw Zhou Gaozhong, who was also running a stall on the street. Lin Yu felt a surge of anger and strode quickly forward, “When did my husband ever offend you, that you would go so far as to cause him to be thrown into a dungeon!”

Zhou Gaozhong was startled by Lin Yu suddenly rushing over. He quickly retreated two steps, “Aren’t those things about Wei Qingshan all true? They were all said personally by his own mother. How could they be fake?”

Shi Xiaoliu also glared at him from the side, “Just because she said it means it is true? I always thought you were a scholar — you just keep failing and failing your exams, hmph!”

Zhou Gaozhong was so angry at Shi Xiaoliu’s words that he jumped up, “You, you!”

Lin Yu was truly furious. If it had not been for Zhou Gaozhong leading the crowd to stir things up, how could they have been given no chance to explain? Lin Yu was so angry that he overturned Zhou Gaozhong’s stall with one motion. The papers on the broken table were scattered all over the ground, the inkstone was overturned, and all those papers were splattered with ink.

Lin Yu had directly overturned Xiucai Zhou’s stall. All the papers on it were ruined by ink. Zhou Gaozhong’s heart ached so much he twitched, “My papers!”

His business had not been as good as Lou Qingfeng’s on the opposite side. The few copper coins he earned each day had to be spent on buying brush, ink, paper, and inkstones, as well as on food — it was not enough at all. Moreover, paper was very expensive. Zhou Gaozhong’s face twitched with rage. He pointed at Lin Yu with a trembling finger, “You, you! Outrageous!”

Not to mention Zhou Gaozhong, even Shi Xiaoliu, who was standing at the side, had not expected Lin Yu to overturn his stall.

He stood there blankly, a little dazed. Lin Yu had always been gentle-tempered and had never lost his temper. This time, he had actually overturned Zhou Gaozhong’s stall in public!

Lin Yu really could not hold back his anger. When he saw Zhou Gaozhong on the street, he was so furious that his head went dizzy, and his hands moved faster than his brain and overturned it right away. After coming back to his senses, he was not afraid either, “If something happens to Qingshan, I will not let you off. Xiaoliu, let’s go!”

“Alright!” Shi Xiaoliu quickly followed Lin Yu.

He even had a silly grin on his face and did not forget to turn back and mock Zhou Gaozhong, “Serves you right!”

Lin Yu went to the stall that Shi Xiaoliu had pointed out to him. The one who wrote letters for others was a young scholar dressed in a long robe the color of stone, with his hair neatly tied. When he saw Lin Yu coming, he quickly stood up and shielded his papers, “This young brother, please do not overturn my stall.”

Just now, he had seen Zhou Gaozhong’s stall being overturned clearly. Lou Qingfeng thought Lin Yu had come to cause trouble, and feared Lin Yu would also overturn his stall. This young man looked soft and delicate, but he had not expected his temper to be so unreasonable.

Lin Yu was a little embarrassed, “Sir, you have misunderstood. I came to ask you to help me write a complaint.”

Lou Qingfeng did not let go of the papers he was holding down, “What do you want to write? Tell me the whole story first.”

“I am the owner of Lin’s Bun Shop. My name is Lin Yu. My husband is Wei Qingshan. A few days ago…”

Lin Yu had not even finished speaking when Lou Qingfeng interrupted him, “So it is you.”

These past few days, even someone like him, who claimed to keep his ears closed to the outside world, had heard a few things about Wei’s Butcher Shop. Lou Qingfeng looked at Lin Yu, his expression a little complicated, “I have a rule when I take jobs — I do not take work related to committing crimes or breaking the law.”

“No! My husband is being falsely accused.” Lin Yu immediately refuted. Shi Xiaoliu also spoke up to help, “Mr. Lou, Boss Wei is not that kind of person.”

“Then I will ask you a few questions first.”

Lin Yu nodded.

“Has he ever not provided for his mother?”

Lin Yu nodded, then shook his head, “He has and he has not.”

Lin Yu talked about how Wei Laotai had been biased before the family split, and had almost caused Wei Qingshan to lose his life. All the money Wei Qingshan had earned had been taken away by Wei Laotai, and only then did Wei Qingshan ask for a broken thatched hut and split from the family.

Only then did the expression on Lou Qingfeng’s face ease a little. If this really was an unfilial person, this job was one he absolutely would not take.

“How do you explain plotting against his own younger brother and seizing farmland?”

One had to know that just taking out these two matters alone would already be a great crime. Wasn’t this simply a bully?

Lin Yu explained one by one all the causes and effects. Lou Qingfeng listened and slammed the table in anger. “How can there be such a vicious woman and evil-doers in this world!”

Everyone had had a hard time last year. He truly had not expected that someone would take advantage of the chaos to go out and commit murder for money! Lou Qingfeng immediately packed up his stall. “There are too many people here, it’s not convenient to talk. I will go back home with you and write it down. You will tell me everything again from the beginning to the end.”

Lin Yu felt a little sad when talking about the past, and he could not help but wipe the corners of his eyes. “Thank you, sir.”

Lou Qingfeng held the paper and walked away together with Lin Yu. Shi Xiaoliu also helped carry the brush and ink. When they passed by Xiucai Zhou’s stall, Xiucai Zhou was still cleaning up his unusable paper. He glared fiercely at Lin Yu. Shi Xiaoliu glared back fiercely, “What are you looking at, hmph!”

Seeing that Lin Yu was in a bad mood, Lou Qingfeng spoke to Shi Xiaoliu, “Why did you overturn Xiucai Zhou’s stall?”

Shi Xiaoliu snorted. “This poor scholar, for some reason, led the crowd to throw dirty water onto Uncle Wei’s head. At first, those two constables told him to shut down the shop, and he led the crowd to make trouble, and then they arrested Uncle Wei. It seemed he said something about how Uncle Wei used to look down on him, or maybe it was his calligraphy or something like that.”

Lou Qingfeng understood in his heart. He had not expected that there was also something of his involved in this matter.

“I see. The two shop banners of Boss Wei and Lin Fulang’s shop were written by me. That day, Boss Wei brought the banners over. He first passed by Xiucai Zhou’s stall and looked at his writing, then came over and looked at mine, and had me write the two shop banners. I guess because of this, Xiucai Zhou felt that he had lost face as a scholar.”

Only then did Lin Yu know why Xiucai Zhou had targeted Wei Qingshan. So it was because of this. Xiucai Zhou had already considered himself aloof. He was unhappy that he had not been asked to write the words, and since he thought of himself as a man of lofty character, he spoke out when he saw injustice, wanting to gain a good reputation, and so he had stepped forward.

Lin Yu looked down on Xiucai Zhou. As a scholar, he had such a narrow mind, unable to distinguish right from wrong — he was just a muddle-headed old Xiucai.

Lin Yu brought Lou Qingfeng back home. Zhao Yueniang and the others saw that Lin Yu had finally come back and quickly came out to greet him. Lou Qingfeng spread the paper on the table. “Lin Fulang, tell me this matter once again from start to finish.”

Lin Yu again told everything about the family division from beginning to end. Zhao Yueniang busily served tea and poured water for everyone, then sat down next to Lin Yu.

Shi Xiaoliu had only heard the rough version at the stall just now, and only now did he know what had really happened. He had not expected that there were so many twists and turns in this matter. Even Madam Wu, who was hearing this for the first time, listened without even blinking, having not expected that there would be such things.

Lou Qingfeng listened carefully and also sighed with emotion. “That there should be such a vicious woman in the world! Boss Wei is a good man. He must not be wronged in vain. Lin Fulang, if you do not mind, I will help you submit a complaint.”

When Lin Yu mentioned Wei Qingshan and the Feng family’s boy, he could not hold back his tears. “Thank you, Mr. Lou.”

Someone like Wei Qingshan, a man of righteousness, was not someone he would sit by and watch be harmed. What was more, unknowingly, he had already been dragged into this. If Xiucai Zhou dared to lead the crowd to slander them, he dared to tear off the skin of this group of evil people.

Lou Qingfeng moistened his brush and began to write the complaint. “This way, I will write two complaints — one to accuse the vicious woman of bullying others, and one to accuse Wang Jinbao and Duan Dahu of neglecting their duties and abusing their power for personal gain. When the time comes, the mastermind behind all this will naturally be revealed.”

Lin Yu was a little surprised. “For a commoner to accuse officials, I fear we cannot win.”

“No matter. The person behind this is either related to those two or has taken their money. They cannot escape. Just boldly sue them. Since Boss Wei dared to go with them, that means he has nothing to hide. By the way, is that jade pendant you mentioned still here?”

“It is. I will go get it right away.” Lin Yu hurried into the room to fetch the jade pendant.

He carefully placed the box on the table. Lou Qingfeng took it out and examined it in his hand. He saw that the piece of Hetian jade was hollowed out in the middle with a character “Yue,” with auspicious cloud patterns carved on the sides. The workmanship was very exquisite, obviously not something that could be made in a small place like theirs.

Madam Wu and Shi Xiaoliu had never seen it before either, and both leaned forward to look. Shi Xiaoliu, after hearing what had just been said, asked, “Mr. Lou, what kind of official is this Zhonglang General? Is he higher-ranked than the county magistrate in our town?”

After looking at it, Lou Qingfeng carefully put it back. Others might not know the Yue family of the capital, but Lou Qingfeng, being a Xiucai and thus half a person of the officialdom, naturally knew.

The Yue family had been loyal and virtuous for generations, producing quite a few famous generals. This Yue Zhonglang had even stayed in the town for a while when he went to suppress bandits in the spring. Lou Qingfeng had seen him from afar. Even though he did not personally know Yue Zhonglang, he knew he was a member of the Yue family.

Seeing this jade pendant, Lou Qingfeng felt assured. What Lin Fulang had said could not be truer. The reason he had told Lin Yu to accuse the two constables was also because of this jade pendant. For commoners to accuse officials was naturally hard to win, but with this jade pendant, let us see if they still dared to act recklessly.

Lou Qingfeng smiled. “A Zhonglang General is a fourth-rank military officer of the imperial court. The county magistrate in Changping Town is only a subordinate ninth-rank official. Tell me, is the Zhonglang General high-ranking or not?”

Shi Xiaoliu let out an exclamation. “A Zhonglang General is such a high-ranking official!”

Lin Yu was also a little surprised. He had not expected that the military officer that day would actually be such a high-ranking official!

Lou Qingfeng told Lin Yu to put the jade pendant away carefully. “This is an important item. With this, those two little constables are nothing to fear.”

Lin Yu had not expected that this small jade pendant would be so useful, and he carefully put it away.

Lou Qingfeng wrote the complaint and handed it to Lin Yu. “This matter, I will definitely take charge of it. Tomorrow I will go with you to submit the complaint to the yamen.”

Lin Yu repeatedly thanked him, then took out a tael of silver and gave it to Lou Qingfeng. “Many thanks to Mr. Lou for lending a helping hand.”

Lou Qingfeng pushed it back. “I had not expected Boss Wei to be so righteous. I will not accept this silver.”

“No, no, Mr. Lou, you must take it.” Lin Yu insisted on giving him the silver. Lou Qingfeng could tell at a glance that his family background was poor. How could he let him run around for nothing?

“Now we need to go to the countryside to invite some witnesses. With the Feng couple to testify as well, this matter will be much more solid. And that Wei Laotai must have taken someone’s silver. We cannot let her get away.”

Lin Yu nodded. With Lou Qingfeng’s guidance, Lin Yu now handled matters much more systematically. He immediately thanked Lou Qingfeng and then saw him out.