Chapter 64

Because of the thief-catching incident, the commotion lasted almost until the hour of Yin, and then everyone went home to rest.

In the morning, just as the sky was getting light, Fu Wei and Fu Zhen, who had only closed their eyes for an hour, got up again and went to Yu County.

The plain carriage that Fu Wei sat in inevitably attracted attention.

This was actually within Fu Wei's expectations.

Fu Wei now has only three choices.

Or you can just lie in the house helplessly and never go out.

Or maybe it was to reveal the fact that his legs were almost recovered.

In the end, he may continue to pretend to be lame and travel in a wheelchair.

There must be a trade-off between these three.

Huo Minzhi knew that his life was getting better, and at most he would try to sabotage him.

Moreover, Wuling County is more than 2,000 miles away from Yu County. Even if someone noticed the wheelchair he was sitting in, they would consider whether to report it to Wuling County. Due to this delay, it took almost two months before Huo Minzhi sent someone.

Two months later, it was the coldest season, and even the exiled criminals would not be escorted until April of the following year.

But if things get better, Huo Minzhi might wait a few months before dealing with him.

But if they knew that his legs and feet had healed, I am afraid that no matter how bad the weather was or how many obstacles there were, Huo Minzhi would send people to inflict heavy damage on him and the Fu family again.

After weighing the pros and cons before writing the letter, Fu Wei chose the latter, so he asked his friend to help make a plain carriage and send it to him so that he could travel conveniently.

Today, because we have to take those three thieves to Yu County, Fu Zhen may have to help Fu Wei with the carriage, so Song Sanlang and He Dalang are also going together to help keep an eye on those thieves.

Besides, Yu Ying almost didn’t sleep the whole night yesterday, so she slept until noon and didn’t get up, so she didn’t see Fu Wei off.

After breakfast, I went to see the situation in the medicinal fields.

Uncle He, Aunt He, and He Erlang were all in the fields, helping to replant the damaged medicinal seedlings back into the soil.

He Erlang was the first to discover the second sister-in-law of the Fu family. A smile immediately appeared on his face and he called out, "Sister-in-law Yu."

Uncle He and Aunt He also noticed Yu Ying and stopped what they were doing.

When she got closer, Uncle He said to her, "We all took a look and found that there were only about twenty herbs that couldn't be saved. There wasn't much loss."

Yu Ying also went to the fields to check it out.

It was pitch black last night and I couldn't see clearly. When I got to dawn today I found that some of the medicinal seedlings had been pulled out and thrown aside, while others had been trampled and broken.

But fortunately, just as Uncle He said, there was no major loss.

After calming down, Yu Ying thanked Uncle He and the others, "Uncle He, Aunt He, and my second brother He, you came to help me so early in the morning. Thank you so much for troubling me."

Aunt He said, "We're all neighbors, and you've helped us so much, so there's no need to be so formal."

Yu Ying smiled, and then helped them replant the pulled out medicinal seedlings into the soil.

Passing villagers stopped and asked curiously, "Madam Yu, were those thieves really taken to the county government office?"

There may be frictions between neighbors in the same village, but when outsiders bully fellow villagers, they all share a common hatred for the enemy.

The villagers were outraged last night, as if their own fields had been damaged.

Yu Ying, who originally had no feelings towards the villagers, now has some good feelings towards them.

She replied, "This morning, my eldest brother, He Dalang, and Song Sanlang took them to Yu County."

Upon hearing this, the village head was suspicious and said, "It must be that other villages saw that someone in our village was making money, so they were jealous and came to destroy our village's fields."

The villagers kept calling each other "we" and "us", as if the money earned by the Fu family would make them proud, and they had a strong sense of honor.

Some people were also curious about the chair with wheels that Fu Erlang was sitting on today. Because some people were knowledgeable, they explained it to Yu Ying without her having to.

When asked where it came from, Yu Ying made up an excuse and evaded the question: "My Erlang is very knowledgeable and happened to have seen this blueprint. I earned some money before and used it all to make a wheelchair for him."

Others didn't think much about it and believed it.

Because someone came to talk to her from time to time, Yu Ying did almost nothing and it was already noon.

Finally, all the villagers who came to talk to her left. Yu Ying breathed a sigh of relief and then looked towards Yu County.

Aunt He noticed her gaze and comforted her, "Don't worry, nothing will be wrong."

*

At noon, Fu Wei asked his elder brother to book a room at Tongyue Inn, where he would stay alone, and then asked them to send the person to the yamen.

Fu Zhen was a little worried at first, but when he heard his second brother say that he had made an appointment with someone, he thought that he must be going to meet some mysterious person and didn't want to be exposed, so he went along with him and took the person to the yamen with He Dalang and Song Sanlang.

Fu Wei sat in the inn and waited quietly. About half an hour later, someone knocked on the door.

Fu Wei looked up at the door and said calmly, "The door is not locked."

Just a moment after the voice fell, someone pushed open the door.

The person who opened the door was a young man about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with an upright figure and a square appearance.

This man was a friend of Fu Wei who he had known for several years and with whom he had a life-and-death friendship. His name was Shen Mingcong.

Shen Mingcong entered the room and saw Fu Wei. His face lit up with joy and he shouted excitedly, "Jinzhi!"

But then he seemed to remember something, his eyes fell on the sedan chair he was sitting on, and his smile froze.

"Jinzhi, your legs..."

Fu Wei smiled at him and said, "This is a long story. Please close the door first."

Shen Mingcong quickly closed the door.

Fu Weixian asked cautiously, "Have you told anyone about your visit to Lingnan?"

Shen Mingcong replied, "I followed your instructions. I didn't tell anyone that I had requested a month's leave on the pretext of returning home to visit my parents. Therefore, I will be leaving Yu County after only three days."

Upon hearing this, Fu Wei slowly stood up with the help of his hand. Under his friend's astonished gaze, he briefly explained to him how Huo Minzhi broke his legs and forced him to marry.

When Shen Mingcong heard these things, his face showed anger and he cursed: "This bastard has a really evil heart!"

After cursing, he looked at Fu Wei and explained, "I tried to investigate where you were exiled, but was repeatedly blocked. I looked through the Fu family's old files, but they only recorded the exile as Lingnan, without specifying the exact location. I've sent people to Lingnan to investigate for the past few months, but have found nothing. If it weren't for your letter, I really wouldn't have known you were in Cangwu County."

Hearing his friend's words, Fu Wei frowned, feeling more confused.

But because of other things, Fu Wei had to suppress these doubts in his heart for the time being, and said to his friend: "I asked you to come to Yu County because I want you to help me with two things."

Shen Mingcong's expression hardened, and he said, "You say."

Fu Wei spoke slowly, "First, I'd like to ask you to help me solve a problem. After that, I need you to introduce me to the magistrate of Yu County. This is the second thing."

Shen Mingcong pondered for a moment, then said, "Introducing him to the county magistrate shouldn't be a problem given my current status, but I'm worried that the county magistrate will tip off that bastard."

Fu Wei's face was calm: "I will take care of this matter."

Shen Mingcong had no doubt about his ability, so he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll introduce you to the magistrate."

After agreeing, he then asked, "What is the trouble you are talking about?"

"My wife was dealing in medicinal herbs in Yu County, and a local medical clinic bribed some thugs to cause trouble. They were caught red-handed and taken to the government office. If nothing unexpected happened, the government would have treated it as just a petty theft."

Fu Wei looked up at him and said, "I need you to go to the yamen and put some pressure on the magistrate."

He is currently serving as Gongcao Congshi of Wuling County. Although he has no official rank, as Gongcao Congshi of a superior county, he can make the small county magistrate of the border town bow his head and not dare to underestimate him.

The two things Fu Wei mentioned were not a big problem for Shen Mingcong.

I just heard him say that he wanted to help his wife solve the problem, so I couldn't help but be curious: "From what you said just now, you didn't marry this wife voluntarily, but from your expression, it doesn't seem like you were forced."

When mentioning Yu Ying, Fu Wei's eyes showed a hint of smile.

"She is a remarkable woman. If you meet her, you will be impressed by her."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingcong looked at his friend whom he had known for several years with surprise, then smiled and said, "It seems that the bastard accidentally pushed the right person to your side."

Fu Wei just smiled and said nothing.

After a few words, Shen Mingcong suddenly asked him, "That bastard treated you like this, didn't the governor... ever ask about it?"

Speaking of adoptive father, Fu Wei's expression gradually turned cold: "No."

Shen Mingcong looked surprised.

Fu Wei warned him, "He once worked under my biological father. I think there must have been some irreconcilable conflict between them. So, you should just pretend you don't know about the matter of his legs."

After two breaths of silence, he reminded again: "Don't mention anything about me to him, otherwise it might implicate you."

Shen Mingcong frowned, puzzled. "What kind of conflict could have caused the governor to disregard the twenty years of father-son relationship and leave you alone?"

Fu Wei lowered his eyes and replied, "Perhaps he is blaming my biological father for collaborating with the enemy."

When Shen Mingcong heard this, he was speechless and didn't know what to say.

After a moment of silence, Fu Wei put away his silence, raised his head and said to him, "Let's go to the government office first."

*

In the backyard of the Luo Family Clinic, Director Luo, dressed in a plain robe, sat in a rocking chair, rocking leisurely and drinking tea.

After a few days, the woman's problem should be resolved, and the sensible people will know what to do and what not to do.

It can be considered that a major problem has been solved. How can I not be relaxed and happy?

At this time, a little medicine boy hurried into the backyard from the front medicine hall. Hearing the footsteps, Director Luo opened his eyes and thought to himself, why did the news come so soon?

He sat upright, waiting for the medicine boy to come to him.

The medicine boy came up and said hurriedly, "Director, the directors of Li's and Zheng's are here."

Director Luo asked in confusion, "Why are they all here?"

Shouldn't we all be waiting for good news from him at home?

He was about to ask the medicine boy to invite them when he saw the other two curators enter the backyard with anxious looks on their faces.

He dismissed the medicine boy and walked forward with a smile, asking, "Why did the two curators suddenly come to my place?"

"Director Luo, don't you know what happened today?!" Director Li asked in surprise.

Director Luo was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "What happened?"

Director Zheng said, "Today, the people from Lingshui Village took the thieves they arrested to the government office. Not only did they destroy the medicinal fields at night, but they also robbed ox carts during the day. When we heard this, we thought of Shopkeeper Luo."

Director Li asked tentatively, "Were those people sent by Director Luo?"

When Director Luo heard the previous words, his heart skipped a beat. He wondered how those thugs could be caught so easily?

He wanted to deny it outright, but after thinking it over, he raised his chin and replied, "Indeed, I sent it."

The other two suddenly panicked.

Director Li said anxiously, "This guy has been arrested. What if he betrays us?!"

The other curator seemed to remember something and suddenly calmed down. He looked at Curator Luo and said, "We have never come into contact with those street scoundrels. We have come into contact with Curator Luo."

Director Luo glanced at him calmly and said, "If anything happens to me, you won't be able to escape."

As the two were stunned and a hint of anger appeared on their faces, he smiled easily: "But how could I be in trouble? Even if they turned me in, where's the evidence?"

The other two looked at each other.

Then he said, "I didn't give them any money, and I didn't meet them in person. I could just say they framed me. Besides, my brother is the censor of the government office, so he'll definitely help me."

"Besides, we have paid the lion's share of taxes to the government office in previous years. Even if the magistrate knew it was me, it would only make a big deal out of a small matter."

Then he looked at the two of them with a smile, "Since I can do this, I am absolutely sure of it. Look how scared you are! You are so panicked."

After hearing this, the two thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case. They felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

Director Luo's smile faded, and he closed his eyes slightly, saying, "But I didn't expect that a peasant woman would be so difficult to deal with..."

Those scoundrels in the market were so common that even ordinary merchants and nobles would keep their distance from them. So how did the peasant woman deal with it?

*

After Yu Ying finished tidying up the medicinal field, she returned home.

I originally wanted to see what the differences were between the facial creams I bought yesterday, but when I thought about what happened in Yu County, I became absent-minded.

I couldn't concentrate for a long time, so I just stopped watching and waited for some news to come back.

It was not until noon that Fu Zhen returned with He Dalang, but Fu Wei and Song Sanlang were nowhere to be seen.

Yu Ying asked, "Where's Erlang?"

Fu Zhen replied, "Erlang will be staying overnight at the inn today. I'm afraid it's inconvenient for him to be alone, so I asked Song Jun to look after him in Yu County."

Fu Wei stayed in Yu County?

Upon hearing this, Yu Ying vaguely guessed that things were not going well today.

"So what's going on today?" she asked.

At this time, Mrs. Luo brought in two bowls of tea.

After drinking the water, He Dalang said angrily, "I think the magistrate wants to protect that Director Luo!"

Luo Madam's face showed worry, and she asked, "Why do you say that?"

He Dalang put down his bowl and said, "Today in court, those thieves only admitted that they couldn't stand you, a woman, running a business, and wanted to teach you a lesson. But they refused to admit that they had ever provided for Director Luo of Luoji Medical Clinic. They even turned against us, saying that we threatened them to frame Director Luo!"

After hearing this, Wen Xing and Luo Shi widened their eyes.

Wen Xing thought of what happened yesterday and was filled with anger. "How could they do this? Did the magistrate really believe it?!"

Fu Zhen and He Dalang's faces were both ashen, and the answer was self-evident.

Fu Zhen said in a deep voice, "The magistrate warned us that if we falsely accuse others, we will be imprisoned as well."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ying's face darkened.

The magistrate had indeed done a good thing regarding the gossipmonger's notice. But Yu Ying was not sure what to say about the current situation.

Is it true that you really didn't realize that those people were lying?

Or is it because there are some interests involved, so you don't want to delve into it further?

He Dalang took a deep breath, clenched his fist and said, "Those people were only given ten lashes and detained for another seven days."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from outside the house.

The people in the dining room were startled, and then Fu An ran in and said anxiously, "There are yamen runners on horses coming towards our house!"

Everyone was stunned and looked at each other, and then they heard someone outside the house shouting, "But the Fu family!"

When they came out of the dining room, they saw Huo Yachai jumping off his horse.

Fu Zhen walked out of the gate and said, "This is the Fu family. I wonder what the official wants?"

After all, Yamen Runner Huo had some friendship with Madam Yu, so he was not as arrogant as the other Yamen Runners.

He nodded towards Madam Yu and said, "The Lord has ordered that those thieves be re-interrogated tomorrow. The witnesses who testified in court today must appear at the county yamen tomorrow. Madam Yu must also go to the yamen to confront those thieves face to face."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ying and everyone else were all surprised.

Yu Ying pondered for a moment, then walked out of the courtyard and asked, "Why did the magistrate reopen the interrogation? Could Officer Huo tell me a little?"

Huo Yacha lowered his voice and said, "I don't know anything else. I only know that after the trial of those thieves, a distinguished guest came to the county yamen. After the distinguished guest left, the master sent me to Lingshui Village to summon you to the county yamen."

Hearing this, Yu Ying understood that it must be Fu Wei's connections that played a role.

She nodded and thanked him: "Thank you for taking the trouble, sir. Why don't you stay and have dinner before leaving?"

Huo Yacha shook his head: "No, the mountain roads are dangerous at night. I have to get back to Yu County before dark."

"In that case, I won't keep you, sir."

Huo Yacha nodded, then got on his horse and left.

After the yamen runners left, some villagers came hurriedly to inquire about the situation.

He Dalang briefly told them what happened in the yamen today.

Yu Ying returned to the house, listened to the noisy sounds outside, lay down on the bed, looked at the thatched roof and breathed a sigh of relief.

The retrial is definitely Fu Wei’s credit.

As long as there is a retrial, there is a 90% chance of winning.

After this incident, those medical clinics naturally did not dare to act rashly against her.

But this is not a solution. If they still want to join forces to resist her, there will probably be obstacles.

She needs to think carefully about how to solve this obstacle.

*

In the evening, after Yu Ying came back from taking a bath, she found the house empty and felt a little uncomfortable.

After all, in the past few months, I could see Fu Wei as soon as I entered the house, but he was not here today, and the house seemed much emptier.

Yu Ying calculated that she and Fu Wei had been living in the same house since the night before the hurricane, and it had been almost three months now.

On weekdays, when the two of them were in the same room, they could still chat about everything, which added a bit of spice to their boring life without any entertainment. Therefore, Yu Ying would not find the night too boring, nor would she find it too quiet.

Looking at the empty house, Yu Ying still felt uncomfortable. So after applying facial cream, she went to Luo's house to bring Fu Ning back home.

She continued to teach Fu Ning the five vowels. Her voice was the only one in the room, and it sounded more like she was talking to herself.

Besides, after teaching Fu Ning to speak for so long, there are actually some results.

When Fu Ning opened his mouth and said "ah", there was a faint sound coming out, but the effect was not very obvious.

After a while, the little girl felt sleepy, and Yu Ying had no choice but to let her sleep.

After Fu Ning fell asleep, the room became even quieter.

But it seemed that no matter whether Fu Ning was asleep or not, the room was very quiet.

Yu Ying glanced at the empty outside of the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

Remembering that she had to get up early the next day to walk to Yu County, she couldn't stay up all night, so she went to bed.

She had been tense from yesterday to today, and even though she was a little uncomfortable with Fu Wei's absence, Yu Ying fell asleep quickly.

Therefore, Yu Ying's discomfort only lasted for an hour.

*

Late at night, Yu County.

The dim light from the lanterns outside the corridor of the inn cast a shadowy shadow into the room, and a few rays of moonlight shone through the gauze window onto the floor of the guest room. The light in the room was very quiet and dim.

Even though it was late at night, Fu Wei still couldn't sleep.

He stared at the ceiling of the tent with his eyes wide open, wide awake.

If he didn't have to go back to Yu County tomorrow and his legs and feet had not yet fully recovered, and he was worried that he would become a burden, he would not stay in Yu County no matter what.

I don’t know what the situation is like at home now.

I don’t even know if Liu Niang would miss him for a moment because he is not at home.

As Fu Wei was guessing, an arm suddenly hit him hard in the chest.

Fu Wei was thinking about his family and was caught off guard by the blow. He groaned, then turned around and silently looked at Song Sanlang who was sleeping soundly beside him.

When Fu Wei was about to remove his arm from his chest, Song Sanlang, who was sleeping soundly, seemed to feel the cold and suddenly retracted his arm and put it back under the quilt.

Fu Wei withdrew his gaze and sighed softly.

Fortunately, this only needs to be endured for one night.

*

The next day, news came from Yu County that a case that had just been concluded at the county government office the day before would be retried today.

As soon as the news spread, people became curious, wondering why such a common case of theft and destruction was suddenly reopened. Was there some hidden reason behind it?

A yamen runner went to Luoji Medical Clinic early in the morning and said to Director Luo, "Your Excellency is going to re-examine the Lingshui Village case from yesterday. Since the witness mentioned Director Luo yesterday, we would like to ask Director Luo to accompany us to the yamen."

Upon hearing this, Director Luo frowned and said, "The case has already been closed, so why is it suddenly being reopened?"

Because Director Luo's brother was the county magistrate, the runner politely replied, "We don't know the reason."

Director Luo pondered for a moment, then said, "Even if it's a retrial, what does it have to do with me? I can't become a suspect just because someone mentions me, right?"

The yamen runner said in embarrassment: "We are also doing our job impartially. We hope Director Luo can understand. Perhaps it is just a formality. Director Luo does not need to worry about it."

How can I not care?

It could have been simply dismissed and the case had already been closed, but suddenly they said they wanted to re-examine it. Something must have happened!

Director Luo was afraid that this incident would affect him, so after thinking it over, he said, "Then wait a moment."

He turned around and went into the clinic and asked the accountant to prepare twenty taels of silver and asked the accountant to accompany him to the county government office.

If he can't get out, give these twenty taels of silver to the county magistrate and ask him to help him.

At the same time, he asked the medicine boy to pass the message to Director Li and Director Zheng.

——If he were to be imprisoned and they dared to stand idly by, he would definitely confess that they were also his accomplices.

After arranging the escape route, Director Luo went to the yamen with the yamen runners.