One hundred and forty-five

Chen Langjun arrived in Yu County before sunset the next day and went straight to the Fu family.

The sky was dark and cold for November.

He rode fast all the way, and the cold wind chapped his cheeks.

He walked into the bluestone alley and stopped in front of the Fu family's door. After knocking for a while, Mrs. Luo came to open the door.

Seeing the newcomer, Luo was surprised and asked, "Why is Mr. Chen here?"

Because Mo Lang had stayed in Yu County to protect Fu Wei, he had visited the Fu family several times. Chen Langjun also came with him several times, so he became a familiar face in the Fu family.

Chen Langjun bowed and greeted him, then replied, "I have something to ask Fu Erlangjun. I wonder if Fu Erlangjun is at home?"

"Yes, please come in first." Mrs. Luo hurriedly welcomed him into the yard and asked Fu Ning to call his uncle.

When Fu Wei heard his niece say that Mr. Chen was coming to look for him, he counted the days on his fingers and realized that it was almost time.

He knew what was going on and raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

"I'll go and greet you. Ask your aunt to come to the study as well."

"Okay~" Fu Ning responded crisply, then turned around and skipped to find his aunt.

Fu Wei looked at the lively little girl and couldn't help but smile.

Only after he walked out of the study did his smile disappear.

Mr. Chen was waiting in the main hall. Just as Mrs. Luo had poured him a cup of tea, Fu Wei came in. He quickly stood up and bowed, "Mr. Fu."

Fu Wei returned the greeting with a bow. Seeing that Mr. Chen looked anxious, he said, "Let's go to the study first and discuss business."

Chen Langjun nodded, picked up the tea and took a quick sip.

After the two of them left the main hall, Luo thought of Mr. Chen, looking dusty and with dry lips, and muttered to herself, "He looks like he's been traveling all the way, like he didn't even have time to drink a sip of water..."

It looks like something urgent, so maybe he comes and goes in a hurry.

Seeing her seventeen or eighteen-year-old child working so hard, Mrs. Luo couldn't help but think of Dalang, who was also struggling to make a living at the same age, going out in the wind and rain with an empty stomach.

Recalling the hard days in the past, she couldn't help but feel a little more distressed for Mr. Chen. So she took advantage of the time when they were talking to make some cakes and fetch a bamboo tube of hot water.

When Yu Ying heard Fu Ning say that Mr. Chen had arrived, and Fu Wei asked her to go to the study as well, she went there first.

She will go to the county seat in three days.

A few days ago, a letter arrived from the prefectural governor's residence. It was from the governor's wife, saying that the medicine she had been taking for over two months was showing results, and she had had very small periods for the past two days.

The medicine has taken effect, the prefect's wife is in high spirits, and Yu Ying can get twice the result with half the effort by asking her for help.

Although Fu Wei was not clear about what the treatment was for, he knew that it was effective.

As soon as Yu Ying entered the study, Fu Wei and Chen Langjun arrived.

As soon as the study door was closed, Mr. Chen didn't say hello and went straight to telling him about the situation of the Yu family.

"The engagement has already been arranged, and the person will be taken away the day after tomorrow."

Fu Wei had sent people to find out the bully's background, so he could naturally guess what kind of person he was.

Under the protection of the new county magistrate, his caution weakened and his audacity grew.

Given his habit of taking one or two young concubines every year, it is impossible for him to let go of Yu Ba Niang easily.

Fu Wei: "Go back and ask Ba Niang to do as I say, and then..." He calculated and continued: "In ten days, everything will be solved."

Chen Langjun didn't know what Fu Wei was planning. He glanced at him, then at Yu Ying. After a short silence, he said with a serious face, "If that doesn't work out, I'll just take her back. We at Muyun Mountain can still afford to raise a little girl."

Yu Ying was stunned and hesitated for a moment, then said with embarrassment: "Banniang is only thirteen years old, not yet of marriageable age."

Even if she reached the age of 15, she still felt it was too early.

Although girls in ancient times developed early and got married early, they still had to wait until they were sixteen years old.

Chen Langjun was stunned at first, then realized she had misunderstood and straightened his expression. "Although we are bandits, we cannot stand seeing local tyrants oppressing the people and forcibly marrying women, let alone people with twisted habits like Liu the bully from Xin County. Even if Fu Langjun didn't find me, I would help if I knew about it."

After a pause, his face darkened: "That bully, he's lucky if his life isn't spared."

Fu Wei raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "Why should we count his luck? After this is over, his life will depend on the heroes of Muyun Mountain."

Chen Langjun raised his eyebrows, a little worried: "That's not a problem, but aren't you afraid of dragging down the Yu family?"

The only friction now is the Yu family. If someone dies an unnatural death, people may suspect that it was the Yu family who committed murder.

Fu Wei asked in return, "He died in an accident, so why would you suspect the Yu family?"

Chen Langjun thought about it for a moment and nodded: "I have to ask Brother Lang before I can take action."

Fu Wei nodded and continued, "After we return, let Ba Niang pretend to commit suicide to buy some time. If that doesn't work, we'll use Mr. Chen's method."

The final method was chosen out of helplessness. After all, this concerned the girl's reputation. If she was taken away by someone, she would never be able to return to the Yu family. Otherwise, the rumors would drive her to death.

After making the general arrangements, Mr. Chen did not stay long and said goodbye immediately.

Just as he was about to leave through the courtyard gate, Mrs. Luo called him and took out the prepared things.

"There's nothing much at home, so I prepared a few cakes and a bamboo pot of hot water for you to eat on the road."

Mr. Chen obviously hadn't expected Mrs. Luo to be like this. She would always prepare food for him when they went out, just like a real mother. His heart warmed, and he smiled rarely, "Thank you, Auntie."

Since they really needed bread and water, they accepted Luo's kindness without any hesitation.

The city gate was about to close, and he was rushing to leave the city, so he definitely couldn't buy food. This was undoubtedly a timely help.

After taking the food, Chen Langjun left in a hurry.

*

The night before Yu Ying set out for the county seat, she received a letter from Xin County.

It was sent by Mr. Chen, and briefly explained the current situation of the Yu family.

In order to delay time, Yu Ba Niang attempted suicide. In order to make it look real and make the bully believe, she really cut her wrists.

Fortunately, the wound was not deep, and Yu Dalang was a medical expert. Although the injury appeared serious, his life was actually not in danger.

The incident of Ba Niang cutting her wrists made the bully Liu angry, and he secretly destroyed the crops in the Yu family's fields to put pressure on them.

Li from the Yu family discussed with the bully Liu and agreed to give Yu Ba Niang ten days' grace period, during which she would persuade her to marry him willingly.

After receiving the confirmation, Yu Ying also breathed a sigh of relief.

Two days have passed now. It will take her three days to go to the county seat and beg the prefect's wife.

It would take at least three or four days for the prefect to send people from the county seat to Xinxian to deal with the bully.

Ten days is neither enough nor sufficient.

After two days of travel, Yu Ying arrived at the county seat. Early the next morning, Yu Ying went to the prefectural governor's mansion.

When the prefect's wife saw Yu Ying, her smile grew even brighter. "Madam Yu, you're finally here. Look at my complexion. Isn't it much whiter and smoother?"

Instead of calling her Doctor Yu, she just called her Madam Yu, which made the relationship seem closer.

Yu Ying took a look at her. She was actually better than the last time, but there was no obvious difference. It was just that the wife of the prefect was in a better mood. Her whole spirit was different. Her eyebrows were no longer drooping, and she looked naturally radiant.

The wife of the prefect felt that she was becoming more and more beautiful, and a big reason for this was her mentality.

Yu Ying took the pulse of the prefect's wife and nursed her back to health for three months, after which she recovered a lot.

After checking the physical condition, the next step is facial treatment.

The wife of the prefect didn't feel sorry at all for the ten taels of silver she spent on a facial.

A facial takes about half an hour, so naturally there will be some random chats.

After the wife of the prefect asked what had happened in Yu County, she also mentioned the recent tea surplus in the county government.

"Recently, there's been rumors that a bully in his forties in Xin County tried to force a 26-year-old girl to marry him. The girl refused, so he sent people to her home to cause trouble. What's going on in this villain's mind?"

When the prefect's wife thought about this, she couldn't help but frown.

"I also heard that this man marries one or two young wives every year. It's really hateful."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ying recalled what Fu Wei had done before.

He asked Chen Langjun to search for evidence of the bully's evil deeds in Xinxian County. After obtaining solid evidence, he secretly bribed beggars in the county seat to spread the disgusting things done by the bully in Xinxian County.

They all spread rumors in a disgusting and unbearable way, making them seem worse than the truth.

This matter only started to spread in the county seat four or five days ago, so naturally it has not yet spread to Xinxian County.

Originally, Yu Ying was about to bring up the matter of Ba Niang, but it was just right that the prefect's wife brought it up.

"What's wrong with Doctor Yu?" the old woman beside him suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, the wife of the prefect, who had her eyes closed because of a facial mask, couldn't help but open her eyes and immediately saw Yu Ying's red eyes.

He was startled: "Ah, what happened to Madam Yu?"

Yu Ying muttered, "The little girl you were talking about just now..."

She was silent, hesitant to speak.

"But it's someone Madam Yu knows."

Yu Ying pursed her lips and whispered, "She's my daughter-in-law."

The wife of the prefect and the maid beside her were both stunned. They didn't expect that the widely circulated matter in the county government would involve Doctor Yu.

After a few moments of silence, the prefect's wife asked, "Didn't your husband take care of you?"

Yu Ying sighed, "My dear, you went to the Yu family once, thinking that you could intimidate that bully. But who knew that the bully seemed to be protected by the magistrate of Xin County. He was not afraid of you at all and actually proposed to me through my family. The night before I came to the county seat, I heard that my eighth sister had committed suicide by cutting her wrists. Not only did the bully not stop, he even destroyed the crops in the fields to coerce me..."

At the end of her words, Yu Ying's voice choked with sobs: "I wanted to go and see him, but I didn't dare to delay coming to the county seat for a consultation."

"This..." The prefect's wife looked at her with a hint of heartache in her eyes.

Yu Ying looked at the wife of the prefect, stood up, and bowed, begging, "I dare to ask you to help my sister, and also help those girls who were killed by the bullies."

Hearing about the murdered little girl, the prefect's wife couldn't help but sit up, her brows stern, "He also killed someone?"

Yu Ying replied, "My husband, in order to help his sister-in-law, has specially investigated what the bully has done. He discovered that in the past five years, he has forcibly married eight young girls who were under the age of marriage. The youngest one doesn't even know what marriage means. She's too young to have any experience, so..."

She fell silent, not saying anything more that would make people uncomfortable and suffocate.

After a pause, Yu Ying continued, "Those who refused to be humiliated committed suicide. If any family strongly resisted, he would use all kinds of despicable means to force them to agree."

"They were all powerless people, living in lowly status. If the magistrate wouldn't help them, they would just grit their teeth and swallow all the bitterness."

Upon hearing this, the prefect's wife suddenly collapsed. "How can this be! Such a person has already violated the law. If this is true, then the magistrate of Xin County is also guilty!"

In fact, the prefect and his wife are not very kind-hearted people, but they are both somewhat protective of their own shortcomings.

Besides, he is just a local bully, but he dares to act so arrogantly, so he deserves to be punished.

Now, if someone is bullying someone he knows, it will not be solved by a simple beating.

The governor's wife looked at the maid and said, "Go outside and ask around to see how the story is spread!"

The wife of the prefect only heard the general idea and did not listen too carefully.

The old woman then left and sent someone to inquire.

After the people left, the wife of the prefect took Yu Ying's hand and comforted her, "Since she is your sister, Madam Yu, I will not ignore her." At the end of her words, her eyes were stern and she promised solemnly, "Madam Yu, don't worry, I will take care of your sister's affairs!"

Yu Ying expressed her sincere gratitude and said, "Thank you so much, my lord. Otherwise, I don't know how I would have helped my eighth sister out of this predicament."

After getting the promise from the prefect's wife, Yu Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally having hope.

After more than half an hour, the old woman found out everything that was being spread outside.

Upon hearing the rumors, the wife of the prefect's face turned dark. She suppressed her anger, asked Yu Ying to go back first, and then discuss it with the prefect in the evening.

*

In the evening, when Governor Shen returned home, he asked the maidservant of his wife to invite him over.

When he pushed the door open and entered the room, he saw his wife sitting at the table with a frown on her face, looking unhappy.

Thinking that today was the day that Mrs. Yu came to see him, he asked, "What's the matter? Is Mrs. Yu's poor performance making you unhappy?"

The governor's wife glanced over and asked bluntly, "Sir, do you know what's been going on in Cangwu City lately?"

The governor was stunned and asked in confusion, "What is this?"

The prefect's wife sighed and said, "You are calling me a blind man who is shielding evil!"

The governor frowned, his face displeased: "What's going on?"

"What else could it be? It's all just the messed up affairs of those people in your jurisdiction!"

Then he told her what he had heard from the old woman.

"There's talk outside about a bully named Liu Lao Hu in Xin County. He's a grandfather, yet he forced little girls to marry him and messed around in his bridal chamber. He's shameless. The youngest girl wasn't even 26 years old. Some were killed by him, and some committed suicide. Even though some didn't agree, he used direct threats to get them to agree!"

"Also, they said that he was far away from the emperor, occupied land and called himself king, and harmed all the common people. He even forced a girl to hang herself due to the humiliation, and no one cared.

"Finally, I'll call you blind, saying the bully has lost all conscience, the county magistrate is protecting him, and the prefect is unaware that all snakes and rats are from the same nest!"

When the prefect heard this, his face turned dark.

Although he was lustful, the women he took as concubines were all willing. He never forcibly abducted any girl, and he was certainly not so despicable as to force a baby to be his concubine!

The prefect turned a blind eye to other corruption and bribery, and was able to cover up such despicable things. The magistrate of Xin County is obviously extremely bold!

It has also tarnished his reputation, so he cannot be forgiven easily!

The prefect walked out of the house with a dark face and sent people to investigate the background of that bastard.