"Gentlemen, please have mercy! The situation in these three places is already like this, please let him go!"

When Xiao Zhixing arrived, Grandpa Li was smiling and bowing to the three yamen runners.

The head constable, with a fierce and menacing face, said, "He has offended the magistrate; do you think we will let him off?"

Grandpa Li said anxiously, “San Di is a steady and reliable person. He would never be such a reckless person. Since becoming the county magistrate, he has solved many strange cases and has never made a wrong judgment. This matter must be a misunderstanding. Please, gentlemen, let him go. He is on his last breath. Please have pity on him. He still has an old mother. My sister-in-law cannot live without her son.”

As he spoke, he secretly slipped him a few pieces of silver.

The head constable snatched it and stuffed it into his sleeve, saying indifferently, "Fine, for the sake of our past relationship, I won't make things difficult for him. The magistrate has ordered that he is no longer the county magistrate's assistant; let him fend for himself."

"Oh, oh, okay, okay, please take care, you three."

Only after they left did the villagers who had been watching dare to speak.

"That's too much."

"That's right. He has worked hard all these years, even if he hasn't made any great contributions. All the people in our county know that he is the true upright official of Heiwu County. How can we treat him like this now!"

Xiao Zhixing gave Bai Mei a look, signaling her to go to the county town to find out the specific situation and where things had gotten.

She then followed Grandpa Li into Li Sandi's house.

An old woman was leaning over the headboard, holding the hand of the unconscious man on the bed and sobbing bitterly.

An elderly doctor shook his head and sighed as he took the pulse, "It's no use, I can't save him. If possible, send him to Beiyuan Prefecture City, perhaps the doctors there can still save him."

The old woman felt as if the sky had fallen; she burst into tears, crying out, "San Di—"

Grandpa Li wiped away his tears, "What a tragedy, what a tragedy."

Xiao Zhixing spoke up, "Uncle Li, I have some medicine for injuries here. I don't know if it will work. I think he has both external injuries and internal stagnation. Let's treat the external injuries first and leave him with a breath of life. Maybe he can survive."

Mo Mei stepped forward, took out several porcelain bottles, and gestured for the doctor to examine them.

The old doctor looked at the group with surprise.

Grandpa Li slapped his thigh and said, "Please take a look. If it's possible, we should try anything, even if it seems hopeless. We can't let the three places just disappear like this."

The old doctor then examined each medicine in turn, and then smiled, "These are all good medicines, good medicines."

He felt a pang of regret; he had sold his medicine in three different places but still couldn't afford even one of the ingredients.

"Young lady, these medicines are extremely precious. Are you really going to use them in the three regions?"

Xiao Zhixing, with an air of wealth and arrogance, said, "Saving lives is the priority; this young lady has no shortage of good medicine."

The old doctor stayed behind to save the person.

Grandpa Li took her to the next room and told her the whole story: "San Di was originally the county magistrate, in charge of criminal cases. He was famous throughout the north for his brilliant judgment. Even other counties would ask him for help when they encountered difficult cases. Since he took office, he has judged thousands of cases without a single wrongful conviction."

He sighed and began to recount the events of the day: "A few days ago, the wealthy Jia family in Heiwu County reported that they had lost a lot of valuables. They were ordered to investigate the case in three different places, but inexplicably they were accused of wrongly accusing an innocent man of driving a respectable family to their death."

"A young master of the Jia family died and hanged himself in front of the county government office. His dirty clothes had the words 'Great Injustice' written in blood on them. The Jia family led a group to cause trouble, and the county magistrate was so angry that he pushed the three places out of the county."

"Later it was discovered that San Di had wronged the young master, saying that he was covering for a young lady in the Jia family. What's even more infuriating is that the young lady said that San Di had instigated her to steal. Alas, I don't believe it. San Di is an upright man, how could he do such a foolish thing?"

Xiao Zhixing pondered for a moment, then revealed the truth in one sentence: "If he was really wronged, he probably offended someone and was framed."

Even without her saying it, Grandpa Li understood that the person he had offended in the three places was probably the county magistrate.

Old Li's face darkened. "Sigh, this world..."

Xiao Zhixing probed, "What's the reputation of your magistrate, Lord Xiao Xing, usually?"

Yes, it's someone surnamed Xiao again, a remnant of the Xiao family.

The remnants of the Xiao family whom Zhao Yunqi deliberately left behind were all scoundrels, not a single one of them was good, and they were simply blatantly ruining the reputation of the Xiao family.

Grandpa Li snapped out of his daze and looked her over. "Why are you asking this, young lady?"

Making casual comments about local officials could lead to serious trouble.

Xiao Zhixing smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just heard that he was a good official, and I find it hard to believe that he would treat those who have made contributions to him in this way."

Grandpa Li stroked his short beard in silence, and finally said cautiously, "Unassuming and unassuming, yet unfathomable."

Xiao Zhixing raised an eyebrow; Old Man Li's words were quite insightful.

The old doctor applied medicine to Li Sandi's body both internally and externally, waited a while for the effects to take effect, and came out with a happy look on his face, "His life has been saved, take good care of him from now on."

After seeing the doctor off, San Di Niang knelt down and kowtowed to Xiao Zhixing, "Thank you, thank you for saving my son, thank you..."

Xiao Zhixing reached out to help her up. "Grandma, get up. If you want to express your gratitude, could you please give me and my servants one or two rooms to stay for the night?"

San Di Niang was naturally willing. At this moment, Grandpa Li's wife and a daughter-in-law came over to help. The three of them tidied up two guest rooms together and then went to the kitchen to work.

Standing in the farmhouse courtyard, Xiao Zhixing looked at the house not far away and asked Grandpa Li, "Is that Li Sandi's study?"

Grandpa Li could now tell that she was no ordinary person, so he dared not be negligent.

"Yes, San Di is one of the few literate young men in our village. Whenever he has time, he goes to copy books and brings them back. Over the years, he has collected a whole roomful of them."

Grandpa Li led her inside. "His study door is never closed. Any eager young people who want to read can come and do as they please. The kids in our village have been taking care of this place. Later, not only from three other places, but other kids would also bring copies of books here for future generations to study."

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