Chapter 87 Inviting Mayflies is Like Trying to Shake a Tree!

Zhu Yi, being a martial artist, reacted quickly, dodging the attack to his right. In the flash of firelight, he saw the attacker's face clearly.

“Serenefu? It’s you?” he blurted out.

Seeing that his first attack had failed, and knowing that Zhu Yi was a highly skilled martial artist and no match for him, Sailinfu dared not linger. He raised his sword, pointed it forward, took a few steps back to create distance, and then turned and ran.

Zhu Yi cursed inwardly; Lu Nong was still in the courtyard! He shouted, "Stop!" and rushed forward, intending to capture him.

However, in an instant, a cloud of dust swept in from the front. He quickly turned his head and raised his arm to shield his eyes. Just as he was about to grab him again, he saw that Serin had stopped in his tracks at the door, covered his face, and let out a pig-like scream: "Ah! My eyes! My eyes!"

Zhu Yi was stunned for a moment before realizing that Lu Nong had just used her signature move: flying sand and stones.

Sailinfu was blind and afraid of someone approaching, so he swung his knife wildly with his other hand, making a "swish, swish" sound. Hearing Lu Nong's soft cry of alarm, he immediately slashed towards the source of the sound, but before he could hit anyone, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm, as if he had been struck by a palm. The knife clattered to the ground, and the pain instantly spread throughout his body.

The pain robbed him of his will to fight. Clutching his injured arm, he slowly slumped to the ground, writhing in agony.

Zhu Yi found a rope in the courtyard and tied him up tightly before quickly walking towards Lu Nong. Seeing that although she looked shocked, she was unharmed except for her blackened hands, so he was relieved and said to her in a deep voice, "Shen Bingyan is dead."

Although Lu Nong had expected it, she never imagined it would come to this. Upon hearing the news, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, her lips trembling, unable to utter a complete sentence: "How could... how could this be..."

Zhu Yi looked at Sailinfu groaning on the ground and kicked him in disgust: "It was this villain who did it. I only knew him as a swindler before, but now he's actually doing murder and arson. He's utterly rotten!"

Sweat mixed with dust streamed down Sailinfu's face, leaving deep furrows. No matter how glamorous he had been as the manager, he couldn't care less about anything now, and just hugged his arms and panted heavily.

Lu Nong had just heard the sounds of fighting inside the house, so she looked around, trying to find a way to help Zhu Yi. While looking, she spotted a brazier in the corner with ashes still inside, so she grabbed two large handfuls. When she heard Zhu Yi shouting inside the house, and then someone rushed out of the door, she immediately raised her hand and threw all the ashes onto his face without hesitation.

After being kicked, Serin roared angrily, "He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He betrayed me! He even tried to climb over me to get to the top! Anyone who betrays me deserves to die!"

Lu Nong looked sorrowful, her mind filled with doubts. Shen Bingyan was the ghostwriter for the third volume of "Hua Tang Chun," which must have been at Sai Linfu's behest. But what did "stepping on him to rise to power" mean? Was there someone above Sai Linfu?

Just as she was about to ask a question, she heard Sailinfu mutter to himself, becoming increasingly manic: "He still thinks he can stand out because of his talent? Hahaha, how ridiculous! He thought he had gained recognition and a chance to rise in the world, but he was just a tool, wasn't he? In the end, he still failed the exam, didn't he? Hahahahahaha!"

A sinister laugh, mixed with groans, echoed in the silent courtyard, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, sending chills down their spines. Lu Nong and Zhu Yi felt a chill run down their spines and couldn't help but shiver.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. After Sailinfu was arrested, his henchmen, seeking to save themselves, turned against him and exposed his crimes one by one:

He employed ghostwriters to plagiarize others' works and attribute them to powerful figures; he recruited thugs, and when someone came to complain, he instigated them to intimidate, assault, or kidnap them; even worse, he claimed to have access to imperial examination questions and charged money to candidates…

After he was sentenced to death by hanging, Shi Chun, who had kidnapped Lu Nong, saw that all was lost and finally stopped denying it, confessing to all the evil deeds he had committed for Sai Linfu.

Lu Nong had already learned from Zhu Yi that He Jin wanted to see her to tell her about this in person, but to her surprise, He Jin asked:

"A few days before Shen Bing was murdered, I asked to meet you that night. You're sure you remember the time correctly?"

“That’s right,” Lu Nong affirmed. As soon as she finished speaking, she saw He Jin and Zhu Yi exchange a glance.

"What happened?" she couldn't help but ask.

“We suspect that Shen Bingyan was murdered,” He Jin said.

Lu Nong was bewildered: "Right, isn't the murderer Serinfu?"

Zhu Yi explained, "After the coroner examined the body, he found that Shen Bingyan had already died by poisoning himself before Sailinfu stabbed him. At first, we guessed that he committed suicide, but I suddenly realized that he had specifically asked to meet you, so he must have something to tell you. There is no reason for him to commit suicide before meeting you."

"Someone poisoned him and tried to stage it as suicide, but they didn't know he had made an appointment with you."

Lu Nong asked in a trembling voice, "Who is the real culprit?"

He Jin shook his head and said, "We don't have any leads yet. He is one of the writers' hired guns of Sailinfu. We have inquired about him. He has always been a loner and rarely communicates with others. Recently, the only person he has been close to is you."

“Lulu, you wouldn’t believe it,” Zhu Yi added, “Wu Yan’s husband used to be a gunman for Sailinfu. He was killed by Sailinfu’s men because he wanted to break away from him. That bastard was truly wicked and deserved to die.”

Lu Nong suddenly remembered something: "No wonder he was also involved in Sister Wu Yan's case last time. He probably felt a sense of shared fate and decided to break away from Sailinfu's control."

But Serinp kept claiming that Shen Bingyan "stepped on him to get ahead," so isn't there a mastermind behind it all, and that person is the real culprit?

Who could it be?

Lu Nong said, "Why don't we ask Brother Zeng? He's the owner of a bookstore and deals with scholars and writers all year round. Maybe he knows something else about Sailinfu."

He Jin looked at the two of them, his expression complex: "Don't you know?"

"Know what?" Zhu Yi and Lu Nong asked in unison.

"Banned books were found in the Zeng family's bookstore, and Zeng Zhengqing was arrested and imprisoned."

*

A few rays of sunlight shone through a small window overhead. Having been in prison for so long, even the faintest light was blinding to Zeng Zhengqing.

He closed his eyes to rest, and a chill rose from beneath him, enveloping his entire body. He couldn't help but sneeze.

There's a saying: "One sneeze makes you think, two sneezes make you curse, three sneezes make you yearn." Is someone thinking of him? The thought had barely formed when Qingduo's smiling face appeared in his mind.

"Qingqing..."

Even her familiar voice could be heard in my ears.

"Qingqing!"

Zeng Zhengqing snapped back to reality and opened his eyes. There stood the person he had been longing for day and night. He immediately stood up, ignoring the numbness and stiffness in his lower body, and reached through the railing to tightly grasp those hands: "A-Zhao!"

"Shh." Qingduo lowered her voice, "I've bribed the jailer, but I can't stay here any longer."

She tucked the small bundle from her arms inside, still warm from her touch: "Here are warm clothes and food, and a little silver. Uncle He has taken care of everything, they won't make things difficult for you."

After saying all this, she asked urgently, "Qingqing, what should I do to get you out of here?"

Zeng Zhengqing held Qingduo's hands and whispered, "Listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

“I deliberately stayed in prison. Once I’m in prison, my life and death are officially registered, so he won’t dare to easily harm me. You don’t need to worry.”

"He wants to convict me now, but the evidence isn't enough. If he wants to solidify the charges, he'll take other steps, and these will become irrefutable evidence in the future. Then, you'll take this evidence to see someone."

"who?"

"Master Patroller."

"There is news that the imperial court will send an imperial inspector to investigate the cheating in the imperial examinations. When that happens, you should ask to see him under the pretext of my case, but this is just a cover. In reality, you should report to him that Liao Pingju used his personal connections to seek revenge, abused his power, and deliberately destroyed your father-in-law's hands, and ask him to investigate thoroughly."

"Then what will you do?" Qingduo squeezed his hand back, her face full of worry.

“I already have a plan,” Zeng Zhengqing kissed her palm. “After you take action, I will countersue them for fabricating facts and demand a thorough investigation into the whistleblower, the source of the banned books, and other fabricated evidence to distract them. Once you’ve succeeded, I’ll have my own way of getting out of there. They’re not in this line of work, and they don’t understand the ins and outs of this business as well as I do.”

He pressed her hand against his cheek, his eyes filled with reluctance.

"You don't need to come see me again before I get out of prison. I will take good care of myself, and you should take care of yourself too. Perhaps we can't get what we want this time, then we'll prepare for the next time. All of this is based on the premise that we still have each other."

Qingduo's gaze swept over his gaunt face, finally settling on him as she swore an oath:

"Qingqing, I will never let you suffer in prison for nothing."

"I will definitely get this done."

*

Liao Pingju admired the scroll on the table and casually asked, "Have all the people been taken care of?"

The man lowered his hands and said, "Yes, he's already dead."

“He’s a clever man, I wasn’t wrong about him.” Liao Pingju stroked the painting. “He’s only been with me for a short time, but he’s already discovered a lot of secrets. It’s a pity he was so naive. He wrote these secrets on the exam paper, hoping to expose me in this way. Humph! He didn’t know that the examiner was my student, and he had already been identified. By doing this, he was just ruining his own future.”

"I even thought highly of him, he really doesn't know what's good for him!"

He glanced up and looked over: "Did he destroy all the evidence he had?"

The man lowered his head even further.

"What's going on?" A sharp gaze shot over.

"The man was killed, but the assassin didn't have time to search the whole house before Serin arrived, so he had to leave first. Unexpectedly, more trouble arose, and the government sent people to guard his yard, so we could no longer make a move."

"Useless trash!" Liao Pingju shouted. "Sailinfu has repeatedly failed in his duties, and in the end, he ruined my plans. He's still alive?"

"Execution tomorrow."

"Once he dies, we can find a reason to get rid of his mother and children too."

“But…” the man hesitated, “Didn’t we promise to protect his family? That’s why he confessed to all the crimes and didn’t spare you…”

"Um?"

"Yes," he quickly bowed and replied.

"What about Zeng Zhengqing?"

"He is still in prison. I heard that Tang Qingduo is working hard to collect evidence to overturn his case."

Liao Pingju laughed: "Interesting. Since they like to cause trouble, let them keep busy. I'll add some more fun for the couple."

“They like to litigate, so you go and stir things up and make them investigate thoroughly.”

"yes."

"It's laughable for a mayfly to try to shake a giant tree."

“It’s still a pity,” he said, shaking his head as he looked at the painting. “This little girl’s paintings are becoming more and more charming, but she will never paint for me again.”

What should we do?

Those bloodied and mangled hands reappeared before his eyes, and he felt his blood rush to his head. An indescribable joy made his heart pound. Tang Li could never paint again, except for that painting, "Ten Thousand Green Mountains." Only he in the world could possess all of Tang Li's authentic works.

Destruction is the ultimate possession.

Liao Pingju stroked the scroll in his hand, a maniacal laugh spreading across his face.

*

Black smoke rose again from Shen Bingyan's courtyard, but this time it wasn't the courtyard's owner who started the fire, but two girls.

Lu Nong threw a stack of paper money into the brazier. Looking at the raging flames, she sighed and said, "Qingduo, it's hard on you. Brother Zeng's matter is not yet settled, which is enough to trouble you. You still came to keep me company today."

As Qingduo added paper money, she said, "I didn't spend much time with him, but he gave me a lot of suggestions for the novel 'The Everlasting Heroine,' so I should see him off."

She looked up at Lu Nong: "Sister Lu Nong, don't you hate him?"

“When I first found out, I was furious. I kept wondering what his purpose was in getting close to me. Zhu Yi said he had feelings for me, but I didn’t feel that way. I couldn’t explain why.”

"He seemed to want to get closer to me, yet also wanted to push me away. In the end, he asked to meet me, perhaps wanting to tell me something, but unfortunately, I will never know."

“When a person dies, everything is empty. Now, I don’t hate him. I even feel a little sorry for him for some reason. He came into this world in pain and left in pain, hiding in someone else’s name and leaving no trace of himself,” Lu Nong sighed.

Qingduo's eyes suddenly lit up: "Then let's look for his manuscripts and see if there are any independent and complete stories. We can help him publish them so that, besides us, others can also remember his name."

Both sisters thought it was wonderful, so they kept their word and went into the house to search for his manuscripts. Although Shen Bingyan had burned some of them, there were still quite a few left. The two sisters quickly sorted out a stack, but they couldn't tell which ones were his own works and which ones were written by him for others.

"Let's sort it out first, and then we can have the bookstore clerk check it later." Qingduo said, opening another box. Just as she was about to take out the manuscript inside, she suddenly stopped and subconsciously glanced at Lu Nong.

"What's wrong?" Lu Nong got up and walked over when he saw this, and then he noticed that the top cover was titled "Hua Tang Chun", which should be the third book he had ghostwritten.

"Burn it," Lu Nong said calmly. Shen Bingyan was already gone, and she didn't want to dwell on past grievances.

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something was wrong. The last time she came to see Shen Bingyan, she discovered that he was a ghostwriter. Wasn't it because she saw the burnt fragments of "Huatangchun"?

Why is there another one here?

She quickly flipped through the book to look at its contents, and her eyes widened in surprise. Seeing Lu Nong's expression, Qing Duo also came over and peered at the book. After only a few pages, her breathing became increasingly rapid. She snatched the manuscript away and exclaimed excitedly:

"Heaven is helping me!"

“No,” she said, holding it close to her chest and gazing at the bright spring sunshine outside, “it was he who upheld the justice in his heart.”

Lu Nong stared blankly at Qing Duo's back. She knew what was going to happen in the future, perhaps something earth-shattering, perhaps the earth would collapse and the sky would fall. But Qing Duo did not show any fear or panic, only a resolute determination to move forward.

Just as Qingduo helped her reclaim "Huatangchun", just as she always did when she saw injustice.

Lu Nong understood why they had become close friends, and she finally understood why Shen Bingyan had taken the initiative to get closer to her: they both shared the same conviction to do what they believed in.

But they are different.

The sunlight gilded Qingduo's edges, making her look like a golden flag. She would always be at the forefront, and when that flag was raised high, they would all follow without hesitation.

Shen Bingyan should have been one of them, but he could no longer do it.

Hot tears streamed down her face.

*

"My lord, Tang Qingduo has sent someone to deliver an invitation."

"Her?" Liao Pingju picked up his brush and wrote a stroke on the rice paper. "Is she begging me to release her husband?"

"Your Excellency, Zeng Zhengqing was released from prison this morning."

Liao Ping paused, turning to look at his subordinate: "He's out?"

"Yes, the whistleblower was convicted of false accusation, and Zeng Zhengqing was released in accordance with the law."

Liao Pingju put down his pen and sneered, "Hmph, now that she's out of prison, why is she sending me an invitation? Is she inviting me to watch her husband's triumphant release?"

She said that the painting "Ten Thousand Green Mountains" was in her possession, and that she would like to invite you to the Wu Family Shadow Puppet Theater at 5 PM the day after tomorrow to enjoy it together.

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Author's note: Tomorrow is the last chapter. It still needs some revisions, and I might post it tonight.