Even though Village Chief Zhou knew from the beginning that he was very likely to lose his position, he still felt quite upset now that the matter had been settled.

The Lin clan chief immediately straightened his back even more, and his eyes looked at the Zhou family with smugness and provocation.

Chief Lin, in a rather irritating tone, said, "Village Chief Zhou, oh, you're not the village chief anymore, Zhou Daqing."

The Zhou family was furious!

The clan chief Lin continued, "Today, either you honestly bow and apologize to the Lin clan members, or, hehe, Zhou Daqing, we'll see you in the county jail."

Once Zhou goes to jail, the Zhou family is finished.

Several of Zhou's descendants are still studying and are quite talented, but once they go to jail, their lives will be ruined.

The Lin and Zhou families had a long-standing feud. The Lin family had always been suppressed by the Zhou family, but now they were finally going to get their revenge.

The more frustrated the Zhou clan members were, the happier the Lin clan members were.

"Village Chief Zhou, don't you think about those few children in your Zhou clan who are still studying?" Clan Chief Lin laughed. Today, he wanted to make Zhou Daqing bow his head and vent his pent-up resentment.

Yang Cui stepped forward: "I think tomorrow's rumors will include another one: 'A member of the family of a poor scholar who became a top scholar is persecuting his fellow villagers in order to seize the position of village chief.'"

Fan said angrily, "You shameless woman, you can't even protect yourself, yet you're still babbling on and on."

"Sir, arrest this slut immediately! Teach her a lesson!" Lin Niu glared at Yang Cui with eyes that seemed to be coated with poison.

Sun Dewen: "Since that's the case, then take them all! I've seen the county jail, are you still going to be so stubborn?"

Upon hearing that she would be imprisoned, everyone panicked. Several constables immediately reached out to grab Yang Cui. Yang Cui, being a woman, was naturally no match for several skilled men. Of course, she didn't even consider resisting, because if she did, she would be convicted and it would be even harder to escape.

As soon as Yang Cui was caught, Lin Niu and Fan rushed up to her like madmen and started punching and kicking her. Yang Cui had no way to dodge and took several slaps.

"Don't you dare hit my godmother!"

Yuan Qiu rushed over, his small body blocking Yang Cui's way, and Fan Shi kicked the child away.

Fan's kick was so hard that Yuan Qiu fell to the ground, hitting the back of his head on a stone, and immediately started bleeding.

"Ball!"

Yang Cui's anger surged to the top of her head as she glared at Fan Shi: "If I, Yang Cui, don't die today, I will surely take your life, you wicked woman, one day!"

"Smack!"

Fan slapped Yang Cui across the face again.

"Don't hit my godmother! Don't hit my godmother!" Yuan Qiu cried heartbreakingly when he saw Yang Cui's disheveled appearance, which moved everyone present.

Sun Dewen hadn't expected Lin Shikang's mother to be this kind of person, but he wasn't sympathizing with Yang Cui; rather, he was afraid of delaying his own business.

Lin Mingcai noticed that Sun Dewen's expression was getting impatient, so he immediately stepped forward to stop Fan Shi: "Auntie, don't delay the officials' business. Let them take Yang Shi away. The county magistrate will definitely clear our Lin family's name."

"You're not allowed to take my godmother away! You're all not allowed to take her away! You bunch of bastards!"

Yuan Qiu clung tightly to Yang Cui's leg.

"What's all this commotion about? Who are they taking away?"

It's Manager Yu! He's finally here!

"Oh! Miss Yang, what happened to you? How did you get so badly injured? Our young master has prepared a small feast for you at the restaurant, how am I supposed to explain this to him in this state?" Manager Yu said with a troubled expression.

Sun Dewen was filled with anxiety. He wasn't afraid of Manager Yu, but he absolutely couldn't afford to offend the young master he was referring to.

"Manager Yu, this is..." Sun Dewen said with a forced smile.

"Oh dear, Young Master Sun is here too." Manager Yu feigned surprise. "I wonder what Miss Yang has done to offend you? This is a distinguished guest of our young master. I wonder if Young Master Sun could do us the honor?"

How could Sun Dewen dare to say no?

"So Miss Yang is Young Master Su's person. What a mess!" Sun Dewen hated Lin Mingcai to death. Why didn't he say that Yang Cui's backer was the Su family?

When Lin Mingcai approached him, he only told him that the roast duck and herbal jelly were made by Yang Cui, and that they knew how much money the roast duck and herbal jelly made.

Furthermore, Lin Shikang's downfall would not benefit Sun Dewen at all. On the contrary, if Lin Shikang were to live well, whether he married into the family or married the daughter of Vice Minister Wang, it would only bring benefits to Sun Dewen.

So Lin and Sun put their heads together and decided to take this opportunity to pry the recipe out of Yang Cui's mouth. They would then find a way to make her appear to the public as "unchaste and impure," and the unfavorable rumors about the Lin family would be dispelled. After all, who would believe the words of an unchaste woman?

But who knew that Manager Yu would come and say that Yang Cui was Su Murong's guest! This caused a huge uproar.

Lin Mingcai never believed that the Star Gazing Tower would stand up for Yang Cui, and Sun Dewen hadn't even considered the possibility. Ultimately, they both underestimated Yang Cui, thinking she was just a peasant woman who, even if she had some skill in preparing a few dishes, was nothing to fear.

"Hurry up and let them go!"

At Sun Dewen's command, several constables immediately released Yang Cui.

This time, it was the Lin family's turn to get anxious. Sun Dewen's politeness towards the manager was enough to prove the power of the Star Gazing Tower.

Zhou Daqing had initially thought he had made the wrong bet, but now, seeing how polite Manager Yu was to Yang Cui, he finally felt relieved.

The constables who were holding Yang Cui released her, and Yang Cui immediately lay on the ground, looking extremely weak.

"Manager Yu, I'm feeling dizzy and lightheaded right now. I'm afraid my days are numbered..."

"Waaaaah... Godmother, don't die, don't die, waaaah..."

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