Looking at the cold and aloof handsome face magnified in front of her, Lin Yan really wanted to curse!

It's been several days already?

Why is this prefect still haunting us?!

Even though she was very angry, she tried her best to keep her voice calm in order not to reveal her anger.

"May I ask if there's anything I can help you with, sir?"

"I'm bothering you because I need your help with the investigation. May I ask where you were on the evenings of the second and third days of this month?"

These days, Xu Yuze has been traveling between the prefectural city and the county town, all in order to track down the so-called master of the Thousand Machines Pavilion.

He felt that since the pavilion master first appeared in the county town, the murderer was very likely from that county.

Although based on the known evidence, the murderer was a tall, bearded man.

But for some reason, from the moment Xu Yuze first saw Lin Yan, he had a feeling that she was not an ordinary villager!

Through his investigation, he also discovered a loophole!

On the two nights when the murders occurred, she was not at home, but at the scene of the crime!

Moreover, the first murder occurred on the very night her younger brother and sister had their accident.

This is just too much of a coincidence...

"The second or third day of the Lunar New Year? On the first night, my younger brother and sister were secretly sold by someone from the same village. I rode my horse to chase after them, but found that the county town gates were already closed, so I slept in a hot pot restaurant in town for the night. On the third day, I went to the prefectural city to help my family sell embroidery because I heard that the price offered in the prefectural city was twice that in town, so I went there. The waiter and the manager of the Laifu Inn in the prefectural city can testify to this."

Upon hearing that he was there to investigate a case, Lin Yan tilted her head and thought back carefully.

But as she spoke, she finally realized that the person in front of her was doubting her, and her eyes widened in disbelief!

"Does the master doubt me?"

"You audacious shrew! How dare you question the prefect's judgment!"

Before she could finish speaking, the officers behind Xu Yuze suddenly drew their swords and held them in front of her, interrupting her.

Seemingly frightened by their sharp knives, Lin Yan shrank her shoulders and shed two lines of clear tears.

“I heard that the dead were all grown men. How could I, a weak woman, have killed them? Does Your Excellency have any evidence? If not, can you arbitrarily judge innocent people based on mere conjecture? Or does Your Excellency think that people of lowly status like us should be suspected and looked down upon?”

Lin Yan couldn't help but give herself a big thumbs up in her heart.

Look at her face covered in tears; she doesn't even need eye drops when acting out crying scenes!

Xu Yuze was standing opposite her. After hearing the choked sob, he couldn't help but look down.

But before I knew it, I met a pair of eyes that had suddenly looked up!

Her eyes were brimming with tears, her swollen eyes staring unblinkingly at him, as if she were pouring out her grievances to him...

This wasn't the first time Xu Yuze had faced a crying woman, but never before had he felt so helpless as he did today!

In that instant, he felt not as a prefect investigating a case, but as a heartless man who had abandoned an innocent woman.

He never knew that a girl could have so many tears, as if they would never run out.

He was relieved to come and inquire after seeing how heroic and spirited she looked when they first met, not at all like a weak woman.

Feeling helpless, he ordered his men to put away their knives, sighed softly, and handed Lin Yan a handkerchief.

"Wipe your face. It's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you. I've always treated everyone the same, regardless of their status. I'll go to the inn and ask about the situation properly. I was presumptuous this time, asking you before I had even investigated the truth."

Seeing that she was still covering her face and sobbing, and did not take the handkerchief, Xu Yuze knew that he would not get anything out of her, so he could only force the handkerchief into her hand and leave silently.

After they left, Lin Yan slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with cunning, showing no trace of sadness!

It wasn't that she was deliberately feigning weakness, but rather that in this day and age, ordinary people generally fear government officials.

She was a woman, and if she appeared too calm when questioned by the officials, it would only arouse more suspicion!

She was certain that she had not left any evidence, and it was impossible for the prefect to arrest her based solely on his suspicions!

Moreover, she had heard that this young prefect was very responsible and would never arrest someone without evidence.

Because the two of them were deliberately avoiding the hot pot restaurant when they were talking.

So Xie Rui didn't know what they were talking about, but when he saw Lin Yan's red and swollen eyes, he stood up nervously.

"Sister-in-law, what happened?"

"Nothing much, just catching up. How was business today?"

Seeing that she didn't seem sad, Xie Rui felt relieved and went to show her the account book, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement!

"Since we opened at noon today, we've served a total of 60 tables, and the net profit is a full 12 taels!"

A net profit of more than ten taels a day truly exceeded Lin Yan's expectations!

Indeed, food is the most important thing for people!

"People in the county town are really rich. If we can consistently serve forty or fifty tables a day, our business will be stable. Alright, you've worked hard too. Go and get some rest. There should be job applicants tomorrow morning, and we can relax a bit."

The following day, Lin Yan hired two women who washed vegetables and dishes, and a waitress, for the same monthly salary of one tael and five mace.

Although Xie Rui and his brother were young, they were smart and sensible, so on the third day, Lin Yan felt at ease taking her parents back to the village.

When she arrived in town, she went to the carriage shop again and spent two taels of silver to buy a donkey cart to take her home.

Now, the Lin Zhenghong couple has a horse-drawn carriage, chickens, ducks, and sheep in their home, something they never imagined.

Mingming's family hardly ever uses their two horse-drawn carriages, so he's quite puzzled to see his daughter buy a donkey cart.

"Daughter, we already have two horse-drawn carriages, why are we spending money to buy a donkey cart?"

"I plan to find someone to deliver vegetables from the village to the town and the hot pot restaurants in the county every day. It's fast and convenient to do it by donkey cart."

After all, Lin Yan couldn't bear to let the two warhorses do the work of transporting vegetables, and she didn't want anyone else to ride them.

As soon as she returned to the village, Lin Yan went to Aunt Wang's house and told her what she wanted.

"Since hot pot restaurants don't open until after 9:30 AM, as long as the ingredients are collected and delivered to the restaurant before that time, the monthly wage is one tael and six mace. How about that?"

Although Lin Wende would go to town to do odd jobs and occasionally go into the mountains to hunt, it was ultimately unstable and unsafe.

Now that she has a stable job and only has to work half a day, it will be beneficial for finding a husband in the future. Aunt Wang and her family couldn't be happier!

Aunt Wang was overwhelmed with gratitude, and holding Lin Yan's hand, she was speechless:

"Yan girl, how come you're so kind! You always think of our family."

"Of course, after all, you have taken good care of our family in the past."

At that moment, Yang Jiayi was reporting on some of the information he had found out, and Xie Muqing's expression was not good after listening to it.

Upon suddenly seeing Lin Yan and the other two push open the door to return home, a hint of panic flashed across his face, but he quickly regained his composure and put on a shy smile.

"My wife, you're back!"