Chapter Twenty-Five: Xu Chumin is Tortured, Zhao Yu Comes to the Rescue
As Zhao Yu rode along, he could hear the discussions along the street.
"A woman who can quickly open a shop in the capital must have relied on a man."
"Her perfumes sell so well, there must be something added to them that shouldn't be there."
"She looks like a vixen and knows how to seduce men. My man, who doesn't buy incense, always buys several boxes when he goes in."
Zhao Yu's eyes suddenly turned cold.
As soon as the woman finished speaking, Guan Yan lashed her with his whip, sending her sprawling to the ground.
The women screamed in fright.
Guan Yan had been by Zhao Yu's side for a long time, and his ability to intimidate people was second to none.
"Everything requires evidence. If Madam can't speak, why not just cut her mouth off?"
Guan Yan had eaten at Miss Xu's house several times with Zhao Yu, and Guan Yan always spoke up for Xu Chu Mian for those meals.
Looking ahead, Guan Yan saw that Zhao Yu had already ridden away on horseback.
...
Not long ago, in the office of the Prefect of the Capital.
The Persians were still shouting, "Sir, we are innocent! We bought this box a few days ago. We applied a little to our hands and it was fine, so we ordered a hundred boxes."
"This morning, I applied some face powder to my neck, and it started to fester and itch."
"There must be poison inside, sir, you are wise to see the truth."
Xu Chumian knelt on the ground with her back straight. Her palms were sweaty, but her face remained relatively calm.
“Lord Zhou, my incense shop has been open for almost a month, and I have sold countless spices and perfumes. No customer has ever complained about any problems.”
"The discomfort on these people's faces may be due to the application of something else."
"My spices are non-toxic!"
People were pointing and whispering outside the government office.
“My daughter used it and had no problems.”
"My wife said the same thing, and that it smells great, is good value for money, and is better than other brands of spices."
Xiao Tao stood outside the yamen, her eyes red with anxiety. "My daughter is innocent. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the shop. Someone must be framing her."
After the Persians reported to the authorities in the morning, constables came to arrest Xu Chumian. Liu Da and Liu Er argued with the constables and were subsequently arrested and imprisoned on charges of rebelling against the imperial court.
A murmur of discussion arose outside, and Zhou Qian, the Prefect of the Capital, changed his expression, his eyes fixed on Xu Chumian.
Xu Chumian had a vague sense of unease.
At the same time, a constable whispered a few words to Zhou Qian, the Prefect of Jingzhao.
Zhou Qian slammed his gavel: "You audacious and unscrupulous merchant! You've mixed toxic ingredients to make spices, passing off inferior goods as superior ones, hoping to satisfy the people. Your intentions are despicable!"
Xu Chumin exclaimed, "Absolutely impossible! All the raw materials I used were purchased from villages outside the city. There's absolutely no way there could be a problem."
Zhou Qian sneered: "Guards, bring in the witnesses and evidence."
Two people appeared in the hall: the coachman from yesterday and the farmer from the foot of the mountain yesterday.
“My lord, I told this young lady yesterday that Gan Shu is poisonous after it becomes damp, but she insisted on buying it. Your Honor is wise and just, this has nothing to do with me.”
Xu Chumian frowned. "You're talking nonsense. The price of Atractylodes lancea on the market is ten coins per catty. I bought it for eleven coins yesterday. At that price, it's impossible for me to buy inferior, poisonous Atractylodes lancea."
The coachman then said, "Sir, this woman is lying. Yesterday, when I pulled her cart, I heard her say that she was buying it for three coins."
Zhou Qian said coldly, "Xu Chumian, you still dare to argue? Your Gan Shu looks good on the surface, but the layer underneath is all poisonous."
Xu Chumian stared directly at Zhou Qian without flinching. When she saw a flicker in Zhou Qian's eyes, Xu Chumian immediately understood who was behind it.
Now, the only ones who are at odds with her are Shen Lingyin and Princess Xingyang.
Given the power and influence of their families, it would be a piece of cake for Zhou Qian to act out of personal favoritism.
Xu Chuming calmed down and said, "My lord, may I ask you a few questions?"
Zhou Qian frowned: "Speak."
Xu Chumian first asked the farmer, "Since you know that Atractylodes macrocephala is poisonous, why did you keep it? It rained continuously a while ago, why didn't you sell your Atractylodes macrocephala before?"
"I...I was originally planning to throw it away, but you insisted on buying it!"
"According to you, since I was determined to get the poisonous atractylodes, why did I only buy from your family? Yesterday I bought atractylodes from four different villages, so why were the ones sold to me by the others considered good?"
The farmer continued, "It must be something that no other family has!"
“If other places don’t have it, then I definitely asked them.” Xu Chumian curved her lips, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She then looked at the coachman: “Did I ask other places if they had poisonous ginseng?”
The driver turned his head away, not daring to look at Xu Chuming, "I...I don't know, I can't hear you from far away."
Xu Chumian bowed to Zhou Qian: "Please ask your Excellency to invite four more families to serve as witnesses."
Zhou Qian never expected that he would be tricked by Xu Chumian. He shouted angrily, "The evidence is conclusive. How dare this unscrupulous merchant deny it? Guards, take him away! Punish him with ten lashes, seal up his shop, and expel him from the capital."
Xu Chumian raised her voice: "I have been wronged! Why are you in such a hurry to solve this case, sir?"
Outside the government office, some ordinary people felt indignant on Xu Chuming's behalf.
"Yes, we didn't investigate anything before believing what those people said."
Seeing Zhou Qian's sinister expression, Xu Chuming pursed her lips, her face tense, and had no choice but to speak:
"The family that I finally purchased Ganshu from is the head of the Zhao family of the Duke of Zhao. If you don't believe me, Lord Zhou, you might as well send someone to investigate."
Zhou Qian's eyes flashed with panic. If the Zhao family were involved, things would get complicated.
He shouted angrily, "Shut up! How dare you slander the Zhao family and fabricate witnesses! Guards, drag Xu Chumin away and execute her immediately!"
"If you dare say another word, you will all be executed along with Xu Chumian!"
The area outside the government office immediately fell silent.
Xu Chumian was pinned down by the two constables and was powerless to resist.
The people outside the yamen dispersed in twos and threes. Xiao Tao didn't know what to do. Xiao Qingyan was not in the capital, so she had no choice but to try her luck outside the Dali Temple to find Zhao Yu. Unexpectedly, she actually met Guan Yan.
...
A sound of horses' hooves neighed, and the constables of the Jingzhao Prefecture immediately bowed to the newcomers.
"Lord Zhao!"
Xiao Tao breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Yu barged in and headed towards the dungeon. His face was grim and icy. "Hand over Xu Chumian," he said.
A constable scrambled to fetch Zhou Qian.
"Lord Zhao, this is the Jingzhao Yin (Prefectural Governor), not the Dali Temple (Court of Judicial Review)—"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Yu drew a knife from the wall and slashed open the dungeon lock.
The lock cracked instantly, and the knife broke.
Several constables turned pale and took a step back. Zhao Yu was not only the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, but also the heir of the Duke's mansion.
They're not someone you can mess with.
Guan Yan then caught up with Zhao Yu.
Zhou Qian was following behind.
Zhao Yu strode to the door of a prison cell.
Upon seeing the person inside, Zhao Yu's face trembled, as if a thunderbolt had struck his head.
Xu Chumian lay weakly on the withered grass, covered in blood, with her eyes closed, her breathing slow.
The scene at this moment overlapped with his previous life, and Zhao Yu's eyes immediately reddened.
Zhao Yu approached and carefully embraced her, treating her as if she were a priceless treasure.
Xu Chumian, however, opened her eyes with trembling eyelashes, like a frightened bird.
He called her softly, "Chu Mian?"
Xu Chumian felt like she was hallucinating; how could she see Zhao Yu here?
Zhao Yu picked the man up, a murderous glint in his eyes. "Zhou Qian, think carefully about how you're going to explain this."
Zhou Qian's legs went weak; he hadn't expected this girl to have such powerful connections.
Fear gripped every corner of the dungeon; none of those who had ever harmed Xu Chuming escaped unscathed.
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