Madam Xu was frantic with worry. Xu Yaozu couldn't be found, and Lin Shuyan had fainted. The doctor had examined her but couldn't find anything wrong; there was no sign of her waking up.
"Did you find it?" Seeing Xu Dagui, Zhou Yingxuan, and Xu Shi returning from outside, panting heavily, Madam Xu eagerly stepped forward to ask.
"No, we've searched the whole village." Xu Dagui took a sip of water; he had been searching all night and was exhausted.
"What should we do? They haven't come back all night. Where did they go?" Madam Xu paced anxiously back and forth in the inner room.
“Mother-in-law, there have been wolves in the mountains these past two days. Do you think Yaozu might have been killed by wolves…”
"Smack—!"
Before Xu could finish speaking, she was slapped hard by her older sister, Xu Da. Caught off guard, Xu fell to the ground. Xu Dagui did not stop her, and Zhou Yingxuan, who was standing to the side, seemed to be used to it and did not even give Xu a glance.
"Alright, I'll go look for it again in a bit." Just as Madam Xu was about to start cursing, Xu Dagui spoke up.
"Xu Dagui!"
Xu Wanli rushed in from outside, followed by Village Chief Lu.
"Village chief, what brings you here? Did you find our Yaozu?" Da Xushi, oblivious to the solemn expression on Xu Wanli's face, stepped forward to ask.
“Xu Da Gui, do you know that there was a wolf pack attacking Shili Village last night?”
"Wolves? What does that have to do with finding my Yaozu?" Madam Xu grumbled discontentedly. "Village Chief Xu, you should ask the villagers to help find my Yaozu. He has to go back to the academy to study today!"
“Your Yaozu did something wrong and was arrested by the authorities,” Village Chief Lu said sternly.
"What nonsense are you spouting, you old fool? Your grandson was arrested by the authorities, and your whole family has been arrested!" Madam Xu almost jumped up to retort.
"You're the village chief of Shili Village. What are you doing here? You don't mean you want our villagers to help you drive away the wolves, do you?"
"Don't even think about it. Did you eat shit? How could you wrong my Yaozu like that? My Yaozu is going to take the imperial examinations!"
"Madam Xu!" Xu Wanli shouted at Madam Xu, but before he could explain, the voices of soldiers came from the courtyard.
"Is this Xu Yaozu's house?! Xu Yaozu is at the yamen (government office) right now, family members, come here immediately!"
Xu Dagui and his wife hurriedly ran out. There were two men dressed in government uniforms standing in the courtyard, with large knives hanging at their waists.
The Xu family members felt a chill run down their spines. Could it be that their Yaozu was really in the yamen?
What exactly happened in just one night?
"Yingxuan, Yan Yan hasn't woken up yet. Would you like to stay and take care of her?"
Madam Xu handed the unconscious Lin Shuyan over to Zhou Yingxuan and hurriedly followed the two soldiers to the town.
When Madam Xu and her companions arrived at the yamen, Jiang Hua, Jiang Jingyi, and their companions Songzi and Granny Luo also got off the carriage.
"What are you doing here? Did you do something to my Yaozu?!"
Seeing this little slut meant nothing good, and Madam Xu immediately wanted to pounce on her.
"What are you doing!" The soldiers drew their broadswords and pointed them at Madam Xu. Only then did Madam Xu calm down. She snorted coldly and reluctantly walked into the main hall of the yamen.
"ah--!"
"Damn it! Who on earth did this to my son Yaozu?!"
"Oh no! Our Yaozu is supposed to take the imperial examination for the first degree, but he's injured like this. What are we going to do?"
As soon as Jiang Hua and the others reached the main hall, they heard Madam Xu howling. When they went inside, they saw Madam Xu holding Xu Yaozu, who was covered in wounds, and weeping.
Xu Yaozu's injuries had been treated, and the bleeding areas had been bandaged by the doctor. However, his face was pale and his lips were colorless, indicating that he had lost too much blood and had not yet woken up.
"My lord, you must stand up for my son Yaozu! He's destined to be the top scholar in the imperial examinations. Someone must be plotting against him and can't stand to see him succeed!"
When Xu Dagui saw Xu Yaozu covered in injuries, he was completely shocked. Xu Shi, who was standing next to him, was so excited that she fainted.
However, at the moment, Xu Dagui and Madam Xu's attention was focused on the injured Xu Yaozu, and neither of them paid any attention to Madam Xu who had fainted in the main hall. It was Xu Wanli who couldn't bear to see her like this and dragged her to a pillar to lean against.
Bai Heng, sitting in the main hall, slammed his gavel and began to recount Xu Yaozu's actions and the reasons for his injury.
“Impossible! My Yaozu is a scholar, he would never do such a thing!” Xu Dagui immediately knelt down and denied it.
Yaozu is the only capable one in their family, and he is destined to pass the imperial examinations. How could he do such a thing!
"My lord, Your Honor, it must be that little slut Jiang Hua who's jealous of our Yaozu! Why is our Yaozu so badly injured while hers is completely unharmed!"
While kneeling on the ground and hugging Xu Yaozu, Madam Xu cried and sobbed.
Many of the people present were from Shili Village, as well as some residents of Qingshi Town. They were all speechless when they heard Da Xu's unreasonable and sophistical words.
"Is your Xu Yaozu's life even a life?"
"Sir, we've found medicinal powder on Xu Yaozu, and the doctor also discovered a large amount of powder spilled on his clothes..."
Jiang Hua looked at Jiang Jingyi beside her and gave him a wink. She had already told him on the way here. Jiang Jingyi nodded, stepped forward, knelt down, and explained the whole story.
"Sir, if that doesn't work, we can have the teachers and students of the academy come to testify. Everyone was there that day."
"Wolves are roaming the village. We've already warned everyone not to go out after sunset. Why is Xu Yaozu in our village?"
“When we fought the wolf pack, the officials and the yamen were there and saw it for themselves. Xu Yaozu brought this upon himself. If it weren’t for my stepmother and Lord Bai, your Xu Yaozu would have been eaten by the wolves long ago.”
"You're talking nonsense! You just can't stand that our Yaozu is only a child scholar!" Madam Xu couldn't accept what Jiang Jingyi was saying at all.
"This kind of vicious person is still a student. If he becomes an official in the future, I don't know how he will torment us ordinary people."
...
People in the crowd kept pointing and whispering, and Bai Heng also had the yamen doctor wake Xu Yaozu up for interrogation.
"What are you going to do to our Yaozu?" Xu watched as two soldiers moved Xu Yaozu from her arms. The doctor inserted a needle, and Xu Yaozu, who was pretending to be asleep, was immediately awakened by the pain.
When he woke up, he found himself in the yamen (government office), and he didn't dare to move at all, thinking that he could get away by pretending to be unconscious.
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