Chapter 36: Brother and Sister
Wu Xinxin said: "This tofu workshop was left to me by my mother. My brothers can testify to this!"
The thugs who came carrying the stretcher nodded repeatedly: "We can all testify for Wu Xin!"
"We were there before Wu Xin's mother died, and we heard with our own ears that she left this tofu workshop to Wu Xin!"
"I can testify!"
"I can testify to that, too!"
Several people spoke up.
Whatever Wu Xin wanted to say was drowned out by their voices.
The county magistrate asked Chunzhi again, "What do you want to say?"
Chunzhi said, "In reply to your Excellency's question, Mrs. Li, who sold the tofu workshop to me, is alive and well now. She just returned to the countryside to retire, she's not dead..."
Upon hearing this, several thugs suddenly became silent.
Everyone looked at Wu Xin, and one of them whispered, "Your mother is still alive, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Wu Xin wanted to say it earlier, but they spoke so quickly that he couldn't stop them.
The county magistrate said, "Then the original head of the household, Mrs. Li, will be summoned!"
Wu Xin hurriedly shouted, "Sir! Sir! My mother is ill and confused. She can't remember the past. Even if you summon her, it will be useless."
"This..." The county magistrate looked at the legal advisor.
The lawyer immediately asked, "Who else knows about the tofu workshop?"
Chunzhi said, "When the ownership was transferred previously, I came to the county government office to get my seal affixed. There should be a record of this there."
The county magistrate was about to speak.
The lawyer leaned close to the county magistrate's ear and whispered a few words.
In this case of the tofu workshop dispute, someone came to the county government office in advance to make a statement, saying that the case could not be awarded to Chunzhi under any circumstances.
The county magistrate had accepted the benefits long ago, but had forgotten about this matter, so the lawyer quickly reminded him.
After hearing this, the county magistrate immediately remembered that the prime minister's daughter and the number one scholar's wife had sent someone to inform them in advance.
The county magistrate coughed twice, pretending to be very honest and upright, and immediately sent his lawyer to look for the records.
The lawyer left immediately and returned after a long while. He said in public, "A few days ago, the library was infested with rats and they gnawed on many books. The records of the tofu workshop's transactions have been damaged..."
"Is this really true?" The county magistrate pretended to be surprised and asked, "Then is there any witness or physical evidence of the tofu workshop's business?"
"Yes." Chunzhi said, "Lu Jingyun, the top scholar, is the new head of the household, and he is also a witness."
Wu Xin and the hooligans around him sneered, "Who is the top scholar? How could he look down on such a small tofu shop?"
"That's right, he's the top scholar, what can he want?"
The county magistrate thought the same thing, but he still followed the procedure and asked, "Where is the witness?"
The master said loudly: "The heir's testimony!"
The yamen runner came to report: "Your Excellency, there is no one outside the hall, and the witness has not come."
Chunzhi turned around and looked outside the hall.
Lu Jingyun said he would come.
He broke his promise again.
"No one came," the county magistrate said, "so there is no witness."
The county magistrate picked up the gavel and slammed it in the courtroom, ready to make a ruling. "The plaintiff Wu Xin and the defendant Chunzhi are in a dispute over the tofu workshop. Since Wu Xin has witnesses and Chunzhi has none, I hereby make this ruling. The Taohua Lane tofu workshop shall be awarded to—"
"The number one scholar is here."
A report from outside the door interrupted the county magistrate's judgment.
"The number one scholar has really come?" The county magistrate stood up to greet him.
Lu Jingyun walked straight in and stood beside Chunzhi. "The tofu workshop in Taohua Lane was bought by Chunzhi from the original owner, Mrs. Li, six years ago. I am the current owner. The house and land deeds were accidentally burned in a fire at home a few days ago. I came here to testify."
Chunzhi glanced at Lu Jingyun and immediately said, "Sir, my witness is here."
"I have seen it."
The county magistrate gave the legal advisor a look and secretly groaned in his heart.
How come the number one scholar and his wife are not of the same mind?
One of them asked him to give the tofu workshop to Wu Xin.
One of them came to testify for Haruji.
This case is difficult to judge.
Wu Xin was also shocked. The top scholar's wife asked him to fight for the tofu workshop, so why did this top scholar come to testify for Chunzhi?
Everyone in the court had different thoughts.
The county magistrate then asked Lu Jingyun, "Lu Zhuangyuan, are you remembering correctly? Are you really the current owner of this tofu workshop?"
Lu Jingyun said: "I remember correctly."
"This..." The county magistrate didn't know how to judge the case for a moment.
Seeing this, Wu Xin moved to Lu Jingyun's side with difficulty and whispered to him, "Zhuangyuanlang, it was your wife who asked me to fight for this tofu workshop. How can you testify for Chunzhi?"
Wu Xin was beaten and seriously injured, and his speech was slurred.
Lu Jingyun couldn't hear clearly, so he asked him in a deep voice, "What did you say?"
Wu Xin repeated, "It was the wife of the top scholar, your wife, who asked me to fight for this tofu workshop. How could you testify for Chunzhi?"
This time, Lu Jingyun heard it clearly.
The top scholar's handsome face darkened. No wonder Ji Ruzhen complained of a headache today, aching here and there and dragging him along, not wanting him to leave the house. It turned out to be because...
It was Ji Ruzhen who instigated Wu Xin and Chunzhi to fight over the tofu workshop.
Wu Xin didn't know that Ji Ruzhen had done this without telling Lu Jingyun, and had let the matter slip, and he thought that the top scholar would change his words.
The next moment, Lu Jingyun said, "I am a witness to Chunzhi's purchase of the tofu workshop. I ask the county magistrate to make a fair judgment."
"Since the top scholar is a witness, this must be true."
The county magistrate wanted to let the top scholar go home and argue with his wife, so he awarded the tofu workshop to Chunzhi on the spot.
Wu Xin grumbled that the verdict could not be this way, and was driven out by the bailiffs.
Lu Jingyun also asked the county government to issue Chunzhi a house deed and land deed.
Since the top scholar said so, the county magistrate naturally had no choice but to respond. He immediately asked someone to make up for Chunzhi's problem. Lu Jingyun was present and he also transferred the tofu workshop to Chunzhi.
This book was bought by Chunzhi. His name was written on it before because they are a family and Chunzhi considers everything he owns to be from the Lu family.
Now that Chunzhi has left the Lu family, it is time to take back what belongs to her.
With the number one scholar around, the people in the county government worked incredibly quickly.
Chunzhi got the reissued deed before dark, left the county government office, and prepared to return to Linshui Town.
Lu Jingyun, who had been asked to stay by the county magistrate several times, also followed her out of the county government office and called out to her, "Chunzhi."
Haruji turned around and looked at him, "What's wrong?"
Lu Jingyun was speechless for a moment.
Chunzhi then remembered that he had come to help as a witness and had asked the county government to reissue the deed, but she had not yet thanked him.
So she immediately said, "Thank you for what you did today."
Lu Jingyun said, "Between you and me, there's no need to thank me."
"Don't say that," Chunzhi said, "You're married, and I'm married. If someone hears you say that, they're bound to misunderstand."
Lu Jingyun looked at her with complicated eyes, "Chunzhi, even if you and I can't be husband and wife, we can still be brother and sister. Why do you have to reject me thousands of miles away?"
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