I will not prove myself.
The argument between Pei Qingwu and Gu Heng eventually attracted the attention of others.
Shi Dayong was the first to step forward, snatching the knife from Gu Heng's hand: "Brother Heng, the boss is right. Even if you kill that old fox Liang Jingshan, you'll only end up getting yourself killed. What's the point?"
"We can't use the blood of those people; it would dirty the knives in our hands."
After much persuasion, they finally managed to convince Gu Heng to go back.
Shi Dayong wasn't asleep; he was helping Jinniang soothe the baby. For some reason, Mingyi kept waking up in the middle of the night, crying incessantly, and couldn't be left alone for a while. So, after persuading Gu Heng, he went to hold the baby again.
Inside the room, only Pei Qingwu and Gu Heng remained.
Once Gu Heng calmed down, he remembered that Pei Qingwu was only wearing a nightgown. His ears turned slightly red, and he took one of his own cloaks and draped it over Pei Qingwu's shoulders.
Pei Qingwu himself only then realized what was happening and coughed awkwardly twice.
The two looked at each other in silence for a moment.
After a long silence, Pei Qingwu finally said, "Aheng, you've been with me for so long, do you really think I would try to kill myself over this?"
“No…” Gu Heng said sullenly, “If you cared, you probably wouldn’t have accepted Sister Qiantao to work here.”
“Yes, I don’t care.” Pei Qingwu patted his shoulder: “Liang Jingshan wants to ruin my reputation, make me feel ashamed and lead me to my death, but I refuse. I not only want to live well, but I also want to take revenge on him myself and see him get his comeuppance.”
"So, Ah Heng, please don't be so impulsive anymore, okay?"
Gu Heng hummed in agreement and lowered his head.
Feeling that he had persuaded him, Pei Qingwu got up to leave, but was grabbed by the wrist.
She turned around and looked at him, puzzled.
"Hand..." Gu Heng pointed to her wrist, where the bruise was visible: "Does it still hurt?"
"The medicine has been applied, and it doesn't hurt anymore, so don't worry." Pei Qingwu smiled at him.
Seeing Gu Heng's shifty gaze and hesitant speech, as if he had something to say, Pei Qingwu simply sat down and asked gently, "What's wrong, Heng? Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
The candlelight danced across her face, outlining her gentle features.
Gu Heng finally mustered his courage and said, "I... I feel guilty..."
"What are you blaming yourself for?"
"You took me in so that I could be your protector and keep you safe, but..."
He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, saying, "If I hadn't been so useless and suddenly had a stomachache, preventing me from going with you, Liang Jingshan wouldn't have succeeded! I..."
"Wait a minute." Pei Qingwu pressed him down: "So that's what it is. Then let me ask you, even if you come with me, what will you do if Liang Jingshan's side has more people and you can't beat them?"
Gu Heng said without hesitation, "Even if it costs me my life, I will protect my employer."
“Hey, that’s not how it works.” Pei Qingwu smiled, bent her finger, and gently tapped Gu Heng’s forehead: “What I mean is, Liang Jingshan wanted to take action against me a long time ago. Whether you are here or not, the consequences will be the same. He is ruthless and unscrupulous, and I was not careful enough this time. It has nothing to do with you.”
"But……"
"No buts."
Seeing that the child was so excited that he was about to stand up, Pei Qingwu pressed him down: "You have to remember that there is only one Liang Jingshan who did something wrong. Don't take the blame on yourself. You did nothing wrong. I don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself either."
Gu Heng's eyes flickered for a moment, then he said, "Okay..."
"Go to sleep, it's getting late." Pei Qingwu smiled gently. "You have to get up early tomorrow to practice your sword with Brother Shi."
"The boss knows," Gu Heng said with an embarrassed smile.
Previously, he had learned some martial arts skills at Zuiyue Tower, but they were only superficial. So now he has become Shi Dayong's apprentice and works hard from dawn till dusk every day, hoping to improve his skills.
"I know everything. Go to sleep, go to sleep, don't stay up late."
Despite having anticipated Liang Jingshan's ruthlessness and despicable methods, and having foreseen the kind of public opinion environment he would face, Pei Qingwu was still disgusted the next day.
Liang Jingshan not only embellished the story of that day, but also contacted the Sun family, Pei Qingwu's ex-husband's family.
Last time, Pei Qingwu chopped off two of Liu Gou'er's fingers, which temporarily intimidated Liu Shi and Sun Cheng. However, the latter harbored resentment and now that he had received Liang Jingshan's money, he felt that the time for revenge had come. So he shamelessly came out and stirred up trouble.
The rumors included, but were not limited to, that Pei Qingwu had an affair with Sai Yide before she was married, that Sun Jian's death was due to the discovery on their wedding night that she was not a virgin, and that her insistence on leaving the Sun family was because she was eager to elope with Sai Yide...
It was even said that she not only had affairs with Said, but actually had affairs with countless men, making her even more promiscuous than the courtesans in brothels.
Sun Cheng became even more shameless, brazenly proclaiming that just a few days after his elder brother's death, Pei Qingwu stripped down to only her undergarment and tried to climb into his bed. When Sun Cheng rebuked her, she became enraged and falsely accused him of trying to force her into becoming a concubine.
He described it in great detail, even specifying the color of the undergarment Pei Qingwu wore that day.
Business in front of Sushan Market suddenly became quiet.
Apart from a few regular customers who trusted Pei Qingwu's character, everyone else had their doubts, especially some unmarried girls.
When it comes to rumors, I always prefer to believe they exist rather than dismiss them entirely.
Some nosy men even came to the shop to flirt, asking Pei Qingwu with malicious smiles if they could have a taste of her beauty since the Hu people could.
After being driven away several times by Shi Dayong and Gu Heng, fewer and fewer people came.
At that moment, another man with foul language was pinned down on the street and brutally beaten by Gu Heng.
Even Fifth Sister couldn't stand it anymore. She rushed out with a rolling pin in her hand and started hitting the man without any rhyme or reason: "You little bastard, born of parents but raised by none, how dare you speak so rudely! What? Did your grandfather sell you off to raise you? Otherwise, how do you know all this?!"
The man stubbornly persisted, "What's there to be angry about? I just hit the nail on the head... Ah—!"
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Heng had already punched him in the mouth.
"Alright, Aheng, know when to stop." Pei Qingwu spoke up to stop him, and only then did Gu Heng let the man go.
The latter scrambled to his feet and disappeared in no time.
Qian Tao's eyes turned red with anger: "Master! Look at them..."
“That Liang Jingshan is shameless! He actually hired these people to slander his employer. He has no conscience! He…” Qian Tao couldn’t finish her sentence and burst into tears.
Pei Qingwu sighed, took out a handkerchief, walked over, and wiped her tears: "Alright, alright, don't cry, crying is bad for your health."
Yin Lan, standing to the side, patted Qian Tao's back and looked at Pei Qingwu with worry: "Master, what do we do now? They've spread such rumors so convincingly, what if..."
They said even more disgusting things.
"It's not that there's no way. My former master once handled a case like this. A vagrant from a village took a fancy to a girl from another family, insisting that he was already in a relationship and demanding that the girl's family give her to him in marriage. The girl's family went to the county yamen to file a complaint, and the magistrate sent an old woman to examine the girl..."
This is indeed a solution, but going to the government office for a proper visit and undergoing a physical examination under the watchful eyes of everyone, even through a screen, is still unsettling.
“No, I will not prove myself.” Pei Qingwu said firmly, “At a time like this, we must not let those villains lead us by the nose. Even if I go for a medical examination, they will still have new rumors waiting for me.”
"So, what does the employer mean..."
Pei Qingwu took a deep breath: "Aheng, Brother Shi, come with me to find Said."
That day, she was so focused on getting back that she neglected the other party involved.
Looking back now, it seems that Sayyid was also drugged, and didn't appear there voluntarily.
Suing Liang Jingshan for false accusation will likely only yield some compensation and a perfunctory apology.
If the scandal of indecent assault were to be transformed into a serious criminal case involving drugging and kidnapping, Liang Jingshan would face imprisonment.
The law on theft and robbery clearly stipulates that poisoning someone, even if it does not result in death, is extremely heinous and carries a minimum sentence of exile for three thousand li.
Kidnapping and imprisonment also involve the crime of "abduction of persons." The Thieves and Robbers Law clearly stipulates that even if there is no buying or selling, it still constitutes a crime, with a minimum sentence of three years imprisonment, and the sentence is aggravated if the victim is injured.
Both Saeed and she were injured, and if they joined forces to file a lawsuit to the death, it was possible that they could even have Liang Jingshan executed.
Said's Persian mansion was also affected by the rumors, and business was dismal.
When Pei Qingwu arrived, he was sitting in a corner with a white cloth wrapped around his head, looking at the account book with a worried expression.
"Master Pei?"
Upon seeing the visitor, Said exclaimed in surprise that even after all this, Pei Qingwu would still come to see him without any regard for propriety.
"How is the injury on Manager Sai's head?" Pei Qingwu glanced at the white cloth and asked, "In the heat of the moment that day, I hit him a little too hard. I hope you won't take offense, Manager Sai."
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Said waved his hand. “I haven’t apologized to Master Pei yet. I’ve been in the Central Plains for several years now, and I know that for women in the Central Plains, chastity is extremely important. Because of me, Master Pei has suffered this calamity. It’s truly…”
"That's why I've come today," Pei Qingwu said. "I imagine that Manager Sai's business hasn't been doing well these days."
"Yes, yes..."
"Merchants like Manager Sai are probably also affected."
When someone makes a mistake, it's hard not to implicate the group behind them.
"That's right, Master Pei wants to..."
"You were also drugged by Liang Jingshan and lured to that place. I need you to come with me to the Qinzhou government office to accuse Liang Jingshan of drugging and injuring people, kidnapping and imprisoning, and falsely accusing him. Do you want to go?"
“It’s no use clarifying these rumors. We might as well sue him for assault. Once he’s in jail, the rumors will fall apart on their own.”
Said blinked and cupped his hands, saying, "Master Pei is indeed very thoughtful. Tell me, when are we going to the government office?"
"Today, but before we go to the government office, I would like to ask Manager Sai to do one more thing."
"What?"
Pei Qingwu stepped forward: "You Hu merchants should also have a chamber of commerce, right? I need you to contact the president of the chamber of commerce and go to Magistrate Zhao for advice."
“You are not from the Central Plains. You have come here from afar to do business peacefully and abide by the laws of our dynasty. You have never overstepped your bounds. But Liang Jingshan is a vicious fellow who has resorted to such a wicked scheme. It is a small matter that your business has suffered a terrible loss. The key issue is that your reputation has been damaged. If you don’t get your revenge, how will you, as merchants from the Central Plains, establish yourselves in Qinzhou in the future?”
“Lord Zhao is the most impartial person, and I suppose he understands the implications of this matter.”
These foreign merchants could be considered "international friends," and besides, their business dealings also contributed to the tax revenue of Qin Prefecture.
If we can unite them, things will be much easier.
Said also understood, and bowed deeply to Pei Qingwu: "Boss Pei is indeed wise and insightful. You are absolutely right. I will go and find our Chamber of Commerce President, Chen Mingli!"
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