Chapter 44 Negotiation with Liu Shuhui

"Who are you?" Liu Shuhui looked Lu Lingjun up and down. From the way she was dressed and the fact that she was accompanied by a servant, he knew that she was definitely not from the store, and he looked alert.

Lu Lingyun did not hide it, she said frankly, "I am the owner of this store."

"So you are the boss here. I see you are sneaking around and you don't look like good people. You must be trying to destroy the evidence so that you can get your people out! Come on! Follow me to see the official!"

As Liu Shuhui said this, he stepped forward and wanted to take Lu Lingyun to see the official.

Before he even touched Lu Lingyun, Dongsheng stepped in front of Lu Lingyun and said, "You reckless young man, who are you trying to bring to the court? Do you know who our lady is? If you touch her, you will never be able to afford to offend her again in your life!"

"Oh! How could I, Liu, be afraid of you? Justice is clear, under the emperor's feet, I don't believe there is no explanation!"

Lu Lingyun: "......"

Born to be stubborn, this is indeed a stubborn donkey.

She waved at Dongsheng, telling him to go down, and spoke calmly and gently, "Mr. Liu, I am not here to destroy the evidence. I also want to investigate this matter thoroughly."

"The government has already investigated everything clearly. I was there when the incident happened and saw my fellow villager fall from the second floor. The broken stairs on the second floor are also clear evidence. What else do you have to investigate?"

"After all, this is my own fault, so I have to know what's going on, right?"

Lu Lingyun's well-reasoned speech made Liu Shuhui become more aggressive.

It's not that he was unreasonable, but at first he didn't think that someone like Lu Lingyun was reasonable.

It was hard to imagine that a lady like Lu Lingyun, who looked like she had never been involved in worldly affairs and was from the capital, would reason with a son like him who had no official status, traveled to the capital to take the imperial examination and had no relatives.

They can silence a group of people simply by relying on their power.

Liu Shuhui had seen too many people like this, so from the very beginning, he was extremely hostile to Lu Lingyun. As long as Lu Lingyun was strong and tough, he would be stronger and tougher than her.

Their Liu family was a lower-class family in Jiangnan. His father used to be the local county magistrate, but he died of a serious illness when he was young, leaving only his mother to support the family. His mother was a weak-willed person and was always bullied by her uncles in the clan. His family was almost forced to death by being wiped out.

As the eldest son in the family, Liu Shuhui knew at that time that cowardice and retreat were useless. Only by being as sharp as a knife could one fight a way out in the cruel environment.

Even if the other party is extremely powerful, as long as you have the right principles and a strong backbone, you will definitely be able to make the other party admit defeat and admit defeat.

Of course, Liu Shuhui is not being unreasonable, his toughness is based on facts.

He cares about the truth more than anyone else.

After Lu Lingyun said this to him, he took the initiative to step back and said, "Miss, please go upstairs and take a look."

"Yeah." Lu Lingyun nodded at him and went upstairs.

The environment on the second floor is dirtier and messier than that on the first floor.

Perhaps because no one had cleaned up the house during the few days it was closed, there was a pile of debris in the corridor, and a few night pots were openly placed at the door of the room.

The smell is really bad.

Lu Lingyun just frowned and didn't say anything about these irrelevant things. He walked through the pile of debris and stopped at the broken edge of the railing.

Liu Shuhui watched her reactions the whole time. Although Lu Lingyun was wearing a hat and her expression could not be seen clearly, he really looked up to her for being a noble lady with extraordinary clothes who could walk through such a place.

Then he saw Lu Lingyun squatting at the broken edge and carefully checking the handrail. This look really surprised him.

The woman in front of me is so careful and meticulous in doing things.

It seems that he is a man who gets things done.

"How is it? Did it decay naturally?"

Lu Lingyun stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and nodded in approval, "Yes."

The handrail of the stairs is indeed damaged, and it is not caused by human factors.

In his previous life, he followed Li Wenxun and worked as a local official in Jiangnan for more than ten years. He did everything himself, so he did have the insight and ability to judge cases.

"Then what else do you have to say?" Liu Shuhui snorted coldly, as if he was right.

At this time, Lu Lingyun said calmly, "It's OK that the handrail decayed naturally, but I don't know if the person fell down accidentally."

"I saw it with my own eyes! My fellow countryman fell down just as he was touching the handrail! It was an accident!"

"I heard that he had an argument with someone at the time."

"Yes, it's just a normal debate."

It is normal for children to argue with each other.

"Perhaps someone had discovered this dilapidated staircase before and deliberately lured him here, then took advantage of the moment when he was angry, and he slapped the handrail and fell down. Or maybe... he knew it all along, and he was arguing with someone, got angry for a moment, and was under great pressure from the exam, so he broke the railing and fell to his death."

Lu Lingyun talked about every possibility.

It was not that she intentionally protected her own people. After more than ten years in the local area, Lu Lingyun deeply understood one thing.

That is, you can always assume everyone's behavior with the greatest malice, because the truth behind many things is unimaginably evil.

Everything is possible.

But her words were only directed at Liu Shuhui, who was so angry that he jumped up and down. The first half of her words made sense, but the second half was just nonsense. "You are just talking nonsense!"

"Does Master Liu have evidence to prove that my guess must be wrong?"

"Then what evidence do you have to prove what you said?"

"That's right." Lu Lingyun looked at him calmly under his hat. "Mr. Liu, I am also very sad about the news of your death, but the truth of his case is confusing. None of us can prove what happened to him. Why don't we settle privately? I am willing to give the greatest compensation."

"Oh! You are here to protect your own people! I tell you it's impossible. There is no evidence to prove what you said. But your people's negligence is a foregone conclusion. He should be held responsible!"

"You are right, but in this world, you should only be held responsible for your actions. A thief just stole something, so you can't chop off his head as compensation. If you broke a box containing expensive pearls, you can't be asked to pay for the entire value of the pearls. Everything has its limits."

Lu Lingyun said calmly, "My shopkeeper was negligent. He didn't repair the stairs in time and didn't ensure safety, but he didn't intend to kill anyone. He should only bear the responsibility he should bear, instead of taking his life. We are willing to compensate him for his responsibility."

Liu Shuhui was very upset when he heard what Lu Lingyun said, but what Lu Lingyun said made sense. He hesitated for a long time and said stubbornly, "I don't want money. He is dead! No matter how many people died, someone should pay for the death!"

Hearing this, Lu Lingyun changed his tone and said firmly, "You just said it, and you have no evidence to prove my speculation. If you insist on asking for compensation for your life, then please give me evidence first to overturn all my speculations, and then convict my shopkeeper. Otherwise, even if you sue me in the government office, I will not admit it."

After Lu Lingyun finished speaking, he took Dongsheng and walked away.

Liu Shuhui was left alone there.