With a "smash," the pen rolled to the ground, spun a few times, and cracked.
At that moment, several scholars were also selecting writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones in the shop. In an instant, they all looked this way, and the shop fell silent. It was so quiet that you could hear breathing, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.
Fu Liu squatted down, picked up the chicken-claw pen that had fallen to the ground, and glared angrily, saying:
"You two penniless bastards, you broke our prized possession! You'd better pay for it, or you're not leaving here today!"
The other shop assistants also stood behind Fu Liu, all joining in the criticism of Shen Danru.
Seeing that Fu Liu was blatantly lying, Shen Yuyan couldn't help but say:
"You're talking nonsense. You were the one who took it from my second sister and broke it. Why are you blaming us?"
"I said you broke it, so you broke it. What can you do about it?"
"You are shameless."
"So many people saw it, it was you who broke it. If you don't pay for it, we'll report you to the authorities."
Some scholars, eager to curry favor with the study, echoed Fu Liu's words and also made them lose money.
Shen Yuyan was still young, and her face turned red with anger.
He suddenly spotted Shen Yushu standing to the side watching the commotion, and his heart leaped with joy. Now he could clear his second sister's name! He shouted happily:
"Big cousin, it's so good to be here. You saw everything just now, right? Quickly, help us testify that we didn't break the pen; he broke it himself."
Shen Yushu had already seen Shen Yuyan, but in front of his classmates, he certainly wouldn't go up and greet her. He was a scholar; how could he have a poor country bumpkin as a family member? He would be looked down upon by his classmates.
"Don't shout nonsense, I don't know you."
Shen Yuyan was somewhat incredulous: "Big cousin, it's me, it's Yuyan! How could you not recognize me?"
"Don't try to claim kinship with me. How could I possibly have such a poor and pathetic brother like you?"
The moment Shen Yuyan called out "elder cousin," Shen Danru recognized Shen Yushu. He looked exactly like Niu Shi and was wearing a royal blue robe, which was probably the academy's uniform.
The academy hasn't started its holiday yet, and Shen Yushu hasn't returned to Shangqing Village. She certainly doesn't know what happened at home, and her disownment of Shen Yuyan is purely out of vanity.
Even if someone like that actually passes the exam, they will be ruthless and disregard their own family.
It seems that the Chen family's plan backfired.
"However, I saw that you broke the pen. If you admit your mistake and apologize now, you can pay less compensation. Otherwise, the study will definitely not let you off the hook."
Shen Yushu was terrified that they would implicate her.
Shen Yuyan looked at Shen Yushu in disbelief. How could her older cousin twist the truth like this?
Just then, Jiang Shuyou returned to Yipin Moke with a lost look in his eyes. As soon as he entered the store, he saw Shen Danru standing there. He was overjoyed and quickly walked up to her, excitedly saying, "It's you, it's you, it really is you!"
"Young master, it was them, it was them, they broke our store's prized possession."
When Fu Liu saw Jiang Shuyou return, he seemed to have found his pillar of support and immediately gained momentum. He pointed at Shen Danru with great force.
Jiang Shuyou frowned.
This lackey dares to be so rude.
Seeing that Jiang Shuyou was angry, Fu Liu thought, "You bunch of poor country bumpkins, just you wait and see, our young master won't let you get away with this."
"Young Master, it was them! They broke this ivory pen and they're still denying it. So many people saw it."
Seeing Fu Liu's aggressive tone, Shen Danru was about to explain when Jiang Shuyou said with a dark face, "Who did you say saw it?"
Shen Yushu saw that his opportunity had arrived.
Yipin Moke is the largest bookstore in Ningzhou City. Brushes, ink, paper and inkstones are only sold as an add-on. The main business is selling books, and people from Ningzhou City and other towns come to buy them.
Occasionally, people from Shengjing would travel thousands of miles to buy rare copies of books.
It contains a vast collection of books, including classics, histories, philosophical works, classical literature, encyclopedias, and even a large number of unofficial histories and anecdotes. It can be said that its collection is bottomless.
Shen Yushu and his classmates came here to buy unofficial historical novels.
He secretly thought that if he could come out and identify the two people and do the bookstore a favor, wouldn't he become the bookstore's benefactor? Then, if the bookstore had any good books in the future, they would definitely notify him first, and there would be some discounts on the prices.
"It was them, I saw it with my own eyes, they were the ones who broke it."
When the scholars who came with Shen Yushu saw that Shen Yushu had come out to identify the suspect, they knew that the opportunity shouldn't be left to him alone, so they all chimed in to support him.
"I saw them too, it was them."
"Yes, it's them, we all saw them."
...
Jiang Shuyou's expression darkened further; his handsome face remained expressionless, but his eyes flashed with icy coldness.
The atmosphere was suffocating at one point.
The scholars secretly rejoiced that they had sided with the study.
"Fu Liu, you saw it too?"
"Yes, young master, I saw it with my own eyes."
Everyone in the store thought the owner was really angry, and the consequences would be dire; the two people were definitely going to be in trouble.
Shen Yuyan was terrified, but as a man, he had to protect his sister. He shielded Shen Danru behind him, mustered his courage, and turned around to find Jiang Shuyou. He was overjoyed: "Big brother, it's you!"
Jiang Shuyou smiled at Shen Yuyan, giving him a reassuring look.
Shen Yuyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister, it's that big brother. He definitely wouldn't wrong us."
Shen Danru saw that it was him and wanted to see how he would handle it.
She remained silent, watching the spectacle with great interest.
"Go and blind whoever saw it with your own eye."
Time stood still for a few seconds.
Fu Liu, who had just been gloating, suddenly stiffened, his body trembled, his mouth gaped open, then slowly closed, not daring to utter a single word.
Did the young master see everything just now?
Impossible, didn't the young master just come in?
Jiang Shuyou glanced at the other employees in the shop: "Did you guys see it too?"
They shook their heads repeatedly, trying to distance themselves from the situation.
"No, I was busy with other things and didn't see how the pen was dropped."
"I don't have any either; I was attending to other guests just now."
"None of the smaller ones either."
...
Fu Liu knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling, and kowtowed several times: "Young master, spare my life! Young master, spare my life! I will never dare to do it again."
"Tell me, who broke it?"
Fu Liu was so frightened that he dared not utter a sound.
As he emerged from the South Station, he said, "Young master, it was Fu Liu who snatched the chicken-claw pen from this young lady. He dropped it himself and then falsely accused her of it. This young lady only examined the pen for a few moments after entering the room, and Fu Liu immediately shouted at her and chased them away."
Cong Nan had long wanted to stand up for what was right, but he was afraid of Fu Liu's retaliation.
After all, Fu Liu was someone Jiang Shuyou brought from Shengjing, and he always acted as the shopkeeper in this shop.
Moreover, Fu Liu was eloquent and charming, which pleased his master.
He has a sick mother and younger siblings to support, so he really needs this job.
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