In the courtroom, Master Fu was also brought in today. Seeing that the magistrate was about to force a confession, he brought up Xichun's question about the speed at which the constables arrived at the brothel last night, and explained that the business client that Fu Changjin mentioned had not yet been found. He then loudly proclaimed that his son was being framed.
The county magistrate couldn't think of a reason to refute it for a moment. Many people had witnessed this, and if they thought about it for a moment, they would definitely realize that there was a problem.
However, the case was dismissed because many people witnessed him in the same room as the deceased, holding a knife. Fu Changjin's fingers were bleeding from the clamps, but he still did not confess. In addition, Master Fu kept protesting his innocence, so they had no choice but to take him back to prison and wait for the reasons for the (smear campaign) to be clarified before conducting another trial.
Finally, after some more time was delayed, the court session ended, and Xichun saw Chen Lizhong walking towards her.
"Oh, isn't this my cousin who severed ties with me? What, are you here to help the Fu family or to see what your future holds?" Chen Lizhong said with a nonchalant air, his eyes full of mockery.
"This yamen doesn't say people can't watch when they're in court, does it? I just came to see how wise and powerful our county magistrate is." Xi Chun didn't want to get entangled with him any longer; the most important thing now was to find the person who had harmed Fu Changjin.
"What, I think you're worried about not being able to marry into the Fu family. Don't worry, the Fu family in the future will be no different from the one you are now. Your two families will be a perfect match. It's just that I don't know if Fu Changfeng will come back alive."
"What did you do?" Xichun asked him, her eyes wide, upon hearing the threat.
“I didn’t say anything. Did you hear what I said? I said Chen Xichun, if you want to marry into a higher social class, you need to be careful who you marry. Don’t rush into marrying the wrong person. If you kneel down in front of me now and kowtow a hundred times, I might consider letting you off the hook.”
"I kneel to heaven and earth, to my parents and ancestors, to the emperor and court officials. Which category do you belong to? Or do you want my grandfather to crawl out of his grave in the middle of the night to have a heart-to-heart talk with you?"
"Hmph, you're asking for it. Just wait and see our family rise to power, then I'll teach you a lesson." Chen Lizhong looked at Xichun as if he were watching a clown.
After he left, Xichun returned to the courtyard. Now that Chen Lizhong was in power, they had to avoid his sharp edge and not be tricked by him. Xichun decided to give everyone a long holiday to rest for a while and then resume their stall after this matter was over.
As for the chili pepper business, it's mostly regular customers now. We just need to notify them and tell them to order from Taoyuan Village if they need any.
After arranging everything, the aunties at the stall all returned to the village, leaving only Aunt Zhang to look after the house. Qiangzi and Taozi went to run errands for Xichun and continued to look for clues about the scarred man.
Xi Chun arrived at a house that looked very simple from the outside. No one knew who the owner of the house was. Xi Chun was worried about Fu Changfeng's safety, which was why she came to ask the old lady who often ate at her stall for help.
Knock knock knock.
"Who are you looking for?" A young servant opened the door and asked with some confusion when he saw Xichun's appearance.
"Hello, sir. I'm here to see Grandpa Hu. Could you please pass on the message that Miss Chen, who bought the hotpot, needs to speak with him?" Xi Chun hadn't seen this young man at the stall before, so he probably didn't know who she was.
"Oh, it's the house that the old man always talks about. Wait here, I'll go in and tell them right away."
After a while, Xichun saw the servant return, who then invited Xichun into the main hall.
"Miss Chen, I heard you need to see me?" Grandpa Hu said as he walked in, stroking his beard.
"Grandpa Hu, I know you must be someone important. This is indeed a matter of life and death, and I can't find anyone else to ask for help. So I can only ask you to help me see if you know anyone who can help me save people. Please feel free to make any requests."
Xi Chun was desperate and grasping at straws, since she didn't know what Grandpa Hu's identity was. However, while the Fu family could still be investigated in the county town, there was no way to do so outside Weinan County, as the government was keeping a close eye on their movements.
"Oh, this is a matter of life and death, tell me about it." Grandpa Hu didn't say anything, but he asked her to explain the situation first.
"It's like this, you must have heard about what's happened to the Fu family recently... Today, Chen Lizhong, who is my cousin who severed ties with me, threatened and warned me, saying that he didn't know if he would come back alive. I think it's very likely that he or the person behind him wants to do something. In addition, the people who robbed the county town back then have also shown up. I suspect that this matter may be related to the county magistrate. Maybe the county magistrate planned the robbery back then."
"So that's how it is. Don't worry, I'll find someone to protect that young man from the Fu family who's taking the imperial examination. As for the Guanyin statue, I can have someone inquire about it. Now there's an opportunity. The governor of Jiannan Circuit is currently inspecting various prefectures and I heard he'll be arriving in Guangming Prefecture soon. If you have the courage to personally go and find the governor to plead your case, then there'll be more hope for this matter."
Grandpa Hu's previous casual and relaxed demeanor was gone. He was quite curious to see how much courage Xichun had. This was a battle between the people and the officials, and the odds of winning weren't high. If she hadn't found him, there probably wouldn't have been any way to resolve this matter.
He wanted to see if the young girl had the ability. Besides, he had some grudges with the governor, and if he went to ask him himself, he might be mocked by the governor. Humph, he wasn't going to ask that old man for help.
"Really? Will the governor's inspection be a grand affair or a low-key affair? If I go, will I be able to easily run into him on the street?" Xi Chun was also pleased to hear this, but she still needed to ask for more details.
"Don't worry, old man. Governors usually make a big fuss about it. As long as you have the courage to plead your case and tell the truth, there is still hope."
"Okay, I'll go right away. Please take care of the rest, Grandpa Hu." Xi Chun didn't know why he knew so much, but others really didn't have much obligation to help her or even the Fu family.
Xichun returned to the courtyard and, after discussing it with Qiangzi and Taozi for a long time, finally decided that Qiangzi would go to the prefectural city with her, while Taozi would continue to stay here with his friends to investigate the whereabouts of those people.
To avoid the matter being exposed, Xichun personally went to the Fu family to explain the situation.
“Miss Chen, it is truly a blessing for our family to have your help this time. If we weren’t unable to leave the city, I would have gone to handle it myself. We will repay your kindness after this matter is resolved.”
"Yes, Miss Chen, we are so grateful for your kindness in helping our family. Your aunt apologizes for neglecting you before. Please come back safely." Madam Fu also stepped forward and thanked Xichun by holding her hand.
"Uncle, Aunt, there's no need for so much talk. Young Master Fu saved my mother back then, and I will repay him tenfold this time."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com