These people spoke with such conviction that many people believed them. After all, so many people had witnessed it firsthand, and their tenant farmers had come forward to testify. What more could be said?
"That's right. The Fu family is now surrounded. I heard they'll be interrogated tomorrow. The Fu couple tried many ways to get things done, but it was no use. The victim's family is sticking to their story and insists they should pay for the murder with their lives."
"I heard that the Fu family has powerful backers in the prefectural city. How did they end up in such a predicament? Judging from the young master Fu's usual character, I don't think he would do such a thing, would he?"
"They say you can know a person's face but not their heart. I think their usual demeanor is all an act. I heard that the Fu family's backer in the prefectural city has fallen. Otherwise, how could they have been so easily eliminated?"
When Xichun heard everyone talking about it, she felt uneasy. The Fu family had been so successful not long ago, how could they suddenly fall apart and everyone be turning against them?
She had met the Fu family before and felt that Fu Changfeng's elder brother was not such a two-faced person; she was probably framed.
Xi Chun wanted to go to the Fu family in person to see if they were really wronged, so that she could at least do her part. Fu Changfeng was still taking exams and probably didn't know about this news yet.
At this moment, the bustling scene in front of the Fu family's gate was long gone. Even the servants looked listless. When they saw Xichun coming, they were still somewhat incredulous, thinking that it was the Luo family who had come to cause trouble again.
"Master, what can we do to save Changjin now? He must be suffering in prison. The officials won't let us visit him, and we don't know what's going on." Madam Fu had long lost the haughty demeanor she had when she first met Xichun. She was dressed in plain clothes, and tears kept flowing.
“Now everyone we know is avoiding him like the plague, and we don’t know anything about what’s going on. I think Changjin has been set up this time. Otherwise, given his usual personality, why would he go to a brothel with someone? If I find out who framed him, I will definitely kill him.”
Master Fu also looked exhausted. Ever since Fu Changjin's accident, people have been going to the county government to accuse his family of wrongdoing, saying how they mistreated the tenants and even listing a series of crimes against his family, determined to bring them down.
As a result, the couple has now been informed by the authorities that they cannot go out at will, let alone visit Fu Changjin.
"Master, a young lady has come to visit, saying she is a friend of the second young master." The servant ran in to report this, which surprised the two men.
"Someone actually came to visit her. Did she say her name?"
"It seems they're from Taoyuan Village, and their surname is Chen."
“I remember now, the girl Changfeng mentioned back then seems to have the surname Chen,” Madam Fu added.
"Quickly, quickly invite her in." Master Fu also remembered and hurriedly told the servants to invite her in.
"Master Fu, Madam Fu, I heard about the matter concerning the eldest young master of your household, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help." Xi Chun came in and asked directly, since she wasn't familiar with the two of them and there was no need for unnecessary pleasantries.
“Miss Chen, I never expected that you would be the only one willing to come and see us two old men at this time. I am truly grateful to you. We do have something that is troubling us, and we need your help.”
"What is it, Master Fu? Please tell me."
“The county government is now forbidding us from visiting Changjin. My husband and I know his personality; he would never do such a thing. So we would like to ask Miss Chen to help us see if we can visit Changjin and find out the truth. I can then arrange for someone to investigate privately.”
"Sure, I'll take care of it right away. By the way, Mr. Fu, what did those thieves steal from your house when they came? I'd like to see if I can find any clues about them."
"What they stole was a red gemstone that was passed down in my family. It was a Guanyin statue. We rarely showed it to others, so it was always kept in the storeroom. I don't know why those thieves knew the location of our Guanyin statue so well. Later, I checked the servants, but no one was suspicious. The only people who knew about it were a few families in the county and the county magistrate. He asked me about it when he took office, and I took the county magistrate to see it in person."
Master Fu guessed that she had already made some progress, and at this juncture, there was naturally no need to hide anything anymore.
"Alright, I'll be going now. If Mr. Fu needs any help, he can send someone to my stall to find me."
After getting some food from the stall, Xichun immediately went to the county jail. At first, the jailers were unwilling to let Xichun visit them, but she had to take out two hundred coins before they let her in.
"Hurry up, you only have a quarter of an hour. You must come out when the time is up." The bailiff led her to a cell. In the cell, Fu Changjin had already been severely tortured by those people. There was only a bowl of spoiled food beside her.
“Young Master Fu, I am Chen Xichun, a friend of your brother. Your parents just asked me to come and visit you, but they have been warned by the authorities and cannot come.” Time was of the essence, and Xichun still had many questions to ask.
"Miss Chen, it's you! How are my parents? I've been locked up here for two days and I don't know what's going on outside."
"It's alright, I was just worried about you. I came to ask if you were framed. Tell me what happened, so I can take the information to your parents and see if I can find any evidence for you."
"At that time, the Luo family introduced me to a customer who needed to purchase a large amount of goods. The Luo family said that they couldn't finish all the goods, so they invited me to go with them."
However, the customer preferred brothels, and I thought I couldn't give up this business, so I went with him. But when I got there, I felt that something was wrong with the man. He didn't seem to be genuinely interested in buying anything, so I was about to leave. But when I got to the door, I felt like someone hit me on the head with a stick.
When I woke up, it was the next day. I was lying on the table and saw a bloodstained knife in my hand. Just as I was about to check the situation, a woman ran in and shouted that someone had committed murder.
That's when I saw Luo's youngest son, who had been murdered in bed. Suddenly, a large group of people burst in, pointing at me and saying I was the murderer. The people from the brothel also took me into custody.
Soon after, the officials arrived, saying I had killed someone and been witnessed, so I was thrown into jail. I guessed I had been framed, perhaps by the Luo family, or maybe someone else. They tried to send a message, but no one came. This morning, the officials beat me in jail, saying they would beat me until I confessed.
"Wait, do you remember how long it took for the officials from the yamen to arrive?"
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