To everyone's surprise, Zhang Chuntao said, "What's the use of reporting to the authorities? Everyone knows you have a good relationship with the Observatory. Do you think the yamen would actually convict you?"
“You’re questioning the magistrate’s character! After working for a few days, Aunt, you’ve become quite bold.” Yang Cui smiled. “But I’m very curious, how did you pay back so much money you owed? Dozens of taels! And that silver bracelet on your wrist looks quite nice, it must be worth several taels of silver. The village just had an accident, and you have money now. I can’t help but suspect that you’re trying to divert everyone’s attention and frame someone.”
Yang Cui's words immediately caused a huge stir, and everyone turned to look at Zhang Chuntao.
"Isn't it okay for my son-in-law to be filial to me?"
Wen: "Son-in-law? Your Xiuqing's husband's family is so poor they can't even afford to eat, yet they have money to support you? Who would believe that!"
“I don’t only have Xiuqing as my daughter. Let me tell you, my Xiuping is about to marry a wealthy man in the city. He has paid off our debts and given us a dowry of thirty taels!”
"A betrothal gift of thirty taels!"
The villagers were utterly shocked when they heard this!
Envy and jealousy were both present.
Zhang Chuntao was extremely proud, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Yang Cui seemed to say: Look, even without your help, my daughter still married into a good family!
Yang Cui was quite surprised by this.
——
A clinic in the county town.
Lin Shih-kang traveled around with his injuries, which aggravated his condition, and now he can only rest lying down.
"Da Ya, go to Pinxiangzhai and buy some mung bean cakes."
Lin Daya took the silver from Lin Shikang and immediately went out.
As soon as she left, a still charming young woman entered. Upon seeing Lin Shikang, she also looked worried.
"Fenfang, how did things go?" Lin Shikang asked.
Ji Fenfang said, "Don't worry, I've already won them over, and everything is going smoothly."
"That's good, thank you for your hard work."
"Do we need to be so polite between us? I'm not tired, but you... you look like you've lost a lot of weight." Ji Fenfang's eyes were full of heartache. "Tomorrow is the main event. I'll keep an eye on things and send you messages. You must take good care of yourself here."
Just then, the door was kicked open with a bang, and a group of constables rushed in, shouting, "Ji Fenfang!"
"Gentlemen, what is this...?"
"Come with us."
After saying that, the constables forcibly took Ji Fenfang away. Lin Shikang quickly stood up: "I am Lin Shikang, you..."
"Lin Tanhua, Ji Fenfang is suspected of murder. Even if you are a Tanhua, you have no right to interfere with the government's handling of the case!" The constable's attitude was firm.
Lin Shikang was taken aback by the fact that the constables were so disrespectful to him, and he was speechless.
Ji Fenfang immediately reassured him, "Lin Tanhua, it's alright. I've done nothing wrong, it won't matter if I go with them."
Lin Shikang's expression was very serious. He said, "Don't worry, if they try to frame you with baseless accusations or torture you to extract a confession, I will definitely seek justice for you!"
——
That evening, Dao Ba and Dao San arrived.
“Zhang Biao has been caught and confessed that the person who made him do this was his cousin, Ji Fenfang,” Dao San reported.
Yang Cui seemed to be thinking, "I feel like I've heard the name Ji Fenfang somewhere before."
Dao San added, "She knows Lin Shikang."
Upon hearing this, Yang Cui suddenly understood: "Yes, she is one of Lin Shikang's confidantes!"
As the male protagonist of the original novel, Lin Shikang was given many different types of female confidantes by the author, such as the still charming widow Ji Fenfang, the elegant courtesan Meng Ruyan from Qinhuai, and the maid Xiang'er, etc. Even the emperor's younger sister, Princess Xilan, fell in love with him at first sight.
The original novel mentions that if Princess Xilan hadn't already had a husband and Lin Shikang hadn't had Wang Mengyun, Princess Xilan would definitely have made Lin Shikang her husband.
These women all provided a great deal of help to Lin Shikang on his road to success. They were all devoted to him, and even though they knew they would not become his wives, they were still happy to accept it.
Dao San glanced at Yang Cui in surprise. The relationship between Ji Fenfang and Lin Shikang was very secretive. If he hadn't learned from Zhang Biao beforehand that Ji Fenfang had instructed him to rob and plunder in an attempt to frame Cen Xiao, he wouldn't have been able to follow the clues and find out about the relationship between Ji Fenfang and Lin Shikang!
So how did Yang Cui find out?
"So it's clear that Lin Shikang is the one behind all this." Yang Cui sighed. All she wanted was to farm peacefully, get rich, and live a life of luxury. Why was it so difficult?
"Was she the mastermind behind instigating Lin Chunmei and the Cen family to cause trouble?" Yang Cui asked.
"I checked, it's not true."
Upon hearing this, Yang Cui frowned deeply.
Seeing this, Cen Xiao reassured him, "Don't worry, with me here, no one can hurt you!"
Hearing this, and meeting Cen Xiao's eyes, Yang Cui's face actually felt a little hot.
Dao San added, "Zhang Chuntao and her daughter have also been bribed, but we don't know what Zhang Chuntao is planning to do yet. As for An Xiuping, Ji Fenfang seems to be planning to pamper her for a while before finding her a better place."
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