Lan Yamei acted immediately. Just a couple of days ago, she happened to see an old fortune teller who could write legal documents for others, so she immediately spent a lot of money to write one and sent it to Lin'an City as quickly as possible. When Aunt Guan rushed out in a hurry, Lan Yamei was leisurely eating a string of candied hawthorns under an umbrella as she walked back.
"You wrote it?" Aunt Guan asked anxiously, unable to believe it.
"I've written it! And it's already been sent to Lin'an City by fast horse. The county magistrate will receive my petition by tonight at the latest. Right and wrong will always be judged fairly. I refuse to believe that the world belongs to Hua Manhe, that she can kill whomever she wants, treating human life like dirt and showing no regard for the law." Lan Yamei stood on the street, speaking her mind frankly.
Being wary of the few passersby, and fearing that someone might overhear, Aunt Guan quickly covered Lan Yamei's mouth and dragged her into the shop, saying, "My silly girl, don't say such things outside!"
"What's wrong? What happened?" Most of the customers had left the store, and the few idle employees were all playing with Er Gou's child. They came over to ask the two mysterious people what was going on.
Aunt Guan didn't want to escalate the situation; her life was at stake, and the less she knew, the safer she would be. While pushing Lan Yamei upstairs, she said to the others, "There's not much business today. Tie Tou, you take the brothers home to rest first, and come back earlier tomorrow."
"You're done working already? You've only worked half a day. Will there be any more people working tonight?" Tie Tou was quite curious about this kind of work and was a little reluctant to leave early.
"Go back, go back. The weather's not going to clear up, and there won't be any more customers. Get some rest early and work harder tomorrow." Aunt Guan dismissed the bystanders. She let Er Gou's family stay, closed the shop on the first floor, and took care of the three poisoned people on the second floor.
After arranging everything, he returned to his room and told Lan Yamei about what happened back then.
After listening, Lan Yamei gritted her teeth and said, "Under the whole heaven, all things are yellow earth. No matter how capable Hua Yuhe is, she can't be above the law. How dare she control everything in the imperial city of Lin'an? Who gave her such power? Is that county magistrate just a useless puppet?"
"If it weren't for her connections and influence in both the legitimate and underworld circles, do you think I would have lost? These people used to be afraid of me, but the younger generation surpasses the older, and I'm getting old. Hua Yuhe has grown powerful, and she can no longer tolerate me, her father's killer." Aunt Guan spoke calmly about being framed back then.
"Aren't you angry? Haven't you ever thought about taking back what belongs to you?" Lan Yamei wanted to vent her anger for Aunt Guan.
“We’re practically mother and son, and even if she hadn’t tried to take it from me, I would have left the Hua Man Lou business to her. But she’s just too impatient! Besides, there’s an unsolvable knot between us, so it was only a matter of time before she plotted against me,” Aunt Guan said regretfully.
"What dead knot?" Lan Yamei asked, puzzled. Aunt Guan had never mentioned it before, but today she was unusually bringing it up.
"I told you his parents were murdered. When I saw it, there was a dagger stuck in Mr. Hua's chest. He stubbornly finished explaining his last wishes and begged me to give him a quick death. I couldn't bear it, so I stabbed him. It was this stab that was seen by the mute old woman of Hua Manlou. When Hua Yuhe grew up, she somehow started investigating her parents' story. In the end, she misunderstood me from the mute old woman, so she believed that I was the bad guy who wanted to take over Hua Manlou. Later, when she plotted against me, I didn't struggle, as if I was waiting for a resolution. Because I really did stab him, and there's no way to explain it." Aunt Guan said with a bitter smile, "When will this cycle of revenge end? After being forced to give up everything that day, I felt so relieved. Life is too bitter. I don't know what I'm living for. I just want to end it all! Freezing to death in the snow would be a kind of romance. Who knew you, you silly girl, would grab me, save me, and take me in."
"Sigh! It's hard to be a good person!" Lan Yamei sighed. "No matter what, we're always family."
Aunt Guan took a sip of wine from the table and said, "Back then, the people who came forward to do this included the magistrate of Lin'an City and Murong Feng of the Murong family. What can an old woman like me do? That's why I advise you not to openly oppose Hua Manlou. The magistrate is not everyone's magistrate."
Lan Ya Mei slammed her hand on the table in anger, "This is simply outrageous robbery! Lin'an City is rotten inside and out, there's nowhere to seek justice."
"Girl, this is the real world! Collusion between the underworld and the legitimate world is just like the sky, changing in an instant. You may think it's a clear blue sky, but actually, dark clouds are rolling overhead." Aunt Guan had long seen through the ways of the world and only wanted to live a carefree life like a hermit.
"But why? It's understandable that the county magistrate might be after money, since corrupt officials have always existed. But does Murong Feng really lack money? The Murong family is the institution that oversees the minting of coins, so why would they interfere in these matters? Aren't they afraid of attracting criticism?" Lan Yamei asked, puzzled.
“I can’t figure this out either! I’ve never had any grudges against the Murong family, so it’s really strange that he’s getting involved in this matter.” At this point, Aunt Guan finally became agitated, as if she realized something, but she wasn’t sure.
"Fine! Who cares about black or white? Since we've run into each other, let's settle this. We must get to the bottom of this!" This further solidified Lan Yamei's resolve to sue Hua Yuhe; she wanted to see for herself whether the government office was truly run by Hua Yuhe's family. Is there no place for ordinary people to seek justice?
The two, filled with righteous indignation, were completely unaware that the man in black on the rooftop had overheard their conversation and quickly relayed it to Hua Yuhe.
Hua Yuhe gave a sinister laugh and said, "You think you can fight me? You're not qualified. Who am I? I'm the biggest boss in Lin'an City! Not some Tom, Dick, or Harry can scratch me! Go, settle this matter. There's only one purpose: since they love lawsuits, let them face one first, and test the waters of prison, hahahaha..."
The man in black leaped out of the window and left to carry out his orders.
That night, the three poisoned individuals vomited two or three more times before their complexions gradually returned to normal. Er Gou and his mother had prepared chicken soup early in the morning, and only after Aunt Guan confirmed it was safe to feed them did they spoon-feed them. By the time everything was settled, it was already past midnight.
So they decided to let Er Gou's family squeeze into the guest room, and they didn't refuse; they all went back to their rooms to sleep.
Seeing his family members regain their lives, Wang Fengyang finally smiled with relief. He was just a child, his voice still childish as he expressed his gratitude and knelt down to kowtow. The two quickly stopped him, saying, "You've been up almost all night, go to sleep early. Your grandfather will wake up first tomorrow. We'll also try to treat your parents, don't worry."
After settling Wang Fengyang to another room to rest, the two, exhausted from a long day, huddled together and fell asleep immediately.
Qiu Zeyu lay on the bed, legs crossed, hands behind his head, gazing at the cold, bright moon outside the window. He thought of that silly girl in Lin'an City, perhaps fast asleep, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. That girl was cunning yet honest, brave yet reckless, but she lived a carefree and unrestrained life. For some reason, he was willing to spend 30,000 taels of his own savings to help her open a shop. He wondered how the business was going, whether she was busy enough.
During dinner, his father brought up marriage again. It seemed his uncle's family had traveled all the way from Xiangyang to Qiu Ming Manor for the wedding. But he really couldn't bring himself to like his delicate cousin. Thinking about this, Qiu Zeyu had a terrible headache, unsure how to refuse.
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