Huang Wanzhen lowered her head slightly to hide the surprise in her eyes. Little Stone almost didn't hear her soft voice, "So the Shiwen Newspaper and the Kyoto Evening News didn't notice you, did they?"
"No, I didn't show up. The beggar handed them the news, and when they saw it was the latest big news in a newspaper like the Huaming Daily, they thought they had discovered something no one else knew, and they even gave the beggar a few copper coins. I've already sent the person away, and he doesn't even have a household registration. There's nowhere to look for him even if you want to, so don't worry."
Huang Wanzhen murmured, "Hmm," and took the newspaper from Xiao Shitou's hand. She took out four dollars and handed it to him, "Buy two more newspapers as a backup. The rest is your hard work fee."
Little Stone scratched his head with a grin and reached out to take it, "Thank you, Manager."
After getting the newspaper, Huang Wanzhen took it to Xu's house the next day. She was very careful and did not tell Mrs. Xu directly, but pretended to tell her in front of Xu Shengyi first.
"Ah! Ever since I attended the banquet at Vice Minister Su's house, I've become a frequent guest in the newspapers. At first, I was praised, but now I'm scolded. It's fine if I'm scolded, but I've also brought shame to your family's reputation. I'm really uneasy."
Xu Shengyi took the newspaper and glanced at it, then looked up and said to Huang Wanzhen seriously, "Grandfather must not see this newspaper, otherwise he will be furious."
Huang Wanzhen looked anxious when she heard her words. "Does Director Xu usually read the newspaper?"
Xu Shengyi nodded. "Nowadays, anyone with a serious job has the habit of reading newspapers. However, I've never heard of the Shiwen Bao. It's probably a tabloid with a small circulation."
Huang Wanzhen said with a worried look on her face, "Well, it was also published in the Kyoto Evening News. They're all tabloids now, so I'm worried that some people with crooked noses might smell the fishy smell and spread it around."
"When Chief Xu sees this, he won't blame me, right?"
Xu Shengyi shook his head. "How could that be? Although my grandfather was a bit old-fashioned, he was also a very kind-hearted person who cared about the people. He would never implicate a victim like you."
Huang Wanzhen smiled bitterly and sighed deeply, "To be honest, this is all caused by the Hua Ming Daily. I have no grudge against that newspaper, but I don't know why they insist on throwing dirty water on me."
Xu Shengyi nodded upon hearing this. "Grandfather saw this in the newspaper. He hired someone to keep an eye out for information in the newspaper. He brought it up with us, and after we found out, we consulted him. He's very busy and doesn't like these little tricks to attract attention."
Huang Wanzhen thought to herself that she also wanted to say that she looked down on it, but it did deal a big blow to her business. Her shop was targeted at high-end customers, most of whom were literate, and many of them had the habit of subscribing to newspapers at home. Once her reputation was ruined, those people would hide away from her as if they had seen lice on her body.
Although she managed to regain some business by making clothes for Miss Bella, it was far less prosperous than before. This made her want to change careers, but she was afraid that if she didn't find the person who did the bad things, she would be discovered by that person and continue to throw dirty water on her. In that case, she might as well do nothing.
"I plan to sue Ming Hua Daily." Huang Wanzhen thought about it and said this.
As Huang Wanzhen expected, Xu Shengyi disagreed. "Teacher Huang, your idea is really a bad one."
Huang Wanzhen breathed a sigh of relief and asked seriously, "I'd like to hear the details."
Although Xu Shengyi was spoiled by his family since he was a child, he was optimistic and courageous, but he was brought up in traditional Confucian culture, which emphasized "harmony is the most valuable". When he heard Huang Wanzhen's offensive solution, he subconsciously felt that it was inappropriate.
"My grandfather was a Jinshi in the previous dynasty and worked in the Ministry of Justice. He also went to Western countries with the old man of the Su family to study the judicial system."
"At that time, I wasn't even born yet. This is what my father told me. Just listen to it."
"Our country has never believed in the rule of law since ancient times. In the previous dynasty, there was no court at all. People had to go to the government office to file a complaint."
"You can go to the nearest county government office and see. There are two stone tablets on either side of the entrance. One tablet reads 'Further complaints will result in a fine of fifty yuan,' and the other tablet reads 'False accusations will result in an additional three levels of fine.' Why are they written that way? Because the emperor wants to maintain peace and stability, and the government wants to prevent people from filing complaints."
"On the eve of the founding of the Republic of China, my grandfather went with several elders to Europe and the United States to study the judicial systems. We discovered that they were societies based on the rule of law, unlike our society of custom and etiquette. The higher-ups demanded reform and the emulation of Western civilization, so we had to learn. So we had to establish a court of justice."
"But how many lawyers are there in all of Beijing? Chinese people are inherently good at seeking good fortune and avoiding danger. If a lawyer were good, why wouldn't anyone want to be one? That's because lawyers were originally considered the lowest class. Now that dynasties have changed, lawyers have changed their skin and become lawyers. But it's just a nice-sounding title. The people in charge keep changing, all talking about benevolence, righteousness, and propriety."
"Ever since the time of the emperor, Confucianism has been prevalent, with family rituals and morals used to maintain a certain order. For the Chinese, filing a lawsuit is considered a nuisance. It's extremely shameful and can damage the family's reputation."
"Teacher Huang, if you tell others, it will affect your family's reputation. Everyone will think that your family's morals are not honest enough, and that the education of loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness is not good enough. Who would want to associate with your family? Who would want to marry into your family?"
After Xu Shengyi finished speaking, he looked at Huang Wanzhen sincerely, "I'm saying this for your own good. If it were anyone else today, I wouldn't say this. I know you're a modern person with a very Westernized mindset, but you have to know that all the people you've met in court are Chinese men. Before the court even begins, you've already lost the judge's respect for 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and morality' and violated 'public order and good customs.'"
"What's more, you're a woman. They didn't say it out loud, but the moment they knew the plaintiff was a woman, they secretly labeled you as 'restless'."
"One word from you is worth ten years of study." Huang Wanzhen stood up and bowed to Xu Shengyi. She really didn't understand why the Chinese people in the past thought this way. If Xu Shengyi hadn't said this to her, she didn't know how many obstacles she would have encountered before she understood the unspoken social rules of the Republic of China.
"But I'm still going to sue." Huang Wanzhen straightened up and smiled tiredly. "You just said that lawsuits are something Chinese people hate. The judicial system maintains social stability, not protects people's rights."
"I've lost my power, so I'll just disgust my enemies and do things they hate. Even if it hurts the enemy by a thousand and hurts myself by eight hundred, I have to know who the enemy is."
Xu Shengyi was very puzzled and frowned and asked, "What about your family's reputation? Don't you want to get married?"
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