Let us now speak of how Xianglan rescued Chen Wanquan from prison. The group returned to the Chen residence, where Xue Shi lay on her bed, consumed by worry. Suddenly hearing a commotion in the courtyard, she went out to look and saw Chen Wanquan being carried back. Overwhelmed with joy, she rushed forward, only to turn pale with shock upon seeing his face as yellow as gold leaf and his mind unconscious. Ji Xiang and Shuangxi carried him on a spring stool to the bedroom, carefully laying him on the bed. Xue Shi approached, gently lifting his clothes to examine him. She saw his buttocks swollen and mangled, his thighs covered in bruises, bound with bamboo splints—not a single part of him was unharmed. Her heart clenched in distress.
Stepping outside, she saw Lin Jinlou sitting imposingly in the hall, sipping tea. Xue Shi understood the situation at once. She immediately knelt and kowtowed, saying, "This humble woman thanks Master Lin for his life-saving grace." Her head struck the ground with a thudding sound. Shuangxi hurried forward to help her up, chuckling, "There's no need for this, please rise quickly."
Xianglan also went to assist Xue Shi, but Xue Shi tugged at Xianglan's sleeve and said, "Lan girl, why aren't you kowtowing to Master Lin?" She tried to pull Xianglan down to kneel.
Xianglan, her face pale, glanced up at Lin Jinlou, bit her lip, and lowered her head, stubbornly refusing to kneel. Displeased, Xue Shi glared at her, gripping her hand tightly and whispering angrily, "You foolish girl, hurry up and kowtow to Master Lin!"
Lin Jinlou, however, stood up and said indifferently, "No need. It's getting late; I should be going." With that, he walked out.
Xianglan hurriedly pulled Xue Shi along to see him off, forcing a smile and saying graciously, "Young girls don't know any better, Master. Please don't take it to heart... Take care on your way. We will surely visit your residence to kowtow and express our gratitude."
Lin Jinlou responded casually. When they reached the main gate, he dismissed the others and called only Xianglan to him, saying, "Pack your things. I'll send someone to fetch you tomorrow... Actually, don't bother packing. Those rags of yours aren't worth taking. I'll get you new clothes and jewelry."
Xianglan was startled and pleaded, "My father has just returned, and there's not a single part of him unharmed. I'd like to stay home and care for him for a few days..." As she spoke, tears fell. "I beg you..."
"Tsk, tsk, why are you always crying as if I'm going to devour you?" Lin Jinlou reached out to wipe her tears.
Xianglan wanted to pull away but restrained herself. Her submissive, downcast demeanor pleased Lin Jinlou. He pinched her chin and smiled, "Alright, I'm a reasonable man. Considering your filial devotion, you may stay home and care for your father for three days. After that, I'll send someone to fetch you."
"Master, please let me stay a few more days. Once I leave, I don't know when I'll be able to return home... It takes a hundred days to recover from broken bones and torn tendons. My family only has my old mother and an inexperienced maidservant..."
Lin Jinlou stroked his chin and said, "Fine, I'll send two people over later." Seeing Xianglan about to speak again, he pressed a finger to her lips, half-squinting with a teasing smile. "Five days at most, little Xianglan. If you keep singing your 'dilly-dally' tune, I'll get angry." He then untied the small red-gold and yellow-jade horse pendant from his waist and hung it on Xianglan's waist, saying, "Go take care of your father. Once you've played the filial daughter, think carefully about how you'll repay me." With that, he boarded his carriage and left.Xianglan silently turned and walked back into the house, slowly closing the main door. As she turned her head, she saw Xue Shi standing in the courtyard, red-eyed and trembling-lipped, calling out "Lan Jie'er..." before being unable to continue speaking—clearly having understood everything.
Xianglan approached and forced a smile, saying, "This isn't so bad either... Father has returned unharmed. Though the Master has a temper, the Lin Family is a wealthy household. Perhaps in a year or two I'll be able to return..."
Xianglan couldn't hold back her sobs and hugged Xianglan tightly, stamping her foot as she cried, "My daughter, you're such a clever and elegant girl, deserving of the dignity of being a Main House Taitai. Why must your fate be so bitter..."
This outburst made Xianglan cry as well, but she quickly wiped her tears with a handkerchief and instead comforted Xue Shi. Let us leave this aside for now.
Meanwhile, Han Yaozu, uneasy about having offended the Lin Family, had a sleepless Night. Early the next morning, Han Yaozu personally prepared generous gifts and went to the Chen residence. The Chen couple couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with trepidation. Han Yaozu inquired warmly after Chen Wanquan's wellbeing, then took out fifty taels of silver and presented it, saying, "Shopkeeper Chen's imprisonment was truly due to this official being deceived by villains and believing slanderous words. Please don't take it to heart—this official will certainly give Shopkeeper Chen proper redress!" Though his words sounded noble and righteous, his eyes unconsciously scanned the surroundings, searching for Xianglan's figure.
Hearing this, Chen Wanquan felt immensely honored, never expecting the formidable county magistrate from the Government Office to speak to him so kindly. He could barely form words, repeatedly saying, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."
Just then, a cold laugh came from the adjacent room. Han Yaozu immediately knew Xianglan was next door and quickly added, "This matter originated from the Xia family's Concubine. Xia Yun, as a court-appointed official, allowed his Concubine to tarnish an innocent girl's reputation and utter malicious words—this is truly wasteful of life and disgraceful to scholarship. He is a frivolous and arrogant scoundrel. From today onward, he is dismissed from his ninth-rank official position. Furthermore, I have petitioned the Jinling Education Commissioner and reported to the Ministry of Personnel to revoke his Recommended Man scholarly honor."
Hearing this from behind the curtain, Xianglan was stunned. While she had expected Xia Yun to lose his position, having his scholarly honor revoked was too severe a punishment. Scholars had always exhausted their lives pursuing imperial examinations—Xia Yun had achieved the Recommended Man rank at a young age and originally had a bright future ahead. With his honor revoked now, who knew when he might pass the examinations again. Though Xia Yun had his hateful aspects, he wasn't truly evil—just one of his family's relatives.
They heard Chen Wanquan say, "Your Honor must uphold justice for our humble family! We're honest, law-abiding people who never court trouble. When Xia Yun took a fancy to my daughter and her mother and I refused, he sullied my daughter's reputation. His Concubine even tried to seize and beat my daughter..."
Xue Shi added, "Later, when Lan Jie'er and I went to the Xia family to plead, we gave them sixty taels of silver in total. Xia Yun's mother, his Second Sister-in-law, and the Concubine forced Lan Jie'er to kowtow to Xia Yun..." Her voice choked with emotion before she continued, "Where's the justice in this? They were the wrongdoers, yet they made Lan Jie'er kneel and apologize. And after Lan Jie'er kowtowed, they still didn't withdraw the lawsuit at the Government Office. When we went to ask, we only received insults in return."
Han Yaozu said angrily, "How could such nonsense happen! The Xia family is truly despicable. This official will definitely see this matter through to the end!"
The Chen couple repeatedly praised him as "Your Honor" without cease.Soon after Han Yaozu left, Chen Wanquan felt excruciating pain in his buttocks and legs as if being pricked by needles and sliced by knives. He developed a fever and sank into a daze. Before long, someone knocked at the door—it was Shuran herself, who had brought an old woman and a servant boy. She also took out a packet of fifty taels of silver and said with a smile, "This is from the Master for Shopkeeper Chen to buy some nourishing food. The Master truly has the young lady in his heart—he asked me to select several bolts of high-quality tribute satin from the warehouse to make new clothes for her."
Xue Shi hurriedly expressed her thanks, but Xianglan, standing to the side, remained silent and visibly annoyed. Shuran could tell from Xianglan's expression that she was displeased and was inwardly surprised, but she changed the subject, exchanged a few more words, and then took her leave.
For a while, nothing else happened.
Meanwhile, upon returning to the government office, Han Yaozu’s first order of business was to strip Xia Yun of his official position. He then sent someone to inquire with the education commissioner. When the Jinling education commissioner learned that Xia Yun had offended Lin Jinlou and had no influential backing, he immediately agreed and revoked Xia Yun’s scholarly rank.
When the news reached the Xia family, it struck them like a thunderbolt. Xia Yun was initially stunned; despite his dizziness, he scrambled out of bed and rushed to the county government office. Han Yaozu, upon seeing him, said, "Xia Yun, you’ve got some nerve! You didn’t even bother to find out the Chen family’s background before sending your concubine to cause trouble. Did you think ruining the young lady’s reputation would force her to marry you? And even after the incident, when they offered compensation, why didn’t you withdraw the lawsuit? Now you’ve provoked the Chen family, and they’ve called upon Lin Jinlou to intervene... Ah, this is the consequence of your own misdeeds. Even killing someone would be a quicker end—what you did was truly excessive."
Xia Yun felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head, chilling him to the bone. He muttered, "I’d already told my family to withdraw the lawsuit... Besides, I never even filed one in the first place."
Han Yaozu replied, "It was your concubine, Yin Die, who came to the government office crying injustice."
Xia Yun still looked dazed. Just then, someone announced a visitor, so Han Yaozu picked up his teacup—a gesture signaling the end of the audience—and dismissed Xia Yun.
Xia Yun returned home in a stupor. His entire family crowded at the door, swarming around him as he entered and bombarding him with questions. Xia Yun seemed lost in a dream, staring blankly ahead as he trudged into the house.
Yin Die was holding a hand mirror, admiring her reflection from different angles. When she saw Xia Yun enter, she quickly set the mirror down and hurried over, saying, "Master, you’re back! What did Magistrate Han say?"
Xia Yun lifted his dazed eyes and saw Yin Die’s heavily made-up face, caked with rouge and powder. Suddenly, he flew into a rage, swung his arm, and slapped Yin Die hard across the face. "You wretched woman, look what you’ve done!" he roared. "Who told you to go to the Chen family? Who told you to file a lawsuit at the government office?"
The slap sent Yin Die stumbling backward. She collapsed beside the heated brick bed, covering her face and sobbing.
Madam Jin and Second Sister-in-law Xia had been lurking outside the door. Hearing the commotion, they hurriedly pushed their way in. Second Sister-in-law Xia asked repeatedly, "What’s going on? Did that little wench from the Chen family scheme against us? How could you lose your position and scholarly rank just like that?"
Madam Jin rolled up her sleeves and declared, "If they’re behind this, I’ll stir up such a fuss that not even their chickens and dogs will know peace!"
Xia Yun trembled with rage, pointing at Madam Jin and Second Sister-in-law Xia. "I told you to withdraw the lawsuit at the government office—why didn’t you go?"Madam Jin and Second Sister-in-law Xia exchanged a glance. Second Sister-in-law Xia remained silent, but Madam Jin said carelessly, "The Chen family has plenty of silver. How can a mere sixty taels be enough? You haven't seen how big their house is or how many antiques they have inside. You are a dignified Recommended man, an official appointed by the court, and highly esteemed. In my opinion, unless they compensate two to three hundred taels, this matter won't be settled."
Xia Yun's face turned the color of liver, his lips trembling as he stamped his feet and cursed furiously, "Fools! Fools! My livelihood and future are being ruined by you!" After cursing, tears streamed down his face like rain, his head throbbed with pain, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
Quietly updating a chapter.
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