The Heir

Сhаpter 72: Сhеn Shi's Dоminаnсe

The соunty magistrаte was surnаmеd Wеi.

Маgistrаte Wei hаd been rather troubled lаtеly. First, thе White Lоtus Sесt hаd stirred uр mаjоr trоublе in Shandоng some time аgо. As а result, locаl officiаls everуwhеrе inеvitаblу grеw tense, аs trаcеs оf thе White Lоtus Seсt сould now bе fоund in evеry region, аnd Huizhou was nо ехcеption.

Thus, if аnу lоcаl оffiсiаl еnсountеrеd a mаjor inсident involving thе White Lоtus Sесt, not оnlу wоuld thеir performаnce evaluatiоn be far from еxcеllent, but thеу would bе fortunate just to keep their official position.

Therefore, some time ago, Magistrate Wei dispatched his subordinates to investigate the situation across Huizhou. Fortunately, the White Lotus Sect had not yet gained much traction in the area. After several rounds of suppression, the shadow of the White Lotus followers had left Huizhou.

Just as this matter was settled, banditry erupted again near Qiyun Mountain. Baojia Village suffered significant losses, forcing him to personally lead his men to assist in suppressing the bandits. It was only in the past couple of days that the bandit activity finally subsided.

At last, he could catch his breath.

In the flower hall, Magistrate Wei invited Sheng Shiye: "Shiye, let's play a game of chess."

There was no helping it—this was Magistrate Wei's only hobby.

"Very well, sir," Sheng Shiye replied and called for a servant to set up the chessboard.

Just then, the drum outside the hall was struck.

Magistrate Wei couldn't help but frown.

"Sir, I'll go first to see what's happening and gather some information," Sheng Shiye said to Magistrate Wei.

In ancient television dramas, it often shows that as soon as the drum is struck, the magistrate immediately dons his official robes and ascends the hall. In reality, this was not the case. Usually, after the drum sounded, a clerk would receive the case documents and analyze the pros and cons. If the matter could be handled in court, the magistrate would ascend the hall to resolve it. If it involved more complexities, the parties would be summoned to the secondary hall for questioning first. Only after gaining a basic understanding of the case would the magistrate proceed to handle it in court.

Magistrate Wei nodded.

Sheng Shiye hurriedly left.

Watching Sheng Shiye's departing figure, Magistrate Wei's expression grew serious. He sipped his tea while waiting. Regardless, when someone struck the drum to report a case, it was likely no trivial matter.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Sheng Shiye returned, his expression even graver: "Sir, something major has happened."

"What is it?" Magistrate Wei asked urgently.

"The cooking oil sold by the Du family oil mill in the county was mixed with tung oil. Now, over thirty households in the county are suffering from varying degrees of tung oil poisoning. These victims have come to lodge a complaint," Sheng Shiye reported.

"Then why delay? Have the Du brothers arrested and brought to court immediately," Magistrate Wei said sternly.

"The Du brothers fled last night," Sheng Shiye said. "Neither of the Du brothers is married. Now, only their mother, Shen Shi, remains in the Du household. Shen Shi has also been dragged to the yamen gates by the victims." At this point, Sheng Shiye paused briefly. "However, I previously inquired privately and learned that not only did the Du brothers flee, but they also absconded with the oil mill's funds. As things stand now, even if Shen Shi were beaten to death, she couldn't bear the responsibility."

"They fled? How utterly outrageous! Issue a warrant for their arrest and bring the Du brothers to court," Magistrate Wei declared firmly.

"That is unavoidable, of course. However, sir, this won't be resolved quickly. What concerns me now is how to handle the subsequent issues. After all, thirty households are already involved, and it's hard to say how many more will be affected later."

After all, the Du family oil mill's cooking oil had a fairly good market."Isn't there still the oil workshop?" Magistrate Wei said. He knew of the Du Family Oil Workshop—it wasn't small and had some assets. Selling it could compensate the victims somewhat.

"The problem is, the Du brothers haven't been managing the oil workshop for long. When they bought it, they already exhausted their family's resources. And to avoid affecting the workshop's production later on, the Du brothers mortgaged it to the pawnshop... Besides, even if we ignored the pawnshop and directly sealed the workshop, no one would take it over at this time. These merchants are all experts at chasing profit and avoiding harm," Sheng Shiye explained.

"Then what do you suggest we do about this?" Magistrate Wei asked. The case itself wasn't complicated, and the responsible parties were clear. But now, the problem was that those responsible had either fled or couldn't bear the burden. On top of that, the poisoned victims couldn't wait. If another life were lost, the situation would become even more serious.

"There is one solution. I privately asked Shen Shi earlier and learned something from her: the Du Family Oil Workshop was actually a joint venture among three parties. Besides the Du brothers, there was also Du Lüniang, the eldest daughter of the Du family. And this Du Lüniang happens to be the eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family's eighth branch. This matter could very well fall on the Li family's shoulders."

"Good, then summon the Li family to the court immediately," Magistrate Wei ordered directly.

"Yes, I'll have someone summon them right away," Sheng Shiye replied.

The magistrate and his advisor's discussion essentially determined the solution to the problem, just as Zhen Niang had anticipated.

By the hour of Wei, the Li family had received the summons from the yamen and arrived. Old Master Li was summoned, as Du Shi couldn't step forward in such matters.

With such trouble at home, Zhen Niang had no choice but to put aside the Ink Workshop. She supported her grandfather as they went to the yamen together.

As Zhen Niang helped Old Shopkeeper Li approach, she heard Shen Shi's shrill cry: "They're here, the Li family is here! Go after them, not me!"

Hearing this, Zhen Niang gritted her teeth. Although she had known Shen Shi would shift the blame onto her family, hearing it spoken aloud made her wish she could bite Shen Shi a few times.

Beside her, Zhao Shi was so furious she felt as if one Buddha had emerged and another ascended to heaven.

"What do you mean, 'go after us, not you'? Shen, I'm going to have a good talk with you today. I only agreed to lend you money back then. It was you who privately brought Lüniang into the partnership. None of us in the Li family knew about it. All this time, our Li family hasn't taken a single cent in dividends or interest from the oil workshop. Let me tell you, you can't pin this on us. Don't think that just because Lüniang is here, you can use her as a shield. At worst, I'll write a letter of divorce and cast her out right now. Let's see who you can blame then!" Zhao Shi said fiercely.

"If you divorce her, she still has a son. Her son is a member of your Li family. A mother's debt is repaid by her son. Your Li family still can't escape this," Shen Shi shrank back at first under Zhao Shi's scolding, but seeing the crowd's agitation, she stiffened her neck and retorted.

"Mother, how can you say such things? Do you want your daughter to die?" Du Shi stood nearby, her face ashen. Her mother was determined to pin this on her.

Hearing Du Shi's words, Shen Shi looked embarrassed but turned her face away.

"Enough, all of you step aside," Old Shopkeeper Li said coldly. Such quarreling only made them a laughingstock in front of outsiders. After speaking, he broke into a violent fit of coughing.

Zhen Niang quickly patted his back."Stop putting on a show here. Since your Li family is also a shareholder in the oil mill, I'm telling you—if you don't give us an explanation today, we'll fight you to the death." A man in his thirties, gripping a firewood knife in one hand, charged out from the surrounding crowd, his eyes bloodshot and teeth clenched.

Zhen Niang quickly pulled her grandfather back.

The man was Wang Dong from Wang Village outside the city. He had three daughters and finally managed to have a son, only for disaster to strike unexpectedly. His four-year-old son suffered from tung oil poisoning. Originally, the Du brothers had promised to cover the medical expenses yesterday, but who would have thought that in just one night, the Du brothers had fled? His family had no money left, and without money, the Medicine Hall refused to take them in. He was frantic with worry. Now, hearing that the Li family was also one of the shareholders of the oil mill, he naturally sought to fight the Li family to the death.

"Fight to the death? What good will fighting to the death do? If you really take a life, do you think you can escape?" Zhen Niang sympathized with him but couldn't allow herself to be pushed around.

"My son is dying anyway. If my son doesn’t make it, I’ll fight you to the bitter end with my own life." At this moment, Wang Dong was beyond caring.

"So the most urgent thing now is to save lives," Zhen Niang said with sincere earnestness.

"Save lives? How? Without money, the Medicine Hall won’t take us." As Wang Dong spoke, he waved his hand, and immediately, a group of people carried out door planks, each bearing a poisoned patient. They were all groaning, and some of the more severe cases were already unconscious. Among them, Zhao Shi’s four-year-old son lay unconscious to the side.

"I’ve already notified all the Medicine Halls. You can go now—they’ll take you in," Zhen Niang said.

"Bah! Who believes you? The Du brothers said the same thing yesterday, but when we went to the Medicine Hall, they still refused." The crowd around them erupted in jeers.

"How can the Du family compare to the centuries-old reputation of the Li family? Just go ahead. These are the Li family’s accountants—follow them to the Medicine Hall, and the medical fees will be paid on the spot." At that moment, the wife of the seventh branch, Chen Shi, arrived hurriedly with her people. Hearing the crowd’s jeers, she spoke in a firm voice.

"Aunt, you’re here," Zhen Niang said, looking at Chen Shi with some excitement. She had expected the main branch to step in but hadn’t thought they would come so quickly.

Old Shopkeeper Li also nodded at Chen Shi. Chen Shi bowed to Old Shopkeeper Li in greeting, then glared at Zhen Niang and said, "You silly girl, why didn’t you come and tell me about such a big matter?"

The Tung Oil Poisoning Incident had escalated overnight, especially after the Du brothers fled. Now, with the news that the authorities had summoned the Li family, the situation had become a city-wide scandal. As soon as Chen Shi heard the news, she rushed over.

"Aunt, it’s not that I didn’t want to tell you—I just didn’t have the chance. One thing led to another, my eldest brother isn’t home, and I couldn’t leave," Zhen Niang explained.

"Hmm." Chen Shi tapped Zhen Niang’s forehead lightly, half-exasperated. Was it really that she didn’t have the chance? Did this girl really think she couldn’t see through her little scheme? She just wanted to see if the main branch would step in now that the eighth branch was in trouble.

If they hadn’t stepped in, this girl would likely have been heartbroken. She was a clever little thing.

Seeing that her small, hidden thoughts had been seen through by her aunt from the main branch, Zhen Niang smiled sheepishly.The Li family of Huizhou, a century-old lineage, represented authority in the eyes of ordinary people—something one couldn’t help but believe.

“Is that true?” Wang Dong asked urgently.

“Of course it’s true. Do you think the Li family’s century-old reputation is a lie? Here’s what we’ll do: send a few people to take the patients for treatment. As for the rest, go to the magistrate’s court and lay everything out clearly. If there’s responsibility the Li family must bear, we won’t shirk it. But I’ll also say this here: this whole matter was originally the Du family’s affair. I don’t think I need to say more—everyone understands that, right? Don’t go on dragging the Li family into it later. Although our Li household is full of widows, we’re not to be trampled on by just anyone. Understood?” Chen Shi swept a cold gaze over the crowd.

Chen Shi’s words were filled with unyielding authority.

Zhen Niang had always thought Chen Shi was gentle and amiable, never expecting her to have such a commanding side. It rather resembled Seventh Grandmother’s demeanor. Then again, a century-old family like the Li’s had the standing to speak this way.

Hearing Chen Shi’s words, the crowd grew somewhat flustered and resentful. The Du family was clearly unreliable now. Though the Li family had helped treat people today, what about afterward? What about compensation? And what about the oil they’d bought back—who would dare eat it now? With all these issues, they couldn’t just let it go without a resolution.

Never mind—first, get the patients treated. As for the rest, they’d have to rely on the magistrate to decide.

With that thought, some of the crowd escorted the patients to the Medicine Hall, while the rest waited outside the magistrate’s office for his summons.