The commotion drew many onlookers, naturally catching the attention of those in the pavilion as well.
The county magistrate slammed the bamboo tube in his hand onto the table and barked, “What’s going on over there?!”
The hearts of those present trembled at his tone. Under the pressure of the wealthy merchant’s gaze, the shiye[mfn] 师爷 – a personal advisor or clerk to a magistrate, often handling legal and administrative tasks[/mfn] spoke up, “Your Honor, I will go apprehend the troublemakers. Please calm your anger.”
“Hurry up, then!”
“Yes, yes.”
“Father, don’t be upset. We’ll know what happened once they bring them here,” Mei-ge’r soothed. However, that direction… wasn’t that where the two ge’r selling drinks had set up their stall?
Lu Dongqing blocked the two men trying to sneak away, refusing to let them off. Since they dared to stir trouble, they shouldn’t expect to walk away unscathed.
He rolled up his sleeves, kicked one man to the ground, then grabbed the other and struck him so hard the man could only whimper and cry for help.
The fulang lying on the ground was both terrified and confused as he saw the men he had called for all beaten down. He specifically arranged for someone to lure away their eldest brother, so who was this man in front of him?!
Lu Dongqing’s blows were ruthless. Qiao Suiman grew anxious that he might injure someone too severely and get blamed for it later. He quickly tugged on Lu Dongqing’s sleeve. “Lu… Lu-da-ge, don’t hit anymore.”
“That’s right, Dongqing-xiaozi, that’s enough, enough, ah!” Zhou Shuifen also urged.
Qiao Suiman’s eyes were filled with worry and gratitude. Drowning in that gaze, Lu Dongqing gradually regained his composure and released the two men.
“A-Yu, Xiao Man!” Qiao Ruifeng had just received word by the riverside that a fight had broken out here. He rushed over, only to be met with a scene of utter chaos. Even the Chen family looked disheveled.
“Ge,” Qiao Suiman wiped his face with his sleeve and pointed at the men on the ground. “They tried to drag me away and hit us!”
Qiao Ruifeng glared at them, wishing he could tear them apart. Sensing things were about to escalate, Qin Yu quickly stepped in to block Qiao Ruifeng. When he’s angry, he’s even more terrifying than Lu Dongqing. Although Qin Yu himself wanted nothing more than to beat those men to death, getting to the bottom of things was more important for now.
Just as he was about to speak, a woman who had squeezed into the crowd to watch the commotion suddenly exclaimed, “Oh my, isn’t that someone from the Lin family?” She pointed at the fulang on the ground and called out, “Huang Xing, who have you angered now to end up like this?”
The Lin family?!
Before they could react, the voice of a yayi rang out from beyond the crowd. “Make way! Make way! What’s all this ruckus?!”
The townsfolk parted to form a path. The shiye and several yayi marched over in a flurry. “Take them all away!”
“Your Honor, save us! They’re trying to kill us!” Huang Xing shrieked, twisting the facts once again.
But this time, with so many witnesses, no one was fooled.
“Cut the nonsense! You were the ones who started it!” someone from Xiahe Village called out from the crowd.
“They scammed us! I was just demanding my money back!” Huang Xing insisted stubbornly.
Qiao Suiman took a deep breath. “Officer, we’ll go with you. But I can’t leave my stall unattended. Let me pack up first.”
The shiye initially wanted to refuse, but upon seeing the novelty items on their cart, the very ones the magistrate had praised earlier, and realizing the two burly men were the lead rowers from the race, he relented. “Hurry up. I don’t have time to waste on you.”
“Thank you, shiye.”
With permission granted, Qiao Suiman and Qin Yu packed the remaining drinks and barrels. Most importantly, the money pouch had been clutched tightly to Qiao Suiman’s chest the whole time. His bruised face drew sympathetic glances, and Chen Xuesheng even secretly threw a rock at Huang Xing.
Speaking of the Lin family, the only ones they ever had conflict with who bore that surname was Lin Xiuhua. A fierce glint flashed in Qiao Suiman’s eyes. Clearly, the lesson they’d given her last time wasn’t enough.
Qiao Ruifeng pulled the cart grimly. Earlier, Liu Tian had called him over, making him think it was about the race. But it turned out Li Da had asked for him, only to spout nonsense in circles. He walked away impatiently, only to hear from fellow villagers that his fulang and younger brother were being harassed.
Li Da, Li Da’s mother, Lin Xiuhua, and these Lin family members, he wouldn’t let any of them off!
With such a major disruption on such a lively day, the race was naturally suspended. With nothing better to do, the villagers and townspeople all crowded toward the magistrate’s side to watch.
A chance to see the magistrate hold court!
At the pavilion, the spectators weren’t allowed too close and were kept outside. But the woman from Hexi Village who recognized the Lin family managed to push her way to the front. She wouldn’t miss a good show like this for anything.
Inside the pavilion, everyone was too nervous to even look up. But Huang Xing immediately knelt and wailed, “Your Honor, Great Qingtian[mfn]青天大老爷 – an honorific for an upright and just official, referencing the “blue sky” as a symbol of fairness[/mfn]! These heartless people accepted my family’s betrothal gift, then went back on their word and had the nerve to use our money to set up a stall!”
“Really?”
“People really are unpredictable. He looked quite proper, and yet he did something so shameless.”
“And they beat people too. Look how badly those men were beaten. Tsk tsk, how unreasonable.”
Many of the spectators outside the pavilion didn’t know the truth. Hearing Huang Xing’s accusations, they believed him and started pointing fingers at Qiao Suiman’s group.
Fang Zhihe sensed something amiss. This person had clearly been the one causing trouble earlier, yet back then, he didn’t mention that he knew Qiao Suiman and the others.
She pointed at Huang Xing. “You’re lying! Earlier, you were harassing them at their stall. Why didn’t you say you knew them then?” Then she asked Qiao Suiman, “Do you really know him?”
Qiao Suiman sniffled and turned slightly toward Fang Zhihe. “Miss, I don’t know him. He tried to force me to leave with him, and when I refused, he called those men to smash our stall!”
Fang Zhihe and Liu Mei were both shocked by the red mark on his face. “Scoundrel! And you dared to hit him?!”
“Heavens! This little wretch is spouting nonsense! He took our betrothal gift. What’s wrong with me taking him home?!”
“You’re full of crap! I never arranged any marriage for my brother, and I’ve never even seen you before!” Qiao Ruifeng grabbed Huang Xing by the collar and growled, “You say we took betrothal gifts? Who took them? Tell me!”
“Y-you’re denying it now? Heavens, these black-hearted fiends are trying to kill me!” Huang Xing kept wailing but refused to name who had supposedly taken the money.
“Enough!” the magistrate bellowed. “Who are you people? Explain yourselves properly!”
“Your Honor, we are from Xiahe Village, just trying to make a humble living during the festival. Yet we encountered such injustice. We beg Your Honor to uphold justice for us!” Qiao Suiman spoke with a choked voice.
The Qiao family’s cart was still parked outside the pavilion. The magistrate was somewhat surprised. “These drinks, you made them?”
Qiao Suiman had already noticed that the people at the table had all been drinking his beverage. It was clearly from the twenty servings they had sold earlier. With Fang Zhihe and Liu Mei both present, he gave them a grateful look and replied, “Yes, I spent all my savings to make these. I wouldn’t dare deceive you, Your Honor.”
Liu Mei, seated nearby, spoke up. “Earlier, when Xiao He and I bought drinks, this person was lurking around, saying they were scamming people for selling two-wen drinks for twelve wen. He even called them… well…” He trailed off, unable to repeat the vulgar words.
“Indeed. His insults were awful. He nearly cursed me as well,” Fang Zhihe added.
“Magistrate, I never did such things! The young miss and young master must’ve misunderstood! It’s them! They must’ve tricked you! Don’t let them deceive you, Your Honor!”
“Your Honor, earlier, that auntie mentioned his family name is Lin. I believe this may be related to a marriage proposal my family previously rejected. I beg Your Honor to confirm with her.”
Hearing both young miss and young master speak on his behalf, warmth surged in Qiao Suiman’s heart. After a moment of thought, he pointed to the auntie watching from outside.
“Bring her here,” Magistrate Liu Ben signaled to one of the yayi.
“Yes.”
“Huh? Me?” The auntie, previously enjoying the show, was suddenly summoned inside. Instinctively, she knelt before the magistrate. “Your Honor, I-I haven’t done anything wrong!”
The magistrate waved a hand. “I know. No need to kneel. I just have some questions.” He sighed inwardly. What was supposed to be a festive day had turned into a village dispute. “Do you know these people?”
Recognize them? What sort of question was that? She glanced at the beaten men on the ground, then at Qiao Suiman and the others. Ha! She knew them all!
“Your Honor, you’ve asked the right person!” She clapped her hands. “I’m from Hexi Village, living right by the Lin family. There’s no one within several li[mfn]里 : ~500 m[/mfn] I don’t know.”
She pointed at Huang Xing. “That one? He’s married to the good-for-nothing Lin family from our village. Always up to no good. That one over there, the one with the bloody face, is his man, Lin Shanhua.”
Hexi Village. The Lin family. Lin Shanhua. Now, the Chen family members also realized. This is that wretched family from before!
“Auntie, do you know Lin Xiuhua?” Qin Yu asked, frowning.
“Of course I do! She’s Lin Shanhua’s dear little sister. That shrew! Always gossiping behind people’s backs. I even caught her once and gave her a proper beating!”
Just hearing the name made the auntie emotional. Before they got married, the bitch always liked to gossip about her husband. She cursed her out more times than she could count.
“Hey, aren’t you the two ge’r selling drinks? Ah, right, you’re from Xiahe Village. Then you must know about the awful things she’s done. She’s just like these two, black-hearted through and through!”
“Yuan Cuicui, what nonsense are you spouting?!” His dirty laundry now exposed, Huang Xing exploded, screaming curses. “You bitch! Spreading lies! May lightning strike that filthy mouth of yours!”
“You whore! I haven’t even dealt with you for stealing my chicken yet, and you dare curse me? Let’s see if I don’t tear your foul mouth apart!”
Yuan Cuicui has a fiery temper. Right now, she didn’t care about anything else. She just wanted to drag Huang Xing over and give him a beating.
“Silence! Quiet, all of you!” The yayi quickly separated them. If a brawl broke out in front of the magistrate, he might as well quit his job.
“Your Honor!” Qiao Suiman called out and stepped forward. One word at a time, he said clearly and firmly, “Not long ago, Lin Xiuhua came to our home to propose a marriage. But the one she spoke of was her nephew who is a gambling addict with a broken leg.”
He pointed at Huang Xing and Lin Shanhua. “Now it seems it must’ve been their son. Back then, she insinuated that my elder brother should sell me off. When he refused, she smashed a bowl over his head and tried to beat us! Many in our village witnessed it. We never agreed to anything, let alone took any betrothal gifts!”
“Later, when we confronted her husband’s family, we learned her nephew had harassed another family’s daughter and got his legs broken for it. That’s why they were desperate to marry someone off just to get free labor!”
Qiao Suiman’s nose stung, and tears spilled over. “Your Honor, my family is just me, my elder brother, and his fulang. We have no elders. They saw our family is weak and bullied us like this, trying to make us take responsibility for their own sins. I beg Your Honor to uphold justice for me!”
His sobs grew louder. Zhou Shuifen added, “That’s right, Your Excellency! Many folks in Xiahe Village witnessed the incident, and even people from other villages have heard about it. Every one of them in that family is more black-hearted than the next. They even came up with such a shameless scheme, trying to ruin Man-ge’r’s reputation. If Lu-xiaozi didn’t arrive in time and Man-ge’r had been taken away… how could he possibly go on living after that?”
Lu Dongqing clenched his fists.
