Chapter 29: Second Young Master Zhou

Chapter 29: The Second Young Master of the Zhou Family

"Alright, I'll trouble Physician Xu," Qin Hu nodded.

Seeing Physician Xu about to examine the child's bones, the old man panicked and glanced at the two thin and tall men, who were now also pale and sweating profusely, unable to spare him a thought.

The old man struggled against the guards, but the child's body was brought before Physician Xu. Physician Xu examined it carefully for a long time, then frowned: "This child is indeed not nine years old..."

"See? I told you he's my grandson, he's only five or six," the old man regained his composure and instantly became smug. When his gaze shifted to the group of children, it suddenly took on a strange and disgusting quality.

The children who met his eyes trembled, tears streaming down their faces.

Physician Xu gave a heavy snort and said, "Nor is he five or six. This child is already ten years old."

A ten-year-old age with a five-year-old body—one could imagine how much suffering this child had endured.

At these words, everyone understood who was lying. The old man eating children was probably true as well. For a moment, the faces of everyone in the courthouse turned extremely ugly.

Qin Hu roared angrily: "Zhang Da, what else do you have to say for yourself? Men, seize him!"

With the matter exposed, the old man was truly frightened. He pointed at the two thin and tall men and began shifting the blame: "Sir, they made me do it! They also gave me the poison. It's not my fault. Arrest them instead."

The two men forced themselves to stay calm: "We've been wronged, Sir! This old scoundrel is slandering us!"

"I have proof! That poison came from a young clerk surnamed Li at He's Wine Shop. They gave me one packet to poison this little beggar, and kept the other packet for themselves to frame Lin Ji. I saw it all!"

"Also, have you forgotten the promissory note you wrote me? That note is the benefit you promised me for buying me off!"

The three of them were tearing each other apart, leaving a mess of accusations.

The guards followed the lead and found the clerk surnamed Li, who confessed everything.

It turned out he had taken money from both parties, giving the rat poison purchased by the wine shop to the two thin and tall men. He thought that since the wine shop hadn't had many rats lately, one batch of poison wouldn't cause any trouble.

He never imagined such a big incident would come to light. He hadn't dared tell the truth before, but under interrogation, he spilled everything.

Now, the chain of evidence was complete, and the truth was clear for all to see.

Lin Su spoke up before Qin Hu pronounced the judgment: "Sir, the truth has come out and cleared my name. However, there is still one thing I don't understand. Please allow me to ask these two constables a question."

Qin Hu nodded: "Go ahead."

"My people from Lin Ji have only been setting up stalls in the county town for a little over a month. I wonder what we did to offend you, that you would go to such lengths to frame us."

Lin Su pointed at the two men one by one, then singled out two more people from the courthouse guards: "The four of you have been making things difficult for us every day. First, you forbade us from setting up stalls on the docks and boats. Then, after we had already paid the stall fees, you drove us away. Even when we tried to sell from carts, you chased after us looking for trouble. And now, you've even resorted to killing innocent people. Why?"

He was determined today to root out the rat hiding in the shadows, once and for all.

Before the two thin and tall men could speak, the other two guards who were pointed out quickly explained: "Sir, Wu Tao and his friend said that the people from Lin Ji were acting arrogantly, and they asked us to teach them a lesson. We couldn't refuse because of personal ties, so we targeted them a few times. But today's incident has nothing to do with the two of us."

He was telling the truth. They didn't know why Wu Tao and his companion were framing the Lin Ji group. Later, Lin Ji's people led them around by the nose, and they eventually gave up.

Wu Tao and his companion hesitated, unwilling to reveal the mastermind.

Lin Su smiled and said in a voice only the two could hear: "You don't want to talk? Are you hoping he'll save you? But if you don't speak now, you might never get another chance to speak."

Wu Tao stared at him warily. Lin Su casually but discreetly squeezed the hand of Fu Yun, which was next to his: "All these convoluted schemes—this person must care a lot about his reputation, right?"

Yes, that man valued his reputation. He would surely kill them to avoid exposure, because only the dead could keep secrets.

If they named him first, he might actually protect them to clear his own name. Only if they personally recanted their testimony could they be the strongest way to wash away the stain on his reputation.

They had committed a serious crime. Though this path offered equally slim chances of survival, it was their only way out.

Having thought it through clearly, Wu Tao gritted his teeth and revealed the mastermind: "It's... the Second Young Master of the Zhou family!"

"The Second Young Master had his eyes on Lin Su's husband and wanted to have him. So he instructed us to frame Lin Ji."

Although Lin Su had already suspected as much, hearing that someone coveted Fu Yun still stirred an uncontrollable surge of anger within him.

The intensity of his emotions surprised even himself.

The crowd outside the courthouse was astonished. No way—how could the Second Young Master of the Zhou family, who had such a good reputation, do such a thing?

Qin Hu hadn't expected the incident to involve the Zhou family. His head ached, but with everyone watching, he had no choice but to summon the Second Young Master.

_

At the Zhou family residence.

In the courtyard of the Second Young Master, servants tiptoed around, each minding their own business. Lately, the Second Young Master had been in a bad mood. He had made a major mistake in the family business and was punished by the eldest young master.

If they weren't careful, they might incur the Second Young Master's wrath.

Zhou Yujin slammed his teacup down heavily. Tea splashed all over the table and onto his silk robe, making him even angrier. He swished his sleeve and overturned the tea table before storming out into the courtyard, chest heaving. He punched a pillar.

That sickly brat dared to strip him of his power!

Just because he had mixed a few defective goods into that batch of merchandise, was it necessary to call a meeting of the elders and take away his authority?

And that sickly brat—not only was he brilliant at studying and passing the imperial exams, but he was also an extraordinary businessman. Everyone in the family deferred to him, fawning over him without daring to contradict him.

At this rate, where would the Second Branch's status be in this family!

Zhou Yujin couldn't swallow this humiliation, but he lacked the strength to fight back. He could only grit his teeth and bear it, his eyes red with rage like a mad bull. He desperately needed an outlet for his frustration.

He thought of that gē he had glimpsed not long ago—tall, fair-skinned, and beautiful, dressed in a simple blue cloth robe like a warm, pleasing jade bamboo, yet also carrying an untouched purity and fragility that made one want to destroy him recklessly.

His first thought was that this man was damn attractive.

It was only when he noticed the red mark on his earlobe that he realized he was a gē.

Zhou Yujin usually only went after women and thoroughly despised gēs who looked like men. But at that moment and for the next few days, he couldn't stop thinking about that same man-like gē.

Perhaps a gē could withstand more than a woman, so he wouldn't die before Zhou Yujin had his fill. So he arranged for someone to set things in motion.

The Zhou family was a once-distinguished but now declining scholar-official family. Zhou Yujin also cared about his reputation and face. In such matters, he usually adopted a combination of kindness and intimidation—first intimidating to scare the target, then offering small favors to make their family willingly send them over.

That way, they would be too ashamed to speak out, and no trouble would arise.