Chapter 8

As a man and a woman were tied up in front of the hall, the mourners gathered curiously, whispering and discussing the matter. At this moment, Lady Yang and her brother came from the back courtyard. The many mourners quickly reined in their curiosity and stepped forward to offer condolences.

Ye Xiaotian was looking at Yang Lin's beautiful daughter with a sly expression, sensing something amiss, he turned his head and saw an old woman in mourning and a white-haired old man with a cane talking to each other. Clearly, the crowd was centered around these two.

The old man looked to be in his seventies or eighties, with a face full of wrinkles and white hair. He held a golden-yellow cane, the old patriarch of the Yang family in Jingzhou. Lady Yang whispered loudly to him a few times, then turned to the crowd and said loudly, "Dear friends and relatives, I have something to say."

Lady Yang coldly glanced at Ye Xiaotian and the pale, shocked woman, and said to the hall full of guests, "My husband has passed away, and I am deeply grateful for your presence at his memorial. However, during the mourning period, this lowly servant..."

Lady Yang pointed at the graceful and slender woman, gritting her teeth, "This lowly servant, during the mourning period, committed a great act of disrespect, engaging in an illicit affair!"

As soon as she spoke, it was like a thunderclap in a clear sky. The hall erupted in a cacophony of whispers, and the guests looked at the woman with disdain.

The beautiful woman was shocked, her eyes wide open, seemingly not expecting Lady Yang to fabricate such a despicable charge. She looked at Lady Yang in shock, tears streaming down her face, and said angrily, "I didn't, I didn't! You are framing me!"

Lady Yang laughed coldly, not even bothering to respond, and said to the old patriarch, "There are witnesses from the household and the servants. The adulterous couple was caught in the act. If not for this, would I defile myself and bring shame to the family?"

"Old Patriarch, I have now captured this adulterous couple. This is a matter of the Yang family, and more specifically, the Yang clan. My husband is no longer here, and as a woman, I do not know how to handle this. I must seek your guidance."

The old patriarch, cupping his ears, said in a loud voice, "What? Lady of the sixth house, what did you say? What happened to your gate? Speak louder, I can't hear."

Ye Xiaotian never expected Lady Yang to accuse him without even asking. In an instant, he understood her sinister plan. He realized that Lady Yang, who was obsessed with wealth, was also petty. Because her husband favored the concubine and the concubine had given birth to a daughter while she had none, she harbored such deep jealousy that she wanted to kill the concubine's daughter.

The hard-of-hearing old patriarch was still shouting, "What did she say? Why did they tie her up? Did she damage your gate?"

Ye Xiaotian shouted loudly, "Lady Yang! This is all nonsense. Don't spread lies. I, Ye Xiaotian, have never met this young lady before. How could there be any illicit affair?"

Lady Yang, who didn't really believe this outsider was the adulterer, wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of her thorn in the side. She didn't ask him but just laughed coldly, "You say there isn't? San Shou, tell everyone where you caught him."

Yang San Shou stepped forward and said to the crowd, "Honorable guests, I am Yang San Shou, the steward of the Yang household. This man sneaked into the Yang household and met with the lowly servant. They were just about to undress when I happened to be delivering the monthly allowance and discovered them. I then captured them and brought them to Lady Yang for her to deal with."

Ye Xiaotian shouted, "That's right, I was indeed in this young lady's room... no, courtyard! However, I was not there for an illicit affair. I had not even introduced myself to her when I arrived. I had a significant matter to tell her."

Lady Yang was slightly taken aback. Although she was eager to see the woman dead, she couldn't help but be curious and asked, "What significant matter?"

Ye Xiaotian glanced at her and said proudly, "Today, many guests from all directions have come to the Yang household. I wonder if there are any officials among them? This significant matter must be said in the presence of an official, otherwise, I fear someone might not be impartial."

Lady Yang was furious, "If you are honest, why can't you speak openly?"

Ye Xiaotian laughed coldly, "I am honest, but I have heard of your character, Lady Yang. If this matter is not handled by an official, who knows if you will try to cover it up."

Ye Xiaotian's words naturally piqued the curiosity of the guests. A murmur of whispers spread through the hall. Suddenly, the old man in a blue robe, who had been standing to the side since entering the hall, smiled and stepped forward, saying calmly, "I am the magistrate of Jingzhou, Hu Kuo. What do you have to say?"

Ye Xiaotian was stunned, looking him up and down, hesitating, "Are you really the magistrate of this county?"

Hu Kuo's face darkened, displeased, "Nonsense! In broad daylight and in front of everyone, would an official be impersonated? Or are you just trying to delay time because you have nothing to say? Hmm?"

Lady Yang laughed coldly, "What could he say? Clearly, they are an adulterous couple. Now that their affair has been exposed, they are trying to talk their way out of it. Old Patriarch, in my opinion, we should just drown them in a pig cage."

The old patriarch, cupping his ears, smiled and shouted, "Piglets? Yes, yes, our old sow gave birth to a litter of piglets yesterday, fifteen of them, all alive. Ha ha, have you heard?"

The old man's hearing was poor, and his mind was a bit muddled due to his age. Otherwise, he would have realized something was amiss. Instead, he just talked about piglets, and the others, knowing he was senile, ignored him.

Hu Kuo said to Ye Xiaotian calmly, "If you have nothing to say, then don't. This kind of scandalous matter, I don't want to deal with. Let the old patriarch of the Yang family handle it."

A curious onlooker shouted, "Young man, this is indeed the magistrate of our county. If you have something to say, say it quickly, don't delay."

Seeing this, Ye Xiaotian called out, "Sir, wait! I have a letter in my boot, written by the late Master Yang. If you read it, everything will be clear."

The letter from his brother-in-law? Hu Kuo was shaken, turned around, and looked at Ye Xiaotian, then glanced at Yang San Shou. As a magistrate, he wouldn't bend down to retrieve the letter, so Yang San Shou understood and quickly stepped forward, bent down, and pulled the letter from Ye Xiaotian's boot, pinching his nose.

Ye Xiaotian glanced at Lady Yang with a cold smile, already imagining her reaction when Hu Kuo read the letter.

Hu Kuo frowned, looking at the sweat-stained, smelly letter, and ordered Yang San Shou, "Open it!"

Yang San Shou held his breath, unfolded the letter, and held it up to Hu Kuo. Hu Kuo took a handkerchief from his sleeve, shook it out, and covered his nose and mouth.

When Lady Yang heard it was her husband's letter, she was also deeply moved and stepped forward, asking Hu Kuo, "Brother, what does the letter say?"

When Ye Xiaotian heard Lady Yang call Hu Kuo "brother," a chill ran up his spine, and his whole body turned cold. His hair stood on end: "Brother? The magistrate of Jingzhou is Lady Yang's brother!"

Ye Xiaotian never expected that his greatest hope for safety would be Lady Yang's brother. This was bad! His mind raced: "Lady Yang hates the concubine's daughter to the bone and will not give her any inheritance. If she decides to frame me, her brother will surely help her. Who among the local gentry would stand up for an outsider against a local official?"

"If Lady Yang, to avoid public scandal, agrees to give the young lady an inheritance, she will still hate me to the bone. In this magistrate's jurisdiction, it would be easy for them to quietly kill an outsider. What..."

Ye Xiaotian was both shocked and afraid, his eyes darting around. Suddenly, they fixed on the beautiful woman's face, full of anger and sorrow...

Hu Kuo took a handkerchief from his sleeve, unfolded it, and used it to cover his nose as he read the letter held by Yang San Shou. Seeing the woman, Ye Xiaotian suddenly had an idea. He took a deep breath and said loudly, "Sir, the letter says..."

When Ye Xiaotian first took out the letter, he hadn't revealed the secret, hoping to create a dramatic twist after Hu Kuo read it. He was a small theater enthusiast, often sneaking into plays in the capital, and this was one of his bad habits.

Now, seeing that the magistrate was Lady Yang's brother, he dared not play games anymore. However, he couldn't tell the truth, as it would be risking his life. In an instant, Ye Xiaotian came up with a huge lie.

No one has never told a lie in their life. Ye Xiaotian had told many lies, to his superiors, colleagues, parents, and even to criminals. Some were kind lies, and some were malicious.

But none of the lies he had told before were as important as the one he was about to tell today, because it was a life-saving lie. Moreover, none of his previous lies were as perfect, reasonable, and shameless as this one, which would affect his entire life.

P: What will happen in the next chapter? Don't think it's simple to guess. ^_^ Collect, click, recommend, and like. Speaking of likes, just one like for one chapter, one cent is enough. Because the gap between the end of the last book and the release of this one was more than three months, you need to have spent something during this period, even if it's just one cent, or you won't have a vote in the month of release.

Previous page AD starts

Previous page AD ends