It was nearly Noon, and there were quite a few carriages and pedestrians on the road.
Even if it rained, business had to continue.
More people gathered at the Inn.
The Cai Family's horse carriage passed by and was also drawn to the scene.
The space inside the carriage was not small, but with two adult men sitting inside, it looked quite cramped.
Cai Wenting shrank to one side, seeming to flinch even more as if he had vaguely heard his name mentioned.
The other person looked about sixty to seventy percent similar to him, but was more than ten years older and had grown a beard. Although not handsome, he possessed a certain imposing manner.
He was wearing a Cloak, so he wasn't cold.
Cai Wenting felt his Eldest Brother's gaze becoming increasingly unfriendly.
"Cai Jining is deeply devoted to Miss Qian."
Hahaha, the laugh was very frivolous.
Cai Wenchang called to a Servant Boy: "Go find out what's happening?"
The horse carriage stopped to the side. There was more than one carriage parked by the road, and more than one person was inquiring.
The Servant Boy quickly found out and reported back: "A Merchant is staying here; it seems he was angered sick by his Mistress, enough to kill him. Shopkeeper Ding has invited a Divine Doctor to treat him. That Merchant seems to have dealings with our household."
Cai Wenchang paid no mind. If a Merchant had good relations with the Cai Family, he would have visited long ago.
If the Mistress is now trying to extort money and murder him, the Cai Family is too lazy to casually get involved.
The current situation was not good, and even the Cai Family had to be cautious. Therefore, Cai Wenchang needed to come personally because Jining was muddled about the situation.
Inside the Inn room.
The Woman and the Maidservant had not woken up, but the others slowly began to form ideas.
Ye Man removed the needles.
The middle-aged Steward watched nervously; the Master was awake!
The Merchant woke up, looking very energetic, his eyes shining with shrewdness! His disheveled appearance did not detract from it!
It looked a bit like a Final Flash of Vitality; his appearance hadn't changed much, which was strange paired with such energy. He hadn't been this energetic in several years.
The Steward asked cautiously: "How is the Master?"
The Merchant stood up; he wasn't tall, but he had presence: "I am fine!"
Ye Man said: "It's an illusion."
The Merchant insisted: "A doctor warned me before, and I wasn't planning to go out again; it was this Vile Woman who incited me to go out, actually intending to kill me! Vicious Woman! Someone, go report this to the officials!"
The Servant Boy froze, intimidated by his Master's imposing manner, and quickly went to report it.
The Merchant then called to the Steward: "Steward Huang is still the most loyal. Go fetch that Snow Lotus Flower."
Steward Huang froze for a moment.
However, he knew clearly that it was the Second Madam, the Mistress who insisted on buying it, and now things had turned sour.
The Snow Lotus Flower was a precious Medicinal Herb, perfect for gifting to the Divine Doctor.
A younger Steward eagerly tried to show loyalty: "Doesn't the Divine Doctor need to write a Prescription?"
Ye Man was short in stature, but it didn't stop her from looking down with disdain: "You've already used medicine; is that something you can understand?"
An Inn Servant Boy chimed in: "That's right, without medicine, could a person recover this quickly? The Divine Doctor made a move; are you trying to steal her skills?"
Everyone looked at the Merchant; his condition was too strange.
That Steward was about to say more.
Steward Huang came over holding a wooden Box, while lecturing: "What nonsense are you speaking to the Divine Doctor?"
If they offended the Divine Doctor, would she refuse to treat the Master? These people were plotting that. Or something else sordid.
The Merchant told Steward Huang to give the Box to the Divine Doctor.
Ye Man accepted it without politeness, noting the Spiritual Energy inside was quite good.
She wouldn't bother with anything else; she went out, found Shopkeeper Ding, and borrowed paper and a brush to write a Prescription.
Shopkeeper Ding watched from the side; this handwriting was incredible!
Shopkeeper Ding didn't say anything, but signaled that half the Silver would be delivered to the back by Ding Yuan.
Ye Man also said nothing; this bit of Silver was nothing. She went to eat first. She had things to do in the afternoon, sigh.
The Merchant and Steward Huang changed clothes and came out.
There were more and more people watching at the Inn. When the Constables arrived, everyone became excited.
The Merchant, now cleaned up, had even more presence and could completely control the situation. He addressed the Constables: "My surname is Lu, and I started doing business at eighteen, marrying and having children at nineteen. I bought Madam Bai fifteen years ago and treated her extremely well. Only today did I find out the truth."
There were many people in the Inn, and everyone listened quietly, ears perked up.
The Merchant wasn't afraid of losing face; losing it here was better than losing it back home: "After breakfast today, Madam Bai told me that the children she bore were not mine, nor did they resemble me. She and Tao Wei have been involved for ten years, and they have another son. This was only because I decided to leave everything to my son, even though I had already given her so much, she was still unsatisfied."
Everyone was curious—ten years, fifteen years!
If that Woman hadn't said anything, he would never have known?
The Merchant's face wasn't red; the anger had passed. Now the priority was reporting it: "I am old, and doctors had warned me before. Today, Madam Bai clearly told me that she did it precisely because she knew, just to anger me. She and Tao Wei did unspeakable things in front of me!"
Damn it!
Amazing!
The onlookers couldn't articulate what they were feeling.
Hoping they were this Merchant? Or Tao Wei? Not identifying with them made it less flavorful.
Steward Huang trembled with anger on the side! He hadn't known she was so shameless!
No wonder Madam Bai wanted to get rid of her; doing such things was not good for him to see.
She really spared no expense.
Killing the heart with words.
Someone on the side of the Constables was taking notes.
The Merchant also arranged for someone to take notes; they would need to prepare a formal complaint later. Going to court was troublesome, but they were quite familiar with the process.
Although they didn't want to enter the yamen, it was unavoidable. As long as one had capability, the yamen wasn't much of an obstacle.
The Merchant reached the crucial point, remaining very calm: "Madam Bai said my illness needed to be dragged out for a few days, asking Steward Huang to brew medicine for me. She has medicine obtained from the Qusha Kingdom; search for it now."
The Constables exchanged glances and ordered a search.
Shopkeeper Ding watched from the side. Once Madam Bai's medicine was found, he wondered how much of Madam Bai's gold and jewelry would be missing.
That was nothing, but that Woman was truly vicious.
Someone shouted: "How did you recover?"
The Merchant replied: "This is all thanks to Shopkeeper Ding and the Divine Doctor; I will never forget this life-saving grace."
Shopkeeper Ding returned the courtesy: "Mr. Lu is blessed by heaven."
With witnesses and evidence, the Constables immediately arrested Madam Bai and Tao Wei on the spot.
Many members of the Merchant Caravan were shocked! Was the Master this ruthless?
Steward Huang sneered. She was trying to kill the Master; after more than ten years of an affair, she still resented the Master for being ruthless?
Madam Bai and the Maidservant woke up just as they were about to be taken away. They screamed in terror on the spot!
A Steward from the Merchant Caravan said to his Master: "Master, don't be confused because of this illness! Madam has accompanied you so far through hardship; how could she harm you?"
The Woman wailed: "I don't want to live anymore!"
The Merchant sneered: "You are an accomplice." She should be arrested together. He added to the Woman, "Even if you aren't executed for plotting to murder your husband, as a concubine, you are still subject to death by law."
The Woman looked quite wretched, yet maintained a certain imposing air.
She stood up straight, formally confronting the Merchant.
The Merchant looked at her coldly; without some background, she might not have dared.
The Woman became a little afraid of him and simply shouted: "Who dares touch me?"
"Vile Woman!" The Merchant slapped her hard: "You must die."
The Woman was so enraged she wanted to fight him.
The Constables held her back; as for what story this Woman had, it might not matter much.
The Woman was truly furious: "The Meng Family!"
The Merchant's expression didn't change: "You? Are you worthy?"
The Woman, driven by rage, shouted: "The Meng Family wants it! If you don't die, your whole family will die!"