The ox cart slowly swayed along the official road.
Su Changle secretly glanced at Su Qingli for the third time before finally unable to hold back.
“Are we really going to report him to the authorities?”
“No. We’re going to pay back the money first.”
Su Qingli leaned against the wooden cart, eyes closed as she basked in the sunlight. Her tone was calm.
The loan shark’s payment deadline was in three days. Today, she would first pay back whatever she could. Those loan sharks were much harder to deal with than Cheng Siwen. Every day they delayed meant another day of interest.
Su Changle immediately frowned worriedly.
“Pay it back? Where are we supposed to get the money?”
Su Qingli casually took out a money pouch. It contained the money she had earned from selling wild animals, along with the money she had recovered from Cheng Siwen.
There was a total of thirty-five taels.
Su Changle’s voice trembled in alarm.
“That’s so much silver! What did you sell from our house this time?”
“What valuable things could there possibly be left in our house to sell?”
Su Qingli resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
“Of course I took it from that Cheng fellow’s house.”
Su Changle froze for a moment and couldn’t speak for a long time.
Thinking about how his younger sister had finally come to her senses and was no longer obsessed with that Cheng fellow, he felt as if all the wrinkles in his heart had suddenly been smoothed out.
Following her directions, he drove the ox cart into a secluded alley.
The shop that lent money at high interest was located at the very end of the alley.
Two muscular, bare-chested men stood guard at the entrance. The moment they saw the ox cart approaching, their eyes immediately became sharp.
Su Changle had never seen such a scene before. His heart nearly jumped into his throat, but he forced himself to follow behind Su Qingli.
“Paying back the money.”
Su Qingli lightly placed the silver on the counter.
“Su Qingli?”
Ever since the shop had opened, Su Qingli was the only woman who had ever dared to borrow from them, so the shopkeeper naturally recognized her.
“Sixty taels including principal and interest. You only have thirty-five taels. That’s not enough.”
“Isn’t the repayment deadline still three days away?”
Su Qingli raised her eyelids slightly.
“I’ll pay this much first. I’ll bring the rest three days from now.”
“Fine!”
The shopkeeper didn’t make things difficult for her. He accepted the silver and wrote out a new debt note.
Su Qingli took her copy and turned to leave.
From beginning to end, she didn’t even spare the two muscular men at the door more than a glance.
Su Changle followed behind her, his palms covered in cold sweat.
Only after they got back onto the ox cart did he dare take a deep breath.
“Where are we going next?”
Su Qingli looked up at the sky and said calmly,
“Let’s get something to eat first.”
“Huh?”
“I’m hungry.”
Su Changle was completely confused, but Su Qingli had already started walking toward a noodle stall by the roadside, so he could only hurry after her.
Two bowls of plain noodles were placed on the table. Su Qingli ate slowly and calmly.
Su Changle, however, was extremely anxious.
“I’ll go to the docks later and see if I can find some work to earn the rest of the money…”
“Don’t bother.”
Su Qingli slurped some hot soup.
“Someone will naturally bring us the money later.”
“Who?”
“That Cheng fellow.”
“How is that possible?”
Su Changle curled his lips.
“Can that bastard really spit out everything he’s already swallowed?”
Su Qingli only smiled without answering. She wiped her mouth.
“Are you full? Let’s go.”
Su Changle hurriedly drank the last mouthful of noodle soup.
“Where are we going now?”
Su Qingli didn’t answer. She simply walked straight toward a stall across the street.
There, a thin old man had set up a stall using a table. Beside him stood a wooden sign with four characters written on it:
Legal Complaint Writing
…
At the corner of the alley, Cheng Siwen pressed himself against the wall, cold sweat running down his forehead.
He had hurried into town and finally spotted Su Qingli near the noodle stall.
He had thought that her threat to report him was merely meant to scare him. He hadn’t expected that after finishing her noodles, she would actually walk straight toward the legal complaint writer’s stall across the street!
What exactly was this woman trying to do?
Cheng Siwen’s heart pounded wildly as he stared fixedly at the two people over there.
He didn’t know what Su Qingli had said to the old man, but the old man picked up his brush and ink and began writing.
A quarter of an hour passed.
Then half an hour.
Su Qingli finally took the envelope the old man had written and tucked it into her clothes before leaving.
Before she left, Su Qingli casually raised her head and glanced in Cheng Siwen’s direction.
He was so frightened that he immediately ducked his head back.
His heart was beating so fast it felt as though it might jump out of his throat.
Had she seen him?
No. Impossible…
When Cheng Siwen cautiously poked his head out again, Su Qingli had already walked far away with Su Changle.
He gritted his teeth, turned around, and rushed toward the legal complaint stall.
“What did that woman ask you to write?”
The legal complaint writer was a thin, elderly man. He glanced at Cheng Siwen but remained silent.
Cheng Siwen pulled out a string of copper coins and slapped them onto the table.
The old man weighed them in his hand and quickly slipped them into his sleeve.
“As a legal complaint writer, I naturally wrote a complaint for that young lady!”
Cheng Siwen’s face turned pale.
“What did she write about?”
The old man closed his eyes again and said nothing.
Cheng Siwen gritted his teeth, pulled out another string of coins, and slapped them onto the table.
Only then did the old man smile and accept the money. He lowered his voice.
“She said she was deceived into borrowing money, that someone schemed to seize her family’s property, and that she was even persuaded to borrow from loan sharks. Poor girl!”
Cheng Siwen’s legs went weak, and he nearly lost his balance.
“Did… did she write anything else?”
The old man looked at him strangely.
“What else did you expect her to write?”
Cheng Siwen opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word.
The old man ignored him and lowered his head to gather up his papers and writing supplies.
His luck had been pretty good today. He had earned money twice from a single job.
He could close his stall for the day!
Cheng Siwen walked out of the stall in a daze.
Standing in the bustling street under the glaring sunlight, he felt nothing but cold all over.
A legal complaint!
She really was going to report him?
Those things…
If they reached the county magistrate’s ears, or the ears of his academy teacher…
Cheng Siwen shuddered and immediately ran toward the county government office.
…
The ox cart continued slowly along the official road.
Su Changle sat beside Su Qingli, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
“Are we really going to report him? Is the complaint the legal writer prepared reliable? We’re ordinary commoners. If we sue a scholar, we could get beaten with a cane! If necessary, give the complaint to me. I’ll take the blame. I’ll take the beating…”
“Second Brother, stop nagging. You’re noisy.”
Su Qingli lay on the ox cart with her eyes closed, continuing to bask in the sunlight.
Su Changle scratched his head anxiously.
“I can’t calm down!”
Su Qingli slowly opened her eyes and glanced at him.
“Don’t worry. Just wait.”
Su Changle froze.
“Wait for what?”
“Wait for the fish to take the bait.”
As soon as she finished speaking, hurried footsteps came from behind them.
“Su Qingli! Stop!”
Cheng Siwen was running after them, gasping for breath and desperately waving for the ox cart to stop.
Su Changle’s eyes widened. He was just about to pull on the reins when Su Qingli ordered,
“Mengmeng, don’t stop. Go faster!”
“Huh?”
Before Su Changle could react, Mengmeng had already quickened his pace and quickly left Cheng Siwen far behind.
Cheng Siwen was stunned before running after them with all his strength.
“Su Qingli! Stop!”
Su Qingli glanced back at him, the corner of her mouth curling upward.
“Yah!”
The ox cart sped along lightly while Cheng Siwen chased after them in a miserable state.
It looked as though they were walking a dog, attracting the attention of everyone on the street.
They didn’t stop until they reached the entrance of the county government office.
Su Qingli finally told Mengmeng to stop.
She jumped down from the cart and walked toward the Dengwen Drum, the drum used to appeal directly to the authorities.
She didn’t hurry, almost as though she were deliberately waiting for Cheng Siwen to catch up.
Cheng Siwen anxiously rushed forward and blocked her path.
“Su Qingli, stop!”
He was breathing heavily, his face pale.
“Su Qingli, you… you can’t go into the county office!”
Su Qingli raised an eyebrow.
“Why not?”
“That complaint… You can’t submit it!”
“Oh?”
Su Qingli smiled.
“How does Scholar Cheng know that I’ve written a complaint?”
Cheng Siwen was instantly speechless.
Su Qingli simply looked at him, her expression full of amusement.
Cheng Siwen’s expression changed repeatedly. Finally, as if he had made an enormous decision, he pulled a cloth bundle from his clothes and forcibly stuffed it into Su Qingli’s hands.
“Here’s thirty-five taels. Adding the ten taels you already received, that’s exactly forty-five taels! Take the money and give me the complaint!”
Su Qingli weighed the bundle in her hand but said nothing, her expression half-smiling and half-mocking.
“Didn’t you forget something?”
Cheng Siwen gritted his teeth and pulled out another piece of paper.
“This is the deed to your family’s land! I’ve rewritten it and stamped it with my fingerprint. As long as you take it to the authorities and have it officially stamped, the land will be yours again!”
Su Qingli glanced at it but still didn’t speak.
Cheng Siwen became completely desperate.
“Su Qingli, I’ve returned both the money and the land to you. When dealing with people, you should leave some room for reconciliation!”