Cheng Siwen was covered in cold sweat, and even his breathing was uneven.
The tension and panic in his eyes were impossible to hide.
Su Qingli leisurely enjoyed watching him in such a miserable state. Only after she had had enough did she sneer and graciously put away the silver and land deed.
“Cheng Siwen, you could have done this from the beginning. Wouldn’t that have been easier?”
After saying that, she could not be bothered to look at him again. She climbed onto the ox cart.
“Second Brother, let’s go.”
“Wait!”
Cheng Siwen suddenly reached out and grabbed the cart frame, his eyes filled with resentment.
“Give me the complaint!”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Here!”
Su Qingli smiled sweetly and casually tossed the complaint over.
Cheng Siwen caught it and glanced over the contents. He immediately turned pale with rage and tore the complaint into pieces in a few swift motions.
“Su Qingli, you really have some tricks!”
Cheng Siwen’s eyes were as sinister as a poisonous snake.
“I have been studying since I was young, and you—”
“What were you going to say? ‘Don’t look down on a poor young man’?”
Cheng Siwen’s eyes lit up.
What a good line!
“Exactly! Don’t look down—”
“Yes, yes, don’t look down on a poor young man,” Su Qingli interrupted. “Don’t look down on a poor middle-aged man either. Don’t look down on a poor old man either. The dead deserve the greatest respect. Hehe.”
Cheng Siwen’s face darkened.
“I will definitely pass the scholar examination someday. When that happens, I will—”
“Wait a minute.”
Su Qingli looked at him strangely.
“You can tear up one complaint, but I can have the legal clerk write ten more. The grievance drum is right over there. I can go beat it whenever I want! Who exactly are you trying to threaten?”
“I…”
Cheng Siwen was rendered speechless. He struggled for a long time but could not come up with a response. His expression turned ugly as he finally walked away.
Su Changle had secretly enjoyed himself for quite a while. Then he suddenly came to his senses.
“Su Qingli, you knew that bastard Cheng had been secretly following us all along, didn’t you? That’s why you deliberately had the legal clerk write the complaint and used it as bait to lure him in?”
Su Qingli blinked.
“Yes and no.”
“Huh?”
Su Qingli only smiled without answering.
The complaint had clearly stated exactly how much grain and silver Cheng Siwen had borrowed from her and on what dates, as well as how he had persuaded her to borrow money from loan sharks.
Every single word was based on facts.
If Cheng Siwen had not taken the bait, she really would have gone to court and reported him.
Now that everything had been settled, she decided not to tell Second Brother the truth and make him worry about what could have happened.
“Second Brother, let’s go back to the loan shop and settle the debt completely.”
“Alright!”
Su Changle was in an excellent mood, and even his voice sounded cheerful.
When the shopkeeper saw the two of them return, he initially thought they had come to ask for an extension.
He was just about to make a sarcastic remark when the two of them took out a bag of silver.
He immediately froze and put on a smile.
A red seal marked “Paid in Full” was stamped on the promissory note, and Su Qingli’s name was crossed off the ledger.
Her debt was finally completely settled.
Su Qingli carefully put away the receipt. After settling the account at the loan shop, she headed straight to the county government office.
“Sir, this is my family’s land deed. Could you please stamp it?”
The clerk kept his head down and did not even look at the land deed Su Qingli handed him.
Su Qingli silently cursed him and had no choice but to take out a piece of silver and hand it over.
“A little something for you to have some tea.”
“Hmm. Wait here.”
Only then did the clerk look up. He weighed the silver in his hand before taking the land deed into the inner room.
Su Changle stood perfectly straight, not daring to let his eyes wander.
Su Qingli grew a little bored while waiting, so she pricked up her ears and listened to several yamen runners chatting nearby.
“Hey, have you guys heard? The county magistrate had a huge argument with his wife last night. It was apparently quite serious!”
“There was such a thing?”
“Aren’t the magistrate and his wife very affectionate? What were they arguing about?”
“I’ll tell you, but you can’t let this get out.”
The yamen runner who had spoken looked around cautiously. Only after everyone repeatedly promised not to tell anyone did he lower his voice and speak mysteriously.
“I heard that the county magistrate has an illegitimate son from a mistress!”
The moment those words were spoken, several yamen runners’ mouths fell open in shock.
Su Qingli quietly leaned forward.
A few of the yamen runners noticed her and impatiently waved her away.
“Go, go, go. Strangers shouldn’t hang around here and cause trouble!”
Su Qingli took out a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket and handed them over.
“Something this juicy is more fun when everyone listens together!”
“Then you can’t tell anyone!”
The yamen runners’ expressions softened, and they began cracking sunflower seeds.
“He has an illegitimate son, and then what happened? Hurry up and tell us!”
“That illegitimate son… Guess how old he is?”
With more people listening, the yamen runner deliberately dragged out the suspense.
“Three?”
“Seven?”
“Wrong!”
The yamen runner held up two fingers.
“Nineteen years old!”
“Whoa! He’s that old?”
“The magistrate and his wife have only been married for twenty years. Doesn’t that mean he was fooling around outside not long after they got married?”
“Exactly! And I heard that the magistrate brought the illegitimate son home last night and plans to officially acknowledge him as part of the family!”
“Ah, no wonder the magistrate’s wife was so furious!”
Su Qingli pursed her lips, suddenly losing interest.
Wasn’t this just another story about a cheating man?
In her previous life, she had seen scandals far more outrageous than this.
She was just about to leave when the yamen runner added,
“However, I heard that the illegitimate son wasn’t doing well when he was brought back last night. Several doctors in the county went to examine him, but none of them dared prescribe any medicine. Early this morning, the magistrate put up a notice offering a huge reward for a famous physician!”
Su Qingli’s eyes lit up when she heard the words “huge reward.”
“Brother, where is that notice?”
The yamen runner was startled by her enthusiasm and sneered.
“What? You know how to treat illnesses?”
“Come on! My family happens to have an ancestral prescription. I just want to see if it might be useful.”
Su Qingli casually came up with an excuse.
The yamen runner told her where the notice was and reminded her,
“Don’t blame me for not warning you. If you cure him, you get the reward. If you fail, be careful you don’t end up paying with your life!”
Su Qingli nodded in thanks.
Just then, the clerk from earlier came out and returned her land deed, now stamped with a bright red official seal.
Su Changle looked at it again and again. His eyes reddened, and he carefully tucked the land deed into his clothes as though it were a precious treasure.
After leaving the county government office, Su Qingli climbed onto the ox cart.
“It’s getting late. Let’s find an inn and stay for the night. Tomorrow, after we take care of the matter, we’ll return to the village.”
Su Changle hurriedly asked, “What are we doing tomorrow?”
“Treating the county magistrate’s illegitimate son!”
Su Changle pouted.
“You’re talking nonsense again. How would you know how to treat someone?”
Su Qingli ignored him and found an inn.
A standard room cost sixty copper coins, while a superior room cost one hundred.
The moment Su Changle heard the price, he turned around and walked away.
“Is the bed made of gold? I’m not staying here.”
Su Qingli grabbed him and negotiated with the innkeeper.
“Two rooms for one hundred copper coins. How about it?”
“Deal.”
“No!”
Su Changle panicked.
“I’ll sleep in the ox cart! Mengmeng can’t be left alone!”
The innkeeper added,
“Guests can keep their animals in the stable for free, and we’ll provide one serving of feed.”
Su Qingli spread her hands.
“You heard him. Mengmeng will have food and a place to stay. It doesn’t need you.”
Su Changle still shook his head frantically.
While she was distracted, he suddenly took off running.
Two rooms would save twenty copper coins, while not staying here would save sixty. He could still do that math.
Su Qingli stared at his retreating figure and sighed helplessly.
“Fine. Just one room.”