Chapter 144 – Trouble at Jiren Hall
Ms. Zhong asked Yan Xiaosi somewhat nervously.
Since the death of Yan Bowen, she had single-handedly raised four children with no spare money. She hadn’t worn any new clothes in years.
Now dressed in new clothes, she felt uncomfortable all over, especially with a stranger in front of her.
Yan Xiaosi clapped her hands and smiled, “Of course you look good. My mother has the makings of a beauty. If you put on some makeup and walk down the street, the matchmakers coming to our house would surely wear down our doorstep.”
Ms. Zhong, who had been somewhat tense, found herself relaxing at her less than serious words.
“You child, the more you speak, the less serious you become, and the more exaggerated you get.”
Yan Xiaosi’s smile revealed a row of neat teeth.
“Mom, I’m not exaggerating. If you weren’t so beautiful, how could you have given birth to such good-looking children, including me? Once I mature, I’ll surely be a handsome guy.”
This comment amused the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper chuckled, “Big sister, the young master is right. You indeed look good in this sky-blue dress. The dresses on the young ladies also look good. If you take all five sets, I’ll give you a discount.”
At the mention of the word ‘discount’, Yan Xiaosi’s eyes lit up.
“Shopkeeper, how much of a discount?”
The shopkeeper replied, “A set of ladies’ coarse cloth clothes is 800 wen. Five sets would originally cost four taels of silver. But seeing your interesting family, I’ll only charge three taels for all five.”
An entire tael less! Yan Xiaosi thought the shopkeeper was quite generous. She swiftly took out three taels of silver and handed them to the shopkeeper.
She didn’t mind spending three taels. After all, she had swindled twenty taels from the county magistrate, Yao Jin, that morning.
However, thinking of Yao Jin, Yan Xiaosi frowned. Yao Jin and Yan Bozhang had gone to great lengths to buy the luminescent stone from her, clearly for the purpose of bribing the general who had come from Xijing. Yao Jin and Yan Bozhang, due to their short-sightedness, would mistake the glowing stone for a Night Pearl. Logically, the general from Xijing should have the ability to identify such treasures. As soon as Yao Jin presented the stone, the general would see it’s a fake and become furious with Yao Jin, who would certainly cause trouble…
But it’s been quite a while, and still nothing has happened. Could it be that Yao Jin had not presented the glowing stone?
Ms. Zhong and her daughters came out of the fitting room, having changed out of their new clothes and back into their old ones, to find Yan Xiaosi lost in thought.
Yan Shuqin waved her hand in front of Yan Xiaosi’s eyes, “Xiaosi, what are you daydreaming about?”
Yan Xiaosi blinked, coming back to her senses.
“Mom, eldest sister, second sister, third sister, have you all changed your clothes? If so, we can go home.”
Yan Shuqin asked further, “Xiaosi, are you worried about something?”
As Yan Xiaosi was walking out, she shook her head and replied, “No, I eat well and sleep well every day, how could I have any worries?”
The troubles she had in mind, if told to Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuqin, would only bring them worry. It was better not to say anything. Besides, she had ways to deal with a low-ranking official.
Tian Dazhuang, leading the ox cart, was waiting in the shade of a tree outside the clothing shop. Seeing the five of them walk out of the shop, he quickly waved his hand.
“Aunt Yan, Xiaosi, I’m over here.”
Yan Xiaosi walked over, sat down on the cart, and asked, “Big brother Dazhuang, shall we go home?”
“Alright.”
Once the family of five were seated on the cart, Tian Dazhuang waved the whip in his hand, ready to lead the ox cart out of Daxing Town.
Exiting the town via the street where the clothing shop was located, they would pass by Jiren Hall.
When the cart passed by Jiren Hall, Yan Xiaosi noticed that today, there were especially many people crowded outside, creating a noisy scene.
She glanced towards Jiren Hall and mumbled to herself, “Could it be that due to the change of seasons, there are more people falling ill?”
No sooner had she spoken did she see three constables, with large sabers hanging from their waists, galloping towards Jiren Hall.
Her eyes quickly swept over the constables in their intimidating demeanor. She immediately felt something was off and secretly speculated.
Could something have happened at Jiren Hall?
“Make way, make way, the constables are on official business.”
The leading constable shouted loudly, sword in hand, and the crowd that had been blocking the entrance to Jiren Hall immediately scattered to both sides like a tide, clearing a path to the inside of Jiren Hall.
The three intimidating constables dismounted and rushed in with their swords.
“You at Jiren Hall prescribed medicine recklessly and caused the death of my husband. If you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation, I will make sure you pay the price!”
From the ox cart, Yan Xiaosi saw a mourning woman in hemp clothes kneeling at the entrance of the Jiren Hall’s main hall, crying loudly. Beside the woman, there was a body that seemed to have already stiffened.
As the constables rushed in, the wailing woman quickly wiped away her tears and knelt in front of them.
“Please, you must seek justice for me.”
The leading constable looked at the corpse and sternly asked the woman, “What exactly happened?”
The woman wiped away her tears with her sleeve and sobbed, “Five days ago, my husband got a cold and couldn’t stop coughing, so we went to Jiren Hall to get a prescription. Unexpectedly, after taking the medicine, not only did my husband’s cough not improve, but it got even worse. This morning, I prepared the medicine and went to his room, only to find him lying motionless on the bed. I thought he was sleeping and tried to wake him up, only to discover that he was already breathless.”
Upon saying this, the woman started crying loudly again.
“It must have been the incompetent doctor from Jiren Hall who caused the death of my husband. Please, I beg you to seek justice for my husband.”
The leading constable listened to the woman’s account, turned his head, and his gaze swept over the staff of Jiren Hall. In a deep voice, he asked, “Who here is the proprietor of Jiren Hall? Now that there has been a death, this woman has identified you as the cause of her husband’s death. We must take the proprietor back to the county court for questioning and let the county magistrate judge the case.”
The proprietor of Jiren Hall, Bai Jingye, was present that day. Upon hearing this, his heart tightened.
“Masters, I am the proprietor of Jiren Hall.”
The leading constable glanced at him and coldly said, “Then, Mr. Bai, please come with us to the county court.”
Bai Jingye bowed to the three constables.
“I will certainly cooperate with you gentlemen in handling the case. However, before going to the county court, may I ask this woman a question?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Seeing the leading constable nod, Bai Jingye turned his gaze to the woman and asked, “Do you remember which doctor prescribed the medicine for your husband?”
