Chapter 57: The Northern Yan Merchant Guild and the Retrial of the Su Family Case!

The hunchbacked old man was named Wang Can. He held the highest seniority within the Ning'an Branch of the Remnants Society and always carried immense weight in his words; even the former branch master, Lin Nanshan, had treated him with great courtesy.

Naturally, the people secretly rescued by Wang Yu'er today were none other than the core backbone of the Ning'an Branch!

It could be said that Wang Yu'er single-handedly saved a large portion of the Ning'an Branch!

Wang Yu'er, however, did not reply, maintaining the appearance of lingering indignation at having been wronged. As a former actress of the blue-robed troupe, her acting skills were naturally top-tier.

She merely pulled out another ten-thousand-liang banknote and handed it to Wang Can, saying, "This banknote was also given to me by that silly prince. In the next few days while you are out avoiding the limelight, food and drink will be essential, so divide this among yourselves!"

This tactic had also been taught to her by Xue Yuan!

First save lives, then scatter money!

Let them know that following her, Wang Yu'er, would not only ensure safety but also guarantee a life of luxury and comfort. Nothing could buy people's loyalty more effectively than this!

Sure enough, when the crowd saw the banknote worth a full ten thousand liang, their eyes all glazed over!

This was ten thousand liang! If fifty people split it evenly, each person would get two hundred liang—enough to keep them going for seven or eight years!

Wang Can took the banknote and nodded involuntarily, saying, "It seems that silly prince is indeed completely submissive to you now! Giving you both the seal and the banknotes! Yu'er, you are the greatest contributor since the establishment of our Ning'an Branch. This old man will surely report your merits truthfully to the superiors!"

Another tall man named Qian An chimed in, "I've always said Yu'er is a rare and capable general of our branch! Now that she holds the Prince of Ning's Estate in her grip, she will surely help our Ningzhou Branch rise to the next level and become the number one branch of the Society!"

Upon hearing this, the others immediately chimed in with agreement.

"That's right! Sister Yu'er's loyal devotion to our branch is witnessed by heaven and earth! From now on, whoever dares call her a traitor, I'll be the first to not let them off!"

"Exactly! That batch of goods was hauled from the Longsheng Cloth Shop to the Yuxing Silk Shop, only to be discovered on the way by that omnipotent Sword Seven, who then executed a dog-eat-dog robbery. What's so strange about that? Why blame Sister Yu'er?"

"Put that way, Branch Master Lin did indeed abscond with the funds! I could tell long ago he harbored such ambitions!"

"We must report this matter to the headquarters so that malicious individuals cannot slander Sister Yu'er!"

Surrounded by a chorus of lavish praise, Wang Yu'er thought to herself that His Highness was indeed right: the Remnants Society was loosely organized and utterly devoid of faith; whoever brought benefits was the one they followed!

She cupped her fists at the crowd and said, "You flatter me, everyone! Yu'er bears a sea of blood feuds and shares an irreconcilable enmity with the imperial court. My lifelong wish is to help our Society overthrow the court and restore a bright and clear universe!

However, if anyone in the branch still harbors doubts about me, Yu'er is willing to withdraw voluntarily to avoid bloodshed among our peers!"

This was no trivial matter!

Bowing his back, Wang Can immediately patted Wang Yu'er's shoulder and said, "Good child! Do your best, and we old fellows will support you!"

Between the lines, he had already revealed his intention to recommend her for the position of branch master!

The Ning'an Branch was currently leaderless. Although the older generation was prestigious, they lacked sufficient capability, making them urgently in need of someone resourceful, competent, and reliable to hold down the fort. No one fit these criteria better than Wang Yu'er!

In other words, if they didn't let Wang Yu'er take the position of branch master, they were even more afraid that she would wash her hands of the matter and walk away. After all, with the Prince of Ning's Estate in her grasp, what couldn't she do?

Knowing that the grand undertaking was complete, Wang Yu'er said, "Then many thanks, Uncle Wang, and many thanks to all the seniors! Once I return, I will definitely make that silly prince intervene in this matter as soon as possible and stop the Divine Catch Bureau from continuing their arrests!"

The crowd hurriedly offered their thanks!

......

Meanwhile, acting on Lin Shishi's intelligence, Zhao Beichen, the deputy head of the Ningzhou Branch, was personally captured by Sword Seven in a rural area outside Ning'an City!

That Zhao Beichen had originally been the son of a prime minister from the Southern Shu Kingdom among the Seven States. However, he was cowardly and terrified of death; before Sword Seven could even set up a cauldron, boil oil, and scorch his feet, Zhao Beichen had already handed over the roster of all Remnants Society members in Ningzhou.

Seeing how sensible he was being, Sword Seven temporarily spared his life, instead having him brought down into a secret dungeon.

Upon hearing the news, Xue Yuan rushed to the dungeon overnight.

Arriving and taking a look, good grief, this fellow had once more been beaten until he looked like he had just been fished out of a pool of blood.

He could not help saying to Qin Santai, "Santai, how many times do I have to tell you? You must conquer people with virtue! Besides, since he's been so cooperative, there's no need to beat him this harshly, is it?"

Qin Santai chuckled and said, "Your Highness, precisely because he's cooperative, beating him harder makes it even more effective! Look, here is his confession, and we've added quite a few things we didn't know about before."

Xue Yuan picked up the confession and glanced over it, his expression changing slightly.

"The Ningzhou Branch of the Remnants Society has already colluded with Northern Yan?"

This piece of news was truly unexpected!

Qin Santai said, "That's right. He said that a massive commercial delegation from Northern Yan is about to arrive in Ningzhou, and their general chamber of commerce will be established in Ning'an City! It is said that this delegation is led by a member of the Northern Yan royal family, and the scale is extremely grand!

As early as a year ago, they secretly contacted the Ningzhou Branch of the Remnants Society, expressing their desire to cooperate when the time comes. In return, they will provide the Ningzhou Branch with funding, weapons, and gunpowder."

Xue Yuan frowned, thinking that a year ago, Northern Yan was still fiercely attacking the Seven Northern Garrisons of Great Qian, showing every intention of marching south to destroy Great Qian!

However, if what Zhao Beichen said was true, it meant the real purpose of Northern Yan launching that war was to force Great Qian into agreeing to establish trading ports in the Jiangnan region, thereby allowing the so-called commercial delegation to enter Ningzhou under a legitimate guise!

To go to such calculated lengths, making a massive fuss, consuming so many supplies and lives, and even contacting local rebels in advance—this group hardly looked like they were merely coming to Ningzhou to make a quick profit!

Thus, he asked Qin Santai, "Is that all? Did he say why Northern Yan wants to cooperate with them, or what the contents of the cooperation are?"

"He claims he doesn't know clearly. Your student is currently trying to figure out a method to make him remember clearly."

Xue Yuan could not help glancing at Zhao Beichen, who had already passed out, and said, "Very well, then help him jog his memory properly. This Wang will go upstairs for a cup of tea; mind your methods."

Qin Santai nodded vigorously and said with a straight face, "Your student understands—conquer them with virtue! If that fails, your student will resort to greeting them through martial arts. In short, he will feel the warmth and hospitality of our Prince of Ning's Estate!"

Xue Yuan then walked reassuringly up to the room above the dungeon and poured himself a cup of tea.

Soon, miserable shrieks began echoing from the dungeon, sounding exceptionally hair-raising in the dead of night.

Clearly, Qin Santai had directly skipped the step of conquering through virtue and proceeded straight to greeting through martial arts.

Even Sword Seven found it hard to listen to, remarking, "A ruthless official like Qin Santai wouldn't survive three chapters in a popular storybook."

Xue Yuan smiled and said, "Then you should take some time to pick out a few storybooks and read them to him."

Sword Seven shook his head. "Such a petty sycophant is not worth discussing."

He had always looked down on Qin Santai for flattering superiors and bullying inferiors.

Xue Yuan smiled without commenting, thinking to yourself that everyone has their uses, and some dirty work always has to be done by someone... as long as he didn't treat the common people like that, it was fine.

About half an hour later, a sweating Qin Santai came back up.

With a bitter expression, he said, "Your Highness, your student tried every possible method, but the fellow was beaten almost to death and still refused to talk! What he means is that the specific details were being handled by their branch master, Zhou Huanshui, in coordination with Northern Yan, and the others are completely in the dark."

Xue Yuan then said, "If even you can't get anything out of him, he's probably truly ignorant of it. That's that; give him a quick release, leave his corpse intact, and find a place to bury him."

Setting down his teacup, he murmured inwardly, "Zhou Huanshui... Should I tell Chen Qiluo about this news?"

......

The next day, around the Hour of Yin (3:00 AM to 5:00 AM).

Inside the main hall of the prefectural government office in Hai'an City, Ningzhou.

Accompanied by the resounding thuds of beating-staves slamming against the ground, the principal culprits—head of the Su family Su Baichang, Madam Su, and the eldest Su son Su Yueshan—were escorted into the main hall wearing heavy wooden cangues!

Chen Zaidao struck the gavel and declared, "Su Baichang, Madam Su, Su Yueshan! Today this official is retrying your murder case! If you wish to wash away your grievances, answer this official's questions properly! Otherwise, if this official rules you guilty of murder once more, it will be immediate execution!"

The reason Chen Zaidao said this was naturally to have the Su family members excise him from the record during their testimonies. After all, he had more or less facilitated Li Wangwang's framing of the Su family; otherwise, Li Wangwang could never have succeeded.

The once plump Su Baichang had now lost a large circle of weight, but having floated through the business world for decades, he naturally understood Chen Zaidao's implication. He hurriedly said, "Your Honor, rest assured, this humble commoner understands what to do!"

Being granted a retrial was already beyond his wildest expectations; how could he dare to cross the presiding judge now?

Chen Zaidao sneered and said, "That's good! I expect you wouldn't dare spout nonsense!"

This sneer sent a chilling shiver through the three members of the Su family kneeling on the ground!

Right at that moment, a hearty laugh echoed from outside the hall!

"Hahaha, Chen Zaidao, what formidable official prestige you have! In a few more years, I suppose you won't even hold the Empress Dowager in your eyes!"

Who could the speaker be if not Xue Yuan?

This prompted Chen Qiluo beside him to frown and ask, "Why bring up the Empress Dowager?"

"Just a meme, you wouldn't get it."

"What is a meme?"

"A little joke."

"Are you... intermittently foolish?"

"Ah, yes."

Looking up to see Xue Yuan striding into the main hall accompanied by Chen Qiluo and Su Ruowei, Chen Zaidao's face instantly darkened!

Remembering how badly his son had been beaten by this silly prince two days ago, he wanted nothing more than to administer three hundred strokes of the staff on the spot!

Yet his body remained remarkably honest; he hastily stood up and saluted, saying, "This subordinate Chen Zaidao respectfully welcomes Your Highness and Lord Chen!"

Xue Yuan chuckled and said, "Never mind that, we're just here to observe."

With that, he flopped down onto the steps beside the hall desk, instantly looking once again like an absolute fool!

Completely unaware of recent events while locked in prison, the three Su family members were utterly dumbfounded.

Was... was this not the silly prince? Why would he suddenly take an interest in the Su family's wrongful case?

Could this inexplicable retrial have something to do with him?

Yet rumor had it that the silly prince held zero real power—where on earth did he get such clout?

It wasn't until Su Ruowei stepped forward, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Father, Mother, Big Brother, you have... suffered!"

The four of them locked eyes, overcome with joy and weeping bitterly.

However, the courtroom was hardly the place for prolonged reunions, so Su Ruowei spoke softly, "Rest assured during the trial. With His Highness here, we will be able to go home today! There is only one thing: you must truthfully state the grievances you suffered, including Prefect Chen's actions in this case. Remember that!"

Hearing this, Su Baichang and the others were both pleasantly surprised and dumbstruck.

Prefect Chen was the presiding judge of this case; if they offended him, could they still go home today?

Yet seeing the resolute look in Su Ruowei's eyes, Su Baichang immediately told his wife and son, "Listen to Ruowei, she has her own reasons!"

Soon, Xue Yuan and Chen Qiluo took their seats as observers, while Chen Zaidao commenced the retrial.

Everything went smoothly at first. The Su family truthfully recounted how Li Wangwang had framed them and extracted confessions through torture.

Before long, however, Su Baichang stated, "After this case was reported to the prefecture, we had someone write down the twelve major suspicious points of the case, but Prefect Chen dismissed them as utter nonsense. Afterward, Prefect Chen personally ordered the seizure of all the Su family's properties in Ningzhou!

According to word from an old servant of mine, two private courtyards, seven shops, and two taverns within Ning'an City were reportedly never reported to the imperial court and are currently operating normally, except that the owners have been changed to Lord Li's and Prefect Chen's relatives—meaning they were carved up among themselves!"

At this point, Su Baichang asked Chen Zaidao, "Prefect Chen, have you investigated yourself regarding this matter?"

Chen Zaidao was instantly startled, followed by a surge of furious rage. He slammed the gavel and shouted, "Audacious Su Baichang! This official kindly overturns your case, yet you dare return kindness with enmity and slander this official? Someone come..."

He was just about to call the guards when he was interrupted by Su Ruowei.

"Lord Chen, since this case involves you, why don't you come with me to the inner chambers for a chat first?"

The interrogation was suspended.

In the inner chambers, Chen Zaidao was dripping with cold sweat, sitting as though on pins and needles.

He was the emperor's man, and normally he wouldn't fear a matter like this at all!

The problem was that Li Wangwang's collusion with the Prince of Yu now had conclusive evidence. If Chen Qiluo went back and reported this to the emperor, and Chen Zaidao was also implicated in the case, the emperor would naturally suspect him of colluding with the Prince of Yu as well!

By then, even if he had a thousand mouths, he wouldn't be able to clear his name. He didn't need to ponder who Chen Qiluo was—she was the emperor's sister-in-law; would the emperor believe her or some local official?

Once the emperor lost trust in him, the destruction of his entire clan would likely happen overnight.

Fortunately, Chen Qiluo had only come this time to help Xue Yuan, and hunting corrupt officials was not within her official jurisdiction.

Thus, she cut straight to the point and said, "Two things.

First, return all the Su family's properties and submit a self-accusation to His Majesty regarding your negligence in the Su family case.

Second, I have a distant relative named Qin Santai, who is also a capable subordinate of Qian Zhongxian. I want you to recommend him as the Magistrate of Ning'an.

Once these two matters are settled, I will pretend I was never here today, and I will pretend I never heard anything about your affairs."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zaidao was overjoyed, nearly weeping tears of gratitude as he knelt to kowtow to Chen Qiluo!

He hurriedly said, "Divine Catch Chen, rest assured, I will definitely carry this out, absolutely carry it out! If even a single thing is botched, you may hold me solely responsible!"

Chen Qiluo had never been one for lengthy words. She nodded and walked out of the inner chambers!

Chen Zaidao took a deep breath, struggled to steady his state of mind, and once again ascended to the main hall!

In less than half an hour, the Su family's wrongful case was concluded!

"Regarding the murder case of Su Baichang, upon review by this prefecture, it has been determined to be a false accusation fabricated by Magistrate Li Wangwang! This prefecture also bears the crime of dereliction of supervision and shall petition the holy sovereign for punishment!

This prefecture declares that Su Baichang, Madam Su, and Su Yueshan are innocent and are hereby released from custody! All seized properties of the Su family shall be returned in full! Anyone involved in extorting confessions under torture, fabricating false evidence, or conspiring with Li Wangwang in this case shall be arrested without exception and tried separately!"

As the verdict was handed down, the members of the Su family wept for joy, tears streaming down their faces as they praised the heavens for having eyes.

After weeping in each other's arms for a long while, Su Ruowei finally remembered the person who deserved the most gratitude and hurriedly looked toward Xue Yuan, who was still sitting on the steps.

Only to see Xue Yuan resting his chin in his hands, grinning to reveal a row of bright white teeth, and gazing at her with a silly smile, looking precisely like a mentally handicapped person.

Yet Su Ruowei found that she actually loved this kind of smile—she had loved it since the very first time she laid eyes on it. Wiping away her tears, she could not help secretly returning a smile to Xue Yuan.

That single smile put the brilliant sunlight outside the window to shame.

Xue Yuan swore to himself that he really, truly wanted to sleep with her......