Miss and farmhand

Luo San Guniang took her back to Shen Yurui's place, to the same room she lived in. She had a doctor come and gave her some calming medicine, and she immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Before Shen Yurui could say anything, Master Huang and Huang Xingyu returned from the academy after learning about it, and threw a tantrum in the hall with their hands behind their backs.

"How can someone like that be allowed in my house! She shouldn't have been let in at all!"

Shen Yurui didn't speak, which probably meant she agreed and felt it was unclean.

When the group returned in a grand procession, she hadn't realized that Luo San had already been there. She went over to check and saw that Luo San had been carried back; his hair was disheveled and his clothes were torn. She didn't know if he had actually been assaulted, but he looked...

The men in the hall remained silent, some standing, some sitting. Where else could Luo San go if he didn't return him?

"What happened?"

Yong-ge'er Huang Yuguang was studying at the academy, where his own father was the head teacher, so he dared not slack off. But suddenly he saw the steward of the house rush in and call his father out. He didn't even have time to ask what was going on at home, fearing that something important had happened, so he followed him back.

He had just seen someone enter and leave the room when he glanced over and saw a person lying on the bed. He couldn't see anything else except a pale hand draped over the brocade quilt. The hand was as thin as a scallion and seemed to have no joints. It was soft and weak, with only a slight redness between the fingers.

"Yong-ge, go back! This isn't a place for you!"

"Shen Yurui said in a low voice. The old woman quickly went up and pulled Huang Yuguang away, slammed the door of the room shut, and took the young master away.

Huang Yuguang's appearance further alerted Shen Yurui that she could not keep someone like Luo San in her home.

She then said to Huang Xingtong, who was standing with the officials, "Second brother, this incident started in your garden, and the perpetrators were hired by your family. This matter is too serious for us to bear. Please tell Yingniang that you should take the young lady back with you."

"What?" Huang Xingtong turned around blankly, whether feigning ignorance or genuinely not hearing. "Sister-in-law, please rest assured. The back gate of the garden has been locked, and I've also had people search it more thoroughly at night. Zhao Dong committed the crime out of personal revenge, so no one should be able to force their way in. Yingniang will be fine."

"Who's talking about your wife!" Huang Xingyu, already disapproving of his brother's henpecked nature, was even more impatient now. "I'm talking about that cousin! Find somewhere else to send her there; she can't stay in my house!"

"Brother, Miss Cousin came to you for help after all. Now that something has happened to her and she is weak, how can you just send her away like this?"

Shen Yurui disliked the term "seeking refuge" and was about to object when the official quickly said, "Perhaps we should find the cousin's parents and take her back?"

Huang Xingyu, who had been furious, immediately turned around and said, "Quickly send someone to the countryside to find her parents and bring them up!"

Shen Yurui glanced at her husband. "Do you need to tell me? I sent people a long time ago. But do you think it takes long to go back and forth from the countryside? I'm talking about what to do now!"

Huang Xingyu was speechless, unable to say anything, and could only continue pacing around the room with his hands behind his back.

Because the incident occurred at the Huang residence, involving the reputation of a respectable young woman, and because the Huang residence was connected to the best local academy, the matter was more complicated than imagined, and even the county magistrate came in person.

The suspect, Zhao Dong, had already been taken to the county government office. When he was found, he was extremely drunk. His house contained almost nothing of value, only empty bottles, and was in complete disarray. It was likely that he had started drinking heavily after being flogged and released last time, and his impulsive actions last night were also due to alcohol.

"The facts of the case are clear. A trial is necessary, and we will definitely give Miss justice." The magistrate wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Shen Yurui said coldly, "What's the use of justice? The person is still bad. Even if Zhao Dong pays with his life, what's the point? What's his life worth? What can he give Miss Biao? After such an incident, even if the case is judged, rumors and speculation will be flying everywhere in just a few days."

Huang Xingyu said, "Do you think only the young lady's reputation is damaged? What about the academy? What will people think of this place in the future? What are these perfectly good children supposed to learn here? And yet this kind of thing has happened!"

"That's exactly right. The affairs of the academy cannot be taken lightly." The magistrate was also concerned about this, and as he spoke, he glanced at Huang Xingtong, who was nominally still the headmaster. "It would be best to distance the matter from the academy. If it's not in the garden of Huang's residence, but... on the street, or somewhere else, somewhere far away, then it has nothing to do with the academy."

He smiled at Huang Xingtong and said, "The Huang family's reputation can be preserved."

Shen Yurui was dumbfounded. She almost didn't understand.

"What do you mean by 'other places'? Where could a young woman like her go?"

The magistrate pursed his lips, his cheeks sunken, making him look like a mouse. His beady black eyes gleamed with a sly smile, but there was a shrewd glint in them.

"We can't really say for sure. After all, she was found at Zhao Dong's house. Who knows where she was lost? It's late at night, and a girl can go anywhere with her legs."

Shen Yurui suddenly felt the hairs on her body stand on end.

They wanted to get rid of Luo San, even more cleanly than she had, pushing her out and making the whole thing her sole responsibility.

She only dared to think that Luo San's parents would suffer a loss before she took him back, so at least the criminal would be punished. These men didn't even bother with any semblance of decency; since Luo San's reputation was already ruined, what did it matter if it got any worse?

"No, no, we can't do such a thing!" Huang Xingtong exclaimed. "This doesn't make sense. How could a woman from the inner quarters go out and wander around in the middle of the night? We can't say she was dragged away on the street in the middle of the night. What kind of person would that make her? Even if it happened in my house, it's my fault for not managing the household properly and for being tricked by a villain. But Miss Biao is innocent!"

"I heard that this girl came to seek refuge with the Huang family on her own," the magistrate said, clearly having already inquired about the matter. He also glanced at Zhu Xiaoxu, who had remained silent the whole time. "It doesn't make sense for her to be strolling around the garden late at night. Who can explain why the girl would be there so late at night? Anyway, it doesn't make sense, and we can't let her implicate a good boy, can we?"

Huang Xingtong was also stunned. Zhu Xiaoxu remained silent, as if he had made up his mind not to interrupt the adults. But he was also a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations.

Huang Xingyu looked at his younger brother, who couldn't distinguish right from wrong and was still so stubborn. So he answered the magistrate on his behalf: "Your Honor is right. Please make the arrangements as you see fit, and we will cooperate fully."

"Big brother!..."

Huang Xingtong was about to argue a few more words when someone suddenly called him in a low voice from behind.

"gentlemen."

Turning around, he saw that it was Zhao Dong's adopted apprentice, whom he had taken in as his son. Of course, they weren't really related now, but Huang Xingtong still called him Little Zhao Master.

Master Zhao pointed outside the door, and Huang Xingtong saw his eldest daughter leading Han's mother standing by a pillar outside the courtyard, looking at him with worried expressions.