Duke of Zhenguan

The flames, billowing thick smoke, burned until dawn before slowly dying down.

In the courtyard, where the side room used to be, only some blackened clods of earth and ashes remain.

As the fire subsided, the neighbors gradually left. Li and Er Ya hid inside the house, too afraid to come out. Only Lin Chuan stood silently in the yard, watching the flames rise and then die down.

When it was fully light, Li came out of the house, stood beside Lin Chuan, and asked in a low voice:

"Brother, who was that person last night?"

Lin Chuan hesitated for a moment, then finally said softly:

"Thursday!"

Li was stunned for a moment, and then stammered:

"Don't tell anyone! Don't tell your Ninth Uncle or the others. Er Ya didn't see it, so don't tell her!"

Lin Chuan nodded and said softly:

"Mother, you go and cook first, I'll take care of these things..."

Li nodded and turned to go back into the house.

Lin Chuan, holding a hoe, carefully dug away the mud wall and ashes, and a completely deformed short knife appeared in his field of vision.

As you carefully pry away at the ashes with the dagger, you see a blurry human figure in the pile of ashes—it's Thursday, who has been burned to ashes.

After a moment of silence, Lin Chuan found a wooden bucket and filled it with the ashes of the humanoid figure and the dagger.

Then, carrying the wooden bucket, he left Yanshoufang and went to the northeast corner of the West Market, where he poured all the ashes and daggers into the release pond.

"Be a good person in your next life!"

Lin Chuan whispered something to the release pond, then carried the wooden bucket and walked briskly home.

When Lin Chuan got home, Li had already prepared dinner. After eating, he began cleaning up the remaining clods of earth and ashes.

I was busy until noon when there was a sudden knock on the door.

Upon opening the door, one could see Tian Hu standing outside, dressed in a padded jacket.

"Please wait a moment, Brother Tian, ​​I need to get something!"

Lin Chuan didn't ask Tian Hu what he was doing there. He said apologetically and then turned and went back to the courtyard.

He wrapped the funnel and cooling pipes used for brewing wine in burlap, gave instructions to Li, and then carried the funnel out the door.

"Brother Tian, ​​let's go!"

They arrived at Pingkangfang in silence. This time, without making Lin Chuan wait any longer, Tian Hu led Lin Chuan directly up to the second floor.

The woman, who had met Lin Chuan twice before, was already waiting in the house. Seeing Lin Chuan carrying a large bundle, she asked him in confusion:

"Young master, what is this?"

Lin Chuan put down the iron bucket, untied the burlap cloth covering it, and bowed to the woman, saying:

"My lord, this is the brewing agent!"

The woman looked at the iron bucket, her expression unchanged, but her voice turned somewhat cold:

"Young master, are you perhaps just teasing me?"

"I wouldn't dare to make a fool of you, sir. Please have someone find a few pounds of unsifted fermented mash, and also a steamer and stove about the same size as this iron pot. I'll personally make some wine in front of you!" Lin Chuan said softly.

The woman glanced at Lin Chuan and then instructed Tian Hu:

"Tian Hu, go and prepare!"

Half an hour later, Lin Chuan followed the woman to a small courtyard filled with miscellaneous items, which looked like a kitchen of the Qunfang Pavilion.

The things Lin Chuan needed were already prepared by the stove, along with several cooks.

With someone to give orders, Lin Chuan didn't do anything himself. He directed several cooks to set up the funnels and then had someone start a fire to begin distilling the wine.

The mash that Tian Hu prepared was far superior to the mash that Lin Chuan brewed himself. As the temperature of the mash in the pot slowly rose, drops of clear liquor, exuding a rich aroma, dripped from the cooling pipe into the porcelain bottle below.

The woman, her face cold, watched the entire scene. The instant she smelled the aroma of the wine, she couldn't wait to say to the young woman beside her:

"Chuntao, go get it!"

Chuntao nodded, took a small sip of wine, and presented it to the woman.

The woman picked up her wine cup, took a small sip, and finally smiled. She handed the cup to Chun Tao, then curtsied to Lin Chuan standing to the side and said softly:

"I misunderstood you, young master. Please forgive my rudeness!"

"You're too kind, sir!" Lin Chuan replied, bowing slightly.

The woman stared intently at the iron vat used for distilling liquor for a while, then smiled and said to Lin Chuan:

"My name is Chen Qi, and I am the manager of Qunfang Pavilion. If you have time, young master, please come and visit Qunfang Pavilion. I will certainly have someone treat you well!"

Lin Chuan nodded and tactfully said:

"I'll take my leave!"

Chen Qi nodded and said to Chun Tao beside her:

"Chuntao, go to the accounting office and get fifty taels of silver for the young master!"

Lin Chuan, who had already turned around, hesitated for a moment upon hearing Chen Qi's words, then turned back, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Chen Qi, and said:

"There is something I wish to say, but I am unsure whether I should."

"Speak freely, young man!" Chen Qi waved her hand.

"Although I don't know how you handled Thursday's events, there may have been some mishap. Perhaps you could have someone verify it again?" Lin Chuan said.

Chen Qi's face immediately darkened, and she said to Tian Hu, who had been guarding outside the door:

"Tian Hu, you go and investigate personally!"

"Yes, Madam!"

Tian Hu agreed and strode away.

After Chen Qi finished speaking, she curtsied to Lin Chuan and said:

"If what the young man says is true, I will definitely give him an explanation!"

Lin Chuan nodded, pointed to the distillation funnel, and said softly:

"My lord, the key to distilling liquor, besides the quality of the mash, lies in the sealing and temperature! Please allow some people to try it!"

Chen Qi glanced at Lin Chuan thoughtfully for a few moments before smiling and giving him a slight curtsy.

"Thank you for your guidance, young man!"

"Goodbye!"

With a bag of loose silver in his hand, Lin Chuan left Qunfang Pavilion with light steps.

Selling the prescription to Chen Qi was a last resort; he couldn't afford to offend Zhou Si, and he couldn't afford to offend Chen Qi even more.

So even though he showed up at her house on Thursday, he didn't intend to break the contract. He didn't even ask Chen Qi how she handled Thursday's situation, and just told her the method of distilling alcohol.

He only mentioned it because he saw that Chen Qi still had some principles. However, his final advice was because of the fifty taels of silver.

His family was so poor that he didn't want to refuse the fifty taels of silver, but he also didn't want to owe anyone a favor, so he offered some pointers.

Chen Qi is not much better than Zhou Si, and he doesn't want to get close to her.

With the matter resolved and having earned another fifty taels of silver, Lin Chuan was in a much better mood. However, as soon as he got home, he was startled by Li Shi.

"Brother! Something's happened!"

Upon hearing that something had happened, Lin Chuan's heart skipped a beat. Only when he saw the smile on Li's face did his heart settle down, and he asked curiously:

"What happened?"

"Your Uncle Wang said there was a notice posted outside the county government office that he and his men were arrested by the authorities on Thursday!"

"They also said he committed suicide on Thursday out of fear of punishment, and all his men were exiled three thousand miles away!" Li said happily.

She had witnessed her son burn someone alive, and even if it was Thursday who was burned to death, she was still worried that her son would be arrested by the authorities.

But when the official announcement said she committed suicide on Thursday out of guilt, half of her heart sank.

Lin Chuan suddenly realized that Chen Qi's approach of targeting Zhou Si through the government was indeed the best method.

"That's good!"

Lin Chuan nodded, took out some loose silver from his pocket, handed it to Li Shi, and said with a smile:

"Mother, look what this is?"