The Marquis doesn't support his beloved wife's ambitions, so I'll take the imperial e

Shen Yu pondered for a moment, then analyzed clearly, "Lin Ruyu is the son of the prefectural magistrate, who is in charge of the prefecture's finances, criminal matters, and litigation. He has the power to seize merchants' goods. Wang's silk business is highly profitable, and this deal would be extremely lucrative. If this is true, then this Prefect Lin is definitely not as incorruptible as he appears on the surface."

"That's right." Jiang Zhenxue nodded approvingly. "Moreover, this is certainly not the first time Lin Ruyu has acted this way. His father is backing him up behind the scenes, while he's just putting on a show. The father and son have probably already used this method to swallow up countless fortunes."

Kang Mingyan, listening from the side, was terrified: "Xue'er, this...this is a high-ranking official! If we find out about this, will we be killed to silence us?"

Jiang Zhenxue glanced at him and said calmly, "So, we can't let him know that we know."

She turned to Shen Yu and continued, "Xiao Yu, this clue isn't enough. We need a trigger that can turn the fire around on him and leave him with no time to spare."

Shen Yu's gaze sharpened: "What does Sister Jiang mean?"

"I'm letting you continue listening." Jiang Zhenxue's eyes gleamed with wisdom and cunning. "But this time, it's not just about listening, it's also about 'speaking'."

She took a piece of paper from the drawer, on which a few lines of a folk song were written in delicate small regular script.

"Corrupt officials are as fierce as tigers, seizing land by trickery and force. Poor Wang Lang's silk shop, his fortune vanished overnight."

Kang Mingyan gasped in shock: "Xue'er! You...you're naming names! The name 'Lin Mu' is clearly a veiled reference to the Lin family father and son, isn't it?"

"It's an allusion, not a direct statement," Jiang Zhenxue said. "There are so many people with the surname Lin in the world. If he were to take it personally, wouldn't he be admitting his guilt?"

She handed the note to Shen Yu: "Find a down-on-his-luck poor scholar, or a blind street singer, and teach them this song. Give them enough money and have them sing it in teahouses and taverns, the places with the most people. Remember, make them sing it in a quaint and ambiguous way, saying it's a strange tale from another prefecture, and absolutely do not let it be related to Pu County."

"I understand." Shen Yu solemnly took the note. This thin piece of paper felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in his hands. "Sister Jiang wants to use this public opinion to force him to lose his composure."

"Yes." Jiang Zhenxue's lips curled into a cold smile. "Doesn't he like spreading rumors? I'll let him taste what it's like to be surrounded by rumors and unable to defend himself."

"If he swallows his anger, this ballad will take root and sprout in the hearts of the people like a seed, and his father's reputation as an official will be ruined sooner or later."

"If he gets angry and sends people to arrest the singer, it will only make people believe that the song is about his Lin family!"

This was a dead end that left him in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward.

Kang Mingyan was dumbfounded. Looking at the woman in front of him who was so shrewd and resourceful, laying a trap with ease, he realized for the first time that he and she might not even be from the same world.

The classics he studied taught him benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.

But she was playing with human nature and political intrigue, things he had never encountered before.

Within three days, a nursery rhyme of unknown origin spread like willow catkins in spring, silently filling every corner of Puxian County.

In the Yuelai Teahouse, the storyteller struck his gavel and began to recount a strange tale from another prefecture, not of war or romance, but of swords and horses, in a low, mysterious voice.

"There is a strange nursery rhyme in a certain place in Jiangnan, which goes like this:"

"Corrupt officials are as fierce as tigers, seizing land by trickery and force. Poor Wang Lang's silk shop, his fortune vanished overnight."

The tea drinkers below the stage were taken aback at first, and then someone burst out laughing. The laughter seemed to be contagious, and soon, the entire teahouse was filled with tacit chuckles.

The nursery rhyme was cleverly sung, never mentioning Lizhou or Puxian, yet the words "Wang Lang Silk Shop" and "Forest" were like two needles, precisely piercing the hearts of all those in the know.

"Hey, this folk song is interesting. Which family's 'forest' is it talking about?"

"Who knows? There are plenty of people with the surname Lin in the world. But I heard that the Wang family, who do silk business in Yunyang County, seemed to have run into some trouble recently..."

"Hush! Be careful what you say, be careful what you say!"

The murmurs rose and fell, but were quickly suppressed. However, the nursery rhyme seemed to have grown legs, spreading from the teahouse to the tavern, and from the tavern into the homes of ordinary people.

The children clapped and sang in the streets and alleys, thinking it was just a newly learned tune, unaware that they were singing lyrics that could stir up a huge wave.

……

The study in the backyard of the Tongpan's office in Lizhou.

Prefect Lin was resting with his eyes closed, listening to his staff report on the autumn tax matters of various counties in the prefecture. He was nearly fifty years old, with a thin face and eyes that were half-open but revealed a sharpness like that of a hawk.

The aide closed the ledger, hesitated for a moment, and finally bowed, saying, "Sir, there is one more thing... I don't know if I should say it."

"Speak," Judge Lin said without even lifting his eyelids, his voice flat and emotionless.

"Recently... a nursery rhyme has been circulating in the streets of Puxian County, and the words... the words are somewhat suggestive." The aide carefully repeated the nursery rhyme.

When he heard the phrase "overnight wealth returned to the forest," Magistrate Lin paused slightly in the hand holding the teacup lid.

The air in the study instantly turned cold.

The staff member was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

After a long while, Magistrate Lin slowly opened his eyes. There was no anger in his eyes, only a bottomless, icy pool. "Where is Ruyu?"

"Reporting to you, sir, the young master... he is in his own courtyard."

"Tell him to get over here."

Before long, Lin Ruyu was summoned to the study. He was somewhat intimidated by his father's unfriendly expression, but he still tried to remain calm.

"Father, you wanted to see me?"

Lin Tongpan didn't look at him, but simply picked up his teacup, gently skimming off the foam with the lid, and asked slowly, "I heard that you had some argument with a woman who runs a study in Pu County a few days ago?"

Lin Ruyu's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong, but she vehemently denied it, saying, "Nothing of the sort. Father, you know I've always respected scholars, how could I possibly get into a dispute with someone? It's just a small misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Lin Tongpan put down his teacup with a soft thud, which sounded particularly jarring in the deathly silent study.

He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife scraping across Lin Ruyu's face: "A small misunderstanding, and the whole of Puxian is singing the ballad 'Family wealth returns to Lin Mu'? A small misunderstanding, and your reputation, Young Master Lin, is worse than a rat in a gutter in Puxian?"

Lin Ruyu's legs went weak, and she could no longer hold on, collapsing to her knees with a thud.

"Father! Father, please calm down! It was her! It was all that vile woman's doing!" he cried out in a panic, his words tumbling out incoherently. "She offended me first, and I only wanted to teach her a lesson. Who knew she was so vicious, making up such a rhyme to slander our family!"