Long Er snorted and said, "I'm the best at disciplining my wife. Do you want to give it a try?"
Ju Mu'er pouted and remained silent. Long Er was unhappy, so he simply scribbled a couple of times, making random gestures while drawing, thinking that since he would have to erase it anyway, he might as well practice his posture first.
Surprisingly, it was finished.
The lines were perfectly aligned, neatly drawn, with curves, and meticulously detailed. Long Er was overjoyed; it really did require a lot of "brushing" to draw. He pressed a kiss to Ju Mu'er's lips and loudly announced, "Done! Very well drawn."
Ju Mu'er raised an eyebrow, really lacking confidence. But, at least it was over. She should be able to go out and play with Xiao Zhu Bao'er now, right? But Long Er said, "Since we're just killing time anyway, why don't I help you apply some rouge?"
Wearing rouge? How can he be so bored? His business is ruined? Ju Mu'er jumped up in fright. "Husband!"
"What are you doing?" Long Er was indeed seriously rummaging through the rouge box.
"Well, now we have news from Guishan County and Dongyang City. We can figure things out now, so what's next?"
"Didn't we agree that I would handle things and you could focus on recovering?"
"I need to know what your plans are. You haven't told me every time I've asked. I know the situation is delicate right now. Lord Ding is in prison, Lord Yun is at the height of his power, and although we've figured everything out, we don't actually have any solid evidence to prove the case. If he treats us like he treats his own father-in-law, how are we supposed to respond?"
Long Er knelt down in front of Ju Mu'er, held her hand, and asked softly, "Mu'er, do you believe me?"
"I believe you." That's why she didn't get involved and just obediently took her medicine and rested every day.
Long Er nodded in satisfaction: "You must believe me, I will definitely make sure that everyone who has hurt you is severely punished."
"We must also clear Mr. Shi's name."
"Okay." That was just a side thing; getting revenge for his wife was the main thing.
Long Er brushed aside the stray hairs that had fallen across Ju Mu'er's face, and the more he looked at it, the more beautiful he thought his eyebrows were. He smiled and was about to speak when Li Ke rushed in from outside, saying urgently, "Second Master, the Prefect and Minister Yun of the Ministry of Justice have arrived with their troops."
Long Er raised an eyebrow, glanced at Ju Mu'er, and slowly asked, "What brings you here?"
“It is said that…” Li Ke also looked at Ju Mu’er and stammered, “It is said that they want to take the madam back to investigate the case.”
"Huh?" Ju Mu'er was surprised: "What kind of case are you investigating?"
"The case of Madam's murder at her home liquor store."
The night the home-based liquor store collapsed and people died, that happened last September. Now, almost a year later, it's being brought up again?
Ju Mu'er was surprised and uneasy. She held her cane and followed Long Er to see Yun Qingxian and Qiu Ruoming.
Prefect Qiu Ruoming's expression was uncertain, but he still spoke firmly to Long Er: "On September 28th, a woman was burned to death in the Jujia Wine Shop, her identity unknown. The two men arrested in this case, after rigorous interrogation, finally confessed recently that they were ordered by the Second Madam of the Long family, Long Jushi, to kill a woman named Lin Yueyao in a tree hut. Unexpectedly, Lin Yueyao noticed and escaped, rushing into the Jujia Wine Shop. Fearing something would happen, the two bandits called for help from some of their brothers, but they encountered the Long family guards and a fight broke out. Lin Yueyao hid in the Second Madam's room and begged her for help, but the Madam took the opportunity to kill her herself. This led to the major case of several deaths. The coroner found that Lin Yueyao was first injured by a poisoned dart, and then stabbed twice with a dagger, dying instantly. The murder weapon matched the cane that the Second Madam was using at the time. On that day, to clear herself of suspicion, the Madam set fire to the house and destroyed the body."
Ju Mu'er was shocked to hear this. How could things have turned out this way?
Long Er was furious: "Nonsense! These petty thugs and desperate criminals are spouting nonsense to save their own lives, turning black into white. It was clearly them who saw the wine shop was deserted that day and tried to rob it, but they encountered my Long family guards passing by, and that's when the fight broke out. The one who died in Mu'er's room was her accomplice, a female thief. Didn't the officials find out that back then? Mu'er only acted to protect herself. She barely escaped with her life that day. The officials knew when I found her. How come they're turning around and accusing me now?"
Qiu Ruoming replied, "Second Master, the fact that those two committed murder is already established. Whether they were hired or not, their crimes are the same. Why go to such lengths and make baseless accusations?"
Long Er sneered, "You're right about what's unnecessary. If my Mu'er wants certain people to disappear, would she need to spend money to hire people? Are all the guards and spies in my Long Manor dead?"
"Husband, don't talk nonsense!" Ju Mu'er hurriedly stopped Long Er from speaking recklessly. Recently, the whole country has been cracking down on criminal cases, and Long Er's nonsense will probably bring trouble.
Qiu Ruoming coughed twice, also reminding Long Er to be careful with his words. Then he continued, "When the crime was committed, Madam Long had just been divorced by Second Master. Do you remember, Second Master? If we're being serious, Madam Long was destitute and alone at the family tavern at the time, and her spirits were severely damaged. It's understandable that she committed the crime in a moment of impulse. Besides, if Lin Yueyao hired someone, how could Madam Long, who is blind, have escaped? That doesn't make sense, does it?"
"No matter how you try to explain it, that's the truth. My Mu'er is exceptionally intelligent, as you, sir, have witnessed."
Qiu Ruoming seemed not to hear this. He coughed and said, "I believe that if the Long family wanted to use the Long family's manpower to do something illegal, they would be reprimanded by the Second Master. So no matter what the situation was, if they wanted to kill someone, they would probably have to hire an outsider."
Long Er sneered, "Sir, you're really kind, making me sound so law-abiding and virtuous. May I ask, sir, are you going to convict my Mu'er based solely on the words of those two petty thieves? Where is justice? If my Mu'er wanted to kill Lin Yueyao, what was her motive?"
Qiu Ruoming said, "This doesn't mean we're guilty. We have both witnesses and physical evidence, and according to the law, we need to bring Madam to the government office for questioning. As for the motive, the two criminals confessed that they had asked Madam when they were hired, but she was vague. Fearing trouble, they secretly observed her for two days before being hired. It seems that Miss Lin Yueyao discovered that Madam Long possessed a peerless musical score, which was connected to a shocking murder case from several years ago. But they didn't find out the specifics. Later, Madam seemed anxious and increased the price. The two men, greedy for money, finally took the plunge and accepted the job. Therefore, according to their confessions, Madam Long hired someone to kill in order to silence them."
"Nonsense." Long Er's gaze shot towards Yun Qingxian like a knife.
At this moment, Yun Qingxian's face was as cold as frost, his brows were slightly furrowed, but he remained silent. Long Er couldn't figure out what he was thinking for a while.
"Second Master." Although Qiu Ruoming was the prefect and had brought soldiers with him, he was still quite polite to Long Er. "Please rest assured, Second Master, if Madam has been wronged, I will definitely find out the truth and clear her name. But now, we need Madam to come with us."
"What if we don't go?" Long Er's attitude was firm as he blocked Ju Mu'er's path. This wasn't some casual conversation; a murder suspect would be thrown into jail at the government office. To get out, the case had to be thoroughly investigated and a verdict of innocence reached.
Steward Tie, Granny Yu, Feng Wu, and Long San were all there, surrounding Ju Mu'er. The guards and servants of the Long family also swarmed around her. How could they allow the Madam to go to such a dangerous place as the prison?
Yun Qingxian remained silent, only staring at Ju Mu'er's pale face, which was filled with fear.
Qiu Ruoming sighed, "Second Master, I know that Madam Long's status is special. Her marriage was personally arranged by the Empress Dowager, so I dared not act rashly in this situation. Therefore, I reported to the Ministry of Justice, submitting the murder weapon, testimonies, and case files. With the Emperor's personal approval, we came to invite people." He paused, took two steps forward, and lowered his voice to say to Long Er, "If Madam does not go, I'm afraid the entire Long family will be in turmoil."
Upon hearing this, Ju Mu'er gasped.
"Husband." She instinctively reached for Long Er's hand. Long Er turned around and took hers.
"I..." Ju Mu'er's heart was pounding. "I'll go. I'll just confront them. They can't frame me for something I didn't do." Her words lacked any confidence.
The story of this burglary, which was originally presented as a simple case, wasn't very plausible. Who would send five bounty hunters to rob a small, run-down tavern? It was only thanks to Long Er's influence that the matter was initially covered up. Now, bringing it up again and reversing the story makes it seem more plausible.
How should we confront them? How should we refute their arguments?
Unless she tells everything, that the person wasn't Lin Yueyao, but an imposter. How did she know? Where is the real Lin Yueyao? Why would someone impersonate Lin Yueyao? How did she know? Why would the fake Lin Yueyao want to kill her? What is the Peerless Qin Score? Which case from several years ago is it related to? Why did all of this happen?
To say anything before finding conclusive evidence would be to ruin everything. Especially since Yun Qingxian is presiding over the case. Ju Mu'er gritted her teeth. She had a complete deduction; she knew what was going on, but how could she prove it?
Once Lin Yueyao, Ya Lili, and the old villagers of Meilin Village are exposed... every person with information will face danger. Without physical evidence or witnesses, how can she prove her innocence?
Despite the scorching sun, Ju Mu'er felt a chill run down her spine. How could she cope with such an unexpected conspiracy?
At that moment, a familiar embrace pulled her close, and Long Er whispered comforting words in her ear: "Mu'er, trust me, I will make sure you are safe and sound."
Ju Mu'er nodded somewhat helplessly.
Seeing that Long Er seemed to have softened, Qiu Ruoming breathed a sigh of relief and gently waved to the constable. The constable stepped forward, about to use restraints to restrain Ju Mu'er. But Long Er glared at him, startling the constable into taking two steps back.
"Who dares to touch her!"
No one dared to speak. The constables and yamen runners looked at Qiu Ruoming, and the soldiers looked at Yun Qingxian, but both remained silent. Long Er, however, turned and shouted at his servant, "Prepare the carriage!"
That's incredibly arrogant!
Qiu Ruoming glanced at Yun Qingxian, whose face was ashen and who hadn't said a word from beginning to end.
Long Er and Ju Mu'er boarded the carriage of the Long residence. The horse reared up and carried them to the government office.
All the way there, Ju Mu'er didn't know what to say, she just held Long Er's hand tightly. Her heart was pounding with nervousness, but her mind was still racing through everything.
Why would you falsely accuse her?
Why bring up a major case from several years ago? When it comes to sheet music, it clearly refers to Shi Zechun's case. Why?
Ju Mu'er closed her eyes. She couldn't reveal Lin Yueyao's identity, she couldn't reveal Meilin Village's identity, and she certainly couldn't reveal Guishan County. She couldn't say anything. She couldn't harm others.
"Husband." Ju Mu'er squeezed Han Long Er's hand.
"Hmm." Long Er remained silent the whole way, probably lost in thought.
"You think the same way I do, don't you? Those two thieves were acting under orders, and their testimonies will probably be airtight. He wants to know what we've gotten out of that case, right?"
"Mu'er, there will be a way."
Ju Mu'er nodded and took a deep breath: "I won't say anything. I'm afraid I'm going to be in jail for good. But this is a serious matter, so the case won't be closed too quickly. Husband, don't worry, let's think about it some more. We have time to think, and we'll find a way."
Long Er didn't say anything, but simply held her tightly in his arms.
Everything went as Ju Mu'er had predicted. Upon arriving at the yamen, the trial began. The two thieves' testimonies were incredibly detailed, even detailing how Ju Mu'er found them, where the deal was made, and how they had followed and spied on her arguing with the girl named Lin Yueyao. For a time, no one could find any flaws in their accounts.
Ju Mu'er simply protested her innocence, denying all the thieves' accusations against her. She insisted that she heard someone attacking her while she was sleeping that night and had no choice but to flee to save her life.
When Qiu Ruoming investigated the matter of the qin score, he indeed mentioned the major case related to the score from several years ago, namely the case of the massacre of Minister Shi Zechun's entire family. Ju Mu'er and Shi Boyin were both qin players, and Lady Ya Lili from the Ximin Kingdom's qin delegation had mentioned that Shi Boyin had praised Ju Mu'er highly and asked if Ju Mu'er knew Shi Boyin.
Ju Mu'er naturally replied that she did not know.
The two thieves then claimed that during Ju Mu'er's argument with Lin Yueyao, Lin Yueyao had called Ju Mu'er an accomplice and a murderer. Ju Mu'er, however, denied this.
The two sides were deadlocked and no conclusion could be reached for the time being. What was obvious was that Ju Mu'er was not only related to the murder case at Ju Family Wine Shop, but also to the case of Shi Zechun several years ago. Qiu Ruoming looked troubled. He looked at Yun Qingxian and announced that Ju Mu'er would be temporarily detained in the jail and tried again later.
No one spoke in the hall. Long Er remained silent throughout, leaving all the arguments to Ju Mu'er, while he simply stared at Yun Qingxian, who in turn stared at Ju Mu'er.
It seems that Qiu Ruoming is the only one who is seriously handling the case.
After he announced that Ju Mu'er had been imprisoned, it took quite a while before Long Er pulled Ju Mu'er up and said that he wanted to go to the prison cell to take a look.
Look? Prison cells look the same, what's there to see?
However, Yun Qingxian didn't object, and Qiu Ruoming naturally didn't either. The group went to the prison cell together to "take a look."
Qiu Ruoming was quite considerate of Ju Mu'er, arranging for her to have a single cell in the back, with a window for ventilation, and it was relatively clean for a prison cell.
But Long Er was not satisfied. He beckoned, and the Long family servants immediately got to work, quickly cleaning the room, laying out new mattresses and quilts, then setting up the bedposts and setting up the bed curtains. A screen was placed behind them, and a chamber pot was put up. Next to it, a small shelf held a small basin, towels, and other toiletries.
While Qiu Ruoming was busy, he turned to look at Yun Qingxian, who was staring at him with a livid face but remained silent. Since he didn't speak, Qiu Ruoming didn't stop him and followed the Long family.
After a flurry of activity, the small cell was tidied up. Although there weren't many things, the small room felt quite full. Long Er led Ju Mu'er inside and showed her around the layout. Then he said to Qiu Ruoming, "Mu'er isn't in good health and has been taking medicine for years. My servants will bring her medicine regularly. We'll also prepare her three meals a day. Sir, you should focus on investigating the case and finding out the truth as soon as possible. There's no need to worry about these trivial matters."
Qiu Ruoming opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Long Er said again, "I'm afraid my Mu'er will be poisoned to death here." As he said this, he glanced at Yun Qingxian. Yun Qingxian ignored him completely.
Long Er ignored him and turned to Ju Mu'er, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'll stay here with you tonight."
Ju Mu'er bit her lip and nodded somewhat flusteredly. She had imagined all sorts of scenarios, but she never expected to experience imprisonment one day. Unable to defend herself, at a loss, and unsure of who was around her, she was genuinely afraid.
She sat on the edge of the bed and held Long Er's hand tightly.
At this moment, Yun Qingxian finally spoke up: "This is a prison, a place to detain criminals. Does Second Master Long think this is your private residence, where you can just stay whenever you want?"
Long Er chuckled coldly, patted Ju Mu'er's hand, and released her. Then he turned around and, without saying a word, punched Yun Qingxian in the face.
Yun Qingxian dodged, and Long Er didn't pursue. Instead, he smashed a prison door with a backhand. Everyone was surprised by his action and stared in astonishment. Long Er shrugged, rubbed his hands together, and said to Qiu Ruoming, "I attacked an official of the imperial court and caused a disturbance in the government prison. I should at least be sentenced to imprisonment, right?"
This time, Qiu Ruoming ignored Yun Qingxian's expression and simply said, "Second Master, you should get some rest." After saying this, he instructed the jailers to keep a close watch on the prisoners, and then left with his subordinates.
Yun Qingxian didn't leave. He glared at Long Er, and Long Er stared back at him. The two stared at each other for a long time before Yun Qingxian finally turned and left. As he walked to the prison gate, he heard Ju Mu'er whisper to Long Er, "What's wrong?" Long Er replied, "Nothing. Just now, Lord Yun and I were just looking at each other. He thought that if I looked at him for a long time, he would like him, but I didn't."
Yun Qingxian stopped in his tracks upon hearing this, nearly grinding his teeth to powder. Even in this situation, he still had the mind to make jokes.
Yun Qingxian returned to the Ministry of Justice, took the case file of Ju Mu'er, and did not return home that night.
Long Er and Ju Mu'er were in prison, sharing a small bed. Ju Mu'er was terrified of being overheard, so she dared not discuss anything with Long Er. Long Er, however, simply reassured her and told her to sleep well. He said he would arrange things during the day to have someone else keep her company, but he would definitely be there at night. In short, he wouldn't leave her alone and told her not to panic.
But that night, someone else was busy making arrangements.
Li Ke took his men to the Ju Family Tavern and explained the situation to Old Man Ju. Since the matter couldn't be kept secret any longer, it was better to tell him directly than to let him be alarmed by rumors the next day. Li Ke spoke lightly, and although Old Man Ju was quite surprised, he was somewhat relieved to hear that his son-in-law was with his daughter. It was already night, and Li Ke said it wasn't appropriate to visit again; he would come to pick up his father during the day the next day.
Li Ke left his men at the home-style liquor store to look after things, and went to the Su family home to meet Su Qing. He told Su Qing to go find Ding Yanshan. He gave her some instructions.
Su Qing quickly went out and knocked on the Ding family's gate under the moonlight.
Ding Yanshan was taken aback when Su Qing came to her door in such a hurry. Su Qing didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Sister Mu'er has been detained by the government office, supervised by the Ministry of Justice. Have you heard anything about it from your sister?"
Ding Yanshan's heart skipped a beat, and she grabbed Su Qing's hand: "Explain yourself, what happened?"