TGCFNM -Chapter 184 Serves Them Right

After all the necessary matters had been dealt with, Chu Ling returned to the government office.

It wasn’t until evening that Wan Sanjin and Su He came back, exhausted. As soon as he arrived, Su He collapsed into a chair, unwilling to move a muscle.

“I’d rather dissect a hundred corpses than count silver coins,” Su He shouted resentfully.

Wan Sanjin slumped down as well. “How much did that person hoard? I had to mobilize everyone the Wan family had here, and after a whole day, it’s still not counted.”

Chu Ling was shocked. “That much silver?”

Wan Sanjin nodded with difficulty.

Chu Ling felt a headache coming on. Too much silver was a headache to handle… “Alright, here’s what we’ll do: you keep a temporary ledger of whatever you’ve counted. Once Boss Bao’s silver is mostly dispersed, I guess Nangong Baihu will come around. By then, we can hand it over directly to her.”

Wan Sanjin immediately sat up straight. “That Baihu—will she agree?”

Chu Ling thought for a moment and made something up. “Just say we’re low-ranking and insignificant, and this amount is too large for us to manage. It requires the Nangong family’s presence. Also, the Nangong family needs to secure their position in Dongle City, so they must show results to His Majesty.”

With so much silver given to her, would she refuse?

A gleam appeared in Wan Sanjin’s eyes. “Right, Master is brilliant!”

After resolving this matter, Chu Ling looked at everyone. “Since we’re starting with the Xuanyuan family… Zhang Dong, pay attention tomorrow. Also, Master Wan, go ask your Wan family contacts to help investigate the Xuanyuan family. We need to find a breakthrough.”

Su He slowly straightened and looked at Chu Ling. “The laborer who helped me move the corpses that day said he was saving money to redeem his daughter from the Xuanyuan family.”

Chu Ling’s gaze tightened. She had wondered at the time.

Usually, people would think corpses are unlucky and would keep their distance. Even if Su He were generous, he couldn’t have found so many helpers.

It turned out they were all unfortunate people with no other choice.

“Tomorrow, Coroner Su, go see this person and find out the situation,” Chu Ling instructed.

Su He nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Wan Sanjin remembered something. “Oh, Master, I had the Wan family deposit some silver in the Tiansheng Grand Bank under my name. You can withdraw and use it whenever you need.”

Chu Ling’s eyes lit up. “Master Wan, well done!”

The next day.

Chu Ling had just finished breakfast and was about to leave when a report came in: the daughter of the umbrella seller in the eastern district had been found hanging in her room.

The one reporting wasn’t anyone else but a servant from the Xuanyuan family.

Because the Xuanyuan family often bought umbrellas from them, they were familiar with the family’s situation. For a young girl in the prime of her youth to suddenly hang herself, anyone would think it was impossible.

Chu Ling sensed something was wrong and quickly sent Zhang Dong to find Su He, while she and Xiao Hua went ahead to the scene.

By the time Chu Ling arrived, the small shop was already surrounded inside and out by crowds of people, all pointing and whispering unpleasant things.

Chu Ling casually pulled aside a vegetable vendor and began asking questions in detail.

It turned out the umbrella seller family in the eastern district had the surname Fan. The couple were both locals of Dongle City, running a small shop with their craft. They had a son and a daughter.

Their daughter, Fan Mingzhu, was sixteen and ready to start negotiations for marriage.

Their son, Fan Yao, was just fourteen. After a few years of schooling, he stayed home to help with the shop.

“Sir, I’m telling you, that Fan Mingzhu didn’t die unfairly at all.” The moment the old lady spoke, everyone around immediately nodded in agreement.

After hearing just that, Chu Ling finally understood what had happened.

It turned out that Fan Mingzhu, taking advantage of her decent looks, was on close terms with some sons of prominent families and used their influence to bully many people.

The worst case was last year, the newly married daughter of the Liu family. Apparently, she had displeased Fan Mingzhu, so Fan Mingzhu had burned the girl’s face. Even after it healed, a small scar remained.

But for Fan Mingzhu, this was practically a daily occurrence.

This eastern neighborhood had some relatively well-off small-business families, but most were ordinary people doing odd jobs, all living in this area.

So basically, whenever Fan Mingzhu was in a bad mood, the local boys and girls became her punching bags—they had all been bullied at some point.

Moreover, her family often came around selling umbrellas, and people dared not refuse to buy. If they didn’t, her son would beat them, threatening to report them to his older sister, claiming the family would be killed, and no one in the authorities would dare intervene.

A plain paper umbrella with a glossy finish cost one or two silver coins—who could afford that?

So now that she had hanged herself, aside from her own family mourning, everyone else felt a sense of justice and wasn’t the least bit sorry.

After Chu Ling asked and understood the situation, she was ready to enter the shop—but someone grabbed her again.

“Sir, still investigating the case?” someone nearby asked, confused.

Chu Ling nodded. “If someone filed a report, naturally I have to investigate.”

The person reluctantly let go but still didn’t understand.

Chu Ling continued, “By the way, it was the Xuanyuan family who reported it. Apparently, they often buy umbrellas from this shop… so their umbrellas are so poor that they break after just one rain?”

The surrounding townsfolk fell silent. Once the Xuanyuan family was involved, no one dared to speak further.

Chu Ling smiled. “Don’t buy umbrellas from this shop, then.”

The crowd quickly nodded in agreement.

Suppressing her smile, Chu Ling walked into the shop.

The shop owner and his wife stood obediently to the side, wearing ingratiating smiles.

Their son knelt nearby, holding tea for the seated person, his face filled with excitement and reverence, as if serving this person was the highest honor.

The seated man was none other than Xuanyuan Shou, the outstanding young heir of the Xuanyuan family’s branch in Donglecheng, officially designated as the family’s successor.

Chu Ling sneered coldly at them. “If one didn’t know any better, they’d think this was a feast, not the funeral of your own daughter.”

Yet here they were, all so happy—why?

Fan Niu cautiously glanced at Xuanyuan Shou. Receiving a confirming look, he immediately burst into tears, rushing to clutch Chu Ling’s legs and cry for justice.

But as he lunged forward, Xiao Hua kicked him away.

A loud crash followed as a chair, obediently left aside, was smashed to pieces under her foot. Fan Niu hiccupped in fright and fell to the ground with a thud.

Xuanyuan Shou squinted at Xiao Hua, then smiled at Chu Ling and asked, “Sir, how much is this maid? I’ll buy her.”

Chu Ling, hands behind her back, strode forward, first kicking the obstructing Fan Yao, then delivering another kick.

Xuanyuan Shou nimbly dodged, but Chu Ling followed with a sideways hook kick.

Xuanyuan Shou looked astonished. When had imperial officials started learning martial arts? This isn’t an exam for martial champions!