Big Uncle Xu's Angry Outburst

Prefect Wen scolded: "Shut up, I will find out the truth!"

"Father, I have already invited the people." Wen Yuan entered with Boss Qian, followed by Grandpa, Big Uncle Xu, even the Dean and Master Sun.

The old man's face showed his worry. He didn't even stop to greet the Knowledge Prefect, but instead pulled Qibao into his arms, as if concerned his granddaughter might be upset.

Big Uncle Xu carefully checked Mrs. Zhang for injuries. Except for a few messy hairs, she seemed fine, which relieved him.

"Hurry and kneel to greet the prefect!" a constable shouted.

The old man and the others reacted, moving to perform their bows.

The Knowledge Prefect stopped them: "No need. Let's sort this out first."

Boss Qian asked: "Master Wen, may I ask what crime my sister-in-law and niece committed that they were brought here?"

"Mr. Qian, they claimed Juxiang Pavilion is their family's property. Is this true?" the Knowledge Prefect asked.

"Yes, Juxiang Pavilion does belong to the Xu family." Boss Qian replied: "I'm just the one who runs it in their name."

Knowledge Prefect Wen was puzzled. How could someone from the imperial family be connected to someone living in such a village? Especially a small place like Huamen Town, far from the capital.

Prefect Wen said: "Boss Qian, your niece injured Gao Yuan and several officials. I want to find out the whole story."

Boss Qian said: "Okay, but there must be a reason why my niece beat someone up. It just so happens that the head of the Xu family, Mr. Xu, is here too, and we also want to know the reason."

The old man said: "Sir, my granddaughter has always known her limits and has a kind heart. She must have been wronged."

"You old hag! This little bitch beat me up like this! Kind-hearted? Today, I swear my uncle will break her bones!" Gao Yuan growled from his stretcher, his eyes filled with venom.

"Go fuck yourself! Who are you calling an old hag and little bitch! Today, I'll make sure to end you!" Uncle Xu's anger flared at the insults hurled at his father and niece. He stormed over and kicked Gao Yuan several times, hitting right on the broken bones.

"Aaah! ...It hurts!..." Gao Yuan's face turned as pale as pig liver. He barely had the strength to shout, his forehead dripping sweat that puddled on the ground.

By the time others reacted, several officers came forward and pulled Uncle Xu away.

"Are you alright, young master?" Wangcai, also astonished by the turn of events, asked anxiously.

"We're in the middle of questioning this man." Prefect Wen said firmly: "There's no need for violence!"

Qibao spoke up: "Sir, Gao Yuan has picked a fight with us more than once. It always starts because he's so quick to blame us."

"Why does he come after you?" Prefect Wen asked.

The old man explained: "Sir, on the night we first arrived in Qingyun City, we caught a rabbit from a street vendor, but Gao Yuan insisted that the rabbit was his, so we had a quarrel. I guess he held a grudge against us because of this, which led to what happened today."

Qibao exclaimed: "Master Wen, this man kept saying on the street that he was your nephew, and asked this official to arrest us and take us back to the government office for interrogation. He also insisted that my eldest brother kneel down and apologize with the precious ink before he could redeem us. If we didn't tell him where my eldest brother lived, he would whip us. Fortunately, I learned a few tricks from my master when I was young, so I avoided this disaster."

Prefect Wen's face darkened. Was Gao Yuan using his status as a prefect to show off his power?

"Zhu Quan, is what they said true?"

The leader swallowed and stammered: "Reply... Reply, sir, Master Gao said that they broke his teeth. I just wanted to bring them back for interrogation. If they are indeed innocent, I will let them go. I didn't expect things to turn out like this..."

"You were calling us spies just now. Why aren't you mentioning that anymore? And does he even have proof that we broke his teeth?" Qibao asked.

"That..."

At that moment, Gao Yuan was on the verge of losing consciousness, the pain too much for him to speak.

"Carry him away and fetch a doctor." Prefect Wen said: "Wangcai, stay behind for further questioning!"

"Yes, sir!" Several officers carried the stretcher down again.

Only Wangcai was left kneeling there trembling.

"Wangcai, you have been following your young master, and you know his affairs best. Does your young master have any evidence to prove that the Xu family beat him?" Asked Magistrate Wen.

Wangcai cried: "My young master only had a conflict with them at the time, so they must have been the ones who attacked. My young master and I had only been in Qingyun City for a few days at the time, and we had never offended anyone else!"

Prefect Wen said: "What I need is evidence, not what you think. Why would you cause trouble for others just because of a small rabbit? And why did Gao Yuan ask Xu Wenwu to use the precious ink to redeem the person?"

Wangcai hesitated for a long time.

"Speak! If you dare to deceive me, you will be punished with fifty lashes of the cane." Magistrate Wen shouted.

f he was beaten with fifty sticks, he would have no chance of getting a job, so he immediately kowtowed and said: "Master, our Young Master wanted to give the rabbit to Miss Wen as a gift to win her affection. He saw how much Young Master Wen liked that ink, so he wanted to trade it for the ink to give to Young Master Wen."

Wen Yuan was angry: "Humph, if the things I like are obtained by such means, then I would rather not have them! He got them by his own ability. If Gao Yuan had obtained them by his own ability, I would still think highly of him. This behavior is really contemptible!"

Qibao said: "Master Wen, I want to sue Gao Yuan and the official for false accusations. I have already proven that I am not a spy. Please give me and my aunt justice."

"Your Honor! Even if she is not a spy, it is a fact that she injured Young Master Gao and beat up the police officers!" Zhu Quan said hurriedly.

Mrs. Zhang said: "We didn't break any law. You were the first to start. You wanted to tie us up and beat us. We were just trying to protect ourselves. If my niece hadn't learned some Kung Fu, we, the women and children, would have been beaten half to death by you by now."

Prefect Wen said in a deep voice: "Zhu Quan, you only listened to Gao Yuan's one-sided story and took him back for interrogation. Do you think I am just a decoration?"

Zhu Quan pleaded: "I'm innocent! Young Master Gao ordered me to bring them back, and I dared not disobey!"

"Very well! Since you're so eager to please Gao Yuan, this official decrees your dismissal as a law enforcement officer. From now on, you'll be under his employ!" Prefect Wen declared.

"Your Honor, please spare me! I'll never dare to do it again! I only acted this way because Young Master Gao is your nephew, sir. Please have mercy on me! My family relies on this job for survival!" Zhu Quan fell to his knees, begging for leniency.

"Guards! Escort Gao Yuan back to Songshan County, and take Zhu Quan with him. From now on, he is a citizen of Songshan County. Inform County Magistrate Gao that henceforth, there will be no connection whatsoever between them and my Wen family." Said Prefect Wen.

"Yes, Sir!" Several officers replied promptly.

Magistrate Wen asked: "Are you satisfied with this official's decision?"

The old man didn't want to cause any more trouble. If anything happened to Qibao or his daughter-in-law, he knew this wouldn't be the end of matters. So he nodded and said: "Many thanks for your intervention, Lord Wen."

Wen Yuan suspected that his father might have been lenient. He thought the kindness towards Gao Yuan could be due to respect for Gao Yuan's mother, Zo-Ya, who had shown some sympathy to his mother. If not for that, Gao Yuan would have been punished further.