Chapter 86: Lend a Hand

  The fight between Chen Jia brothers and Meng Yanju was taken away by the bailiffs, which quickly spread throughout Wangxian.

  Meng Yan was a man who was usually elegant and refined, appearing gentle and cultured. In reality, he was ruthless and venomous, with a small heart. Whoever did not get along with him would be dealt with mercilessly.

  Many people secretly hate him.

  It's said that he was beaten, and they couldn't help but cheer, feeling a temporary relief. As for what would happen to Chen Qi who beat Meng Yanju in the future, they didn't care too much about it, anyway they couldn't save him.

  At that time, among the onlookers, there were people who knew the Zhongzhong Xiang clan, and they couldn't help but inform the Chen family.

  So Chen Er received the letter later that evening.

  "Absolutely absurd!" Chen Er's face changed with rage as he scolded Chen Qi, "I had just let my guard down for a moment and he wants to stir up trouble! Over the years, I don't know how much worry I've had on his account."

  "He's always been like that," said Chen Er's wife, "Why bother getting angry with him? The county government didn't even send someone to inform us, we might as well pretend we don't know and go look for him again in the morning. Let him spend a night in jail, suffer a bit, and remember his lesson."

  "Alright," said Chen Er.

  No matter how angry one is, they still have to go and rescue him. If a family member ends up in jail, the whole family will lose face, so rescuing him is for the sake of the Chen family.

  But it's also okay to let Chen Qi taste the flavor of prison.

  Chen Erlang told the messenger to keep it a secret and not tell Old Master and Eldest Master for the time being.

  The people below naturally did not dare to speak much.

  Huang Lanqing's family also received the letter.

  It was also the onlookers who reported the incident to the authorities, rather than the officials themselves.

  Huang Lao Ye was suddenly flustered and sighed "Aiya aiya".

  "......How did you end up in jail? And now we have to spend money." Mr. Huang was both worried about his son and the cost, and couldn't help but sigh, "Lan has always been steady, this time's affair must be caused by that Chen Mou person."

  "It's not Lanqin's fault!" Hearing his father defend Lanqin, her older brother didn't dare say anything bad about her. In his heart, he looked down on her, "The family gave him money to make friends, but he couldn't even get close to Meng Yanju, and ended up befriending someone as lowly as Chen Mo!"

  Huang Lanqing's older brother was very fond of his younger brother as an elder brother, but the younger brother was not capable enough and the older brother also looked down on him.

  Huang Fu turned back and coldly looked at his eldest son, who was speaking sarcastically: "Are you useful? I haven't given you any money to go out and make friends. Who have you made friends with?"

  This had touched Huang Lanqing's sore spot, his face changed immediately and he lowered his head.

  He went out to make friends in his early years, and it was even more absurd. The people he made friends with were all riffraff, and he didn't know how much money he had spent, but it was completely useless.

  This brother is arrogant and incompetent, always looking down on others, thinking they are useless and untalented. In fact, the most useless and untalented one is himself.

  He didn't dislike Lan Qing, it's just that his father always thought Lan Qing was promising, which made him unhappy.

  He was a little jealous of Huang Lankui.

  "In the past, whenever something happened, the county magistrate would always come to inform us personally. Why is it so quiet this time?" Huang Fu's heart was uneasy, "Could it be that he's going to make excessive demands again?"

  Huang's father is not afraid of spending money.

  He is good at doing business, and the Huang family's wealth has been growing day by day in recent years.

  He was just afraid that the county government would wrong his son.

  But in this way, he rashly went to the county government office and ended up being taken advantage of. The Huang family's money was earned bit by bit, and although Old Man Huang wasn't afraid to spend it, he also cherished his wealth.

  So he hesitated and did not go to the county government office.

  He knew that now was the time for mutual probing and needed to calm down.

  The county government didn't send anyone to inform us, so we just pretended we didn't know.

  "...Lan Qing has never suffered since childhood, this time in prison, I don't know what crime he will suffer." Huang Fu's heart was full of reluctance.

  It was he who encouraged the children to go out and make friends.

  Huang Lanqing got along well with Chen Qi, and Huang's father felt that this was his own doing, that he had been too overbearing.

  "The county government wants our family's money, so they wouldn't dare to wrong Lanqing. Don't worry, sir." Huang Lanqing's older brother weakly advised, having just been scolded by their father and not daring to speak much now.

  Huang Fu knew he had to calm down and not rush to find County Magistrate Jin, or else he would be walking into a slaughter. He nodded, took a slow sip of tea.

  In another part of the county town, Sun Shiyi's family also heard about this matter.

  The elders just pretended they didn't know.

  Among juniors, it's all ridicule.

  The Sun family is a declining clan, and if the clansmen had any vision, they wouldn't have become so bad. They are also not united, and don't care about dignity or not. Moreover, Sun Shiyin was not favored, and no one cared about his life or death.

  Instead, he ended up in trouble and gave everyone a laughing stock.

  The Sun family would not beg the county magistrate for Sun Shiyong, let alone spend money on him.

  Only Chen Jing's family knew about this matter all along.

  Among the onlookers, few knew that the young master who had been smiled at by Xing Wendeng was from which family.

  Chen Jing and Chen Mo were different from others. He had been studying since he was a child, with a bit of foolishness, and his family was not wealthy, so he rarely went out. Not to mention Xijie, even in the entire Qiwan Lane, there were few neighbors who had seen him.

  Everyone in Wangxian knows that the imperial scholar Chen Zhang has a younger brother named Chen Jing. However, most people do not know what Chen Jing looks like.

  Chen Jiong was completely unknown.

  He was just a family member of the jinshi, and his status was about the same as that of Li Shi and Chen Wengong.

  Everyone is talking about how fierce and intimidating that young man is, but no one knows who he actually is.

  So no one went to Qiwan Lane to spread the word.

  "...and it's getting late, should we have dinner at Yuhe Alley?" The sunset had come down, the courtyard was bright red and dazzling, but Chen Jing hadn't returned home yet, Li thought to herself.

  She also wanted to send Qingyun to Yuhewei to take a look.

  It occurred to Li that Old Man Yang had said "You should also be at ease and let Cai and Zhi support the family gate", if he were to send someone to look for them a bit later, Old Man Yang would definitely feel that he was being too restrictive towards Cai and Zhi, and would not be pleased in his heart, and would also dislike Cai and Zhi, which wouldn't be good.

  Li had no choice but to suppress his worries.

  *****

  By August, the osmanthus is in full bloom.

  The flowers on the branches of Osmanthus trees are so small that they can hardly be seen, like a segment of dazzling sunset scattered on the branches, faintly visible. Only the strong fragrance overflowing from the branches transforms into a magnificent and resplendent scene, making the unremarkable flower petals force back all the gaudy things in the world.

  The entire courtyard is filled with the fragrance of Osmanthus trees.

  A tall and sturdy figure, with quick footsteps, heading towards the outer study.

  He suddenly pushed open the door of the study room.

  "What's going on?" The middle-aged man sitting alone in the study was He Furen, the father of He Ti and He Zhen. He wore a dark-patterned silk robe with a straight collar, slowly checking his accounts, and when he heard the commotion, he slightly raised his head, his thick eyebrows lightly furrowed.

  The one who burst in was his eldest son, Hatty.

  He and his father were tall and sturdy, looking like rough men, but in fact they were not rough at all, they were meticulous. He Ti rarely burst into his father's study like this.

  "Dad, something's happened." He Qiti panted, "Wu Ren was fighting with Meng Yanju on the street and was taken away by the county government..."

  He Fu Ren thought it was something related to the shop.

  Who would have thought that it was just Chen Mouren who caused trouble.

  "That little kid Mo Ren, is he usually causing trouble?" He Fu Ren smiled lightly, "What's wrong with you?"

  "Zhong and Ye are also here!" He said, "They were also caught by the county government."

  He Fu Ren's smile solidified on his face.

  Chen Yang is a great benefactor of He's family.

  Last time they gave some money, He's father and son always felt that they had treated Chen Jing lightly, and they wanted to repay Chen Jing again.

  "Is he following behind you?" He Fu Ren asked, "He didn't make a move, did he?"

  "It's moved!" He Ti said, "He has provoked the greatest trouble. Father, please ask to take down Xing Wendian's two arms. The Xia and Meng families are both petty people who have succeeded, and County Magistrate Jin is also biased towards them. This time, please ask will suffer greatly!"

  He Fu Ren's face turned dark.

  His fingers lightly tapped on the desktop as he pondered a solution.

  "... Chen Jiayou has had no news for three years, and outsiders are all saying that he died outside. Jin County Magistrate will not give Qiwan Lane face again. Qiwan Lane is poor, and only women and children are left, unable to replace the central government's courtesy. Dad, what should we do?" He Ti asked.

  "Get all the accountants in the shop to come over," said He Fu Ren. "Take out 20,000 taels of silver from the accounts and use it as working capital. Since Zhang has saved our lives at Shui Qu, we can't just stand by and do nothing for him."

  "It is," said Hatty.

  He is just thinking of this.

  He's family father and son are doing business, but they have a strong sense of chivalry. They are pragmatic in business, but also have a strong sense of justice and loyalty, and always repay kindness.

  It may be because of this point that they make more money by doing business.

  He got his father's consent and hurriedly went to find all the account houses everywhere.

  Prepare 20,000 taels of silver to help Chen Yang and settle this matter.

  He Ti also knew a few friends and had some private dealings with the county magistrate's family. The usable relationships, He Ti and He Fu Ren both used them up.

  "He can't be called a prisoner and suffer in jail." He Fu Ren said to He Ti, "You go tonight to persuade the prison guards not to make things difficult for him."

  "Got it, Dad." He Xi turned and left.

  ****

  It was evening, and the Shen family of Nanqiao Alley had just finished their dinner.

  In the evening, Shen Changyu was preparing to go to the night market with his sixth brother Shen Changqing to listen to some new stories in the storytelling hall.

  But then he saw his trusted servant Dongzhu rush in and say: "Fourth Master, I heard outsiders saying that Chen Jia's second official has been arrested and thrown into prison."

  Chen Jia's second official is Chen Yang.

  "What?" Shen Changyu was slightly startled.

  Chen Jiong is a decent and cultured person, how could he end up in prison?

  "It's said that it was a fight with Officer Meng's family," said Xiao Dongzhu.

  Dong Zhu also heard it from others.

  This little fellow is Shen Changyu's trusted confidant, a house slave who was brought by Shen Changyu's mother as dowry. He is extremely close to the Shen brothers and is also aware of Chen Jing's treatment of Thirteen Niang in the past. Dongzhu even served medicine for her.

  He happened to be in the gatehouse and overheard people gossiping, only then did he learn that Chen Jiao had been imprisoned.

  Chen Jiong is Shen Changyu's benefactor. This little servant knew it, so he hurried in and told Shen Changyu the news.

  "Why are you fighting?" Shen Changyu was confused.

  Dong Zhu is also what others have said, and it's even more vague and obscure.

  "Go and ask around!" Shen Changyu saw that he couldn't make himself clear, so she got anxious too. "Ask clearly and then come back to tell me!"

  Dong Zhu Road, he hurriedly left.

  He soon got things straightened out and told Shen Changyu one by one.

  Shen Changyu listened, his eyebrows tightly furrowed.

  Shen Changqing heard Chen Jing disarm Xing Wendian's arm, stunning the whole audience, and couldn't help but cheer.

  "Fourth brother, what to do?" Shen Changqing saw his elder brother in difficulty, restrained his excitement and asked, "Do you want to go visit County Magistrate Jin tonight and ask him to release the person?"

  "It's not suitable," Shen Changyu said. "This matter concerns the Cui and Meng families, and County Magistrate Jin is also helpless. He must want to gain some benefits from this affair. If we go, he will be even more embarrassed, and things won't be easy to handle. He may not be willing to give me face."

  "I'll think of a foolproof plan to get this done properly. You take some money and go with Dongzhu to the prison, give the warden and guards some benefits, and ask them to treat him well for one night. Tomorrow, I will definitely get him out."

  Shen Changqing nodded in agreement.

  They have private property, all of which are the legacy left by their birth mother's dowry, managed by Shen Changyu.

  This money doesn't need to go through Shen's public account.

  Shen Changyu sat alone in the study, silent for a long time.

  He knew that this matter would require effort to resolve. Chen Jing's brother was not at home and should have no one to speak for him, so Shen Changyu had to help him.