Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 94 Lend you a dragon, ride the wind

Prince Zhao, who thought he had seen through the truth at a glance, laughed happily.

He patted Yang Yuan's back with satisfaction and said, "As a man, be straightforward. What are you afraid of? I hate it most when lovers can't get married. I get furious when I see that!

"A few days ago, the king went to Dawazi to watch a farce. The play was really annoying, a trick to make people cry. What kind of thing!
"I was furious and immediately closed his place, locked up their boss, and ordered him to change his script in my palace! I will cover all losses during the suspension period!

"Tell him to revise it for me. When the revision is perfect, we can perform it again. You are a good person. I wish you two lovers will finally get married. Goose, goose, goose, goose..."

Yang Yuan was speechless after hearing this. Is this prince so willful? If he is not satisfied with the plot, he forces others to change it!
Yang Yuan quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help."

Zhao Yu smiled and said, "You are talking so much, do you know who I am?"

Yang Yuan choked up, and said with some shame: "I... don't even know."

Zhao Yu curled his lips in disdain: "You are using my name to bluff people, how can you not know my name?
"I'm telling you, remember this. I, Zhao Yu, am the adopted son of the current emperor, and was granted the title of Prince of Enping County!"

……

At Longshan Wharf, Zhang Gongfeng, along with Huang Sichou and several other cronies, had just approached Guan Hao's large sea ship when they attracted the attention of Kou Heiyi.

Kou Heiyi and Yang Che were excited. Their hard work paid off and they had finally waited for what they had waited for.

The two men kept their composure and continued to sit at the snack stand, staring closely in the direction of the big ship.

Yang Che quietly made a gesture, indicating to the Bingjingwu secret agents lurking in the crowd to wake up and be ready for action at any time.

When Zhang Dingbang arrived at the big ship, within a moment, the great merchant Guan Hao came out from the ship to greet him personally.

The two men held each other's arms and chatted for a while, then got on the boat together.

Zhang Dingbang stayed on the boat for two incense sticks before reappearing on the deck.

Guan Hao walked out with him, followed by four big men in black, each holding a box in his hands.

Huang Sichou and others had been waiting at the dock. As soon as Zhang Gongfeng and Guan the shopkeeper got off the boat, they surrounded them.

Zhang Dingbang and Guan Hao walked in front, while Huang Sichou and others consciously surrounded the black-clothed man who was carrying the box in the back.

The group walked towards the dock while looking around vigilantly.

Kou Heiyi gave Yang Che a wink, and the two of them quietly stood up and followed.

In the crowd, the spies from "Bingjingwu" also quietly moved with the two of them.

Amid the busy crowd at the dock, their movements were like a stream merging into the sea, silent and unnoticed...

……

At the foot of Phoenix Mountain, the people from Huzhou Fang family and the people from Enping County Prince had a misunderstanding and were severely beaten up.

They knew they were in the wrong, and although they didn't know the identity of the group of people, they didn't dare to hold them accountable. They just wanted to report Dan Niang.

After receiving instructions from Prefect Cao, Mr. Song immediately came back and whispered a few words to Magistrate Xu.

County Magistrate Xu nodded calmly, and then began to interrogate the case on the spot as the magistrate of Lin'an County.

After listening to the Fang clan leader complaining bitterly about Dan Niang's crimes, he asked, "I want to ask you, Manager Fang is your nephew, why did he come to Lin'an alone to open a restaurant? And why didn't he hire any clan members in the restaurant? Why didn't he invite you clan elders to attend such an important event as his wedding?"

This question touched upon the sore spot of the Fang family. The old clan leader hesitated for a while, but seeing that he could not shirk responsibility any more, he had to bite the bullet and answer, "My Lord, when my nephew was young, he did not get along well with his brothers. He got angry for a moment and moved out of his hometown to venture out into the world. However, these were just some minor conflicts between brothers."

"Really?" County Magistrate Xu had just asked casually, but when he heard him hesitating, he immediately realized there was something wrong and immediately started asking more questions.

He asked the accompanying yamen runners to separate the Fang family members into several groups and then interrogate them one by one.

The different groups of people had no chance to communicate with each other, and County Magistrate Xu soon found out the reason.

It turned out that Manager Fang had four brothers and two sisters, which was considered a very prosperous branch of the Fang family.

Among the four brothers, Shopkeeper Fang is the third oldest and the most clever.

When he was still a teenager, he worked as a peddler going from street to street.

As a result, Fang Laosan's life was better than his brothers.

The other three brothers had to serve their parents and work in the fields in their hometown, which was naturally more difficult.

Fang Laosan also knew that he usually neglected to respect his parents, so he tried his best to give some material help to his brothers.

In this way, everyone can live in peace.

The problem started when Fang Laosan got married.

Fang Laosan was a street vendor, had a good tongue, and had some spare money, so he married a beautiful wife.

The third brother was a peddler and was not often at home, so the fourth brother often went to help his sister-in-law fetch water, water the land, and tidy up the vegetable garden. As time went by, Fang Lao Si tidied up on the third sister-in-law's bed and was blocked in the room by Fang Lao San.

The matter was brought to the attention of the clan leader. Logically, according to clan rules, the couple should be drowned in a pond.

But the third son's wife and the clan leader's eldest grandson's wife are sisters, so the clan leader's eldest grandson and his wife knelt down and begged the old clan leader to show mercy.

Although the third son Fang gave the most material support to his parents, he was not often around. The fourth son was the youngest and had the sweetest mouth, so he was the most popular with the old couple.

The clan leader and his parents all favored Fang Lao Si and forcibly suppressed Fang Lao San from getting angry. They even planned to remarry his wife to the fourth brother to stop the gossip.

This made Fang Lao San furious, so he left his hometown and went to Lin'an to make a living.

The "Shuiyunjian" restaurant was originally the property of his wife's family in Lin'an.

That’s right, he married into the Lin’an family and his wife was nine years older than him.

The couple gave birth to a son, but the boy died of illness when he was a teenager.

This heavy blow made his old wife depressed and she passed away before him.

Therefore, he remarried Dan Niang, who was his third wife.

In fact, after Fang Laosan married into the Fang family, people in the Fang family had already heard about him.

However, on the one hand, the Fang family knew they were in the wrong, and on the other hand, the third son of the Fang family was a daughter-in-law and could not be the master of "Shuiyunjian".

So over the years, Fang Lao San almost never returned to his hometown, and people from the Fang family rarely came to disturb him.

It was not until now, when he learned that Fang Laosan had passed away and the family he married into had no descendants, that his clansmen became greedy.

When County Magistrate Xu asked about this experience, the old patriarch felt extremely ashamed and looked a little disheartened for a moment.

Magistrate Xu asked Dan Niang to come forward again, and after questioning the plaintiff and the defendant, he made a judgment on the spot: "According to the laws of our Song Dynasty, if a husband dies and his wife is still alive, he shall follow his wife. As long as Dan Niang is willing to remain chaste and unmarried, she can inherit her husband's estate. Of course, according to the law, you can only inherit and use it, but you cannot pawn it. Dan Niang, do you understand?"

Dan Niang happily responded, "I understand."

The old clan leader Fang said anxiously, "Sir, how can Dan Niang live as a widow? Besides, how can a weak woman run such a big restaurant? My nephew has no children, and this property will become the clan property sooner or later. It is better to let Dan Niang go back to Huzhou with me, and let the clan's public property support her, and the restaurant will also be added to the clan property."

County Magistrate Xu glanced at the old head of the Fang clan and said in a sarcastic tone, "Based on the tradition of your Fang family that the elders cannot distinguish right from wrong and the younger ones are immoral, you want to take her to the clan to raise her. Do I dare to agree to this?"

The old patriarch blushed and was speechless.

Magistrate Xu said: "Dan Niang can manage this restaurant, but she has no right to sell it to others at any time. After she dies, this restaurant will naturally still be the property of your Fang family."

The old clan leader was unwilling to accept this. He relied on his age and thought that the county magistrate was unlikely to punish him, so he protested: "Then...what if she can't stand the loneliness and marries someone else?"

Xu Zhixian said: "If she remarries in the morning, this restaurant will belong to your Fang family in the evening! However..."

Magistrate Xu changed the subject and said, "Dan Niang wore mourning clothes for Shopkeeper Fang and sent him off on his last journey. So, if your widow remarries in the future, she can also get a share of the property."

The old patriarch asked tremblingly: "Then...how much can she get?"

Xu Zhixian said: "According to the market conditions in Lin'an, the price cannot be higher than 5,000 strings of cash."

When the old patriarch heard this, he almost fainted.

Although that restaurant has an excellent location, its total value is probably only about 5,000 guan.

The old patriarch was so angry that he couldn't speak. Magistrate Xu said with a smile: "This county will pronounce the verdict!"

Master Song, who was standing by, temporarily acted as the scribe and had a runner bend over and write quickly on his back.

County Magistrate Xu said: "As the widow of Mr. Fang, Dan Niang will remain chaste and unmarried for one day, and she will be in charge of the 'Shuiyunjian' restaurant for one day. If there is any attempt to sell the property privately, the Fang clan members can come to this county to report it, and this county will handle it separately. If Dan Niang can't stand the loneliness and wants to marry someone else, she can also come to this county with the Fang clan members, and this county will preside over the division of the property. This is the verdict!"

After County Magistrate Xu finished speaking the verdict, Mr. Song, a lawyer, also picked up his pen and started writing.

Magistrate Xu said with a smile on his face: "Plaintiff and defendant, come over and sign your names."

Patriarch Fang angrily pounded the ground with his walking stick and shouted, "I don't accept it, I don't accept it!"

Magistrate Xu said in a friendly tone, "This is the verdict of this county. If you are dissatisfied, you must sign your name. After signing, you can take this county's verdict and appeal to Lin'an Prefecture."

When Patriarch Fang heard that there was still a chance, he slammed his walking stick and said bitterly, "Okay!"

He took the pen and signed the verdict.

When he got the verdict, he raised his arms and shouted to all the members of the Fang family: "Follow me, let's go to Lin'an Prefecture!"

Prefect Cao put his hands behind his back and walked up leisurely: "No need to go, I am here and can judge the case in court!"

(End of this chapter)