After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 81 He's Gone Mad!

The county officials were very efficient; they brought Lin Yunche and the Bai family's servants to the courtroom shortly afterward.

Bai Chenming was still unconscious. Bai Qinglian looked at Li Ding's figure and felt a surge of joy. She had guessed correctly. Lin Yunche was indeed the problem. Now she could finally stand by and watch Bai Wanqing cry.

Bai Qinglian frantically glared at Li Ding, whose forehead was covered in sweat. Although he noticed Bai Qinglian's hints, he dared not give her any feedback.

Bai Qinglian wasn't annoyed; after all, this was in court, and Li Ding's caution was to be expected.

When Lord Hu saw the two, he frowned. He had a feeling that he had been tricked by the Bai family. The servant was clearly in the Lin family, and the Third Miss Bai also knew that she was in the Lin family, yet she still made a scene in court.

What exactly is the Bai family up to? Magistrate Hu became more wary, but the case still needed to be investigated.

However, now that the person has been found, the case has changed from a missing persons case to a home invasion case involving men in black.

Lord Hu glared angrily at the third daughter of the Bai family before turning his gaze back to Li Ding. "Li Ding, your family reported you missing. Where have you been these past two days? Have you been kidnapped?"

When the officials returned from Linjia Village, they not only brought back the man, but also whispered the situation to Lord Hu. When they arrived at Linjia, Li Ding was tied up in the stable by Lin Yunche. Li Ding was completely terrified and wouldn't say anything when they asked him. Lin Yunche also wouldn't say anything. That's how the two of them were brought to the court.

Li Ding pursed his lips tightly. Only he knew how he had spent the past five days. At this moment, he secretly glanced at Lin Yunche beside him and was so frightened that he couldn't speak. His face was deathly pale.

"Li Ding, the magistrate is asking you a question!" The officer beside him shouted angrily, which brought the frightened Li Ding back to his senses. "Reporting to the magistrate, I... I don't know anything, please spare my life."

After saying that, Li Ding knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Magistrate Hu. Magistrate Hu glanced at Lin Yunche several times without making a sound. Lin Yunche's expression remained unchanged, and no emotion could be seen.

Bai Qinglian glared at Li Ding. What was wrong with Li Ding? With such a good opportunity, what was he afraid to say?
"Li Ding, don't be afraid. Just say what you have to say. We're in this courtroom, and an official will surely stand up for us." Bai Qinglian gave Li Ding another fierce wink.

Lord Hu coughed lightly. He now understood a little. This Miss Bai had a grudge against his future brother-in-law. He just couldn't imagine how big the grudge was, that they would bring a family matter to court. This Miss Bai was probably not a kind person.

Li Ding glanced at Bai Qinglian, then at Lord Hu in the hall, and said with a determined heart, "I...I have been held captive at home by Lin Yunche these past few days. He kidnapped me."

"Oh?" Lord Hu raised his eyelids and asked, "Why did he tie you up?"

Li Ding recounted in detail how he went to Linjia Village to look for the man in black, and how he was discovered by the villagers and taken to Lin Yunche's courtyard. "Sir, I really didn't do anything wrong!"

Lord Hu understood his words and turned to look at Lin Yunche, "Lin Yunche, why did you tie him up? Were you the man in black who broke into the Bai family?"

Lin Yunche shook his head. "I tied him up because this person appeared suspiciously in Linjia Village. I detained him because he slandered me, saying that I was some kind of black-clad man who broke into the Bai family. Sir, someone has slandered me like this, so naturally I can't just let him go!"

"Besides, he is a servant of the Bai family. I was planning to tell my father-in-law in a couple of days, but before that time came, you came looking for me."

Lin Yunche's words transformed what was originally an external matter into an internal matter for the Bai family, causing Magistrate Hu to glance at Lin Yunche a few more times.

But Li Ding knew that Lin Yunche had no intention of sending him back to the Bai family, even after learning that he was sent by Bai Qinglian. Lin Yunche's methods were ruthless and vicious; he had suffered serious injuries in many places unseen by others. It seemed that he was being interrogated as someone else.
Li Ding was afraid that Lin Yunche would target him again. Since he had already said it, he wasn't afraid to say a few more words now, so he shouted, "Sir, the man in black that day had an injured arm. If you examine Young Master Lin's arm, you will know whether he is the man in black or not."

Magistrate Hu paused, then ordered someone to examine Lin Yunche's injuries, but Lin Yunche refused directly, saying, "Lord Hu, you can examine my injuries, but could we go separately?"

Magistrate Hu initially wanted to refuse, but after glancing at Lin Yunche and then at the third daughter of the Bai family, he agreed.

He then ordered his men to take Lin Yunche to a side hall. Magistrate Hu and his advisors went to see him with the officials. Only the Li Ding family and the Bai family remained in the courtroom.

A short while later, Magistrate Hu returned to the courtroom with his clerk and Lin Yunche. For some reason, Bai Qinglian felt that the atmosphere in the courtroom was different from before.

Magistrate Hu glanced at Li Ding kneeling below the court and suddenly roared, "You audacious scoundrel, how dare you mock me!"

Li Ding was completely stunned. He was so frightened that he immediately prostrated himself on the ground. "Sir, sir, I didn't say anything wrong! He is indeed injured. I clearly saw that his wrist was wrapped in gauze."

Magistrate Hu's anger intensified. "Are you saying that I, a dignified county magistrate, would lie?"

"Speak! Why are you framing Young Master Lin?" Magistrate Hu was now adamant that Li Ding was framing Lin Yunche, which made Bai Qinglian's eyes widen in disbelief.
Li Ding dared not speak again, and looked at Bai Qinglian for help.
Bai Qinglian had no choice but to step forward again, "Lord Hu, there are some things you may not know?"

Magistrate Hu glanced at Bai Qinglian, cursing inwardly. This matter was far too complicated; he never imagined that a seemingly minor missing persons case would escalate to this point. So, he looked at Bai Qinglian, the instigator of this whole affair, his anger rising even higher.

"Oh?" Magistrate Hu frowned and said coldly, "Is there anything else that I don't know?" He said this, but his eyes glared sharply at Bai Qinglian, hoping to scare her away.
When Bai Qinglian heard that Magistrate Hu's tone was completely different from before, her confidence did soften a bit, but she still spoke anyway.

"Reporting to your Excellency, this young master Lin currently denies being the man in black, but there are many suspicious aspects to his behavior."

"He is my older sister's fiancé. Everyone in Huai'an County knows the living conditions in Linjia Village. It's the most remote and poorest village in our county. Logically speaking, the Lin family shouldn't be very wealthy either, right?"

Bai Qinglian glanced at Lin Yunche and saw that he seemed a little flustered. The confidence he had lost earlier had returned. After she finished speaking, she unconsciously raised her chin.

"So?" Magistrate Hu asked.

"But how can someone living in such a remote and backward village offer a dowry that rivals that of noble families? Doesn't Your Excellency find this a bit suspicious?"

Magistrate Hu glanced at Lin Yunche, who was standing ramrod straight, and now he had a headache. He wondered why Lin Yunche had so obediently told him everything. It turned out that he wanted him to deal with all this mess.

Can he simply ignore it? If it hadn't gone to the county government, he naturally could have chosen not to. But now that things have escalated, he'd have to find a plausible excuse to back out.

Magistrate Hu looked at Lin Yunche, "Young Master Lin, what are your thoughts on this?"

Lin Yunche smiled. "Lord Hu, are you sure you want me to say this here? Or shall we go to the inner hall?"

"The inner hall again?" Magistrate Hu's eyelids twitched twice, and he immediately refused Lin Yunche, "Hmm, forget about the inner hall. I think Young Master Lin must have had some extraordinary encounter to acquire such wealth, right?"

Lin Yunche raised an eyebrow at Bai Qinglian, then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Magistrate Hu and said, "Your Excellency is right."

Bai Qinglian opened her mouth in surprise, about to say something, but was interrupted by Magistrate Hu.

"Now that the person has been found, this is no longer a matter for the Bai family. Master, check on Master Bai. If he is alright, let the two of you return as soon as possible."

Bai Qinglian was unwilling to give up, "My lord, there's still the matter of the man in black."

Magistrate Hu's face immediately darkened, and he glared at Bai Qinglian. "What black-clad men? Huai'an County has always had good public order, how could there be black-clad men? If you say another word, I will deal with you for spreading rumors!"

Bai Qinglian was terrified and dared not say anything more. With the advisor following behind, she had no choice but to take her father back to the Bai family.

As for Li Ding, after Bai Qinglian left, Li Ding didn't dare to breathe loudly at all. Li Ding's family members were even more frightened and huddled together. Even if they were stupid, they would understand that they had kicked a hornet's nest this time. Lin Yunche's background was not simple.

"Young Master Lin, Li Ding has framed you like this. Do you want to sue him?" Magistrate Hu was in a bad mood, so he naturally couldn't let Lin Yunche dump all the problems on him. He wanted to see what reason Lin Yunche could give him.

"Sue! Of course we'll sue!" Lin Yunche not only filed a complaint but also handed a letter to Magistrate Hu. "Sir, this letter was found on Li Ding."

When Magistrate Hu saw Lin Yunche's upturned lips, he felt a sense of foreboding! He felt like he'd been tricked again.
His hands trembled as he picked up the letter, which contained Li Ding's confessions of the crimes he had committed over the years. He hadn't expected Li Ding to have done so much. What was going on?
"My lord, this was all done by Li Ding before he was sold into the Bai family, so naturally it has nothing to do with the Bai family."

Magistrate Hu understood. He immediately ordered Li Ding to be imprisoned, and his family members were also imprisoned for harboring a criminal.
After everything was settled, Magistrate Hu was finally able to have a proper conversation with Lin Yunche.

"Lord Lin, may I take another look at your seal?" Magistrate Hu asked with a smile.

Lin Yunche naturally had no reason to refuse, since he had just helped him. He took out the seal, and Magistrate Hu confirmed it was correct before returning it to him.

"Lord Lin, what about Li Ding and the others?" Magistrate Hu asked, frowning.

Lin Yunche said in a low voice, "Since Li Ding and the others know about the men in black, let's keep them in jail for a while."

"Then, I troubled Lord Hu to secretly spread the word that it seemed a foreign spy had been found and was already imprisoned."

"Lord Lin, are you trying to lure them out to silence them? But what about the real spies? Can they really trust them?"

"Don't worry about that. If they don't believe me, I'll just make them believe me this once." Lin Yunche's eyes lit up.

After seeing Lin Yunche off, Magistrate Hu's face immediately fell. He was nearing retirement age, yet he had been dragged into such a dangerous matter—a matter of reclaiming territory and resisting foreign invaders. And they, with just a few men...
He's gone mad! The Lin family has gone mad! And those above them have gone mad even more!

(End of this chapter)