Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

After Wu Liangcai and Lin Xiuer parted ways on the hillside, they jogged home.

His mind was in turmoil, filled with anger at the Black Fish Gang's shamelessness and regret for his own past foolishness.

Lin Xiuer's words about "being arrested and then released, which would lead to even harsher retaliation" were like a thorn stuck in his heart.

He had never thought about these things before; he only thought that his father was the village head, in charge of several villages around Peach Blossom Town.

Here, his father is like a local tyrant, arresting or releasing whom is just a matter of a word, how powerful is that?

But now he understands that some scourges cannot be completely eradicated simply by catching them.

"We mustn't alert the enemy..."

He muttered Lin Xiuer's instructions under his breath, his brows furrowed. How could he steal the petition silently without arousing suspicion from his father and that Mei Liangxin?

He paused for a moment before returning to the imposing black lacquered gate of the Wu residence.

At this time of day, he would either be out fooling around or at home plotting how to sneak out to play.

This is the first time I've ever voluntarily gone home with a lot of important business to attend to.

The gatekeeper, seeing him return, quickly bowed and greeted him, "Young master is back."

Wu Liangcai grunted in response and, as usual, walked inside with a nonchalant and carefree attitude.

After passing through the front yard and around the screen wall, his father, Wu Shiren, would usually be in his study at this time.

Wu Liangcai tiptoed to the outside of the study and, sure enough, heard his father talking to another person inside.

He tiptoed around to the back window of the study, which was slightly ajar, and heard hushed conversations coming from inside.

He held his breath and listened carefully. It was his father, Wu Shiren's, voice, with his usual official tone, but with an undisguised smugness in his voice.

"...Master Mei, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Jia Heiyu. The complaint must be written with both reason and evidence, and all the necessary witnesses and evidence must be properly arranged."

Another shrill, obsequious voice immediately followed, it was Master Mei: "Don't worry, Lord Village Head! I'll handle it perfectly!"

"That Jia Heiyu is a sensible person. That's why he specially asked his student to bring this little bit of 'writing fee' over first as a tribute to you, sir."

Next came the sound of silver being placed on the table, making a slight clinking sound.

Wu Shiren seemed to pick it up and weigh it in his hand, his tone more satisfied: "Hmm, Boss Jia is very thoughtful. But isn't this amount a bit too little?"

Master Mei hurriedly explained, "Your Excellency is wise! Jia Heiyu said this is just the first one! As long as things go smoothly, and we get that kid named Ping An into jail and 'take good care of' him, there will be a bigger surprise later."

"But once the person is in our hands, the Black Fish Gang won't have a chance."

"Wouldn't Lin be completely at our mercy just to save her husband? Let alone ten taels, even more as a token of respect, she'd still have to obediently hand it over to us."

"Hehe, that's good, that's good, this plan is brilliant." Wu Shiren's satisfied laughter came through the crack in the window.

Hearing this from outside the window, Wu Liangcai's anger flared up; his fists hardened and his teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.

He really didn't expect it, just two taels of silver! His father was too short-sighted, willing to go against his conscience and help those thugs harm people for such a small amount of money.

And that Mei Liangxin, all talk and no action, but his belly is full of evil schemes! What brilliant plans? It's all scheming and vicious plots! Bah!

Sister Lin is just selling pancakes to support her family and pay off gambling debts. What did she do to deserve this? Everyone is jealous of her good business and comes to bully and scheme against her.

That's outrageous! Wu Liangcai really wanted to rush in right now and give that Master Mei a good beating.

But no, he can't act impulsively. Sister Lin said he has to outsmart her.

Fortunately, he didn't forget Lin Xiuer's instructions, and he managed to hold back, not wanting to ruin Sister Lin's plan.

Suppressing the urge to kick the door open, he quietly retreated, the shame he felt for his past foolishness completely burned to ashes by his anger.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit strange.

Wu Liangcai was picking at the bland vegetables in his bowl when he suddenly looked up and grinned at his father, Wu Shiren.

He spoke as if it were unintentional: "Dad, I heard an interesting story on the street today."

"Oh? What interesting thing happened?" Wu Shiren was in a good mood and picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks.

"It is said that there was an official who took two taels of silver from someone and agreed to help them distort the truth, which would cause the other person's family to be ruined and killed."

Wu Liangcai blinked. "Isn't it ridiculous? Trying to buy a life for two taels of silver? This official position is worthless!"

"Do you think it's possible that the people involved in this process are too unscrupulous and pocketed the lion's share?"

His words were sarcastic, implying that Master Mei might have withheld the tribute given to Wu Shiren.

Wu Shih-jen's hand, which was holding a chopstick, froze in mid-air, and his expression changed.

Wu Liangcai seemed not to notice, turning to the other side, "I've also heard that those clerks who write legal documents for people are masters at profiting from both sides, don't you think?"

Master Mei, who was also invited to dinner that evening, turned pale upon hearing this and forced a dry laugh, saying, "Young Master Liangcai is joking, there's no such thing..."

"Really?" Wu Liangcai put down his chopsticks, sighed, and said quietly, "I've also heard that even if the laws of the mortal world can't stop you from doing such a despicable thing, the ghosts of those who were wrongfully killed will remember it."

"Walking at night, you never know when something cold and icy might creep up from behind, drag you to the underworld, and fry you in oil for a hundred years! A hundred years!"

He described it vividly, and even made a "dragging" motion himself.

The faces of the people at the table turned pale upon hearing this.

Wu Shih-ren slammed down his chopsticks and scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting! Don't talk while eating or sleeping! Eat your food properly!"

Wu Liangcai pursed his lips and stopped talking, but inwardly he sneered: Look, look, he's already feeling guilty, he's definitely feeling guilty!

That night, Wu Liangcai didn't fall asleep as usual.

He stayed awake until late at night, estimating that everyone in the mansion was fast asleep, before quietly getting up, barefoot, like a plump orange familiar with the terrain, and sneaking out of his room.

The study door was locked, but that didn't stop him; he knew where his father hid the key.

He gently pushed up a large decorative vase by the study door, retrieved the key from the floor, and quietly unlocked the door.

The study was pitch black, with only a faint moonlight filtering through the window paper, barely illuminating the outline.

Wu Liangcai reached his father's large desk and, relying on his memory, opened the second drawer on the right.

His father was used to keeping important documents here.

His fingers touched a stack of papers, which he took out and examined by the light of a tinderbox.

The top one clearly reads, "A lawsuit against Ms. Lin and her husband, villagers of Qingshan Village, for assaulting an innocent person without cause!"

that's it!

Wu Liangcai's heart pounded, and he quickly folded the petition and stuffed it into his pocket.

After thinking for a moment, he haphazardly rummaged through the other documents in the drawer, rearranged their order, and then closed the drawer as before.

He locked the door, put the key back, carefully returned the vase to its place, and then, clutching the light yet incredibly heavy piece of paper, ran to the most secluded corner of the backyard, took out a tinderbox, and blew on it.

The orange flames flickered, illuminating his face, which was filled with indignation.

Without hesitation, he held the petition to the flame.

The edges of the paper quickly curled and charred, and the flames greedily licked at the inverted words, devouring them completely, turning them into a small clump of ashes and a few wisps of smoke, which dissipated in the night wind.

As Wu Liangcai watched the last spark die out, he dusted off his hands, let out a long sigh, and felt a surge of relief mixed with determination.

"Sister Lin," he whispered into the darkness, "the complaint is gone. Now, let's see what the show is all about."