Thinking of the little girl who looked a bit like Wan’er, Old Mr Xu’s cooled heart warmed up again a little, “Quickly invite her in.”
Xu Liang quickly went to the door and invited both Song Wan Yue and Gu Yi in.
“Old sir.”
The two men saluted.
“Have a seat.”
Without waiting for the two to take their seats, Song Si asked in confusion, “What brings you here?”
Song Wangyue smiled back, “We wanted to ask a favour of the old man.”
Old Mr. Xu stared at her with unblinking eyes, the little girl’s smile was almost exactly like Wan’er’s when she was a child.
Seeing that Old Mister Xu kept staring at herself, Song Wan Yue touched her face in confusion, and inclined her head to ask Gu Yi with her eyes if she had something on her face. Seeing Gu Yi shake his head slightly, only then did he turn his head again, “Old man, I know it’s not good for us to bother you by taking the liberty of coming to the door, but this matter can only be done with your help.”
Old Mr. Xu still reluctantly withdrew his gaze, “What is it, you say.”
“It’s this ……”
Song Wangyue told the matter of the magistrate’s visit.
Hearing her say that the magistrate came to the door and said that Song Si’s boy had killed the man, Old Mr. Xu was even more certain that someone was targeting Song Si, otherwise he wouldn’t have so blatantly let the magistrate on the guys to slander him.
“Tell me carefully what happened then.”
Song Si was also very shocked, at that time he only cared about holding Xiao Yao and walking outside the market, he didn’t even notice that the man was dead. Hearing what the old man said, he immediately told the original story without any exaggeration or concealment.
Old Mr. Xu confirmed his suspicions and asked in a deep voice, “Have you offended anyone since you came to the capital?”
Song Si shook his head, “After I arrived, except for the day I visited you and left the inn, I stayed in the inn the rest of the time and did not have any conflicts with anyone.”
“We had offended someone when we were in Qingping County, could it be ……”
Song Wangyue couldn’t say directly about impersonating a schoolboy, so she could only remind Song Si politely.
“What kind of people did you offend?”
Even though he thought it was impossible, Song Si told him about the Zhang family setting him up. After listening, Old Mr Xu stroked his beard and pondered.
“Old sir, can I give you a few words alone?”
Song Wangyue said.
“Of course you can.”
Old Mr Xu called Xu Liang in and told him to take Song Si and Gu Yi to sit in the flower hall.
“Little girl, if you have anything to say, just say it.”
Song Wangyue told the story of the disguised Zhang Huai she had seen outside the examination hall that day, analysing, “I suspect that the person behind him is not small in power, otherwise it would not have been possible for him to take the place of a certain student. Today’s theft was also premeditated, and having my elder brother go to the magistrate’s office for questioning must also be with bad intentions, so please help us, old man.”
“How can there be such a thing?”
Old Mr Xu was very shocked, he had never heard of anyone impersonating another student before.
“Can you be sure that that person is Zhang Huai?”
“I’m sure because I studied medicine with a high ranking scholar and I could see the disguise on his face with one glance.”
Old Mr Xu could not help but get up and walk back and forth a few times, he was the head of the literati and naturally he could not allow such a thing to happen, but now that he did not know who was behind Zhang Huai, he just could not even try to uncover the person.
“I will go with you to the Yamen.”
……
Several people arrived at the entrance of the government office in a carriage, and after they got off the carriage and wanted to go in, they were stopped by the government official, “This is the government office, not a vegetable market, whoever wants to enter can enter, Song Si alone will go in, the rest of you stay outside.”
“This is old Mr Xu.”
“Not even any old gentleman, if I say you can’t enter, you can’t ……”
Before the magistrate finished speaking, a magistrate hurriedly came out from inside, pulled him behind him and nodded to old Mr. Xu, “Old Mr., he is just here, he doesn’t know you, please don’t be offended, just don’t know you and this Song Si are ……”
“He is my student.”
The magistrate immediately did not dare to stop, and carefully brought the man inside.
The Shuntian Prefect was busy asking someone to bring a chair over and invite him to sit down, “Old man, there’s actually no need for you to make this trip, we just called him in for a routine enquiry, nothing more.”
“Song Si happened to be in my house, and I was shocked to hear that his boy had killed someone, so I came over to take a look.
If you are not careful and ask the wrong questions, you will have to go to the emperor and say something, will I still be able to wear my hat as the governor of Shuntian?
But his face was smiling, “Don’t worry, old man, I will handle the case impartially and will not be biased.”
The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the market.
“Your Excellency ……”
Song Si saluted, he was now a scholar and did not need to kneel, “At that time the group of miscreants wanted my life, my boy had no choice but to return the hand.”
“So, you admit that he killed someone?”
Song Si was holding Xiao Yao and hurriedly heading out of the Western Market, not knowing that the man had not died a normal death, but a poisoned death, and for the Shuntian governor to ask this was clearly digging a hole for him.
Old man Xu frowned, but did not speak, looking towards Song Si.
“The scene was chaotic and I did not see it with my own eyes.”
The Shuntian governor spoke in a serious tone, “Song Si, ah, you have just taken the exams, think about your future, don’t let a small matter delay your great future.”
“I don’t think it’s him, but you, Your Excellency, who’s holding him back.”
Lord Ding’s voice came from the doorway, and the Prefect was startled, hurriedly coming out from behind the table and bowing with his hands, “Greetings, Your Highness.”
“You are welcome, Lord Prefect.”
After saying this, his gaze fell on Song Si, a fifteen or sixteen year old boy, with a slender figure like bamboo, handsome and upright, with a handsome face and a bookish air, although he bowed, his spine was straight.
The Duke of Ding was very satisfied and was about to withdraw his gaze when Song Si looked up in surprise.
Duke Ding was more and more satisfied.
“You are Song Si?”
“The student is.”
“Do you know who it was that saved you today?”
Song Si’s heart skipped a beat, “The student, the student ……”
“It was my granddaughter Xiao Yao.”
The Shuntian governor was startled, the magistrate brought the man back, naturally investigated the matter to the letter and knew that someone had assassinated Song Si, and also knew that it was a lady who saved him.
He was so sure that no one would dare to come forward and admit this, because after all, the girl’s reputation was at stake, that he dared to have the magistrate bring Song Si here in such a dignified manner, but he did not expect it to be the granddaughter of the Duke of Ding.