Li San asked worriedly, "Boss's wife, can telling you this help you? The shopkeeper was arrested, will he be alright?"
Lin Qinghe snapped back to reality and said firmly, "You Rong will be fine! Li San, thank you for coming all this way to tell me everything. Could you trouble yourself to accompany me to the yamen? Tell the county magistrate everything. As long as you are willing to testify, it will prove that we were framed, and You Rong will be fine!"
Li San always remembered kindness. He had kept in his heart the care Lin Qinghe had shown him.
Li San agreed without hesitation, "I am naturally willing to testify for Shopkeeper You! I will go with you now!"
"Good, let's go now!"
Lin Qinghe took Li San to the yamen and said to the guards at the gate, "Brother guards, we want to see the county magistrate. This man is a worker from the dock. He saw someone climb over the wall into our small restaurant last night. The food contained poison, and it was someone else who poisoned it to frame us! Our shopkeeper committed no crime."
The guards frowned and unceremoniously pushed Lin Qinghe and the others out, "Go, go... Don't you see how late it is? The county magistrate has long since returned to his mansion to rest and is not at the yamen. Whatever you have, discuss it tomorrow."
"Brother guards, but..."
The yamen gate slammed shut with a bang, leaving Lin Qinghe and Li San outside.
Lin Qinghe was distraught. She didn't want You Rong to spend even a moment in prison, but there was nothing she could do now. She couldn't see the county magistrate.
Li San advised, "Boss's wife, why don't we come back tomorrow morning? Waiting here now is not a solution. It's so cold, and if you keep standing here, you'll catch a cold."
Lin Qinghe furrowed her brows and glanced at the tightly shut yamen gate. She nodded, "Let's go back first, and we'll come again tomorrow morning."
"But the small restaurant has been sealed off and cannot be entered for now. Where will you stay tonight?"
Lin Qinghe thought for a moment, "I'll find an inn nearby to stay. You can also stay at the inn with me. We can come to the yamen early tomorrow morning, so you don't have to make the round trip. Don't worry, I will compensate you for your lost wages!"
"No need to compensate me, Boss's wife. You take good care of me usually. Now that you're in trouble, I naturally have to help if I can! You don't need to be polite with me!"
Lin Qinghe: "Thank you."
The two of them opened two rooms at a nearby inn and slept for a night.
That night, Lin Qinghe tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind constantly on You Rong. How was he in prison? Was he hungry? Was he cold?
Lin Qinghe, who had barely slept all night, went to the yamen with Li San as soon as dawn broke and waited outside. As soon as the yamen opened, she said to the guards, "Brother guards, has the county magistrate arrived at the yamen? I want to see him! I have a witness now, and I want to prove my shopkeeper's innocence!"
The guard glanced at Lin Qinghe and said irritably, "Hurry up and leave. The county magistrate has already made a judgment on the matter of the poisoning at the small restaurant by the dock. Murder is a fact, and that person has been convicted. He will be executed in ten days!"
Lin Qinghe's face suddenly turned pale, and she said angrily, "How could the case be concluded so quickly?! My shopkeeper was only arrested yesterday, and the county magistrate hasn't even held a court session, so how could he be convicted?! Moreover, the poisoned person was saved and is not in mortal danger, so how can it be said that murder is a fact!"
Facing Lin Qinghe's angry questioning, the guard retorted aggressively, "Are you questioning an imperial official?! You're asking for death! I warn you, it's a done deal. If you dare to cause trouble at the yamen, don't blame us for being impolite and arresting you too!"
"You are framing an innocent person, you... Was it Prefect Xu who instructed you to do this? And the shopkeeper of Drunken Fragrance Pavilion bribed you, right! Let the county magistrate come out and see me, I want to see him!"
Seeing that Lin Qinghe had guessed the reason, the guard became even more impolite. He pointed at Lin Qinghe's nose and cursed viciously, "If you dare to be presumptuous again, I will immediately arrest you, you shrew, and throw you in prison!"
"Arrest me! Do you believe I will sue you for corruption? You... mmph..."
Li San, with a look of panic on his face, covered Lin Qinghe's mouth to stop her from speaking further. He timidly apologized to the guard, "I'm sorry, brother guard, I'll take her away now, I'll take her away..."
Li San forcefully dragged Lin Qinghe away.
Lin Qinghe was so angry that she was dizzy. When Li San let go, she still wanted to rush to the yamen to argue with them. Li San quickly stopped her and advised, "Boss's wife, calm down quickly. If you go to the yamen to make a scene now and get arrested, what will happen to Shopkeeper You?"
Lin Qinghe instantly calmed down a bit, standing there with a dark expression.
She never expected that the shopkeeper of Drunken Fragrance Pavilion would actually collude with the county magistrate, the prefect, and others just to frame them.
How could she save You Rong now?
As Lin Qinghe was racking her brains for a solution, a carriage stopped in front of her. The person in the carriage lifted the curtain and got out. It was Xu Yiyi.
Lin Qinghe frowned and tried to walk past Xu Yiyi, but Xu Yiyi hesitated for a moment and said, "You... let's talk. Don't you want to save You Rong anymore?"
Lin Qinghe sneered, "Save You Rong? Speaking of which, the shopkeeper of Drunken Fragrance Pavilion is related to your family. You Rong was arrested and convicted without rhyme or reason. Isn't this partly due to the merit of your father, Prefect Xu?"
Xu Yiyi obviously knew about the collusion and couldn't meet Lin Qinghe's gaze due to guilt. "I... I know you don't want to see me, but if you genuinely want to save You Rong, sit down and talk with me properly."
Xu Yiyi dropped a sentence, "Let's go to the teahouse opposite to chat," and walked towards the teahouse first.
Lin Qinghe's expression was grim. She understood that Xu Yiyi had approached her with ill intentions, but thinking of You Rong, she still followed her into the teahouse.
After they sat down, Xu Yiyi exchanged a glance with the old woman beside her. Without beating around the bush, she directly stated, "I can save You Rong, but I have a condition. You agree to divorce You Rong and never see him again. Then I will ask my father to release You Rong."
As expected, Lin Qinghe sneered dismissively, "I will not divorce You Rong! Miss Xu, you should give up on this idea!"
"You!" Xu Yiyi glared at Lin Qinghe furiously. "Don't you love You Rong? You wicked woman, you're willing to watch him go to his death rather than save him!"
Facing Xu Yiyi's righteous accusation, Lin Qinghe's eyes only held mockery. "Yes! That's right. Even if You Rong dies, I won't divorce him. So, give up!"
"You!"
Xu Yiyi was so angry that her face contorted. After a long pause, she suppressed her anger and said, "I'll give you three days. If you change your mind, come to the Xu Mansion to find me. As long as you divorce You Rong and agree not to see him again, I can get him out immediately! Think about it carefully!"
After speaking, Xu Yiyi left with the old woman beside her.
Lin Qinghe sat in the teahouse, lowered her eyes, her gaze dark and unreadable, showing no trace of her emotions.