"You audacious commoner, do you know your crime?" the county magistrate asked her sternly.
"This humble one does not, may Your Excellency enlighten me," Fu Gui's wife stammered, swallowing with difficulty.
"How dare you deceive this official! You claimed you hid the gold in Ouyang Xue's pillow, and that the other party would absolutely not discover it. Yet, when my men searched, they found nothing." The magistrate stared at her intently, not missing her slightest expression, to see if she was telling the truth.
"If you gave me a hundred guts, I still wouldn't dare deceive Your Excellency. I truly placed the gold in her pillow. If Your Excellency does not believe me, I can swear to heaven." Fu Gui's wife became anxious upon hearing this and quickly raised her hand, uttering a solemn oath to the heavens.
"Were you seen by anyone when you hid the gold?" the magistrate pondered, then pressed further.
At first, Fu Gui's wife wanted to deny it, but then, as if remembering something, she said uncertainly, "I don't know if Lan Yin saw me. Her gaze upon me today was rather strange."
The magistrate sighed and waved her away. He surmised that, just as his subordinates had suggested, the maid named Lan Yin must have seen something and told Ouyang Xue, who had then preemptively moved the gold.
But the problem was, he needed to retrieve that gold now. If possible, he truly wished he could tie Ouyang Xue up, torture her severely, and interrogate her thoroughly.
Thus, in the following nights, Wu Caiwei could hear various noises emanating from different parts of the house.
At first, it was tolerable, and she even secretly mocked the magistrate for his wicked deeds. However, as time went on, she grew annoyed. After all, with rats scurrying through her home every night, she couldn't sleep soundly, fearing for her safety. The next day, she was utterly exhausted.
So, the fourth time this happened, she directly walked out of her room, feigning an accidental encounter. The moment their eyes met, she immediately shrieked loudly: "Ah, catch the thief! Catch the thief!"
The masked man on the opposite side, seeing that he had been discovered, tried to disengage. But no matter how he struggled, his hand wouldn't budge. He couldn't fathom how this woman possessed such strength; even a martial artist couldn't move him an inch.
Her screams, piercing the profound silence of the night, were incredibly jarring. Neighbors lit up their lamps, coming out to investigate the situation.
Lan Yin was also awakened. Seeing the scene, she quickly grabbed a nearby stick and began hitting the thief, shouting indignantly, "How dare you steal into our house! I'll beat you to death!"
The neighbors also knocked on their doors, asking, "What's happening? Is there anything we can help with?"
"Lan Yin, go open the door." Wu Caiwei deliberately wanted to escalate the matter. Upon hearing the knocking, she instructed Lan Yin to open the door. Weren't they always fond of engaging in petty thievery behind closed doors? Well, now they would be exposed to the light of day. Let's see if they dared to do so again.
Lan Yin immediately obeyed the command and opened the door. Soon, the courtyard was filled with people.
Several strong men even produced ropes, tied the thief up thoroughly, and took over Wu Caiwei's task.
"Having lived here for so many years, this is the first time I've encountered a theft. If he could steal into Madam Ouyang's place today, he'll definitely steal from our homes next. We cannot tolerate this." One man thought of his own wife and children at home. If he were to leave for a day or two, and there were thieves casing the neighborhood, what would happen? The thought alone made him uneasy.
Everyone nodded in agreement, clearly sharing his sentiment.
Wu Caiwei, at the opportune moment, displayed her image of a delicate woman to the fullest, retreating into Lan Yin's embrace, trembling.
Seeing her in such a state, the crowd assumed that her earlier success in apprehending the thief was merely a fluke. They felt sympathetic and didn't want to leave the thief in the courtyard, considering there were only two women inside and out.
A pair of brothers volunteered, offering to keep the thief at their home for the night and deliver him to the magistrate first thing in the morning.
Wu Caiwei paid no further attention to the matter. The two brothers were indeed righteous. The next day, they indeed reported the thief to the county magistrate. The magistrate immediately sent them home but did not specify a date for the trial. Naturally, the case eventually fizzled out.
They inquired about it periodically, but each time, the constables offered various excuses to fob them off.
Wu Caiwei knew this would be the outcome and never held out any hope, nor felt any disappointment. What did bring her some comfort was that from then on, those individuals became much more restrained and no longer bothered her. She could finally sleep soundly.
Not long after this period of peace, problems arose at the restaurant again. When Wu Caiwei arrived, a commotion was in full swing, with many layers of onlookers surrounding the establishment.
"We dined at your restaurant, and there were flies and cockroaches inside! You merely apologized and replaced the dish. I have to ask, can this food even be eaten? Is it extremely unsanitary? Aren't you afraid of sickening people?" a young man said indignantly to the shopkeeper, speaking with great fervor.
"Please calm yourself, sir. Our restaurant's kitchen is exceptionally clean, and there's no possibility of flies or cockroaches. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to inspect it," the shopkeeper said with a smile, recognizing that these individuals clearly meant trouble and were trying to frame the restaurant.
"Then what do you mean? Are you implying that I brought the flies and cockroaches myself, deliberately trying to frame you? Do I have that much free time? I came here to eat; I'm not short of a few coins. Who are you looking down on?" another man exclaimed, slapping the table and standing up. He pointed at the shopkeeper's nose.
"That's not what I meant. I can assure you with utmost certainty that our establishment is very clean. I don't know where the cockroaches and flies came from. Since you are not satisfied with our compensation, then tell me, what should we do?" The shopkeeper felt a surge of anger seeing them act like the guilty party proclaiming innocence, but he maintained a cordial demeanor, especially with so many spectators.
Of course, having been in this business for so long, he knew some local power brokers and intended to pay them a sum of money to teach these two a lesson. Let them have their moment of triumph for now.
"Your restaurant closes down. That's all the satisfaction I need. Then, no one will eat unhygienic food, and no one will get into trouble," the man blurted out without hesitation.
"I see now. You're just here to cause trouble. Those cockroaches and flies were brought by you, with the sole purpose of forcing us to shut down because we've taken away a significant portion of your business," the shopkeeper, realizing the situation couldn't be resolved amicably, directly exposed their true intentions.
"When doing things, one must have evidence. You claim we are from such-and-such place? How hilarious." The two men were taken aback by how quickly he had deduced their identities, though their unease was not visible on the surface.
"May I ask which faction you two gentlemen belong to? I might pay a visit someday," the shopkeeper inquired with a veiled threat.