"Ah Shou, do you think I'm smart? I knew that if there were only a few witnesses, a few victims, and a group of indignant people, those old men would definitely not admit their crimes. So I specifically asked Lao Xianyu if there were any respected old scholars in Cangzhou City... preferably a teacher, and then I would personally go and invite him!"
"At first, old man Xu thought I was too nosy for a woman to show up in public, but I almost choked him with a few words! I told him directly that such a big thing happened in Cangzhou, and the rich and powerful were so greedy and shameless. God knows whether the scholars from Cangzhou will be implicated in the future provincial examinations, and God knows whether the provincial education commissioner will look at the Cangzhou scholars differently."
"That Mr. Xu was really scared! He had failed in the imperial examinations all his life and had lost the ambition to take the imperial examination, but he always hoped that the disciples he had spent countless efforts to teach would have a bright future, right? If he was really implicated by these few tycoons, wouldn't he be so scared that he would vomit blood? You don't know, when he saw the body being salvaged from the pond, he almost vomited yellow bile!"
"I think he was really pissed off. Grandpa Ge once told me that among scholars there are hypocritical, shameless, pedantic, noble, and indifferent people... But most people at least know the difference between right and wrong, and still have a sense of shame. Mr. Xu was really frightened by what he saw and heard, so he took the lead to come forward tonight."
"If the other scholars in Cangzhou City just stand by and watch, they will be criticized and scolded to death by the people! They have read the books of sages for so many years, but they don't know how to make decisions for the people. What are they for?"
Zhang Shou sat there quietly, listening to Zhu Ying talking with increasing excitement, his face filled with a red glow of joy, the joy of having done a good thing bursting out from within, almost infecting the whole room. He couldn't help but chuckle, and when he saw Zhu Tingfang on the side, although he shook his head helplessly, he did not hide the approval on his face at all.
He immediately said, "Yingying, you have really thought it through this time. If you hadn't invited Mr. Xu here, these stubborn old men would probably have continued to hold out. Now that they are in a state of confusion, they can't get away with it. I have already ordered people to spread the story of Mr. Xu scolding the hypocritical good man, so that the public opinion in the literati will naturally know how to turn."
Zhu Ying smiled brightly, and then looked at Zhu Tingfang, with an expression that begged for praise, praise, and the more praise the better. Facing such a sister, Brother Zhu could only sigh and said, "Although the reason you threatened Mr. Xu was too straightforward, but considering the good end result, you did the right thing this time."
Zhu Ying snorted unhappily: "Brother, can't you praise me sincerely like Ah Shou did?"
"Praise? If you meet someone who's a little tougher, not only might this trick not work, but it might even get you into trouble. How dare you boast?" Zhu Tingfang couldn't help but scold him again. Seeing that Zhu Ying simply hid behind Zhang Shou's chair and glared at him with her chin slightly raised, he could only glare at Zhang Shou and said, "Don't indulge her like this in the future, or you'll suffer!"