After the court was dismissed, Xu Xian was taken away by the bailiffs.
Li Gongfu persuaded his wife to go back home, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was the one who personally ordered people to arrest his brother-in-law that day. He did nothing wrong in public, but he felt guilty in private. Fortunately, the county magistrate had a lenient sentence today. Although Hanwen was eventually exiled to Suzhou, he saved his life, which was a blessing in disguise. After asking for leave from the county magistrate, Li Gongfu escorted Xu Xian out of the city. When he got outside the city, he greeted the officials who escorted Xu Xian, pulled Xu Xian aside, sighed, and said, "Hanwen, to be honest, I, your brother-in-law, don't believe that you have the courage to steal silver from the treasury. Even if you have the courage, you don't have the ability! But then again, who made you catch the person red-handed? You also know that although your brother-in-law is a rough man, I have never done anything to bend the law for personal gain, so I can only arrest you. Hanwen, you won't blame me, right?"
Xu Xian took a deep breath and said, "My brother-in-law is just doing his job impartially. Besides, I am just his brother-in-law. It is only right for my brother-in-law to sacrifice his relatives for the sake of justice."
Li Gongfu saw that although Xu Xian said he didn't mind, he didn't look at him angrily. The atmosphere was awkward for a while, and he didn't know what to say to him. The two were silent when they heard someone shouting, "Mr. Xu—"
"Xiao Jia!" Xu Xian looked in the direction of the voice. When the other person came closer, he took a closer look and found that it was a clerk in the store of Manager Wang. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why are you here?"
Xiaojia panted and said, "Mr. Xu, it's like this. When the shopkeeper heard that you were going to be exiled to Suzhou, he immediately wrote a letter and asked me to bring it to you." Xiaojia took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Xu Xian, and then said, "There are many patients in the store, so the shopkeeper can't come. He asked me to tell you that when you arrive in Suzhou, you should take this letter to the Jirentang Herbal Medicine Shop in Wujia Lane, Suzhou, and find the owner there, Wu Renjie. The shopkeeper said that he and Wu Renjie are sworn brothers, and Wu Renjie will take good care of you after seeing this letter."
Xu Xian held the letter, his heart warmed, and he said gratefully: "Xiao Jia, please thank Master for me."
Xiaojia nodded and said, "I will. Mr. Xu, please take care of yourself."
Li Gongfu sighed secretly, walked to the side, pulled the official aside, and asked in a low voice: "Brother, do you know where my brother-in-law will be exiled to in Suzhou?"
The officer said, "Xujiang Posthouse."
Li Gongfu nodded and asked, "Brother, do you know anyone there?"
The head official thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I have a cousin who works at Xujiang Posthouse."
Li Gongfu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said happily, "That's great. Please ask him to take good care of my brother-in-law." He took out some small change from his pocket, stuffed it into the hands of the official, and begged, "Thank you for everything. Take these for the road, and please take good care of me along the way."
The officer hurriedly declined, "Captain Li, what are you doing? Xu Xian is your brother-in-law, and he is one of our own. We will take care of him even if you don't tell us."
Li Gongfu patted the official's shoulder and said, "Brother, I feel relieved when you say that. You must accept this money. You can buy some tea with your brothers on the way. Besides, the journey is long, and I can't let you spend money on your own."
Having said that, the officer could no longer refuse. He took the silver, put it in his arms, patted his chest, and said generously: "Okay, Li, don't worry. I promise that your brother-in-law will not suffer any grievances on the way. As for that thing -" He pointed to the shackles on Xu Xian's neck and said: "I will take it off when we are on the road."
Li Gongfu clasped his fists and said, "That means we have more brothers."
"You're welcome, you're welcome." The officer waved his hand and said, "Okay, Li, it's getting late. We have to hurry." He waved to the others and shouted, "Brothers, let's go."
Xu Xian and others walked towards Suzhou together. Li Gongfu watched everyone's figures disappear from his sight before turning around and slowly leaving.
"Sister, Xu Xian was exiled to Suzhou. Do you want to go with him?"
Two golden lights flashed, and Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing appeared at the place where Li Gongfu had just stood.
Xiaoqing glanced in the direction Xu Xian left, then turned her head to stare at Bai Suzhen beside her. There was no expression on her face and her tone was calm and without any fluctuations.
Bai Suzhen frowned and said thoughtfully, "Qing'er, I don't know what to do now. Although we saved Xu Xian's life, he was exiled to Suzhou. His future is unpredictable. He might become depressed because of the theft of silver from the treasury. If that's the case, how can I ignore it? Qing'er, I have made up my mind. Xu Xian's ambition is to become a doctor and save the world. If I help him realize his wish, it can be regarded as repaying his kindness in the past, and it will be acceptable to the Bodhisattva."
Xiao Qing's heart moved, and she blurted out, "You mean as long as I help Xu Xian become a famous doctor, I will have nothing to do with him from now on?"
Bai Suzhen sighed and said, "I have nothing to do with him, but I have to repay him because I owe him a favor. Qing'er, you asked me that day how I would repay Xu Xian's kindness, and whether I would agree to whatever he asked. I didn't answer you that day, but now I can tell you clearly that I have never thought of having any relationship with Xu Xian. Although he saved my life, it doesn't mean that I have to...I have to marry him." Bai Suzhen's voice suddenly lowered, and her expression was uncomfortable for a moment. She took a deep breath, looked at Xiaoqing, and said meaningfully: "So, Qing'er, you don't have to target Xu Xian too much in the future."
Xiao Qing was stunned, frowned and asked: "Sister, what do you mean?"