On the second day after the Gu family banquet, Ji Zhifei, the young master of the Ji family, took the initiative to go to the government and confessed his crimes of hiring a killer to kill people and deliberately seizing the shop. The prefect immediately used this as a clue to conduct an in-depth investigation. It took only seven days to catch the real murderer and clear Boss Chang's name.
On the day that Boss Chang was released from prison, Qin Zhao and Jing Li went to the government office to pick him up.
It has been about half a month since he was imprisoned, but he looks like he has aged several years, with many white hairs growing on his temples.
The prison conditions in the government office were not very good. An ordinary person would be exhausted after living there for a few days, not to mention that Boss Chang had also experienced a family tragedy. Fortunately, Qin Zhao had asked Gu Changzhou to tell the prefect that he hoped to treat Boss Chang well, so he did not suffer from any serious illness.
As soon as Boss Chang saw the two, he bowed to them solemnly and said, "Thank you for saving my life."
He didn't know much information in prison, but from Qin Zhao beating the drum to protest his injustice and demanding a retrial of his case to Ji Zhifei's surrender later, it was not difficult to guess that it was these two people who helped.
If they hadn't intervened, he would have been executed for murder by now.
"We didn't do anything, you're welcome, Boss Chang." Jing Li helped Boss Chang up, and handed him a lucky charm from his arms, "This is what I got for you at the temple yesterday. Wear it to get rid of bad luck."
Boss Chang said gratefully, "Sir, you are so thoughtful."
"As for this item, it should be returned to its original owner."
Qin Zhao handed him back a land deed.
After Ji Zhifei confessed his guilt, the deed was used as evidence in court. Now that the real murderer has been arrested, the prefect gave it to Qin Zhao and asked him to return it to Boss Chang.
When Boss Chang saw this thing, his eyes suddenly turned red.
A small land deed led to so many problems and even cost his own brother's life.
Even if the real murderer is caught now, it can't save that life.
Boss Chang was overwhelmed with emotions. He realized that he had lost his composure, turned his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then took the deed back and said, "Thank you, thank you."
Qin Zhao hosted Boss Chang for a simple meal.
During the dinner, Qin Zhao asked, "What are Boss Chang's plans for next?"
"What else can you plan? Life has to go on." Boss Chang smiled bitterly, "Just go and pack up and reopen the business as soon as possible. In the future, behave yourself and don't cause any more trouble."
"Don't say that." Jing Li said, "This is not your fault."
"But this matter was indeed caused by me." He turned his head and looked at the clear blue sky outside the window. "Mr. Zhaoli, I am also a scholar. I don't have the talent like Mr. Qin, but I believe that I still have the integrity and character of a scholar, and I am unwilling to compromise. But now I realize that those things are not worth mentioning in this world."
"These days I have been thinking, if I had agreed when the Ji family wanted to buy the shop, would things have been completely different if I had taken the money and brought my brother back home?"
"What a pity..."
Boss Chang closed his eyes and said, "On the day I was imprisoned, I never thought I could come out alive. But now that I'm out, I'll spend the rest of my days well, and I'll live up to your kindness to me."
Jing Li wanted to persuade him again, but was gently stopped by Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao raised his glass and drank tea instead of wine: "There are still many days to come, I wish Boss Chang a prosperous business and everything goes well."
"Thank you for your kind words." Boss Chang raised his glass and clinked it with his, smiling, "I heard in prison that Mr. Zhaoli's new book is selling very well, and many people are waiting for the reprint. I will go and get it as soon as my shop reopens."
After dinner, Boss Chang said goodbye to the two and went towards the bookstore.
Qin Zhao took Jing Li to the front.
There was a shop of the Ji family on the way to the Ji family's home. The silk and satin shop that used to be prosperous was now deserted, and passers-by would take a detour to avoid it when they saw it from a distance.
Ji Zhifei's affairs have spread throughout the city in the past few days, and the reputation of the Ji family has been severely damaged.
I heard that Mr. Ji fell ill on the day Ji Zhifei was imprisoned. The Ji family, once a wealthy family, no one knows what to do in the future.
Jing Li looked at the deserted silk shop, feeling a little dazed.
Qin Zhao asked him: "What are you thinking about?"
"It's okay." Jing Li lowered his head and whispered, "I always thought that finding out the truth and bringing the real murderer to justice should be a very happy thing. But I don't know why... I just can't feel happy."
"Because the dead cannot be resurrected." Qin Zhao said, "Whether it's revenge or justice, only life has meaning."
Jing Li remained silent.
"But your efforts are not meaningless." Qin Zhao held Jing Li's hand tightly and said gently, "Think about it, if you didn't intervene this time, how could Boss Chang leave the government office alive? You saved a life, don't let your imagination run wild."
"Yeah." Jing Li responded softly.
Jing Li understood these principles, but it was the first time for him to face such a thing directly, and the first time for him to directly experience the injustice of this world to ordinary people. This shock was even more overwhelming than reading about it in history books.
Jing Li took a breath silently and suppressed some emotions in his heart.
"Qin Zhao, I think I understand why you insist on going to the capital." Before entering the door, Jing Li suddenly said, "In this world, if people don't learn to move forward, they can only choose to endure silently when being bullied, right?"
Qin Zhao paused.
Jing Li tilted his head to look at the tall and thin man beside him and blinked: "So, in order not to be bullied, we have to work harder."
Qin Zhao smiled and said, "You are right."
"In order not to be bullied, we have to work harder, that's it."
Ji Zhifei's murder case caused a sensation in the city. Not long after, the government posted a notice that the real murderer was sentenced to be executed in the autumn, but Ji Zhifei was sentenced to hard labor because he took the initiative to confess his crime, saving his life.
A few days later, the master of the Ji family resigned from Gu Changzhou on the grounds of health. He sold all the shops of the Ji family and never did business again.
The Ji family, which was once so prosperous in the capital city, gradually disappeared.
As for Mr. Chang, he really did as he promised and soon reopened the bookstore and reprinted the first and second volumes of "Dream Talk Notes". But this time, readers were surprised to find that the cover of "Dream Talk Notes" was different from the past.
On the light blue cover, the title of the book is no longer simply printed, but replaced with beautiful calligraphy.
The handwriting is smooth, vigorous and powerful.
Most readers are connoisseurs of valuables and were attracted by the handwriting of the book title at first sight. For a time, the sales of the storybook increased several times.
For a long time, the people in the streets and alleys of the city were discussing which great man wrote the few words on the cover of the book "Dream Talk Notes" and whether it was Mr. Zhaoli.
Jing Li was still somewhat dissatisfied with this.
"My limelight has been completely stolen by you." Jing Li said.
When Qin Zhao was talking about this, he was reading a book in the study. Seeing his young husband coming over to him with a fierce look, he had to put down the book and said helplessly: "What should I do? Ask Boss Chang to remove all the new editions?"
Jing Li groaned and shook his head: "Forget it."
It was he who suggested asking Qin Zhao to write the inscription. Is it his fault that it was written too well
Jing Li didn't know that this was the result of Qin Zhao's restraint. You know, the calligraphy and paintings he created during his reign are still widely circulated in the literati circle and imitated by many people.
Qin Zhao thought about this and asked with a smile, "Then will we still use this cover for the next volume?"
"Of course." Jing Li said angrily.
You know, Dream Talk is not only attractive because of its cover. After its reprint, this book is hard to come by in the city.
The book cover written by Qin Zhao is at most the icing on the cake.
He is not afraid of being overshadowed.
Qin Zhao patted the seat beside him, asked Jing Li to sit down, and hugged him into his arms: "If you really care so much, why don't you just admit your identity?"
"Trouble." Jing Li took a piece of dessert from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "At this point, I can't even finish reading the letters sent to Boss Chang's bookstore. If I really reveal my identity, it will be endless."
Qin Zhao said: "That's right, my Xiaoyu is now considered a celebrity in the city."
Mr. Zhaoli is in very good spirits now, no worse than Qin Zhao, the third-ranked scholar.
Otherwise, can he really keep his identity secret
Qin Zhao had some doubts in his heart.
In the case of Ji Zhifei, a few people did know Jing Li's true identity. It was Qin Zhao who asked Gu Changzhou to intervene and temporarily cover up the truth.
But now that "Mr. Zhaoli"'s reputation is growing, it's probably only a matter of time before the news leaks out.
Qin Zhao was about to remind Jing Li, but was interrupted by the latter: "I won't bother you anymore. You will take part in the autumn examination in a few months. You should study hard. I will take my son to play on the street."
It was already the end of March, and the Autumn Examination in August was only four or five months away. The Autumn Examination was hosted by the Imperial Academy, and the difficulty and competition were much greater than the provincial examination. Even Qin Zhao could not handle it as casually as before.
Jing Li slipped out of Qin Zhao's arms and took away an extra piece of cake.
As soon as I walked out of the room, I was pounced on by the little guy.
"Daddy... Daddy!" The little fish hugged Jing Li's thighs and looked up at him softly.
Jing Li shared the cakes he had just taken with him and said, "Dad is studying, let's not disturb him. Daddy, take me out to play."
Little Fish: "Okay!"
Little Fish's progress in learning to speak has finally accelerated recently. He can already speak some short sentences intermittently, and his pronunciation is much clearer.
The kid's voice was soft and sticky, so cute. Jing Li rubbed the kid's head and led him out.
The weather in the city is warm in spring, and there are more people walking on the streets.
Jing Li led the little fish cub towards the lake and passed by a tea shop. These small vendors in the prefecture city have been doing the same business for ten years and are quite familiar with Jing Li.
Seeing Jing Li coming, the vendor poked his head out of the shop and said, "Xiao Li is going out today, would you like to come in and sit down and have a cup of tea?"
Jing Li just wanted to take the little fish cub for a walk by the lake. Just as he was about to shake his head, he heard someone at the stall exclaim, "Did you see? The Jiangling tabloid said that they know the true identity of 'Mr. Zhao Li'!"
Jing Li tilted his head to look.
The man looked familiar, he should be a neighbor living nearby.
He was holding a tabloid in his hand.
The tabloid was called Jiangling Tabloid, and it was published every five days, covering all the news happening in the city. The Jiangling Tabloid was nominally privately run, but in reality it was secretly supported by the government and was highly respected by the people of the city.
Jing Li didn't have the habit of reading newspapers in the past, so he became interested after hearing what he said: "What does the top say?"
"Look here." The man simply spread out the tabloid and pointed it to Jing Li. "The author of this article said that he recently interviewed many people and has basically figured out Mr. Zhao Li's true identity. It will be made public soon."
"Tsk, who wouldn't say something like that?"
Someone at the next table interrupted, "In the past month, I don't know how many people have claimed to know Mr. Zhao Li's true identity, but in fact, there is still no trace of him."
"I think so, too." The man reading the newspaper also laughed and said, "And look at this author, his name is Qingshan Jun, we have never heard of him, and we don't know where he came from."
"You are doing this on purpose to attract attention!"
“That’s right!”
Everyone was talking at once, but a clear young man interrupted and said, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Jing Li looked over with a warm voice.
He was a handsome young man, about the same age as Jing Li, with very fair skin and slightly feminine features.
No, there is no cinnabar mole on the face.
Shuang'er's cinnabar mole is not always on the face, so it cannot be used to judge the gender of the person. But from the appearance and voice, Jing Li can almost conclude that this person should be a Shuang'er.
The young man sat at a seat on the outside of the tea shop, with a pot of tea and some cakes wrapped in oil paper in front of him. It seemed that he had been sitting here for a long time.
It's just that no one noticed him because he was so quiet.
The man who had raised the question just now asked: "How do you know we are talking nonsense?"
The boy's cheeks flushed red when he was asked this question: "You don't know the truth, what else can you say but nonsense?"
"Oh? So you know it?" the man asked, "Could it be that you are Qingshan Jun, or that you are actually Mr. Zhaoli?"
“I… I’m not…” the young man hurriedly avoided the sight and said in a low voice.
Everyone snorted, laughed for a while, and then ignored him.
Jing Li also didn't take this matter to heart and was about to take the little fish away.
But the latter did not move.
The kid stood there, looking at the exquisite pastries the boy spread out on the table, and blinked innocently at Jing Li.
Jing Li had never seen those cakes in the capital city. Each one was small and exquisite, crystal clear, and skillfully molded into the shape of a little rabbit. They looked delicious.
Jing Li couldn't help it and swallowed subconsciously.