Mrs. Xie was talking to Yu Ru, while Mrs. Gu was chatting with Mrs. Qi and Old Lady Qi.

Ruyi was afraid that Mingyue would run around, so she pulled her to sit in a corner of the pavilion and told her the story of the ginseng doll.

When talking about following the red line to find the ginseng doll, Ruyi discovered two little kids of four or five years old lying on the left and right outside the pavilion, listening and laughing secretly with their hands covering their mouths.

By the time the troupe came to ask the old lady what she thought, Ruyi had just finished her story when the gong was about to sound.

The show was about to begin, and everyone stopped talking.

Madam Qi turned her head and saw a few children in the corner of the pavilion who were enjoying the meal. She smiled and called out, "Qun'er, Feng'er——"

It turned out to be the youngest son and grandson of Magistrate Qi. The two children heard Madam Qi calling them and ran over and shouted.

"Mother--"

"grandmother--"

Qi Qun and Qi Feng were dragged by Madam Qi to wish the old lady a happy birthday and to pay respects to several officials' wives.

Mingyue happily pulled Ruyi aside and asked her questions.

"Where did you hear this story? Do you know anything else?"

"There are a few more stories. I'll tell you later. The show is about to begin."

"Are you coming tomorrow?"

Ruyi looked in her mother's direction and seemed to have not heard her say that she would come the next day, so she said, "I won't come tomorrow."

Mingyue was just listening with great interest, so she said, "Then I'll go play with you tomorrow, okay?"

Ruyi hesitated for a moment and nodded, "Okay. But you have to tell your mother first, and then tell me if she agrees."

Mingyue quickly agreed: "Okay."

Ruyi had made her first friend in the capital city, and she was very excited. She was already thinking about telling her mother about it on the way back.

On the way back, Ruyi told her mother about this, and Yuru was also happy for her daughter.

Soon after arriving home, Mrs. Xie sent someone to deliver a visiting card to Ruyi on behalf of her daughter. Ruyi also wrote a formal reply for the first time.

The next day, Ruyi was waiting at the side door early, and soon Mingyue arrived in a carriage with two maids.

"Mingyue, you are here."

"As one wishes."

Ruyi took Mingyue inside.

Mingyue walked in and said curiously: "You live in the inner court, and my family has its own yard."

"Dad said that since my family is small, we don't need a big yard, so we just live in the inner court."

After Mingyue met Yuru inside, she went to her room with Ruyi. As soon as they entered, they saw the katydid cage on the table.

"Yeah, you're still playing with katydids."

Mingyue picked up the katydid cage and said, "I only saw my brother playing with it for a while, but then my father scolded him and stopped him from playing with it."

Ruyi was a little proud: "My father caught this for me."

"Your father allowed you to play with this, how nice." Mingyue studied the katydid carefully, and then said, "Hey, where did you hear the story you told yesterday? My grandmother told me stories about virgins and heroic women, so boring."

"I heard it from the servants at home, and my parents often told me stories, too."

"Your father also tells you stories." Mingyue said enviously, "My father only knows how to make me learn some random things. Please tell me a few more stories."

"Okay, what kind do you like?"

"Well... I haven't heard many interesting stories. Pick one you like and tell it to me."

Ruyi had heard quite a few stories before. Seeing that Mingyue liked them, she listed a few of her own favorites and asked her to choose and then told them to her.

The two of them chatted and laughed for half a day before Mingyue reluctantly left.

In the evening, Qin Yunhe came back from court and was very happy to hear that his daughter was having fun with others.

After that, Mingyue began to come to Ruyi to play often, and Ruyi would occasionally go out to play with Mingyue.

Soon, portraits of the remaining bandits arrived from the capital, and Qin Yunhe ordered his men to find painters to draw a few more copies and post them.

Not surprisingly, Pan Qing's portrait does not look that much like Pan Awu.

If the portrait of Pan Awu without a beard had not been posted at that time, and if the yamen runner had not happened to have seen Pan Awu, this matter would probably have been difficult to progress.

This case is of great importance and involves officials appointed by the imperial court. The trial may not be that simple and there is no result yet.

But just the posting of the portrait caused an uproar in the counties of Xu Ning Prefecture.

People knew about the Qushan bandits before, but they only knew that they occasionally robbed people and did not know that they had also killed people.

What I didn’t expect was that there were so many bandits.

Another thing is that the reward for the bandits has been increased this time. Although it is the busy farming season, people are eager to try.

However, it also led to many people who just looked similar being arrested and reported to the police, causing many ridiculous farces.

The situation lasted until June, and only five or six real bandits were captured. These five or six were all small fry, and there was no trace of Pan Qing at all.

On this day, Qin Yunhe was reading in his study when he faintly heard the drum beating outside.

Now, if the case is not serious, it will not be accepted. If the drum is sounded, it must be a grievance.

"Zhao Ping, go and see what's going on first."

Qin Yunhe stood up and asked Hesheng to help him change his clothes as he prepared to go to court.

After a while, Zhao Ping came back and said, "Sir, it's a woman beating the drum, saying that her husband was arrested by the Pingle County Magistrate as an accomplice of the bandits and thrown into jail. She begs you to help her."

Recently, there have been many farces where people were arrested as bandits or their accomplices. Most of them just went to the government office to explain the situation and prove their identity.

Sometimes the registrar can handle it, so why go to the government office and beat the drum to complain?

Qin Yunhe dressed neatly and walked quickly to the hall, where the yamen runners were already standing on both sides.

Qin Yunhe sat on the official seat and slammed the gavel. The bailiff shouted in a mighty voice and the court was officially opened.

"Who are you, and what grievances have you suffered that you would like me to help you with?"

The woman lying down looked to be in her forties and was elegantly dressed. It was obvious that she came from a wealthy family.

The woman kowtowed and said, "Sir, I am Yu Fang, and I would like to ask you to help my husband. My husband Yu Gan is the owner of Huiminglou in Pingle County. The Yu family has lived in Pingle County for generations, living a peaceful life and doing business in a responsible manner.

Who would have thought that a few days ago, someone reported that my husband was close to the bandit leader Pan Qing, and falsely accused my family of being accomplices of the bandits. The new magistrate of Pingle County arrested my husband, father-in-law, and my son and put them in the county jail without asking any questions.

"Then what is the relationship between your husband and Pan Qing?"

"My Lord, my husband and Pan Qing are just drinking buddies. Huiming Tower welcomes guests from all walks of life, so we come into contact with all kinds of people. Naturally, my husband has made friends with all kinds of people in Pingle County.

Especially Pan Qing, he used to be the head of Pingle County, so my husband would naturally try to curry favor with him. With this little bit of friendship, even those unreasonable people would give him some face.

Also, because our Huiminglou is one of the most famous restaurants in Pingle County, the county magistrate, county magistrate, and other officials usually love to come to our restaurant to entertain guests and friends.

But I swear to God, my husband had no idea that Pan Qing was a bandit, and he never thought that the county magistrate and the county magistrate would be involved.

My Lord, please understand that the property of our Shan Hui Ming Lou is enough for our family to live comfortably, so why would we do such a job that would cost us our lives? "

It was Huiming Tower where Zhao Youwei entertained Qin Yunhe. Qin Yunhe even lamented that Huiming Tower was even more magnificent than Qingyun Tower in Buyeo County.

"Have you said these words to the current Pingle County Magistrate?"

"Sir, my father-in-law and son were arrested because they went to the county office to ask the magistrate to give justice to my husband. Now everyone in Pingle County is in danger, and the prison in Pingle County Office is almost full. Anyone who has the slightest connection with Pan Qing or the former magistrate, county magistrate, or chief clerk has been arrested. Family members who go to appeal for justice are also arrested.

Adults would probably laugh if I told them that. Even the tofu shop owner who delivered tofu to Pan Qing's family was arrested. It's funny that the tofu shop owner never spoke to Pan Qing.

The county magistrate only tortured people during the trial, hoping to force them to confess. The Pingle County jail was like a hell on earth."

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