Fan Chang Yu immediately turned and barked at Jin Lao San’s group, “What nonsense are you shouting?”

Jin Lao San laughed awkwardly. “Isn’t he the live-in husband you recruited?”

Fan Chang Yu choked on her words and instinctively glanced at Xie Zheng.

His expression remained calm and indifferent, seemingly unaffected by Jin Lao San’s words. Only then did she quietly relax before continuing, “He is indeed the husband I recruited into the family, but why are all of you calling him ‘Young Master’ too?”

Jin Lao San and the others instantly lowered their heads obediently and stopped talking, looking like a group of little daughters-in-law rejected by a vicious mother-in-law.

Seeing that, Fan Chang Yu’s temples twitched.

She waved them away. “I only brought you all to confront the Wang family today to seek justice. Now that justice has been obtained, all of you should go home. Don’t do things like bullying people ever again.”

Jin Lao San’s group murmured their agreement and left.

Fan Chang Yu then glanced again at Xie Zheng, who stood not far away. For some reason, she felt a little guilty, but after thinking about it, she hadn’t done anything evil, so she folded the paper in her hand, straightened her back, and walked over.

“What are you doing here?”

Snowflakes settled onto Xie Zheng’s dark hair, making his features appear even colder and more refined.

“The essays I wrote a few days ago sold quite well. The bookstore owner appreciated them and invited me out for tea. I heard you went to the Wang family shop, so I came to take a look.”

Fan Chang Yu looked surprised.

“To earn the appreciation of a bookstore owner, your writing must be truly impressive!”

Xie Zheng hadn’t expected someone who appeared so unlearned to understand such things. Lowering his gaze to conceal his thoughts, he said, “I fled from Chongzhou, so I understand the war there and the hardships of the common people better than most. Even if my writing is shallow, it’s still something Lin’an Town hasn’t heard before, which is why the bookstore owner valued it.”

Then he added, clearly trying to shift the topic, “How did things with the Wang family turn out?”

Fan Chang Yu had none of his complicated thoughts and noticed nothing unusual.

As they walked, she enthusiastically recounted what had happened at Wang Family Shop.

“…I didn’t even hit him. I just kicked over their chopping board and used my butcher knife to cut off his hair, and he was already scared out of his wits…”

Halfway through, she abruptly stopped talking and glanced at Xie Zheng before closing her mouth.

The entire way, Xie Zheng had simply listened to her animated storytelling without interrupting. Seeing her suddenly fall silent, he finally turned his head and asked, “Why did you stop?”

He truly was exceptionally handsome.

His refined features looked as though they had been painted with ink. When he lowered his eyes slightly to look at someone, the usual impatience lingering at the corners of his eyes disappeared, giving him an oddly cold yet gentle appearance.

Meeting his gaze, Fan Chang Yu suddenly felt embarrassed.

She scratched her head and asked, “Do you also think I’m too crude?”

Xie Zheng’s brows lifted slightly, seemingly surprised by the question.

Then he said, “No.”

Before his downfall, he probably would have thought so.

But not now.

Only those who never worried about food and clothing had the leisure to care about whether something was crude or elegant. For people struggling just to survive, all they thought about was their next meal.

To judge poor commoners by the standards pursued by the wealthy was truly the same as saying, “Why don’t they eat meat porridge?”

Hearing his answer, Fan Chang Yu curled her lips into a smile.

She didn’t care whether he truly meant it or was just comforting her. She kicked a small stone along the road and, as though she had been lonely for too long and suddenly wanted someone to talk to, muttered almost to herself:

“In the past, my father never allowed me to fight in front of outsiders. My mother wouldn’t even let me slaughter pigs. She said that if a girl did such things, people would gossip about her. Once I married Song Yan, even if he didn’t mind, others would still mock and despise me behind my back.”

“For more than ten years, I kept restraining myself. Although I was still far from being a proper noble lady, I at least had a good reputation in town. But after my parents passed away, I had no choice but to start slaughtering pigs for a living, and I’ve even used sticks and fists to teach people lessons a few times. By now, the people in town probably see me as some kind of she-devil.”

As she spoke, she waved the debt collection recruitment paper from the bank in her hand and joked half-heartedly, “If I ever stop slaughtering pigs, I can always go collect debts for people instead!”

Xie Zheng naturally understood how important a woman’s reputation was.

She already carried the reputation of being a cursed lone star, and now she was known for being fierce as well. Even if the townspeople said nothing to her face, they were certainly gossiping behind her back.

Perhaps the woman before him was truly broad-minded.

Or perhaps she was simply joking to ease her own bitterness.

A snowflake landed on his eyelashes and melted almost instantly into tiny droplets. His dark eyes looked toward Fan Chang Yu as he said in a lazy yet serious tone:

“Then go collect debts.”

Fan Chang Yu had been kicking another stone along the roadside. Hearing that, her foot slipped, and she nearly did a full split on the icy road. Fortunately, a hand like an iron clamp grabbed her arm in time.

Her eyes widened.

“You’re actually encouraging me to do something so immoral?”

Half her arm was still supported by Xie Zheng. Even through the thick winter clothing, his fingers could feel how slender her arm was.

Yet it wasn’t weak and soft like noodles, the kind that invited bullying. Instead, it resembled the forelimb of a tiger or leopard—lean but powerful.

Combined with her widened almond eyes, she looked even more like a dusty little leopard still trying to bare its fangs in warning.

Suddenly, his palm tingled slightly through the layers of cloth.

Xie Zheng frowned and withdrew his hand from her arm, shifting his gaze away.

“I meant that you shouldn’t fear what others say.”

Fan Chang Yu pondered his words for a moment before finally understanding what he meant.

The last trace of gloom in her heart immediately vanished.

She quickly caught up with the man walking ahead on his cane.

“Your leg’s still crippled. I’ll call an ox cart to take you home!”

“……”

“No—wait, that’s not what I meant! I meant your leg injury still hasn’t healed!”

……

The two of them rode back on an ox cart.

Along the way, Fan Chang Yu also stopped by the tailor shop to pick up the winter clothes she’d ordered for the family to wear during the New Year, and bought a packet of malt candy for Chang Ning.

They finally returned to their home in the western district before dark.

But when they went to Aunt Zhao’s house to pick up Chang Ning, Aunt Zhao informed them that constables from the county office had come that afternoon, ordering Fan Chang Yu to appear in court three days later.

After all this time, Fan Da’s lawsuit had finally reached trial.

Fan Chang Yu initially didn’t think much of it, but Aunt Zhao looked deeply worried.

“The constable who delivered the message works under Constable Wang. He let slip that Fan Da has been visiting the county clerk quite often lately. That clerk happens to be Butcher Guo’s uncle. Butcher Guo had old grudges with your father. Originally, since you recruited a husband into the family, the property should’ve been awarded to you. But now that the clerk is interfering, I’m afraid at least half the property will end up being divided to your eldest uncle.”

Fan Chang Yu hadn’t expected those two troublemakers to join forces. She frowned immediately.

“How could they possibly give half to Fan Da?”

Aunt Zhao sighed.

“When officials judge cases, isn’t it all decided by their own mouths? How can ordinary folk like us understand the law better than they do? And Fan Da found the clerk. Even if you hire a legal advocate, no one would dare take your case and offend the clerk.”

Fan Chang Yu’s brows tightened at once.

Though the clerk held no official rank, he was effectively the second most powerful person in the yamen. Combined with Butcher Guo’s old grudge against her father, she definitely wouldn’t fare well during the court hearing three days later.

Even if she wanted to pull strings, nobody she knew outranked the clerk unless she somehow reached the county magistrate himself—which was pure fantasy.

Not to mention her family had no connection with the magistrate, but considering the magistrate wanted Song Yan as his son-in-law while she herself was Song Yan’s former fiancée, she’d already be fortunate if the magistrate didn’t deliberately make things harder for her.

After thinking it over, Fan Chang Yu felt as though dark clouds had gathered over her head.

“Auntie, do you know how Butcher Guo became enemies with my father?”

She knew Butcher Guo had never gotten along with her family, but she truly didn’t know the details of their grudge.

Aunt Zhao sighed again.

“That was over ten years ago. Most of the shop owners on that street have changed since then, which is why no one mentioned it while you were doing business there.”

“At the time, Butcher Guo was just a street thug. Every merchant on that street had to pay him protection money, or hooligans would come make trouble. After your father bought a shop there, he refused to pay. The hooligans failed to cause trouble and instead got beaten up by your father. They confessed that Butcher Guo had sent them, so your father reported him to the authorities. The county magistrate back then truly was an honest official. Not only did he have Butcher Guo beaten, he even locked him up for over half a year. That’s how the grudge between your father and Butcher Guo began. Now the Guo family has a relative working as the county clerk, and since you’re involved in a lawsuit, they’ll definitely use this chance to make things difficult for you.”

With such an old grudge involved, the matter truly seemed hopeless.

After returning home, Fan Chang Yu remained deeply frowning the entire time.

After dinner, Chang Ning fell asleep, but Fan Chang Yu continued sitting alone beside the fire pit, using a broken stick from the fire to poke and scribble at the ground.

The cage containing the gyrfalcon sat beside the fire pit as well. After being smoked by the fire all day, its feathers had become several shades grayer.

The entire main hall was silent except for the occasional crackling of sparks from the firewood. The gyrfalcon didn’t dare make a sound either, merely rolling its little beady eyes back and forth between the two people by the fire.

When another burst of sparks crackled from the flames, Xie Zheng finally looked at Fan Chang Yu’s tightly furrowed brows illuminated by the firelight and spoke.

“Don’t worry too much…”

“I’m not worried. I already thought of a solution.”

Fan Chang Yu tossed aside the stick. Though her words sounded firm, her face showed none of the relief of someone who had found a solution. Instead, it looked rather grave.

Xie Zheng half-lifted his eyes, the lazy look in them cooling noticeably.

“What solution?”

Was she planning to seek help from her former fiancé?

That did indeed seem like the only viable method available to her right now.

After their conversation earlier that day, Fan Chang Yu no longer treated him like an outsider. Her fingers clasped tightly together, her lips pressed into a nearly straight line.

“If my parents knew what I was planning, they’d probably be disappointed in me too. I used to look down on this sort of thing myself, but right now there’s no other choice…”

Suddenly, Xie Zheng didn’t want to hear any more.

The firelight reflected in his cold phoenix eyes along with her silhouette as he interrupted her:

“I’ll help you.”

Fan Chang Yu looked up in confusion.

“How can you help me?”

Xie Zheng replied, “Even if the officials handling the case are biased, they still have to base their judgment on the Great Yin Code. The only reason they can still divide part of the property to your eldest uncle after you recruited a husband into the family is because they’re exploiting loopholes in several laws. There are still three days left. I’ll break down and explain all the relevant sections of the Great Yin Code to you piece by piece. When the time comes to face them in court, you won’t need a legal advocate. You’ll be able to handle it yourself.”

Fan Chang Yu was both shocked by how well he understood the law and worried whether it would actually work.

“Can… can that really work?”

Xie Zheng’s icy gaze swept toward her as he said mercilessly, “And begging your former fiancé would work?”

Fan Chang Yu looked utterly baffled.

“Why would I beg him?”

Xie Zheng frowned.

“Wasn’t that the solution you thought of?”

Fan Chang Yu: “……I was planning to disguise myself as people from a gambling den and kidnap my eldest uncle in a sack the night before the court hearing.”

Xie Zheng: “……”

Admitting such a plan aloud made her somewhat embarrassed.

“I heard Constable Wang say that if my eldest uncle doesn’t appear in court that day, the case won’t proceed.”

Xie Zheng: “……”