Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 31 Establishing Prestige
"Husband!"

Upon seeing this, Hu Yufen hurriedly rushed forward to try to pull Shen Yuan back, but was blocked by two constables.

"We are ordered to arrest people. If you obstruct us, don't blame us for being impolite!"

The officer glared at Hu Yufen with a vicious look.

Although Shen Yuan didn't know why he had been arrested, he knew he couldn't act rashly at this moment. He looked at Hu Yufen and shouted, "Wife, don't act rashly, go find someone."

The mute man standing nearby quickly came over, gestured for a while, and then hurriedly left the courtyard.

On the path at the entrance of the village, several officials escorted Shen Yuan toward Yunshui Town.

Behind him, the mute uncle hurried over, leading a donkey, and Lu Zhiyuan sat on the donkey's back.

"Please wait a moment, everyone."

Lu Zhiyuan's voice came, and several officials turned around in confusion.

"Old man, we are ordered to arrest someone, don't make a mistake."

The group clearly did not know Lu Zhiyuan's identity, and when they saw him riding a donkey to catch up, they couldn't help but frown.

Lu Zhiyuan glanced at the group, then got off and said, "I am not trying to stop you from arresting the criminal, but the laws of my Great Yu state that when a criminal is arrested, his or her crimes must be shown."

"May I ask you all, what crime has Shen Yuan committed?"

Since Shen Wenyan became his disciple, after more than a year of getting along, Lu Zhiyuan could see that Shen Yuan was a practical and hardworking person. Even if things were difficult, he would not necessarily do anything illegal.

"Hmph!" The leading officer snorted coldly when he saw Lu Zhiyuan bringing up the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty.

"Since you asked, then we'll tell you."

"The Great Yu Law stipulates that commoners who privately destroy forests or excessively cut down trees are committing serious crimes."

Destroying forests without permission?

Shen Yuan frowned slightly; he really didn't know that.

Besides, that forest land belongs to their family; they can cut it down however they want, and that's illegal.
He looked to Lu Zhiyuan for help, but Lu Zhiyuan only frowned and didn't say anything, which meant that the matter was true.

"Old man, do you have any other questions?"

Seeing that he didn't speak, the officer asked with a sneer.

Lu Zhiyuan remained silent and could only watch helplessly as they took Shen Yuan away.

"Uh-huh—"

Beside him, the mute man gestured excitedly.

Lu Zhiyuan stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying, "Don't rush, there's still room for maneuver in this matter."

"Let's go back first."

Meanwhile, Hu Yufen had already asked Wang Ying to help take care of the child, and she chased after them to the village entrance.

She happened to run into Lu Zhiyuan and quickly went to greet him: "Master..."

Lu Zhiyuan sighed and said, "Brother Shen violated the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty by cutting down trees."

Upon hearing this, Hu Yufen turned pale.

"Then...Master, what can we do now?"

"Madam, please don't be anxious. Let me go back and write a letter. There is still room for maneuver in this matter."

After hearing this, Hu Yufen could only nod in agreement.

She knew very well that if even Master Lu couldn't handle this matter, relying on her family's connections would be of no use at all.

When he rushed home in a daze, Zhao Shuan also came to the courtyard.

"Sister-in-law, where is A-Yuan?"

Hu Yufen shook her head slightly, then, as if remembering something, she quickly looked at Zhao Shuan and said, "Brother Shuan, please go to the martial arts school in town and tell Master Huang about A Yuan's arrest."

He had previously heard that Huang Qingzhou's elder brother, Huang Yunxiao, had been transferred to the position of county magistrate of Anyang County.

Shen Yuan has been arrested, and although Master Lu has agreed to help find a solution, it will take time.

The prison in the county magistrate's office is a place that devours people without spitting out their bones. If prisoners are sent there and don't bribe the officials properly, they're sure to suffer.

Although Shen Yuan had always been reluctant to owe too many favors, he couldn't care less about that now.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shuan didn't dare to delay and hurriedly ran out of the courtyard.

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), he arrived at the entrance of the martial arts school, panting heavily.

Upon receiving the news, Huang Qingzhou, Huang Lingxiu, and Shen Wenxing arrived outside the martial arts school. "Uncle, what happened to my father?"

Hearing that his father had been arrested by the officials, Shen Wenxing was very anxious.

"Stone, don't rush, let your uncle finish speaking," Huang Qingzhou comforted him.

Zhao Shuan took a breath and recounted the general course of events.

But he couldn't explain why Shen Yuan was arrested.

After listening, Huang Qingzhou pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll go to Anyang County first and ask your Uncle Yun Xiao."

“Shitou, you should go back to Jinliu Village with Zhao Shuan. Take good care of your mother and don’t let her worry too much.”

Shen Wenxing nodded and bowed to Huang Qingzhou, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Uncle."

Su family in Anyang County.

Su Jinghong looked at Su Jingshan in front of him and said, "Brother, the crime of illegal logging won't bring that kid down. Shouldn't we..."

Su Jingshan glanced at him: "You want me to force a confession out of him and frame him with some fabricated charges?"

Su Jinghong nodded repeatedly.

"madness!"

"The inspector of the Royal City Surveillance Bureau is currently in Yunzhong County. Are you really going to jeopardize my career just to deal with a lowly commoner?"

Su Jinghong, who was being reprimanded, looked stiff, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes.

He now desperately wants to convict Shen Yuan'an of some serious crimes, and ideally exile his entire family.

"How severe can the punishment be for the crime of illegal logging?" Su Jinghong asked.

"One hundred taels of silver and two years in prison is the maximum penalty," Su Jingshan said calmly.

"So light?"

Su Jinghong couldn't help but mutter to himself.

“Punishment is not important; what I want to do is to show Shen Yuan our attitude.”

"Moreover, with Master Lu behind him, this matter will likely end up being left unresolved."

Su Jinghong asked in confusion, "Brother, you strictly follow the law. Is there any room for maneuver in this matter?"

Shen Yuan, the pillar of the Shen family, was fined one hundred taels of silver and imprisoned for another two years.

When the whole family loses their income, they will definitely have no way to survive. They will have to sell their land and eventually become poor tenants, never having a chance to turn their lives around.

"Ugh!"

Looking at his younger brother, Su Jingshan sighed deeply: "I met Liang Kaiyuan of Liang's Pharmacy the other day. The youngest daughter of the Liang family is about the same age as Chang'er. He is interested in currying favor with her. You should move back to the county town and let Chang'er have more contact with the youngest daughter of the Liang family."

Upon hearing this, Su Jinghong was stunned.

"The youngest daughter of the Liang family?"

"How could the daughter of a lowly merchant be worthy of... our... Chang'er?"

He had barely finished speaking when he was met with a stern look from Su Jingshan.

"As a father, you know Su Chang's character best."

"Let's leave it at that. Don't cause me any more trouble."

After saying this in a cold voice, Su Jingshan turned and left the room.

He had already realized that the family's future could not rely on this nephew.

Although the Liang family, who are medicine merchants, are registered as merchants, martial arts have become increasingly popular in the Great Yu in recent years, and the Liang family's business is booming. As a second choice, if they cannot become in-laws with the Huang family, it is not bad to win over the Liang family.

The county magistrate's office in Anyang County.

When Huang Qingzhou arrived, it was already 1:15 PM.

When the two brothers met, Huang Yunxiao frowned deeply after hearing his description.

"This must be the intention of that old bastard Su Jingshan."

"Master Lu is in Jinliu Village. The fact that the officials were able to take Shen Yuan away means that Su Jingshan has indeed found some dirt on him."

"Don't worry, stay at the government office and I'll inquire about it tomorrow."

Huang Qingzhou nodded, deciding to wait until tomorrow to see.

(End of this chapter)