This is terrible! My future prime minister keeps trying to kiss me forcibly.

"This this......"

Li Que was speechless for a moment.

He retorted angrily, "You stole it anyway!"

He Wuyou's brows displayed a composure beyond his years as he casually tossed the question to Li Que.

"You must first prove that you actually possess this jade. Otherwise, you are committing slander and will be punished."

"I do possess a piece of jade!"

He Wuyou casually asked, "So?"

"I said you stole it, so you stole it!" Li Que was a little embarrassed.

He Wuyou pressed on: "We have no grudges against each other, why would I steal your jade? Meaningless arguing will only waste time. Why don't we go to the yamen and we'll see what happens then?"

"...I'm not going!" Li Que's eyes darted around. If he went to the yamen, wouldn't he be exposed?

After a moment, as if he had thought of something, he continued, "Since you insist that you didn't steal it, I'll be magnanimous and believe you this once. Let's just let this matter go."

With just a simple sentence, seemingly expressing trust in He Wuyou, she was actually indirectly telling everyone that He Wuyou was the thief. She was simply being magnanimous and forgiving him this time.

How could He Wuyou let things get away with so easily?

Suddenly, a faint smile curved his lips. He had been unjustly accused, and now he thought he could just let it go? No way!

Seeing her second brother's current appearance, He Wuyang, who was standing to the side, knew that her brother was about to start tricking people again.

Sure enough, He Wuyou said:

"Is your jade pendant entirely white, with a pattern carved in the middle and a red string threaded through it?"

Li Que nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, that's right! That's it! Where did you see it? Tell me quickly, it's very important to me."

He Wuyou gave Li Que a mysterious smile, a hint of cunning flashing across his lips.

"I have never seen this jade pendant. What I just said was all made up."

These words drew sighs from the crowd.

It seems that the ancestral jade pendant that Li Que mentioned was actually something he made up out of thin air.

The purpose was clear: to frame He Wuyou.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. If Li Que had been the one to slander them today, would they have been able to remain calm and escape unscathed like He Wuyou?

I'm afraid they'll only suffer because they can't prove their innocence.

Li Que's face turned deathly pale, his expression a mixture of ashamed and furious. He glared at He Wuyou and roared:

"He Wuyou! Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me?"

Upon seeing the other party start shouting, He Wuyang immediately retorted:

"You despicable, shameless, and vile person! Just because someone shouts loud doesn't mean they're right. You were the one who started by using a fabricated jade pendant to slander my brother, and now you're turning around and biting the hand that feeds you! It's laughable! Now you're so angry and embarrassed that you're throwing mud at my brother. Don't you think you look like a joke?"

Lu Shi'an stroked his chin and glanced at Li Que with disdain: "I didn't understand what the Master meant by 'People must first insult themselves before others insult them'. Now it seems, isn't that exactly what he was talking about?"

Master Lin, who had been watching from the outside the whole time, then walked into the school.

When the students saw the teacher arrive, they quickly and obediently returned to their seats.

Master Lin's resounding words echoed in the small schoolroom:

"I saw everything that just happened. A needle tip may be small, but it hurts the most. The tongue has no bones, but it wounds the deepest."

"Children, sometimes, it only takes one sentence to change a person's life."

“Li Que, if He Wuyou is expelled from school today with the stigma of theft, he will never be able to shake off this stain for the rest of his life. You only wanted to slander him and see him make a fool of himself on a whim. But you didn’t think about the consequences. You’ve ruined his life!”

"After today's events, I hope you will understand what it means to be 'a fearsome thing to say'!"

After school that day, Master Lin made a special trip to see Manager Li. He spoke tactfully, and although we don't know what he said, it's not hard to guess.

Master Lin taught many students. In his youth, he believed in the inherent goodness of human nature, and that every child was born as a blank sheet of paper, pure and virtuous.

Now he is gradually realizing that the idea that human nature is inherently evil is more accurate, which is why he needs to be taught to be a good person.

However, some people are simply born bad and cannot be reformed. Evil ingrained in their bones cannot be changed.

Li Que is a wicked and jealous boy. If we keep him in the school any longer, who knows what trouble he'll cause.

Manager Li was furious that his son would be sent home by the teacher.

Firstly, he would lose face, and secondly, his unfilial son was utterly useless.

When he got home, he hung his son up and gave him a severe beating.

"You unfilial son! Do you want to make me angry to death? What sins did I commit in my past life to have a son like you?"

"Look at He Wuyou, he's even younger than you, but he's smart and eager to learn. Why don't you learn from him?"

When Li Que heard his father compare He Wuyou to himself again, his expression slowly darkened.

His father's every word seemed to turn into a dull, rusty knife, cutting into his heart again and again.

But he had long since become numb to the pain.

"Yes! I'm nothing! I can't do anything right, I'm completely useless! Are you satisfied now?"

"No matter how outstanding He Wuyou is, he's not your son!"

"You're just so unlucky in this life to have such a useless son like me!!"

Li Que's self-deprecating words undoubtedly added fuel to the fire in Manager Li's already raging anger.

"You, you, you—you're going to drive me crazy!" Manager Li glared at his son.

Li Que added, "Don't think you're any better. You just watched helplessly as others snatched away your restaurant business. You can't compete with them!"

He roared, venting his inner dissatisfaction.

"You! You—you unfilial son!!! Cough cough cough cough—"

Manager Li looked at his son, whom he had raised with great difficulty, in disbelief, unable to believe that he would dare to speak to him in such an attitude.

This is like rubbing salt into your own wound!

Sooner or later, he'll be driven to his death by this rebellious son!

Despite my anger, I still need to study.

So, Manager Li sent Li Que to Master Du in the neighboring Lishang Town overnight.

The next day, Li Que was nowhere to be seen in Master Lin's school. Later, everyone learned that after being expelled by the master, he had gone to study under Master Du in the neighboring town.

......

That day, He Jing accompanied Ye Xiaoxiao to the mountains to collect medicinal herbs.

In autumn, the mountains and forests were covered with fallen leaves, and several autumn rains followed, causing all kinds of fungi to grow wildly and spread all over the mountains.

Ye Xiaoxiao had a craving for mushroom stewed with chicken, so after picking herbs, she also picked a small basket of mushrooms.

When she saw He Jing holding a bunch of beautiful mushrooms, her lips twitched slightly, and a helpless smile appeared on her face.

"Ah Jing, the prettier the mushroom, the more poisonous it is. You can't eat any of those."

He Jing frowned: ......

He even carefully selected the best-looking ones, thinking Xiao Xiao would like them. Since they're poisonous, just throw them away!

This was the first time Ye Xiaoxiao had seen so many expressions on He Jing's face: first astonishment, then helplessness, and finally indifference.

"Hahahaha—Ah Jing, you're so funny!"

He Jing wasn't annoyed at all; instead, he looked at the person who was laughing happily with doting eyes.

Despite the laughter, Ye Xiaoxiao reminded him again:

"Ah Jing, remember, the prettier it is, the more poisonous it is. Don't touch it!"

He Jing nodded, his dark eyes clearly reflecting the image of the person in front of him, revealing undisguised affection.

His gaze was resolute: "Yes! Thanks to you, Xiao Xiao, I'm already deeply poisoned!"

Looking into his gentle and doting gaze, Ye Xiaoxiao's lips involuntarily curled up.

This man in front of me is getting better and better at flirting! He has a whole repertoire of sweet nothings to say!

Thinking of this, she tiptoed and lightly kissed the corner of his mouth like a dragonfly skimming the water.

He Jing had a sudden thought and was about to touch her face when he remembered that he had picked poisonous mushrooms, so he immediately stopped himself.

He took Ye Xiaoxiao's basket, held her sleeve, and the two walked down the mountain side by side.

As soon as the two returned to the town, they spotted the anxious-looking constable Zhou Quan in the distance.

Despite his legs feeling like they were made of lead, Zhou Quan ran straight towards the two of them.

"Dr. Xiao Xiao! Brother He Jing! You—you're finally back!"

He leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees, and it took him a while to recover.

"Quick! Go check it out! Something terrible has happened at Shuiyun Pavilion!"