Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

There was a light breeze in the evening.

She gently brushed her hand over the black hair casually held up by the plain hairpin.

Su Xiao carried pastries in his hand, his gaze passing through the swaying black hair and the passersby, landing precisely on the woman in white robes holding a banner. This scene seemed to be frozen in time.

Just that one glance.

A myriad of emotions surge within one's heart.

Su Xiao recalled the collision and conversation between the two of them just now. She gritted her teeth. So that's when... the money bag was cut off by a sharp weapon and ended up in the hands of this fortune teller!

This liar!

Thief!

"I'm an officer from the Urban Management Bureau. Seize her! She's a thief!"

In this area, the neighbors already knew each other well, not to mention that Su Xiao was in charge of the city management office, so he had even more opportunities to show his face.

Su Xiao's decisive shout immediately made the street patrolmen, who had been chatting, abandon their leisurely demeanor and begin to enforce the law impartially.

Passersby who saw the direction Su Xiao was pointing immediately moved away and began to search themselves to see if they had lost anything.

Incidentally, Zhu Wuyao was also exposed.

"Good heavens, how could you steal, little girl? If you're hungry, just tell your aunt, and I'll make sure you get something to eat..."

"She even stole from our Lord Su. This girl just circled around several times; could she be looking for a convenient spot to make her move?"

"It's terrible. The world is really in chaos lately. There have been a lot of outsiders in our Changxiao Town recently, and they're not so well-behaved."

"..."

I could hear the whispers around me and feel the gazes fixed on me.

Zhu Wuyao let out a long sigh.

Practice has shown that—

When two positive gains occur simultaneously in a certain situation, they may cancel each other out, producing unexpected and unpredictable results.

She did not resist, but instead made a gesture of "confessing" by raising her hands.

He stood there without saying a word.

Originally, she intended to use Su Xiao's identity to tell Li Chengguan the story of how they met and why she spoke the truth when Su Xiao was appreciated for his "speaking frankly."

This was done to pique Li Chengguan's curiosity about him.

Then he would take the initiative to ask for a penny, show off his knowledge, and be smoothly introduced to Li Chengguan by Su Xiao.

But often, things don't go as planned.

It seems she might need to change her identity to attract the attention of Li, the urban management officer.

For example, prisoners.

The patrol officers on the street apprehended her and confiscated the "incriminating money bag" from her hands.

Just then, a sudden voice broke the silence of the crowd—

"Sister Wu is not a liar, and she would never steal. Her family is wealthy, and she is literate!"

Mingzhu's small figure stood in front of Zhu Wuyao.

She looked at Su Xiao, who was walking towards her, with some wariness and some fear.

Su Xiao paused, her gaze shifting. If her expression had been merely one of anger just moments before, it now carried a deep sense of anguish.

This swindler surnamed "Wu" not only betrayed her trust, but also deceived such an innocent child!

Doesn't her conscience hurt?!

Mingzhu's voice trembled slightly. She had never been watched by so many people before. Looking at the esteemed official walking towards them, she continued:

"Sister Wu asked me to read to her and said she would teach me to read in the future. She also gave me three coins. She's not..."

Before he could finish speaking, a woman pulled him into her arms.

That's her mother.

This woman had never been involved in such matters before, and she was somewhat afraid. She held the candle tightly, afraid of offending anyone, but in this fear, she also raised her defenses, unwilling to completely show weakness, and forced herself to speak:

"Sir, my child did not mean to disturb you. He will now leave."

His gaze fell on Zhu Wuyao, and he continued:

“This person moved here a while ago. He is literate and even gave my daughter money for tutoring. He shouldn’t be so poor that he needs to steal. Maybe… it’s a misunderstanding…”

The woman mustered her courage and barely managed to finish speaking before grabbing the candle and hurrying away, as if afraid of getting herself into trouble.

The voice of the spirit brush came through my consciousness:

"Oh dear! This family is having some bad luck!"

"So, what did you figure out?" Zhu Wuyao asked in his mind.

"No, no, I mean—they were unlucky to have met you!"

"If I encountered my former self, let alone speaking up for you today, I'd probably be overflowing with sympathy and rushing to help you the very first time she knocked on the door!"

Zhu Wuyao did not reply, because Su Xiao had already walked up to her and taken the money bag from the patrolman.

Su Xiao's expression changed several times.

Looking at the young woman in the white robe, she was being held down by the patrolman's shoulder. She did not resist or argue. Her eyes were covered with a cloth strip, and she stood quietly in place.

Su Xiao remembered that she had just mentioned the word "letter" he had written, and he also thought of the money bag that disappeared after the collision, and what the woman and the little girl had said—

Being literate means you can teach others, and your family will be wealthy.

"You're not blind, and all the money in your house... was obtained through deception?"

After saying this, she took out the folded note, unfolded it, and the word "letter" appeared on the paper.

"Miss Wu taught me that 'a person cannot stand without integrity,' yet she herself became a swindler and fraudster."

After saying that, he tore the note into two pieces and threw the scraps at Zhu Wuyao.

"Take him away and lock him up for now. I'll interrogate him when I'm on duty tomorrow."

Although this was something Zhu Wuyao brought upon himself.

But seeing Su Xiao's indignant and seemingly betrayed expression... she still whispered:

"Miss Su, I'm not a liar."

……

Silence for a moment.

"You actually investigated me beforehand and knew that my surname is Su!"

"Since that's the case, you should know my identity by now. You really did set this up for me, and it seems you have a grand scheme and have been planning it for a long time!"

"Take this thief away!"

Zhu Wuyao: ...

Once a master strategist, now a prisoner.

Life's encounters are indeed unpredictable; even a diviner cannot foresee the consequences of their own actions.

She was taken to prison.

The jailer chuckled and held out his hand in front of her eyes, saying, "Since you're pretending to be blind, why bother with that translucent cloth covering your face?"

As he spoke, he was about to remove the cloth strip covering Zhu Wuyao's eyes.

But in the next instant, his wrist was grabbed with such force that he could not break free.

"Don't cause trouble, it will make things difficult for me."

After calmly reminding him of this, Zhu Wuyao released his grip, opened the cell door himself, and went inside.

Seeing the conman's posture, the jailer outside the door stammered for a long time, rubbing his wrist, not knowing what to say. He could only slam the cell door shut with a "bang" and angrily lock it.

After everyone left, the surroundings became quiet.

The unbridled laughter of the magic pen reached my ears:

"Hehehehehe! Isn't this the famous Fallen Leaves Inviting Autumn? How come he's in jail for stealing money? If this were published in 'Ten Thousand Book Reviews,' it would definitely cause a stir!"