After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

"I wish everyone thought like you."

"I hope that I'm the only one who thinks this way."

"Huh?" Baili Ce rested his chin on his hand, looking puzzled.

"That way, you'll only remember my uniqueness."

"Cough cough..." Her face turned slightly red.

Fortunately, he was also someone who knew when to stop. "And then what?"

"His stepmother did want to live a good life with him, but who would have thought that a good-for-nothing would come back."

"Also, because I was afraid she would remarry and have no one to take care of her, I poisoned her so she couldn't get pregnant."

Wang Qingyan directly expressed her true feelings: "If I were that first wife, I would rather he died out there."

I hope so too...

So all along, she wanted to hate the first wife but couldn't bring herself to do so.

But she's not that magnanimous to let go.

Because those five days and nights in the cellar really tormented her for a long time.

At this moment, however, he felt much more at ease. "The head of the Wang family is truly extraordinary."

"When I was punished for this before, they..."

Bai Li Ce stared blankly at the wispy flames, whether he was sleepy or thinking of something unpleasant, "He only says I have no manners."

Only those who lived in the past and truly "grew up" in this world can understand how fatal it is to have a wealthy and noble status but lack sufficient intelligence.

So deadly, all that self-righteous cleverness and superficial theoretical knowledge is utterly worthless.

Is she ill-mannered?

Wang Qingyan clenched his hand inside his sleeve... He could easily imagine what kind of life she lived before she fully became Baili Ce.

"So...who did you grow up with?"

"Since the fourth branch of the family had no children, the old master decided to register me under the name of my stepmother."

"I publicly claimed that I was the only daughter of four wives, and that I had been living in a temple to accumulate merit only because of my poor health."

"On the surface, the legal wife has a child and someone to rely on, and Lady Baili has another option, but in reality..."

Having children binds a woman even more tightly.

It doesn't matter whether the child is hers or not, and nobody cares anyway, since they are all of Baili's bloodline.

As the legal wife, the first wife should rightfully accept this.

“If she can become the true head of the household, and her husband has died, then becoming the mistress of the house is not out of the question.”

"how can that be possible."

The old bastards of the Baili clan would never give a woman from another clan such an opportunity.

"And then..." Bai Li Ce said, getting tired again, and hugged his knees with his arms crossed, resting his face on his hands.

After a long silence, Wang Qingyan asked, "How is she to you?"

"You mean that first wife? That's wonderful..."

"Don't sleep like that." Seeing that she was really sleepy, Wang Qingyan got up and carried her to the nearby haystack.

"No, no need, I'll sleep like this..."

Hey, that feels good!

She struggled for only five seconds before going from rejection to acceptance.

However, after putting on Wang Qingyan's coat, she felt even sleepier.

Before long, I couldn't even open my eyes anymore...

Finally, my mind became hazy and my consciousness became increasingly unclear. "Later, my cheap old man died."

"She...remarried..."

Soon, Baili Ce's breathing became even.

There was no wind, the night was warm, everything was just right.

Wang Qingyan quietly looked at her face and gently lay down beside her.

Closer, closer.

So close that you can reach out and touch this reality without even realizing it.

"..." Finally, he hurriedly sat up.

I almost woke her up.

Fortunately, she turned over and went back to sleep.

What is he doing?

She had just lowered her guard against him; how could she take such a risk?

Thinking this, he placed his hand on Baili Ce's stray hairs.

I carefully tucked it behind her ear, afraid of waking her up.

But it turned out that——

Behind her ear, where her hair covered her face, was a fist-sized, stiff scar.

It looks like it's been around for quite a few years.

......

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

The grievance drums of the Kyoto government office sounded one after another, attracting a large crowd of onlookers.

A short while later, the constables lined up and ran out.

The head constable glared at him coldly and shouted authoritatively, "Who wants to plead for justice?!"

"Ugh... Ugh..." Li Dafu, who was tied up, was dragged forward by a young man and thrown directly onto the steps of the Kyoto government office.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this man is named Li Dafu, the son of the richest man in Liuzhou. For many years, he has trafficked women and forced them into prostitution. His crimes are truly heinous!"

The young man's righteous expression immediately drew cheers from those around him. He then gestured with his hand and continued, "Unfortunately, this fellow is too cunning. The prefect of Liuzhou has sent men to capture him several times, but he has always managed to escape."

"Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission and finally captured him the day before yesterday. Therefore, I brought the victim with me to the capital. I urge the capital authorities to enforce the law impartially."

After saying this, he clasped his hands in a bow, immediately drawing everyone's attention to the group of officials.

The constable was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to step forward and help the young man up. "Rest assured, sir, our prefect will certainly handle this matter impartially."

"but"

Before they could say anything more, an elderly couple rushed out and knelt down heavily, saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"The Kyoto government is truly an upright and just government!"

"That damned man killed my granddaughter! She wasn't even fifteen years old!"

A gaunt-faced mother also squeezed out, saying, "My poor daughter has been sold somewhere, and we don't even know if she's alive or dead!"

A husband exclaimed, "My wife was brutally kidnapped by the men sent by this villain!"

The elderly man with white hair lunged at Li Dafu and began to bite him, yelling, "You bastard, how could you possibly take my precious daughter's life! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

"You bastard who was born of a mother but raised by no father!! You even went after my younger brother, who is only eleven years old!"

......

After more than a dozen aggrieved parties filed their grievances in the street, public resentment boiled over.

Zhou Sicheng, who had previously protected the Li family, was also reported and imprisoned.

Subsequently, Zhou, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, confessed his crimes and committed suicide in prison. The incident happened so quickly that Lu Jian did not even have time to issue an imperial decree to personally investigate him.

Then, a hurricane suddenly struck the capital, and officials in the court were all in a state of panic.

"Your Majesty, the Prefect of Liuzhou has arrested and imprisoned the entire Li family."

"Your Majesty, Li Dafu's injuries are too severe... I'm afraid he won't be able to speak for a while."

"Your Majesty, the Baili Prefecture has reported the case, saying they know the whereabouts of those women."

......

After listening, Lu Jian remained silent for a while, then calmly waved his hand, instructing Zhang Shan to present Zhou Sicheng's letter of apology.

Unsurprisingly, although the handwriting was not very neat, the logic was still clear. It was written in blood, and at the end he pleaded several times to spare his family. It really seemed to have been written in despair.

"Since there are both witnesses and physical evidence, then we should handle it according to the law."

"Prefect of the Capital"

"Minister of the Court of Judicial Review"

"I am here"

"I am here"

"You two have always been upright and honest, and are exemplary officials in the court. I entrust this matter to you."

"Yes"

Xue Fengshi

"I am here"

"You will assist me from the side. If there is anything you don't understand, you must learn a lot from the two adults."

"Yes"

"The three of you must thoroughly investigate and severely punish this perpetrator, and give the victim justice!"

"Subordinate to the order"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review breathed a sigh of relief, secretly rejoicing that he had escaped a calamity.

The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice, among the assembled officials, was relieved and glanced at Lu Jian with a smug look.

As for Lu Jian, who sits on the throne?

He had originally intended to keep Li Dafu around to play the long game and catch a bigger fish, but now—

Turning away from the court, his face, which had been full of gloom, now held a triumphant smile.

The tiger is coming down the mountain.