Chapter 23: A Turn of Events

“Innocent! I’m not a bandit; I’m being wronged…”
Though the old man cried out in despair, his thin arms and legs gave him little strength, so his resistance was weak, and the constables easily subdued him.
“Innocent? Once you’re at the yamen, you’ll know if you’re innocent or not. Take him away!”
Zhao Bantou snorted coldly and waved his hand.
Lin Dong glanced subtly at Liu Shun, who wore an unmistakable look of triumph on his face.
“Xiao Liu, when did he check into the inn?”
“Last evening,” Wang Liuzhi replied, clicking his tongue. “It’s better to be a bandit! He stayed at our inn for just one night but still spent over ten taels of silver. I was about to ask how long he planned to stay—never thought he’d get caught today.”
“Find a way to knock him out,” Lin Dong said in a low voice.
“Knock him out?” Wang Liuzhi was confused, unable to understand Lin Dong’s intention.
Lin Dong reached for the teapot on the table and quietly handed it to Wang Liuzhi. “Do as I say. Claim you disapproved of bandits and knocked him out in a fit of anger.”
Only then did Wang Liuzhi sense something was wrong. Not daring to ask further, he took the teapot and grabbed a teacup as well, pushing his way toward the group of constables.
“Zhao Bantou, you’ve worked hard. Have some tea.”
As he neared the center, Wang Liuzhi filled a cup with tea and smiled broadly as he approached Zhao Bantou.
“Hmm!”
Zhao Bantou took the cup and drank it in one gulp. Just as he was about to hand the empty cup back to Wang Liuzhi, the latter suddenly swung the teapot and smashed it against the old man’s head.
“The thing I hate the most in this life are bandits. Let me show you what happens when you mess with me.”
Bang!
Tea splashed everywhere, and the teapot shattered instantly. The old man’s eyes rolled back, his mouth opened, and he collapsed limp.
“What are you doing?” Zhao Bantou shouted. The constables, who had relaxed slightly, immediately grew tense and stared at Wang Liuzhi.
“Zhao Bantou, you don’t know—two years ago, I almost died at the hands of bandits when I was away. Now that I see one, I have to take my revenge.” Wang Liuzhi smiled as he stepped forward and quietly slipped a silver ingot into Zhao Bantou’s hand.
“Hmm! Take him away.” Zhao Bantou gave Wang Liuzhi a deep look before nodding and leading the way toward the door.
Liu Shun was stunned. According to his plan, after the old man was taken to the door, he should have started shouting for Manager Lin’s help. That way, Zhao Bantou would have become suspicious, and under further interrogation, the old man would have revealed Manager Lin’s identity. But now that the old man was unconscious, how could the plan continue?

Seeing the unconscious old man about to be carried out of the hall, Fu Zizhou muttered to himself, “They don’t even wake him up to ask if there are any accomplices. These yamen officials are really incompetent.”
Liu Shun shuddered and immediately realized what needed to be done. He cried out anxiously, “Wait! Wake him up and ask if there are any accomplices. Otherwise, who would dare stay in this inn?”
The two yamen officials carrying the old man halted and turned to look at Head Zhao.
Head Zhao subconsciously touched the silver Wang Liuze had just given him, pondered for a moment, then nodded. The officials promptly set the old man down, slapping his face and pressing on his philtrum.
Wang Liuze glanced at Lin Dong, but received only a gentle shake of the head.
It seems he made a wrong bet!
Lin Dong felt helpless. He had thought Fu Zizhou wouldn’t interfere and would wait until the old man was taken away before asking Bai Jingtai to use some silver to resolve the issue. He never expected Fu Zizhou to be so short-sighted, ignoring the risk of arousing Yun Lan’s suspicion just to warn Liu Shun.
It seemed he couldn’t avoid ending up in prison!
When Wang Liuze came over, Lin Dong whispered, “If I’m taken away, go to the Gu Huan Sect immediately and ask Sect Master Xiao Tianchi to rescue me.”
Wang Liuze realized now that Liu Shun must be either trying to frame Lin Dong or simply stupid. His anxious heart calmed down upon hearing this. With the Gu Huan Sect Master involved, even someone like Grand Tutor Fu or the emperor would have to think twice before causing trouble.
“I’m innocent! I’ve been framed…”
The old man slowly woke up and, upon seeing his surroundings, started crying out for help again.
“Speak! Are there any more accomplices in the inn? If not…” Head Zhao snapped his lips, and the two yamen officials placed gleaming knives against the old man’s neck.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk…”
The cold blades scared the old man, who feared accidentally hurting himself, so he quickly nodded.
There really were accomplices?
The yamen officials were delighted. The wealthy families of Xilan City offered a reward of a hundred taels of silver for capturing bandits. Although only thirty to fifty taels would go to them, it was still a substantial sum. Catching one more meant another thirty to fifty taels!
Even more excited than the yamen officials was Liu Shun, whose gaze toward Lin Dong was burning with desire. Next, the old man would surely beg Manager Lin for help.
“Manager Lin, save me! I’ve been framed…”

“Just scared him into confessing. I said the innkeeper must be colluding with bandits! No one believed me. Don’t they know who Liu Shun is? Not to mention Xilan City—who in entire Qiufeng Prefecture is better at judging people than me? From the first glance, I could tell this Manager Lin wasn’t a good person.”
Liu Shun glanced at Lin Dong triumphantly. Seeing his face still expressionless, he grew even more proud. This fool still doesn’t realize he’s in big trouble. Even when beheaded, he probably won’t understand.
“Shut up! He just asked for help because Manager Lin is kind-hearted.” Fu Zizhou’s face turned ashen. He wished he could kick Liu Shun to death right there.
Liu Shun’s smug expression stiffened. It seemed… it seemed this really couldn’t prove Manager Lin was an accomplice of the old man. He had to wait for the old man’s next words.
Meanwhile, the old man started crying out again, “I’m truly wronged! Look, I’m the old beggar from Sanliu Street! How could I be a bandit?”
“Old beggar?”
For a moment, everyone inside and outside the hall was stunned. Even Lin Dong was confused. What was Fu Zizhou up to? Was he just trying to scare him? He couldn’t be that kind, could he?
Liu Shun was completely dumbfounded. He had barely turned the old man’s fainted accident around—how could another accident happen? This damn old man—according to the plan, he should have used a threatening tone to ask Manager Lin to save him, thereby arousing suspicion among others.
“It’s true! I really am the old beggar from Sanliu Street.” The old man shook his head and, on a whim, shook off the bailiff holding him. He frantically scratched at the ground with his hands, then started tugging at his hair. In the blink of an eye, his silver-black hair became messy.
“Right, that’s it!”
The old beggar simply lay down, rolling around on the ground while tearing his robe into pieces. When he got up, he looked exactly like a street beggar.
“Huh, looking at him like this, he really does seem like the old beggar from Sanliu Street.”
“Yeah, I didn’t notice before, but now that he’s done that, it’s true.”
Many people in the crowd started agreeing. Indeed, with his dirty appearance, Lin Dong also found him somewhat familiar. He had helped countless beggars before, especially showing kindness to the elderly and children. He indeed remembered this old man’s face.
“Head Constable Zhao, isn’t this the old beggar who blocked the road a few months ago during the heavy snow, claiming he had beaten someone and insisting we turn ourselves in?”
A bailiff suddenly called out.

“Yes, yes, it’s me, I’m that old beggar.” The old man nodded hurriedly. “I almost froze to death those days. I ate and drank at Master Lin’s place, and I really felt guilty, so I sneaked out and happened to meet you guys. I thought, in the dead of winter, where could there be a more comfortable cell? Free food and shelter, and no need to sleep on the streets. It’s a shame you saw through me.”
Zhao Bantou was torn between laughing and crying. Hearing this, he really remembered the old beggar now.