“Who are you?” Liu Shu Hui scrutinized Lu Lingyun from head to toe, noticing her attire and the presence of a servant boy, concluding she wasn’t a shopkeeper. He looked at her with suspicion.
Lu Lingyun didn’t try to hide anything. She stated frankly, “I’m the owner of this shop.”
“So you’re the owner? I thought you were suspicious, acting all sneaky. You must be trying to destroy evidence to get your people out! Come on, let’s go see the official!”
Liu Shu Hui stepped forward, intending to drag Lu Lingyun to the official.
Before he could touch her, Dong Sheng moved quickly, standing in front of Lu Lingyun. “You stubborn, clueless fool, who do you think you’re dragging to the official? Do you know who our Miss is? Touch her, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”
“Ha! I, Liu, will not be afraid of you! Justice prevails, and we’re under the Emperor’s rule. I don’t believe there’s no justice!”
Lu Lingyun: “……”
This stubborn ox was born with a headstrong personality.
She waved to Dong Sheng, telling him to step back. She then spoke calmly and gently, “Young Master Liu, I’m not here to destroy evidence. I also want to find out what happened.”
“The officials have already investigated thoroughly. I was present at the time of the incident and witnessed my fellow villager fall from the second floor. The rotten stairs on the second floor are also clear evidence. What else is there to investigate?”
“After all, it’s a matter concerning my own business. I naturally need to be certain, don’t I?”
Lu Lingyun’s logical reasoning caused Liu Shu Hui to involuntarily subdue his aggressive attitude.
He wasn’t unreasonable, just initially he didn’t believe Lu Lingyun came here to reason.
Someone like Lu Lingyun, who clearly looked like a noble lady who never touched a speck of dust with her delicate hands, and from the Capital City at that, seemed unlikely to reason with someone like him, a nameless candidate who had traveled far to the capital city for the imperial examinations, with no connections.
They could easily silence others with their power and influence.
Liu Shu Hui had seen many people like this. From the start, he was hostile towards Lu Lingyun. If she acted strong and domineering, he would be even more forceful and aggressive.
Their family, the Lius, was a declining noble family in the south. His father was a county magistrate, but passed away when he was young due to a serious illness. Only his mother was left to hold up the family name, but she was soft-spoken and was always bullied by the clan elders. Their branch of the family was almost completely wiped out.
As the eldest son, Liu Shu Hui realized at a young age that weakness and retreat were useless. Only sharpness and ruthlessness could carve out a path for survival in a harsh environment.
Even if the other party was powerful, as long as he had a righteous cause and a strong backbone, he could definitely force them to back down and fear him.
Of course, Liu Shu Hui wasn’t unreasonable. His strong stance was based on facts.
He valued the truth more than many.
After Lu Lingyun spoke to him like that, he took a step back on his own initiative. “Go ahead, miss, take a look at the second floor.”
“Alright.” Lu Lingyun nodded at him and went upstairs.
The second floor was even more chaotic and dirty than the first.
Perhaps it was because no one cleaned it in the past few days, so there was a pile of rubbish in the hallway, and a few chamber pots were left brazenly at the entrance of the rooms.
The smell was truly unbearable.
Lu Lingyun just frowned, didn’t mention these irrelevant things, walked past the pile of rubbish, and stopped at the broken railing.
Liu Shu Hui watched her reaction throughout. Although Lu Lingyun was wearing a straw hat, her expression was hidden, but she, a noble lady with fine clothes, could navigate this place, which truly impressed him.
Seeing Lu Lingyun squat down at the broken railing, carefully examining the handrail, surprised him greatly.
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