What Wen Mingtang, an “outsider”, could think of, Lin Fei and the others naturally couldn’t be unaware of.

“That Yang guy… how exactly did he know all this?” Liu Yuan was very puzzled. “How could he prevent those people from finding any evidence against him?”

Just then, Wei Fu walked in from outside. Meeting everyone’s gazes, he shook his head and said, “When Yang’s mother in prison heard that the Yang family’s lifeline had died, she immediately started throwing a tantrum, scratching several of our constables. It was only with great difficulty that we managed to calm her down!”

They couldn’t use ordinary methods to get information out of someone like Yang’s mother!

Wei Fu rubbed his nose and said, “I told her that if our Dali Temple were to use private punishment, we wouldn’t have let that mother and son run amok for so long! Besides, when Young Master Yang left, he took all the evidence with him, leaving us helpless and forced to suffer this injustice while the real culprit continues to provoke us. So, if anyone in the world least wants anything to happen to him, it’s us!”

“Upon hearing this, Mother Yang immediately gritted her teeth and shouted that she wanted to avenge Young Master Yang! I took this opportunity to ask her if she knew anything about this, but…” Wei Fu couldn’t help but shake his head at this point. “She knew nothing at all, even about Young Master Yang meeting Miss Huang; she thought it was just Young Master Yang’s good luck, that his destined love had blossomed, and she knew nothing about those people’s existence!”

What could a mother like that know?

“I wasn’t satisfied. I made her think carefully about where Young Master Yang would hide something that no one else could find. She mentioned ‘under the bed,’ ‘in the box,’ and a bunch of other places, but all her answers only went back to her own home!” Wei Fu said, rubbing his forehead. “I really had no choice but to let her keep thinking about it before I came over!”

The crowd’s expressions were grim, but they weren’t surprised at all. It would be lucky if they got anything out of Yang’s mother; it wouldn’t be surprising if they didn’t!

The problem was how the Young Master Yang managed to know all that, bypassing his mother!

Lin Fei tapped the table, lowered his eyes, and remained silent for a long time before suddenly looking up at the sighing crowd. He said, “No need to worry!”

No need to worry? Liu Yuan and the others looked up at Lin Fei.

Lin Fei said, “If Young Master Yang died, the evidence would be completely gone. For those people, all they would need to do is get rid of the young master. But that’s not the case!”

They didn’t even bother with a single strike; were they simply unable to bring themselves to do it?

How could that be? A man like Yang’s grandfather wouldn’t rely on these people’s pity; even if they killed him, it would be useless!

Thus… it was clear the evidence won’t disappear with the death of Young Master Yang; on the contrary…

As if realizing something, Lin Fei looked at Liu Yuan: “Were those people about to leave the city when they provoked you today?”

Liu Yuan nodded subconsciously, saying, “Exactly!”

Lin Fei lowered his head and casually picked up a booklet from the corner of the table, flipping through it. After turning to one page, he stopped and said, “Indeed!”

Indeed? Everyone looked at the booklet Lin Fei was flipping through, puzzled, and their expressions changed drastically when they saw what was written on it!

…

Shortly after breakfast, most of the officials and servants in the Dali Temple left. Liang Hongjin, whom they hadn’t seen for several days, took advantage of the Laba Festival holiday to come to the Dali Temple’s public kitchen.

“When I helped capture that person a few days ago, your Young Master Lin said he would allow me to come over for dinner!” Liang Hongjin stretched her shoulders, stood in front of the table watching Wen Mingtang cook, and said, “You weren’t here that day, Little Mingtang, so you didn’t see how valiant I was!”

Watching Liang Hongjin stretch her shoulders, looking every bit the hero, Tangyuan, who was helping prepare the food, couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle: “Though I didn’t see it, I heard it!”

After the day the thugs were apprehended, the constables had been talking about how amazing Miss Liang was for days!

After Tangyuan repeated the constables’ praise, Liang Hongjin blushed, coughed lightly, and became modest: “It’s…it’s alright. Your constable Zhao, who broke his leg while rushing to eat, is also quite skilled!”

Mentioning the unfortunate Zhao Youzhi, everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

After recounting some interesting things that had happened to the garrison these past few days, Liang Hongjin mentioned the garrison squad leader named Heizi, who had been cheated by the abbot of Lin Yuan Temple.

“He was cheated out of so much money and still couldn’t find a wife. On the road, he encountered a young lady being harassed by thugs, and he went over to play the hero, rescuing her. It seems like he’s got his wife sorted out now!”

“Indeed, fate is something you can’t force! What’s yours will be yours, no matter what you do! What’s not yours, you can’t force it!” Liang Hongjin sighed as she recounted the story. “Luckily, he’s frugal and has saved some money, so he won’t be without enough to get married!”

With that, Liang Hongjin pulled a nearly worn-out booklet from her bosom, saying, “We’re all consulting the almanac now, preparing to find an auspicious day for Heizi to propose marriage!”

Tangyuan, who was chopping vegetables nearby, caught a glimpse of the nearly worn-out booklet in Liang Hongjin’s hand and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Huh? Where did you find this almanac, Miss Liang? Why is it in such a state?”

Every household buys an almanac from the Imperial Observatory during the New Year, tearing off a page daily, or just leaving it there if they’re too lazy to.

But even the most “diligent” person only flips through the almanac once a day, yet Liang Hongjin’s almanac was practically “worn out”! Anyone who didn’t know better would think it was a textbook that the Imperial College students who came to buy snacks reviewed every day!

Liang Hongjin was well aware of the “almanac” she was holding, which was almost worn out from being flipped through. Hearing this, she glanced at Tangyuan and said, “You don’t understand! My almanac is different from the one bought by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau outside!”

Oh! This almanac had a different source? Tangyuan paused in her chopping and looked at Liang Hongjin curiously.

Liang Hongjin wasn’t one to keep secrets. Hearing this, she immediately said, “This almanac of mine was found when I gave that Abbot Lin Yuan a good beating. I heard it was bought from a true master of the martial arts world; you can’t buy it anywhere else. Only those with connections like the ‘Successors of the Ziwei Palace,’ ‘Junior Brother Zhou,’ or ‘Disciples of Taiyi’ have such a copy!”

At this point, Liang Hongjin paused, facing Tang Yuan and the others who looked at her as if she were a fool, and sneered, saying smugly, “Don’t you believe me! Even if you don’t believe me, someone as clever as your Lin Shaoqing did!”

“After finding two such almanacs from Abbot Lin Yuan, your Lin Shaoqing and I each took one!”

Hearing that even Lin Fei had taken one, Wen Mingtang, who was cutting beef, stopped what she was doing and looked up at the booklet in Liang Hongjin’s hand.

(End of Chapter)

---