Qin Jin had long anticipated that she would come to defend herself. He remained calm, showing no sign of panic.
"Li Ying, you've set up schemes against me several times. Out of our past marital affection, I've never held you accountable and always spared your dignity. But now, you've gone too far and even tried to kill me. I can't just sit back and wait for death."
He spoke calmly, but Li Ying just smiled.
"Fine, Qin Jin. Since you want to know the truth before you die, I'll tell you."
"Servants, remove all the screens!"
When the hot - pot restaurant was decorated, each private room was separated by screens. If they needed to accommodate a large group of guests, they could simply adjust the screens to combine several small rooms into one.
Now, upon hearing Li Ying's order, all the screens were removed. The diners could clearly see the confrontation among the three of them. They couldn't help but put down their chopsticks and listen with great interest.
"Master Qin, you said the Qin family never killed baby girls. Then why are there only male descendants in the eldest branch of the Qin family for six generations in the family genealogy?"
"You said the tenant farmers on the estate deceived their superiors and embezzled money. But I've heard that they almost dedicated all their grain to the Qin Mansion throughout the year, just so you and your younger brother could idle around and enjoy life every day?"
She bowed gracefully to the magistrate.
"Your Honor, every word I've said is true and is recorded in the documents. You can verify it with a simple check."
Qin Jin seemed to have expected her words. He said angrily, "The family genealogy and the receipts for grain collection are stored in the ancestral hall of the old mansion. It will take some time to fetch them. The magistrate has a busy schedule and will set off soon. How can he be bothered by such trivial matters?"
"Li Ying, you calculated that we couldn't produce the evidence right away, so you publicly slandered me in front of the magistrate! You have such a vicious mind!"
The two of them insisted on their own views and refused to give in. Just as they were at a stalemate, Li Ying smiled calmly. She gently grabbed Qin Jin's moon - white long robe and pulled him in front of the shrine on one side without hesitation.
"There is a god watching three feet above our heads. Qin Jin, since you keep saying you've been wronged, do you dare to swear in public to prove your innocence?"
Qin Jin sneered disdainfully in his heart.
Oh, she's just a woman with long hair but short sight.
Such tricks as swearing are only useful for scaring timid and ignorant people. Confucius said not to talk about strange, violent, disorderly, and supernatural things. How could he, Qin Jin, be afraid of this!
Without hesitation, Qin Jin took the three incense sticks from Li Ying's hand and calmly bowed in front of the shrine.
"I, Qin Jin, swear here. If there is any falsehood in what I've said today, may I..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a loud noise from the shrine!
The incense burner somehow fell directly, and the incense ash covered Qin Jin all over, making him look in a complete mess.
"Wow, could it really be a retribution?"
The diners couldn't help but whisper to each other when they saw this strange scene.
"Your Honor, please investigate carefully! Since this shrine is in Li Ying's shop, she must have arranged this in advance just to play tricks and frame me!"
Qin Jin finally shook off the incense ash on his face and quickly defended himself.
He blushed with anger, but Li Ying just smiled. She took a step back and said curiously, "Hey? Master Qin, your moon - white long robe is really unique. Why are there so many tiny characters on it?"
Qin Jin was shocked and secretly thought it was bad!
He just wanted to take off his robe quickly, but the magistrate had already noticed something strange about him.
What was written on the long robe was clearly the essay he planned to smuggle into the examination hall!
"Qin Jin, you're so bold! No wonder you were so eager to meet me. It turns out you wanted to test your cheating method on me to see if there were any loopholes!"
The magistrate had been in charge of the prefectural examination for many years and was familiar with all kinds of tricks. He saw through Qin Jin's plan at a glance. In a fit of rage, he slapped the table, and a blue - and - white teacup was shattered.
Qin Jin was completely desperate. He knelt on the ground in a daze. All his cleverness had deserted him, and he couldn't think of any way out. He could only plead repeatedly, "Your Honor, I was just confused for a moment. I dare not do it again!"
But with everyone watching, and all the townspeople seeing it clearly, how could the magistrate cover for him?
"Qin Jin, you've really let me down. I showed favor to you during the prefectural examination back then."
"You intended to cheat in the autumn imperial examination, and now you've been caught red - handed. There's no way you can deny it!"
"A despicable person like you who deceives his superiors and subordinates will never work for the well - being of the people even if you enter officialdom. I hereby order that you will never be allowed to take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom for the rest of your life!"
"As for the heinous act of killing baby girls and the suspicion of tax evasion, I will deal with them separately after I've investigated."
These words were spoken impartially and mercilessly. The on - looking diners couldn't help but cheer.
Qin Jin knelt there stupidly, feeling as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
It was all over. His dreams of passing the imperial examinations and rising to high positions were completely shattered.
Why did this happen!
He thought he had calculated everything perfectly!
There was a saying in the town that if you exposed the ink of a cuttlefish to the sun for seven days, the writing would disappear without a trace.
At that time, he had the idea of taking a shortcut.
Later, when the brute sent by Li Ying disturbed his family, the itinerant feng shui masters he invited from the market accidentally mentioned that if you mixed fish bone glue into cuttlefish ink and wrote with it, the writing would also disappear without a trace.
However, if you sprinkled some dust on it, the fish bone glue would make the writing reappear. Once you brushed off the dust, the writing would disappear again. This was a common trick used by swindlers in the jianghu.
It was precisely because of this casual conversation that he came up with a good plan to cheat in the autumn imperial examination.
To ensure everything went smoothly, he rushed to make an appointment with the magistrate for a banquet before the magistrate set off.
In this way, he could not only take revenge on Li Ying but also test if his plan was foolproof. It was really a win - win situation.
But who would have thought that the magistrate insisted on dining in Li Ying's hot - pot restaurant!
He couldn't refuse, so he secretly prepared some silver, thinking that if something went wrong, relying on the face of Lian Ji and the big boss, he could bribe the magistrate. After all, officials protect each other, and the magistrate wouldn't really punish him.
Li Ying seemed to have seen through his calculations and blocked all his escape routes!
How could there be such a coincidence in the world!
Qin Jin finally came to his senses and glared at Li Ying with gritted teeth.
"It's you. It must be you!"
Li Ying smiled sweetly.
"Master Qin, you've brought this upon yourself. You can't blame others."
Both the Qin brothers had lost their qualification for the imperial examinations, and they might soon face imprisonment. A servant quickly sent this news back to the Qin Mansion.
When Old Lady Qin heard this thunderbolt, she felt a sudden darkness before her eyes. A sweet and fishy taste rose in her throat, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Then she fainted.