Sure enough, in the Li residence, Granny Sun had got the news long ago. Seeing Li Ying coming from afar, she bustled about to light a bunch of wormwood and set up a warm brazier, then hurried to greet her.
She smoked Li Ying all over with the wormwood, chanting "turn bad luck into good luck" all the while. Then she told her and Lu Xunguang to step over the brazier together to get rid of the bad luck. Only after that did she bring out a basin of water for Li Ying to wash her hands.
Li Ying saw that there were still a few pomelo leaves floating in the copper basin and said with a smile, "Auntie, you've prepared everything so thoroughly."
Granny Sun curled her lips and said dismissively, "Of course! What kind of place is the Court of Judicial Review? You don't know how many evil spirits and unjustly dead souls there are! Our Mianmian is still young and very sensitive. It's always good to be more cautious."
Li Ying had no choice but to keep silent and obediently let Granny Sun do as she pleased.
Finally, they got inside. After having a cup of hot tea to warm herself up, Lu Xunguang presented a large celadon bowl in front of her.
"Aying, my mother once said that to get rid of bad luck, one must eat a bowl of pig's trotter noodles. This is the first time I've made it. I don't know if it suits your taste."
Li Ying looked at the large bowl. White steam was rising from it. Two pig's trotters were stewed so tender that they were covered with an amber - colored caramel. With a gentle touch, the wrinkled skin absorbed the rich bone broth and trembled slightly, as if the thick gravy was about to flow out. It was obvious that a lot of effort had been put into the stewing.
The vermicelli was soft and smooth, cooked to perfection. It melted in the mouth without being too mushy. The marinated tofu in the side dishes was pre - fried in a frying pan and soaked in the soup. Paired with spicy scallions, it only had the aroma of beans without any beany smell. It seemed that one could swallow it smoothly without much chewing.
She said with a smile, "I'm really honored. I've troubled the head of the Lu family to cook for me personally."
Li Ying ate slowly until she was full. After seeing Lu Xunguang off, she lay on the couch. Thinking about everything that had happened during the day, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.
Today's imprisonment was obviously a scheme secretly laid out by Imperial Envoy Lin.
Taking Zhou Da's death as a fuse, he colluded with the vice - minister of the Court of Judicial Review to frame her. The officialdom was so dark that as a commoner, she had no way to appeal for justice. This was indeed in line with Imperial Envoy Lin's usual style.
But when she thought about it carefully, there were actually loopholes everywhere and it couldn't stand scrutiny.
Since they wanted to use Zhou Da as a bait, why didn't they really poison him? They just put arsenic in his broken bowl. As soon as the coroner checked, he would immediately notice something was wrong. It was really not well - thought - out.
Li Ying thought back and forth but still couldn't figure it out. The next morning when she got up, there were two big dark circles under her eyes. She looked much haggard.
She was absent - minded. After such a shocking incident yesterday, there were few customers around her stall and the business was extremely poor.
The shops nearby had always envied her good business. Now seeing her in such a desolate state, they were secretly happy. Some of the bolder ones even came out proudly and tried to drive her away like chasing a dog.
"Get out! You poisonous wretch who tried to poison someone. Don't park your cart beside my shop. Don't ruin our business!"
Before Li Ying could reply, the man was about to turn the handle of her bamboo cart.
"How dare you!"
Just as they were in a dispute, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from the side and firmly held the cart handle.
Li Ying looked up and saw that it was Shopkeeper Wu from Zizai Workshop who came to her rescue.
She smiled slightly. Shopkeeper Wu nodded to her, then immediately put on a straight face and said sternly, "You snobs! The Court of Judicial Review made it clear yesterday that Boss Li is innocent. How dare you talk nonsense here!"
Then he turned to Li Ying and deliberately said loudly, "Boss Li, you may not know yet. During the court session this morning, Lord Su reported everything that happened yesterday in detail and severely impeached the vice - minister of the Court of Judicial Review! The emperor was extremely angry when he heard this and immediately exiled that corrupt official who helped the evildoers and treated human lives lightly. Lord Su will soon take over the position of the vice - minister of the Court of Judicial Review from the Imperial Academy. Our two families will be like one family from now on. We should take good care of each other!"
It was obvious that these words were meant for those bullying shopkeepers. They felt very embarrassed and had to slink away.
Li Ying looked embarrassed. Although she was not in the officialdom, she knew that most officials who did business privately to make money were very low - key. They usually registered their shops under their female family members' names to avoid trouble.
Shopkeeper Wu was making such a big fuss...
The other party seemed to see through her concerns and said with a smile, "Boss Li, you don't need to worry. This is also the intention of my lord and Lord Su."
After helping Li Ying out of the situation, he didn't stay any longer and said goodbye.
Li Ying thought that Su Buchi was so straightforward that he made it public without any concealment that he would be her backer. She was both touched and in a difficult position because she knew she would never be able to repay his kindness.
After much thought, she decided that after closing the stall, she would cook a table of good food herself and invite Su Buchi to her place to express her gratitude.
Having made up her mind, Li Ying didn't hesitate anymore. Seeing a few customers hesitating not far away, not knowing whether they should come over, she greeted them with a big smile.
When she looked up, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little beggar who had confronted her in court yesterday. There was a straw label on her head and she was kneeling there meekly.
There was a thin straw mat piled up behind her. If Li Ying guessed correctly, what was wrapped inside was probably her unjustly dead father, Zhou Da.
"Hey, where did this little girl come from? Is she trying to sell herself to bury her father?"
"This little yellow - haired girl is skinny and sallow - faced, but if you look closely, she's actually a little beauty. Brothers, why don't we buy her, clean her up and have some fun?"
The ones speaking were a few young playboys. They walked unsteadily and behaved frivolously. It was obvious that they spent their days in brothels.
One of them reached out his hand, pulled out the straw label on the little beggar's head and was about to pinch her chin.
Li Ying frowned and scolded herself secretly in her heart not to meddle in other people's business. Being a do - gooder would lead to no good end.
But when she accidentally saw the little beggar biting her lips tightly with a stubborn tear in the corner of her eye, she softened her heart a little.
"Gentlemen, I'm sorry. I'll buy this child."
Before the playboys could start causing trouble, she added, "Gentlemen may not know, but this girl has an unlucky star in her fate. Her only father died yesterday. It may be a small matter if you take her home for fun, but it would be bad if it delays your bright future."
Sure enough, after hearing her words, the playboys' expressions changed. They cursed in a low voice that it was "bad luck" and then turned around angrily and left.
The little girl looked up, with half anger and half doubt in her eyes.
"You poisonous woman, why did you buy me?"