A Good Country Wife-Chapter 701 - 694_1

"Lady Lin, please remain calm. I haven’t figured out what’s going on either. How did they escape from the Government Office? This is a great injustice. I don’t even know if someone is trying to frame me. Why don’t you come to the office to rest for a moment, Lady Lin? I will immediately investigate this matter and give you an explanation," Ceng Lu said, although a bit bewildered, he responded quickly and smartly, still thinking of keeping them at the office.

Lin Yue naturally wouldn’t stay foolishly. It was urgent to return to Zhao Family Village, which was safe. Xin’an City was always within Ceng Lu’s sphere of influence. Even though she brought so many people, it would be disadvantageous to her over time, "No need, I cannot trust a single word from Magistrate Sir. If you truly mean well, please let my children and me leave immediately." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"No, you cannot leave! I still don’t know what happened. How could the children have run out from the Government Office? As for the heroes who stand up for justice, that’s all made up by them without any proof. Who knows what really happened? I have not done such things, I can’t let you slander me like this. You all must come with me to the office and wait until the truth is clear and my name is cleared. I represent the Court, and its reputation cannot be ignored," Ceng Lu insisted on keeping Lin Yue and her children, shamelessly using all kinds of grand-sounding nonsense that everyone knew wasn’t true, yet he spoke with an air of moral righteousness.

"Sir, the truth is as clear as day. Are you blind? Do you think we are all fools with neither eyes nor ears? You wish to forcibly keep us here, but you’ll have to see if you have the ability to do so. With those good-for-nothing servants of yours, if it comes to blows, we surely won’t be the ones at a loss!"

Lin Yue said coldly, her words brimming with confidence and mockery. She didn’t take Ceng Lu’s men seriously, yet she was somewhat worried. Even if Ceng Lu was incompetent, she understood that he was right about one thing—the Government Office represented the Court’s face. Starting a fight here would easily give others a handle on her and they could hold this incident over her head in the future. It was best if she could intimidate Ceng Lu into releasing them willingly; otherwise, she would have to use force and later find ways to mitigate the repercussions of this event.

Despite Ceng Lu’s grandstanding, he didn’t even take his words to heart, so naturally, he wouldn’t understand Lin Yue’s calculations. Hearing her brave words, showing no fear of his authority and being ready to fight, he felt hesitant when he thought about his side’s chances of winning, even though he was reluctant to accept it.

Just as Ceng Lu was uncertain, a servant stumbled out from the office, his face bruised, clearly having been beaten severely. It indeed was one of the people Ceng Lu had assigned to guard Dalang and his brothers. Now realizing the urgency, he came forward to report to Ceng Lu, hoping to escape blame by showing they had tried their best; it wasn’t their fault they were beaten. It was the skilled masked Hero; we couldn’t defeat him, so don’t blame us, he pleaded.

"Sir, it’s terrible! Those brats have escaped. I don’t know where that Hero came from, but he’s extremely skilled, even able to scale walls! He just broke into the Government Office and released the children in front of everyone. We were helpless against that masked Hero; we simply couldn’t beat him," said the servant, inadvertently revealing the whole situation. Even the simplest of people could understand what happened, leaving no room for Ceng Lu’s excuses.

Ceng Lu was livid, whether because his servants were incompetent or because the masked Hero was so audacious as to cause trouble right under his nose and ruin his plans. Furthermore, the servants’ public complaints laid bare the facts in front of everyone. These useless fools couldn’t do anything right; what was the point of keeping them?

"Enough! Shut up, you useless fool. Keep going, and I’ll take your head first," Ceng Lu snarled, desperate and unable to find an excuse to detain Lin Yue and her children any longer.

The butler, though briefly confused, quickly regained his composure. Seeing the servant assigned to watch Dalang and the others blurt out an apology and openly discuss the matter, he frowned tightly, his face as sour as if he had eaten a lemon.

"Sir, it appears the situation is quite clear. It was the servants of the office who colluded with outside thieves to hide Dalang and his brothers within the Government Office. Fearing retribution from Lady Lin after being exposed, they now try to shift the blame onto you, Sir. It’s a truly malicious scheme. Neither you, Sir, nor Lady Lin should be deceived by these people," said the butler, righteously twisting the facts to extricate Ceng Lu from the situation.

"Bring me that traitor who colluded with the thieves and tried to drive a wedge between the Magistrate and Lady Lin. The Magistrate himself will examine him and surely provide Lady Lin with a satisfactory explanation," the butler declared, displaying a shamelessness only he could achieve, completely distorting the truth.

The servant initially just wanted to plead the facts in front of everyone to avoid blame for the oversight, but the butler slapped him with such an accusation. He tried to publically claim innocence, but the butler had his mouth gagged first—the blame was his to bear whether he wanted it or not.

Ceng Lu, unsure how to proceed, finally relaxed upon hearing the butler’s proper response. He wasn’t afraid of these troublemakers, but he dreaded the idea of them spreading the word, which could lead to inquiries from the capital, demanding silver for hush money—definitely not a situation he wanted to see.

"Sir, since it’s been confirmed that the Government Office’s traitors colluded with the thieves, this matter has nothing to do with Lady Lin. Lady Lin merely acted out of a mother’s love in storming the office, a natural human response. I humbly ask on her behalf, Sir, to not blame her. Allow Lady Lin to take the children home," the butler suggested to Ceng Lu, subtly. He knew the Magistrate was unwilling to let the Lin Family go so easily, but the current situation was disadvantageous, and it was unwise to show force now. Not to mention the manpower—they were at a disadvantage, and a commotion could turn into a farce.