Listening to the county magistrate's words, Nian Jiaojiao's heart stirred.
Since he said the matter was difficult to handle, it must be that Tong Xiaoye had caused problems, making things tricky.
This also explained why Xu Mansion's attitude towards her had changed drastically.
Thus, Nian Jiaojiao cupped her hands towards Magistrate Cheng:
"Please enlighten me, Your Honor."
Magistrate Cheng glanced at Nian Jiaojiao before saying:
"Although Tong Xiaoye is the fifth son of the Tong family, he was later adopted by the Tong family's husband. However, his biological father was originally just a concubine. If it were only that, I could have had him brought to the county office for trial today..."
Saying this, Magistrate Cheng sighed lightly and continued:
"But the trouble is that a special person has arrived at the Tong family."
A special person?
While Nian Jiaojiao was still guessing who it might be, Magistrate Cheng revealed the answer:
"The person who arrived is Tong Xiaoye's biological father's brother, which makes him Tong Xiaoye's uncle."
"Tong Xiaoye's uncle was originally married to a Juren, but he was never favored and had long lost contact with Tong Xiaoye's father. However, a few months ago, Tong Xiaoye's uncle gave birth to the family's only daughter for this Juren, and now his status in the family has risen significantly."
"A few days ago, Tong Xiaoye's uncle returned to his hometown for a visit and only then learned that his elder brother had passed away. In his grief, he treated Tong Xiaoye, his only nephew, as his own son."
"It's just a Juren that wouldn't make Aunt Cheng so wary, would it?" Nian Jiaojiao immediately grasped the crux of the problem.
Magistrate Cheng nodded and said:
"Although the other party is also a Juren, there are differences among Juren.
After obtaining the Juren title, there are three situations.
One is like me, directly serving as an official and following the path of promotion in the bureaucracy.
The second is that official positions in the dynasty are insufficient, so they can only remain idle at home and receive the dynasty's stipends, waiting for positions to become available.
The third is to continue studying and further pursue the Jinshi degree.
Tong Xiaoye's uncle's spouse, Manager Juren, falls into this third category."
Nian Jiaojiao asked:
"Since the third category doesn't hold any official position, they certainly wouldn't have any real power. So why be wary?"
Magistrate Cheng gave a wry smile:
"Don't underestimate this lack of real power. Anyone who has a chance to become a Jinshi would choose the third path.
Currently, the other party is studying at the provincial academy in the prefecture, making them a Gong Sheng. Most of those who study as Gong Sheng come from prominent families. If they can establish connections, why worry about future official careers?
According to rumors, Manager Juren has a close relationship with the eldest daughter of one of the four great families in the prefecture. Therefore, even local county magistrates would not want to offend such a person."
Hearing Magistrate Cheng's explanation, Nian Jiaojiao recalled the contents of the book.
Even Nian Zhenzhen, the protagonist of the book, only studied as a Gong Sheng by the end of the novel and was then appreciated by a high-ranking official, thus becoming a fifth-rank official.
Whether the protagonist was promoted further after that, or retired with her husbands to live a life of unrestrained pleasure, remained unknown to the readers.
Half an hour later, Nian Jiaojiao walked out of the county office in a daze.
Magistrate Cheng finally agreed to try his best to "mediate" but could not guarantee the outcome.
Both her front and back paths seemed to be blocked.
Nian Jiaojiao knew in her heart that Tong Xiaoye was bound to be a petty man who held grudges. Having lost face last time, he would definitely seek revenge this time.
What worried Nian Jiaojiao even more was, besides Xuan Yi, where had everyone else gone?
As soon as Nian Jiaojiao returned to her room, she could no longer hold on and seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
In fact, since the Full Moon Poetry Gathering, Nian Jiaojiao had inexplicably felt extremely tired, often falling asleep and being difficult to wake.
Her moments of consciousness these past two days had almost exhausted her willpower.
However, Nian Jiaojiao did not know that after she lay down, a faint golden light seemed to emerge from her body.
And in this empty courtyard, naturally, no one would notice such an anomaly.
...
Shanshui Town.
A secluded courtyard.
In the darkness, a man's hands and feet were bound by iron chains, kneeling in the room.
His head was bowed, and his black hair obscured his face. His semi-naked upper body bore red, swollen whip marks.
"Creak—"
With a sound, the door was opened, bringing light into the room.
Tong Xiaoye entered, holding a whip, followed by two servants carrying buckets.
However, the kneeling man seemed not to hear the commotion and showed no reaction.
"Oh? Are you pretending to be unconscious now?"
*Crack—*
Tong Xiaoye sneered as he cracked the whip on the ground, but there was still no movement from the other side.
Seeing this, Tong Xiaoye gritted his teeth. Then, as if remembering something, he laughed arrogantly:
"That's right! There's something I forgot to tell you... Your brothers, oh no, I should say your two younger brothers are also missing. Guess why they disappeared?!"
Upon hearing Tong Xiaoye's words, the man finally reacted. He abruptly lifted his head, revealing his handsome and imposing features.
Xuan Yi glared fiercely at the other party, as if he wanted to tear him apart and drink his blood. Tong Xiaoye instinctively took a few steps back, frightened.
Xuan Yi's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken for a long time:
"What did you do to them!?"
Hearing Xuan Yi speak, Tong Xiaoye shed his previous embarrassment and said triumphantly:
"Me? I didn't do anything to them! If they want to blame anyone, it's themselves for being stupid and disabled, seeking their own death."
Tong Xiaoye's first half of the statement was indeed not a lie.
He merely wanted to cause trouble for Xuan Yi.
Although it was his own misunderstanding that he thought the other party was killed by him, which led to the subsequent series of events.
Tong Xiaoye believed that Xuan Yi, who caused this misunderstanding, was inherently a mistake.
He sent people to capture Xuan Yi, and when that crippled brother of his came looking for him, fearing his mother's discovery, he had him abandoned in a desolate wilderness.
However, considering the other party's mobility, after so many days, he still hadn't returned. Perhaps something unexpected had happened?
Thinking of this, Tong Xiaoye chuckled to himself.
This is what they call getting what they deserve!
But as for where that blind person went, he had no idea.
After whipping the man more than ten times, Tong Xiaoye saw that the other party was about to faint and ordered his men to pour water on his head to keep Xuan Yi conscious, and then continued whipping.
A quarter of an hour later, feeling his arm tired, he threw down a remark, "I'll be back in a few days when I'm bored," and turned to leave the room.
When Xuan Yi was first imprisoned, Tong Xiaoye would whip him daily to vent his anger. But as time passed, he himself found it rather uninteresting.
Therefore, he planned to keep Xuan Yi imprisoned here after he had fully vented his frustration, making Xuan Yi pay the price of his entire life for "playing dead"!
Darkness and silence returned to the room.
Half an hour later, the door was opened again.
"Xuan Yi, Xuan Yi, wake up. Don't fall asleep."
"Mmm..."
Xuan Yi let out a muffled groan and, after a long while, opened his eyes to look at the youth trying to wake him.