Chapter 259: Self-defense
“Oh, after I broke his nasal bone, he passed out from pain. He’s probably at the medical hall right now.”
Shi Tou said this while tossing a piece of dried meat into his mouth, a cold glint hidden in his eyes.
If not for not wanting to cause trouble for the family, Lu Chengyuan wouldn’t have gotten off with just a broken nasal bone.
Shang Wan tsked lightly and asked, “I heard you two also had a fight. How did it start?”
“He couldn’t spit out anything but ivory from his dog’s mouth, badmouthing brother-in-law to people.” Shi Tou swallowed the dried meat in his mouth. “Sis, you didn’t hear what he said, or you’d quarrel with him too.”
Shang Wan chuckled. What was there to quarrel with a pervert like Lu Chengyuan about? Wouldn’t a fight be more satisfying?
She also didn’t ask Shi Tou to repeat Lu Chengyuan’s words. She could guess they weren’t anything good, and she wouldn’t make herself upset.
“Sis, brother-in-law, you don’t need to worry about me. I asked around. This isn’t a big deal. I’ll be out after staying in prison for ten days or half a month.”
Shi Tou was in high spirits and even smiled at Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing. “Remember to ask for leave from the academy for me, and send someone to bring me some food. No need to come every day—just once every two or three days.”
Shang Wan twitched the corner of her mouth. Kid, you’re pretty optimistic, huh.
Lu Chengjing said, “Lu Chengyuan now has juren scholar official rank. Though he’s not yet an official, if he wants to pursue it, by law you’ll not only have to go to prison but also get caned.”
Shi Tou was stunned and suddenly found the spicy dried meat in his mouth not tasty anymore.
He also had to get caned?
Hearing those two words made him feel like his butt hurt already.
However, he glanced at his brother-in-law. Caning it was then—he didn’t regret beating that bastard anyway!
Hmph, next time he saw him, he’d beat him again!
“Leave this matter to me and your brother-in-law.” Shang Wan stood up and patted Shi Tou’s head, asking, “Who struck first?”
“He did.” Shi Tou lifted his chin forcefully to show them a small abrasion on it. “This was from the jade ring he was wearing on his hand.”
“Then this doesn’t count as a fight on your part—it was self-defense.” Shang Wan narrowed her eyes at the wound that would be overlooked if not looked at closely, and gently curved her lips. This little brother knew how to scheme now.
If Shi Tou hadn’t deliberately held back, how could Lu Chengyuan, a weak scholar, have hit him in that spot?
There was a big difference between striking first and defending passively.
“Husband, let’s go have a good chat with the county magistrate.” Shang Wan glanced at the prison cell. Now she had an excuse, and she wouldn’t let Shi Tou spend the night in prison.
Lu Chengjing understood what his wife was thinking. He stood up too, reached out, and patted Shi Tou’s shoulder. “Wait here. We’ll get you out in a bit.”
Shi Tou blinked. Wait, hadn’t his brother-in-law just said he’d get caned? And now they were getting him out?
The husband and wife left together arm in arm. The jailer brought Shi Tou a pot of hot tea and took away the noodle bowl on the table.
Shi Tou sat dazed for a moment, then suddenly reached down and yanked off the jade ring used as an accessory on his belt, ruthlessly scraping two lines on his chin.
He grimaced and wiped the blood from his chin, then poured himself a cup of hot tea.
Chewing dried meat and drinking tea, the youth started thinking about what to eat when he got home.
When the weather turned cold, he craved hot pot. He wondered if Xiao Huan would be willing to make it.
Unlike Shi Tou’s leisurely mood, the county magistrate sought out by Shang Wan and her husband was feeling bitter inside. He couldn’t afford to offend either side—what was he to do?
Under Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing’s one-two punch, the county magistrate finally couldn’t hold out and had to agree to let Shang Wan bail Shi Tou out.
Having seen the person, Shang Wan wasn’t in a hurry to leave. She probed the county magistrate’s stance on establishing a chamber of commerce consisting entirely of women.
Though the county magistrate’s face was very unpleasant and he only offered excuses, Shang Wan felt this matter wasn’t entirely impossible.
The husband and wife achieved their goal and left satisfied, leaving the county magistrate alone in the hall sighing.
“Master, if we release the person, how do we explain it to that Lu young master?”
The confidant asked cautiously. Releasing the person was just a matter of moving one’s lips, but if it angered Doctor Wang behind Lu young master, what would their master do?
“Do you think this couple is easy to provoke?” The county magistrate slanted a glance at his confidant. “Is someone from Duke Dingguo’s Mansion someone a lowly seventh-rank official like me can afford to offend?”
The confidant showed hesitation. “But that lord is in the Ministry of Personnel…”
What the confidant wanted to say was that the Ministry of Personnel handled official evaluations. If their master wanted to get promoted, he absolutely couldn’t offend Ministry of Personnel officials.
But the county magistrate waved his hand before he could finish, instructing, “Go there yourself and tell Lu young master about this.”
The confidant didn’t understand the deeper meaning and had words on the tip of his tongue, but seeing impatience on the county magistrate’s face, he swallowed them back, accepted the order, and left.
Meanwhile, when Lu Chengyuan received the report, he smashed the tea cup in rage, and the stopped nosebleed started flowing down again.
This time he couldn’t care about being angry and quickly ordered someone to call the doctor.
The confidant slipped away.
On the other side, Shang Wan and the others went to the prison to pick up Shi Tou. The three sat in the carriage and went home.
“You did this yourself?” Shang Wan pinched Shi Tou’s chin to look. These two bloodstains weren’t long, but they were much deeper than the original one.
The skin and flesh were torn open, with a bit of white flesh everted—it looked very serious.
The bleeding had stopped, and Shi Tou didn’t feel it hurt much.
“It just looks scary. That villain Lu Chengyuan definitely won’t let it go. If my wound heals, there’ll be no evidence. Now with these two wounds, even if we go to court hall, I can argue with him and not start at a disadvantage.”
He felt his brain had finally been sharp for once.
Lu Chengjing looked at him, his tone a bit helpless as he asked, “What does Spiritual Medicine Pavilion do?”
“Sells medicine.” Shi Tou blinked.
Lu Chengjing pointed at the wound on his chin. “You want to keep the wound open to ruin Spiritual Medicine Pavilion’s reputation?”
A jade ring wasn’t a sharp weapon—how serious a wound could it make?
Shang Wan was the shopkeeper of Spiritual Medicine Pavilion—would she begrudge using good medicine on her own little brother?
The wound looked frightening, but with the best all-purpose ointment, given Shi Tou’s constitution, it would heal seventy to eighty percent overnight.
Shi Tou: “…”
The youth fell silent.
How had he forgotten about that?
Had he scratched his wounds for nothing?
Shang Wan affectionately patted Shi Tou’s head. “Using your brain is a good thing.”
Take it slow. With more experiences, he’d learn to think.
Shi Tou: “…”
He felt his sis was cursing him, but he had no proof.
By the time the three got home, Xiao Huan had already prepared the hot pot.
She wasn’t surprised at all that her older sister and brother-in-law had brought Shi Tou back. With her sister’s protective nature, as long as Shi Tou hadn’t committed murder on the street, she wouldn’t let him sleep in prison.
Could Shi Tou commit murder on the street? Absolutely not!
Shi Tou had been thinking about hot pot in prison, and now his wish came true. He was so happy his mouth nearly split to his ears.
Yuan Yuan got two pomelo leaves from somewhere and earnestly waved them around Uncle Shi Tou.
Auntie said to use pomelo leaves to ward off bad luck.
Shi Tou bent down, picked up the little baby girl, and spun her around in place a couple times, spinning her dizzy before happily running into the house to change clothes.
