Chapter 66: Endless Troubles (Part 1)

At this moment, Lu Baiyi felt only sympathy for the heavily tormented Wang Zhideng. However, a loss is a loss, and she reminded him:
"Do not forget the two stakes. Just have the seal passed down by Tang Bohu sent to my place, and you also owe Bai Yujing a promise."
At the mention of this, Lu Baiyi felt a trace of displeasure once again.
In the past, Bai Yu had never cared about his own promises, yet today he had specifically demanded a promise from Wang Zhideng.
Could it be that in Bai Yu's heart, she, a proud second-generation noble, was actually less valuable than a mere scholar like Wang Zhideng?
Even if Wang Zhideng owed him a favor, what kind of major task could he possibly help accomplish? Could he help him rise through official ranks or make a fortune?
Wang Zhideng replied, "With so many people as witnesses, naturally I will not renege on the debt!
However, where on earth is Bai Yujing, and what is his true identity? Might I pay him a visit?"
Lu Baiyi surmised that Wang Zhideng probably remained unconvinced and wished to seek out Bai Yu to test his skills once more.
Displaying a burst of benevolent charity, she advised, "You really ought to take my advice and stop trying to compete with him. You have no inkling of just how exasperating he can be."
She then produced a few sheets of draft paper: "I still have plenty of poems and lyrics left over from today, all of them left behind by Bai Yujing.
It is fortunate that you conceded defeat so early; otherwise, had the contest gone to the very end, I fear you would have lost even the shirt off your back."
Wang Zhideng: "......"
This was simply too devastating to his pride. Only now did he finally see through it all.
All that talk about two great beauties pitting themselves against one another and staging a theatrical rivalry was entirely a smoke screen!
The opponent's true target had been him all along—he was the one being singled out!

Bai Yu was unaware of the final outcome, having already entered the city before nightfall.
After all, he was still a suspect awaiting judgment, and his sense of security was severely lacking.
If he were to spend the night outside the city walls, what would happen if someone reported him for fleeing out of fear of crime?
Upon returning to Cheng'en Lane Courtyard, which he had been away from for two or three days, he saw Old Man Yan standing in front of the southern-facing rooms, engaged in conversation with a middle-aged man.
"What is going on here?" Bai Yu asked Xia Da, who had arrived home ahead of him.
Xia Da reported, "Old Yan has been making inquiries over the past two days, and discovered that his eldest son is locked up in the Western City Garrison!
So he is planning to sell the house to raise funds, and then bribe the officials up and down to rescue his eldest son!"

Bai Yu said in astonishment, "It is understandable that he wants to sell a house for money, but isn't selling Old Man Li's house a bit too shameless?"
Xia Da replied, "Old Li hasn't shown his face at all these past few days, so Old Yan figured he would strike while the iron is hot. To fleece whoever he can, and get the money in his hands first.
Come to think of it, it really is strange. You pointed out a path for Old Li, telling him to go to the county magistrate's office to process the deed, so why has there been no movement after several days?
Otherwise, Old Yan wouldn't have been able to act with such unbridled audacity."

Having lived through two lifetimes, Bai Yu had genuinely never witnessed such a rare specimen as Old Man Yan.
After grasping the situation, Bai Yu stepped forward in large strides and said to the middle-aged prospective buyer:
"Does your lordship realize that these three southern-facing rooms do not belong to Old Yan at all? If you truly intend to buy them from him, there is no telling how many disputes and troubles await you afterward!"
When people buy a house, what they fear most of all is being swindled.
Upon hearing Bai Yu's words, the middle-aged buyer hesitated and asked Old Man Yan, "Bring the property deed here first for me to inspect."
Old Man Yan hastily explained, "These are self-built houses from ten years ago. They were never reported to the official authorities, so how could there be a deed? Precisely for this reason can I sell them to you at such a bargain price!
The large courtyard previously held a public discussion and agreed to sell these three rooms to me. What is wrong with me reselling them to you?"

The middle-aged man had come to look at the three rooms simply out of a desire for a cheap deal, and hearing this, he felt tempted once more.
As long as he paid the money, disputes or no disputes, they could just make a fuss.
At that very moment, however, Old Man Li was seen walking into the courtyard accompanied by his eldest son, Li Wenquan.
Catching sight of Bai Yu, Old Man Li walked over with a face full of joy and said loudly, "Many thanks, many thanks! Today I obtained the property deed from the county magistrate's office!"
Bai Yu asked doubtfully, "You should have gone to handle this long ago. Why did it drag on for several days before being finalized?"
Old Man Li explained, "After taking your note, I went to the county magistrate's office long ago.
However, Secretary Tian told me to wait for a while, and it wasn't until today that I was finally issued the property deed."

After a brief moment of reflection and connecting it with the recent timeline, Bai Yu immediately understood the reason. This yamen was filled to the brim with so-called "crafty schemers."
It must have been that shortly after he created an uproar at the prefectural yamen, the news quickly spread to the county yamen.
Secretary Tian had then felt the situation was unclear and was unsure whether it was worth doing him a personal favor, so he had chosen to wait and observe for a few days.
Today, Secretary Tian had handed the property deed over to Old Man Li, which indicated that the outcome had likely been decided.
Furthermore, he himself must be completely free of major trouble, which was why Secretary Tian felt secure enough to honor that favor.
Having figured it out, Bai Yu added fuel to the fire by saying, "It is good that Old Man Li has obtained the deed—it is still just in time!
Had it been any later, I'm afraid your family's three rooms would have been privately resold by Old Yan!"

Old Man Yan cried out in a loss of composure, "Impossible! It must be fake!"
He could not fathom how a house built ten years ago could have its deed retroactively issued by the yamen with such ease!
Such formidable connections could actually exist within this humble communal courtyard!
Before Bai Yu could respond, Old Man Li's eldest son, Li Wenquan, had already charged forward, grabbed Old Man Yan by the collar, and begun pummeling him. The courtyard instantly descended into chaos.
Standing to the side, Bai Yu called out loudly, "Old Yan! You needn't bother trying to scrape together money for bribes anymore, it's useless!"
With that, he paid him no further mind. Once Old Yan reached his absolute wits' end, he would naturally figure out how he ought to behave.

Returning home, Bai Yu planned to rest for a couple of days.
Although his food and drink had been quite good over the past two or three days, the mental strain had been rather heavy. Now that everything was settled, it was time to relax for a couple of days.
Moreover, having roughly guessed that his case was no longer an issue, he was even less in any rush to report for duty.
During the two days that Bai Yu spent resting at home while intently practicing his calligraphy and preparing for the prefectural examination, the literary circles of the capital experienced a mild tremor.
The "First Romantic Talent of Jiangnan" had been pressed to the ground and rubbed against the dirt by an obscure little nobody; the dramatic irony of such a contrast was simply too powerful.
And those four technical-masterpiece seven-character quatrains had made numerous literati genuinely realize what a mere word game truly meant.

After resting for two days, Bai Yu arrived at the duty room once more to check in with Commander Qian, lest he be registered as a missing person.
"What were you doing these past few days?" Commander Qian asked suspiciously.
Bai Yu replied, "Didn't Young Master Lu tell you? She was setting up a theatrical stage over there, and I went to help out as a site supervisor."
It was not that Bai Yu intentionally wanted to conceal the truth, but rather because Commander Qian fundamentally remained a trusted subordinate of Commander-in-Chief of Jinyiwei Lu Bing. Should Commander Qian learn of anything, he would undoubtedly report it directly to Lu Bing.
Although he had used a fictional moniker this time, it was still best not to invite trouble for himself with Lu Bing, especially since Lu Bing had issued relevant prohibitions.
"Stop putting on an act!" Commander Qian easily pierced through the excuse. "Don't think I can't guess what you've been up to!"

Just as Bai Yu was preparing to forcefully bluff his way through, the door was abruptly kicked open, and Commander-in-Chief Lu Bing suddenly appeared at the threshold.
"Bai Yu! Look at the fine mess you've made!" Lu Bing roared angrily!