The old woman still cried injustice, claiming the person behind the scenes who hired her had guaranteed that the medicine would only cause diarrhea for two days and have no other major effects.

Hearing this, Mr. Zhao immediately recounted how the rabbit had suffered from diarrhea to the point of collapse and that its eyes were unfocused when they arrived.

So, on the grounds that the old woman wasn’t being truthful, the constables gave her two more lashes of the whip.

This time, the old woman truly spilled everything she knew.

She didn’t know who had ordered her to do it, or what that person’s motive was.

But she remembered what the man looked like. He was short and fat, his whole body resembling a big, round winter melon.

He also had a large mole by the corner of his mouth and spoke with a somewhat effeminate tone, looking a bit like a matchmaker.

All in all, he was a person with very distinct features who should be easy to find.

The one who sent those hooligans to snatch her at the county town entrance was this same person.

The hooligans had received a sum of silver early in the morning. The man had instructed them to rescue an old woman if they saw one in tattered clothes, with disheveled hair, looking like a beggar, being escorted to the county town.

They didn’t know why they were supposed to rescue her, nor did they care what the old woman had done. All they knew was that the man had given each of them one tael of silver beforehand and promised another two taels afterward.

Earning three taels so easily was a stroke of good fortune they couldn’t even dream of.

So, without a second thought, they did exactly as instructed.

They didn’t know the purpose of their actions either, only that the man’s appearance was identical to the one the old woman had described.

As it happened, a person with such a distinct appearance was known not only to Zhao Jing, but to Chen Song as well.

He wasn’t a major figure, but he wasn’t a complete nobody either.

He was famous for one reason: he had a good master.

That man was the Zheng Family’s steward. And the Zheng Family not only had a Scholar in their ranks but also owned five hundred acres of fertile land.

They were a renowned family of scholars and farmers in Qingshui County.

So what was the connection between the Zheng Family and Zhao Jing’s family?

Zhao Jing’s father, the Scholar Mr. Zhao, had fallen from a boat while attending a banquet hosted by the Scholar Mr. Zheng. He subsequently fell gravely ill and passed away.

When the elder Mr. Zhao was sent back home, it was this very Mr. Zheng, the steward, who personally escorted him. He even brought medicinal herbs and supplements to express his master’s apologies.

But his master, the Scholar Mr. Zheng, waited until after the elder Mr. Zhao had died and the Zhao Family began holding the funeral. Only then did he join the other Scholars from the county town—friends of the deceased—to visit the Zhao Family and offer condolences.

And in the three years since, the Zheng Family had not once set foot in the Zhao Village. They didn’t even come to light a stick of incense on the anniversary of the elder Mr. Zhao’s death.

Many of the elders in the county town knew about this incident. Whenever the Zheng Family was mentioned, many couldn’t help but shake their heads.

They’d say that the Zheng Family truly lived up to their reputation as a great household that had amassed five hundred acres of land—they were unscrupulous, callous and ungrateful, treacherous and dishonest. They’d add that it was no wonder the Zheng Family’s subsequent generations were declining. After all, the head of the family, Mr. Zheng, only managed to pass the exam to become a Scholar after he was already past fifty. It was all karmic retribution from the heavens.

At this point, the Zheng Family’s intention to stop Zhao Jing from taking the imperial examinations was already obvious.

They were worried that if Zhao Jing succeeded, he would "avenge" his father. Therefore, they would rather nip this potential threat in the bud.

After reaching this conclusion, Chen Song and the County Magistrate were so furious they practically bit their lips raw.

"They’ve gone too far!"

"Their minds are full of wicked schemes, all spent on filthy matters. No wonder their family is in decline!"

Chen Song went to arrest them personally, but the Zheng Family was clearly prepared.

Mr. Zheng, the steward, and Mr. Zheng, the scholar, had gone out early in the morning to visit friends, so the Zheng Family claimed not to know their whereabouts.

The Zheng Family may not have known, but the Zhao Family did.

Zhao Jing was a sharp one. Just as he had arranged for someone to notify his father-in-law to come to the government office earlier, he naturally wouldn’t let the fleeing hooligans get away either.

He had arranged for his cousin to follow them, and that surveillance now paid off.

Mr. Zheng, the steward, and Mr. Zheng, the scholar, were listening to a storyteller in a courtyard when Chen Song and his men burst in.

He then had both of them bound and taken away.

Once at the county government office, Mr. Zheng, the steward, refused to confess at first. It was only after seeing the old woman and the leader of the hooligans that he grimly took all the blame.

He was clearly trying to take the fall for his master, which was understandable. After all, the servitude contracts for his wife and children were held by the Zheng Family. If he shouldered all the blame, his family might be treated well. But if he betrayed his master, his entire family would likely suffer a horrible death.

However, the government office had plenty of interrogation methods. To curry favor with Chen Song, the constables used every trick in their book.