A look of defiance was clearly written on his face, as if saying, I’ve done it, what are you going to do about it?

Even if you take this to court, the magistrate won’t be able to do anything to me.

Seeing this, Jian Xiu simply gave him a faint smile, not saying anything.

To her, people like him weren’t worth wasting another word on.

Her current focus was on Zhang Zixuan’s identity.

She was thinking about how she could get the magistrate to investigate Zhang Zixuan’s background, or if she should look into it herself later.

After all, this was a rare opportunity.

With this in mind, Jian Xiu looked toward Mo Shanrui, preparing to speak.

But before she could, he slammed the gavel down with a loud thud and announced:

“Offender Zhang Zihua, guilty of wounding and killing in a fight. According to the laws of the Da Shun dynasty, he will receive 20 lashes and be imprisoned for a year and a half. Offender Zhang Liu Dimei, guilty of stealing goods from another household. While she has returned half of the stolen goods, the other half remains unreturned. I hereby order that she return the remaining half immediately and clean up the mess in the Jian family’s courtyard. In addition, she shall pay five liang of silver as compensation to Jian Xiu.”

The punishment left everyone in the old house stunned.

Before anyone could react, Mo Shanrui’s voice rang out again.

“Do you have any objections to this punishment?”

Upon hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances.

Moreover, the way he phrased it made it clear that they dared not speak out.

However, when they thought about the five liang of silver, they regretted their actions.

Old Liu wasn’t too bad off—though she felt the pain of losing the silver, at least she could return home.

Zhang Zihua, on the other hand, looked completely dazed.

It was as if he didn’t understand the punishment Mo Shanrui had just declared.

Seeing this, Jian Xiu just gave a cold smile and didn’t say anything.

At the same time, she realized that it might be difficult to investigate Zhang Zixuan’s identity here.

First, the matter was coming to an end, and there was no need to keep pressing for details about Zhang Zixuan’s background.

Second, even if she found out about Zhang Zixuan’s identity, he probably wouldn’t want to be associated with the family that abandoned him.

Besides, he was living quite well now, wasn’t he?

It wasn’t until they left the courthouse that Jian Xiu realized it was already late in the afternoon.

After greeting Wu Mingtang and Mo Shanhuai, Jian Xiu immediately headed to Caifangzhai.

She certainly wouldn’t forget about the long line she had seen in the morning.

Knowing that Jian Xiu was heading to Caifangzhai, Mo Shanhuai quickly stopped her.

“Where are you going?” Jian Xiu asked curiously.

“Where are you going now?” Mo Shanhuai asked, feigning casualness.

In fact, he had already seen Rong Zhihe earlier and knew that Jian Xiu was probably going to Caifangzhai.

“Oh, I’m just going to Caifangzhai!” Jian Xiu replied honestly.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she seemed to have seen Rong Zhihe inside earlier.

However, when she came out, he was nowhere to be found.

She probably had just mistaken him for someone else.

Mo Shanhuai seemed to have read her thoughts and said, “Rong Dongjia from Caifangzhai did indeed come earlier, but when he saw you were fine, he left.”

“I knew it! I thought I saw him…”

At this point, Jian Xiu realized something was off.

Both men were busy, so why were they still lingering here after she had already been fine?

Looking at their eager expressions, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but laugh.

It was clear now—they were food lovers through and through.

“No need to worry, I’ll go check and bring anything back for you if I can. Is that alright?” Jian Xiu said helplessly.

“That would be great, thank you so much, Jian Xiu,” they both replied in unison.

“Jian Xiaoniang…”

Just as she was about to turn around, she heard someone calling her from behind.

Turning around, she found it was a servant from Rong Zhihe’s side at Caifangzhai.

“Were you waiting for me here?”

“Yes, my master asked me to wait for you.”

“Alright, let’s go then,” Jian Xiu said calmly.

She didn’t ask what the matter was, since there was no need to. She had planned to go there anyway.

With that thought, Jian Xiu took the lead and walked toward Caifangzhai.

..

At Caifangzhai, Rong Zhihe, having confirmed that Jian Xiu was fine, finally felt relieved and returned to the shop.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to wait, but he simply didn’t have the time.

He was leaving for the capital in two days, and he needed to make sure everything was in order at Caifangzhai.

“Can the kitchen handle all the orders for cakes?” Rong Zhihe asked the shopkeeper, Fu.

“There are just too many people. It’s going to take a while before we can produce enough,” Fu replied.

Rong Zhihe then asked, “With the cakes being so popular, should we raise the price?”

Upon hearing this, Rong Zhihe fell into thought.

Honestly, the price of the cakes was already quite high.

But because they tasted so good and were so unique, they were in high demand.

Most importantly, these cakes were the most profitable item for Caifangzhai.

If they raised the price now, it might seem like price gouging.

After thinking for a moment, Rong Zhihe said, “Let’s hold off on raising the price for now. Just try to make more cakes in the kitchen.”

Though Fu didn’t fully understand the reasoning, he didn’t argue and took the account book to the kitchen.

When Jian Xiu arrived, Rong Zhihe was sitting in the back courtyard, resting his eyes.

“Is something wrong? I heard you were looking for me?” Jian Xiu asked first.

Looking at Rong Zhihe, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but admit that he was quite handsome.

Compared to the celebrities from her past life, he was just as good, if not better.

In fact, there was an understated charm about him that almost surpassed those stars.

“Have you taken care of everything?” When he heard Jian Xiu’s voice, Rong Zhihe opened his eyes.

Earlier, he had thought that Jian Xiu was just a slightly stronger village woman.

But after hearing her words in the courtroom today, he realized she was far from ordinary.

Those words weren’t something an ordinary person could say.

Even scholars would have trouble articulating them as clearly as she did.