The Miss Zi Jin that Nanny Xia mentioned was someone Madam Mei Chonglin had helped find.

She had once been a courtesan. Though not the top courtesan, she was popular in the pleasure house, especially among young scholars.

Later, she fell in love with a young scholar, who returned her affections. With his help, she redeemed herself and married him. However, not long after, she was schemed against by the scholar’s wife and driven out of the household.

After leaving the scholar’s home, she hoped to get far away from Lin’an City, to go somewhere where no one knew her and start a new life. Unfortunately, fearing she might be harmed along the way, she had no choice but to temporarily remain in Lin’an, seeking an opportunity.

As it happened, one of Old Madam Mei’s servants knew about her situation and mentioned it as gossip, which Old Madam Mei overheard.

Old Madam Mei had been entrusted by Old Madam Ye to find someone. She had looked at several courtesans but wasn’t satisfied with any of them. Some had too strong a worldly air about them and couldn’t move Song Yifeng’s heart, while others were either too greedy or loose-lipped, potentially causing endless trouble.

When she heard about such a person, she went to meet Zi Jin and ultimately decided to ask for her help. She promised that once the goal was achieved, she would send someone to escort Zi Jin to a small town in the south and provide her with a sum of money.

Nanny Xia had been quite concerned at the time. Pan Cheng, a servant at Old Madam Mei’s side, went to see her and returned to complain to Ye Yaming and Bai Rui, saying that Zi Jin’s appearance was nothing special, not even comparable to their young miss. Song Yifeng would have to be a fool to fall for her.

However, at least this person was clever and resourceful, had been educated, and possessed some scholarly talent. Moreover, she was someone who was about to leave Lin’an, making her an excellent candidate. They might as well let her try.

As a result, in just a few days, Nanny Xia was proven wrong.

Zi Jin had the face of a first love, yet she became popular in the pleasure house, which meant she was definitely both intelligent and skilled in her methods.

She brought an old woman with her and moved near the Song family’s home, “accidentally” encountering Song Yifeng several times, asking for his help, and making small gifts to thank him. Over time, Song Yifeng began to think about her. After Zi Jin didn’t appear before him for three days, he took the initiative to visit her and offer assistance.

This seemed incredible to Nanny Xia. After all, in everyone’s eyes, Song Yifeng was as upright a person as could be. He studied diligently every day and never spared a glance for young women.

“That Miss Zi Jin must be an extremely clever person. Perhaps after marrying, she discovered that the scholar wasn’t a good man, and simply turned the tables by allowing herself to be driven out. As for Song Yifeng…”

Ye Yaming let out a cold snort, shaking her head without continuing.

With Song Yifeng becoming the Ye family’s son-in-law, he was under financial pressure. He didn’t dare to cause any scandal, because he knew that Ye Chongming absolutely would not tolerate such a thing, and if he wanted to be considered as a potential son-in-law by those officials, he couldn’t have such a reputation.

But young men at the peak of their hormones, after being repressed for a long time, sometimes have moments of rebellion. Having passed the provincial examination and riding on the wind of success, he discovered that the Ye family wasn’t as invincible as he thought, and his rebellious tendencies urgently needed an outlet.

Coincidentally, at this time a girl with the face of a first love appeared, highly talented, whose words and actions were impeccable, appearing extremely intelligent, and perhaps with a bit of personality—hadn’t this struck directly at his heart?

“What do we do next?” Nanny Xia asked.

Whether it was her, Old Madam Mei, or Old Madam Ye, they only knew to find such a girl to move Song Yifeng’s heart, preferably to engage in an affair with him, and use this to create drama.

As for what kind of drama, and how to make Song Yifeng break off the engagement while ruining his reputation, even these three shrewd old women couldn’t come up with an especially good plan. However, Old Madam Ye and Nanny Xia were confident that Ye Yaming had a good method, so they weren’t anxious.

“Let her continue to strengthen the relationship, preferably until Song Yifeng is madly in love with her,” Ye Yaming said.

The fish had bitten the hook, but it wasn’t secure yet. Now was not the time to be impatient.

“Yes.” Seeing that Ye Yaming wasn’t willing to share the subsequent plan, Nanny Xia could only leave awkwardly.

After Nanny Xia left, Ye Yaming had someone keep an eye on the news from Ye Chongming’s side. As soon as he returned, she went to the main courtyard.

“What happened with Meng Chengwei?” she asked.

Ye Chongming raised his hand, and Ye Jiaxing vividly recounted the course of events to her.

Even if Magistrate Qi hadn’t previously decided whether to take action against Meng Chengwei, he hadn’t been idle. He had dug deeply into the matter, uncovering the movements of the bandits and each person who had acted as an intermediary with Meng Chengwei.

Once he decided to take action, he moved on multiple fronts, sending many people out to arrest both the bandits and the intermediaries.

After bringing these people to the Lin’an magistrate’s office, he then had Ye Chongming go to Yang’s teahouse to create a scene and arrest Meng Chengwei.

Therefore, the trial proceeded very smoothly. One witness after another came forward to testify. Finally, the bandits firmly implicated Meng Chengwei as the instigator. Ye Hongchang and the two severely injured escort guards came to testify, and the medical clinic also provided witnesses, firmly nailing down the case.

“What was the final verdict?” Ye Yaming asked.

“Eighteen strokes with the heavy bamboo on the spine, one year of hard labor, and exile for two thousand li,” Ye Chongming said.

Speaking of this, he sighed and said, “Originally, I was worried day and night about the tea money being robbed. Now, I regret that it wasn’t taken.”

“Indeed,” Ye Jiaxing said. “If it had been stolen, Meng Chengwei wouldn’t have gotten off so lightly. He would have been sentenced to twenty strokes with the heavy bamboo, three years of hard labor, and exile for three thousand li.”

Ye Yaming nodded.

Although the Great Jin Dynasty was fictional, it was very similar to the historical Song and Ming dynasties. After arriving in the Great Jin, except for being busy for a few days making osmanthus tea, she had been quite idle most of the time. She didn’t enjoy reading the original owner’s romantic poetry and books, so she specifically asked Lu’E to buy her a copy of “Jin Laws” to read.

She felt that regardless of what society one lived in, one should first understand what could and couldn’t be done in that society. Knowing the laws and being familiar with the rules would allow one to operate within boundaries without being cut down.

In the Song Dynasty, the punishment for robbery was very severe. The perpetrator would be beheaded, their property confiscated, and their wife and children sent thousands of li away for hard labor.

The Ming Dynasty followed the “Tang Code,” with even heavier penalties. For those who attempted robbery but didn’t obtain any property, they were sentenced to exile; for those who succeeded in stealing money, regardless of whether they injured or killed anyone, they were sentenced to beheading.

The laws of the Great Jin were more like those of the Ming.

The Ye family’s tea money had not been stolen, but Ye Hongchang was lightly injured, and three escort guards were severely injured. According to the law, although it didn’t warrant a death sentence, the punishment was still very severe.

However, since Meng Chengwei was only the instigator, not the actual perpetrator, his sentence was reduced by one degree. Therefore, he was only sentenced to eighteen strokes with the heavy bamboo, one year of hard labor, and exile for two thousand li.

If the Meng family used silver to bribe officials everywhere, perhaps he would only be exiled for two or three months before returning to the capital to continue enjoying his wealth and status.

But this experience, for Young Master Meng who had sailed smoothly through life, was undoubtedly the greatest humiliation of his life. And having a criminal record would greatly impact his future reputation.

Compared to the fate of the Ye family in her previous life, Meng Chengwei’s punishment was naturally insufficient. Unfortunately, despite Ye Yaming using all her strength and leveraging the power of Lu Guanyi and Magistrate Qi, this was the best outcome she could achieve.