Yu Tang’s gaze was so intense that Pei Yan found it hard to ignore.

He just didn’t quite understand what this Miss Yu was trying to do, suddenly turning her spearhead toward him.

As Pei Yan pondered this in his mind, Yu Tang’s focused gaze suddenly disappeared.

He clicked his tongue inwardly and looked up to see his family’s guards escorting in two burly fellows with brutish faces.

These must be those two vagrants.

Pei Yan examined them carefully.

Ragged clothes, listless spirits, and visible bruises on their exposed skin.

Pei Yan forcibly restrained himself from curling his lips.

After all, they had no experience. Since they were here to serve as witnesses, they should at least be properly cleaned up. Looking like this, anyone could tell they’d suffered hardship. Wouldn’t this just leave a handle for others to grasp later?

Pei Yan quietly sipped his tea, finding today’s tea flavor quite good.

He asked Pei Man standing beside him in a low voice: “Who brewed today’s tea? Tongshan black tea?”

“Yes!” Pei Man said quietly.

Pei Yan had no particular requirements for tea. Today’s selection of Tongshan black tea for entertaining guests was simply because this year’s tea the Pei family received was of quite superior quality.

“The weather is a bit cool. Miss Yan in your quarters said your stomach has been somewhat upset these past few days, so she had us prepare some stomach-warming tea,” Pei Man continued. “If Master doesn’t like it, I’ll have someone change it immediately.”

“No need!” Pei Yan said. “This is fine!”

As he spoke, he felt the Yu family young lady’s gaze fall on him again.

What was this about now?

He calmly raised his head and glanced at Yu Tang.

He saw Miss Yu’s large almond eyes now staring at him, wide as longans.

Pei Yan was slightly surprised.

In his life he had never seen anyone whose eyes could stare like that… wait, that wasn’t right… except for cats.

And the more he thought about it, the more similar it seemed.

Those eyes and brows were similar too.

Like an angry cat.

Pei Yan couldn’t resist and looked again.

Yu Tang was so angry she didn’t know what to say.

The hall was too quiet.

Everyone was waiting for Pei Yan to speak.

Yet Pei Yan was discussing what tea to drink with Pei Man.

For a moment, no one knew what Pei Yan meant.

These gentry had come to serve as witnesses for the Yu family, or rather, to serve as witnesses for both the Li and Yu families. Most were here out of respect for the Pei family, for the sake of Pei Yan presiding over justice for the first time since becoming clan head. Only two or three were here to support and speak for the Yu family. As for which family was truly in the right, that depended on what Pei Yan said and which family’s side Pei Yan stood on. Pei Yan’s attitude was thus crucial.

With him acting like this, everyone was completely confused. When the two families argued later, what attitude should they take, and which side should they stand on?

Li Duan, however, felt relieved.

At least Pei Yan wasn’t obviously standing on the Yu family’s side.

Without waiting for the Yu family to speak, he was first to attack, saying with a gentle attitude: “I presume these are the two witnesses Scholar Yu mentioned. They’re indeed beyond my expectations. These two people once received shelter from my family. Later, when the authorities came to investigate, we learned they were actually pirates who had wandered over from Fujian. After the estate released all the vagrants, these two even tried to extort me. I didn’t expect them to become witnesses for the Yu family.”

The implication was that these two were already dishonorable people who would even go after their benefactors for money, making them completely unreliable as witnesses. He also deliberately pointed out that Yu Wen held the scholar degree, wanting to use his own higher degree to pressure Yu Wen and make everyone predisposed to find his words more credible.

Through his earlier exchange with Li Duan, Yu Wen had already recognized Li Duan’s cunning. Hearing him say this now, his face turned iron blue. Fortunately, he wasn’t without insight and didn’t become flustered by Li Duan’s few words. Instead, he said sternly: “Whether these two vagrants are bandits still requires official investigation. For Young Master Li to reach a conclusion now is somewhat premature.”

Li Duan had called him “Scholar,” so he called Li Duan “Young Master of the Li Family,” using age and seniority to suppress Li Duan. This was also what Yu Tang had just reminded him to do.

“But at the time, someone from the Wei family saw that these two were the ones who went to find Wei Xiaoshan. These two also admitted that they were acting on the Li family’s orders, calling Wei Xiaoshan out under the pretext of being his childhood friends, then tricking him to the small river behind the Wei family home to drown him, and finally throwing the body into the river where Wei Xiaoshan often went to catch fish. I don’t think anyone would randomly pin a murder charge on themselves!”

“Scholar Yu speaks incorrectly!” Li Duan said, glancing at Yu Tang, who, though maintaining a stern face with undisguised anger, appeared even more brilliantly radiant. He continued: “They were already desperate criminals to begin with—what difference does one more or one less murder case make? When anyone faces a life-or-death moment, they’ll think of preserving their own life first. How can these two people’s words be trusted?”

He hadn’t expected Miss Yu to come as well.

Dressed as a servant, yet that smooth forehead and those eyes bright as if reflecting stars couldn’t hide her radiance at all.

He hadn’t wanted things between the Yu family and his to become like this.

But some matters were just ill-fated connections.

If he didn’t crush them now, he would never be able to control the situation.

Such beauty—he had never seen before.

The charm born from those eyes, lively and sparkling, made one involuntarily want to discover what kind of person could possess such an expression, such a gaze.

Li Duan quickly glanced at Pei Yan.

He was somewhat worried that Pei Yan… would discover Miss Yu’s beauty, would therefore favor the Yu family because of it, or even… develop some improper thoughts.

It was actually good that Miss Yu was like this.

Safe!

His mind raced quickly as he once again focused his attention on Yu Wen.

Yu Wen’s face was black as a pot bottom: “According to Young Master Li’s meaning, what’s seen with one’s own eyes and heard with one’s own ears may not necessarily be true. I wonder what would count as true?”

Li Duan was somewhat surprised.

He had thought Yu Wen would continue arguing with him about the two vagrants’ testimony, but Yu Wen had kicked the ball to his side instead.

Could they have other witnesses or physical evidence?

Li Duan became more cautious in his heart, though his face showed nothing as he smiled and said: “I simply can’t think of why our family would absolutely have to harm the life of the Wei family’s second young master?”

Yu Wen was about to speak.

But Li Duan spoke up before him: “I know—you think that because our family wanted to seek marriage with Miss Yu and feared Miss Yu would marry into the Wei family, we killed the Wei family’s second young master. But Scholar Yu, don’t you think this reasoning is extremely absurd? The Wei family’s second young master was a human life, not some cat or dog. My family wanted to seek marriage with Miss Yu, not make enemies with the Yu family! Even if our family insisted forcefully, we should have found a way to hire some hooligans to harass Miss Yu, then arranged for my younger brother to play the hero and rescue her. That way we’d have earned Miss Yu’s gratitude and could have accomplished this marriage. Yes, when Miss Yu was previously harassed by hooligans, that was something our family did out of desperation. This I admit. But as for instigating vagrants to kill the Wei family’s second young master—our family cannot take that blame!”

Everyone hadn’t known about this matter.

As soon as Li Duan finished speaking, people couldn’t help but begin whispering to each other in low voices.

“There was actually such a thing!”

“The Li family is too… too eager to arrange this marriage.”

“Miss Yu really is as beautiful as the rumors say!”

The cascading voices made Yu Wen so angry he couldn’t speak, and made Yu Yuan suddenly stand up, clenching his fists as he walked toward Li Duan.

In her previous life, Yu Yuan had also beaten Li Duan once.

Li Duan was cunning—in front of everyone he didn’t raise a hand in return, and everyone praised Li Duan for his magnanimity. But privately, Li Duan had sent people to ambush Yu Yuan. If A’Liu, who sold water pears in Little Plum Stream, hadn’t inadvertently learned about it and tipped Yu Yuan off, Yu Yuan would have suffered disaster. It was from that time that Yu Tang began to suspect the Li family, to suspect Li Duan.

Yu Tang stepped forward and grabbed Yu Yuan, lowering her voice: “Elder Brother, acting impulsively won’t solve any problems. Since we’ve come to reason with the Li family, I cannot possibly come out of this completely clean. From now on, my reputation cannot be flawless either. But compared to the life of the Wei family’s second young master, none of this matters. We came today to redress the grievances for Second Young Master. You must not lose sight of the big picture over small matters.”

Master Wei was sitting right in front of them and heard every word clearly. Tears immediately streamed down his aged face, and he thought that if in two or three years Yu Tang’s marriage still hadn’t been settled, he would have Wei Xiaochuan marry Yu Tang.

In any case, he couldn’t let such a fine young lady as Yu Tang simply find someone to marry into the family and leave it at that.

Pei Yan, listening attentively from his more distant seat, didn’t hear clearly what Yu Tang said, but felt that Miss Yu must have given her family some advice again.

Seeing her calm expression, Li Duan’s words evidently hadn’t provoked her at all.

Either she had such breadth of spirit, or she had already thought of a countermeasure.

But whether it was the former or the latter, for a woman to achieve this was admirable.

He suddenly very much wanted to know what kind of woman Miss Yu really was.

What had she experienced to transform from a fish eye into a pearl, gaining her own unique radiance?

Pei Yan suddenly very much wanted to know what the Yu family would say next, what they would do.

And the Yu family, or rather Yu Tang, did not disappoint him.

He saw Yu Tang straighten her collar, her posture like a pine tree, composed and calm as she walked out from behind Master Wei and stood before Li Duan.

Li Duan was astonished.

The gentry who had been whispering collectively fell silent. From their initial surprise, to dawning realization and keen interest after guessing Yu Tang’s identity, to each one silent as monks in meditation, gazing at her intently with bright eyes and waiting for her to speak—all this took only the time to drink a few sips of tea.

This was better than Yu Tang had anticipated.

At least these gentry hadn’t immediately cried out asking who she was, thinking that as a woman she shouldn’t be standing here speaking.

Yu Tang gained more confidence. Her eyes, already brilliant as starlight, shone even more brightly, appearing even more dazzling.

“Young Master of the Li Family,” her voice was refined, her manner composed, and her gaze at Li Duan was as cordial as between friends. Unhurried and unrushed, she boldly introduced herself first: “I am Yu Shi. I wonder if Young Master Li recognizes me?”

Li Duan had never dreamed that Yu Tang would come forward in person.

Why hadn’t anyone in the Yu family stopped her?

Did she know what consequences this action would have?

Setting aside everything else, the reputation of being a shrew was now inescapable.

Li Duan’s mind couldn’t quite process this, and he woodenly replied “I recognize you.”

Yu Tang smiled slightly and said: “If I heard correctly, your meaning just now was to admit that those ruffians who harassed me on the Yu family estate were instigated by your family?”

This was already an indisputable fact.

If used properly, it would be like Wenjun selling wine—among literati and poets it would be a beautiful thing that wouldn’t affect the Li family or Li Jun’s reputation.

Li Duan acknowledged it.