Chapter 56: IOU

Listening to Chen Fan’s seductive tone, Chen Hao subconsciously looked at Zhao Hongwei standing to the side.

Catching this movement, Zhao Hongwei narrowed his eyes, a sharp and chilling gleam flashing through his gaze.

Chen Hao immediately pulled back his gaze.

"I did all of this entirely by myself. I have no accomplices," Chen Hao suddenly said through gritted teeth, speaking in a loud voice.

Hearing this and recalling Chen Hao's previous reaction, Chen Fan knew that Zhao Hongwei must have threatened Chen Hao earlier down below.

"Why did you do such a thing?" Imperial College Director Liu asked with a cold glare.

Before coming here, he had been quite interested in Chen Hao because Chen Hao was Dongyang County's youngest scholar.

However, after meeting him in person, Chen Hao's one blunder after another had gradually exhausted Director Liu's patience and hope.

Now, realizing that Chen Hao was the mastermind behind the framing of Chen Fan—and the very reason he had been forced to travel over a hundred miles in three days—Director Liu felt a surge of intense hatred in his heart.

"My grandmother wanted to hand the Chen family estate over to Chen Fan. I couldn't swallow my anger, which is why I did this," Chen Hao blurted out.

Hearing this, Director Liu's hatred for Chen Hao grew even deeper.

He didn't doubt what Chen Hao was saying, because he had been present when Chen Hao's grandmother wanted to pass the family estate to Chen Fan.

Driven by jealousy, Chen Hao committing such an act was entirely logical.

Beside them, Chen Fan furrowed his brow. It seemed Chen Hao had even prepared his excuse well in advance.

"Guards, take the criminal Chen Hao down to the dungeon."

"Wait until I thoroughly investigate the matter before rendering a final judgment," Magistrate Zhao quickly interjected, afraid that any further variables might arise.

Soon, Chen Hao was led away by several bailiffs.

Watching him leave, Zhao Hongwei and Zhao达 exchanged glances, and corners of their mouths lifted into matching smiles.

"Lord Fang, Director Liu, this case was poorly investigated due to my own negligence and dereliction of duty. I am deeply grateful to the two lords for coming here to overturn this miscarriage of justice."

"Otherwise, I fear my conscience would give me no peace for the rest of my days!" Magistrate Zhao walked up to Fang Zhengru and Director Liu with an expression of profound remorse.

Seeing Zhao达 put on this act, the two elders merely nodded silently without speaking.

Noticing this, Zhao达 knew they were still extremely displeased with him.

This made him instantly anxious. If he offended these two heavyweights, his remaining years would likely be very difficult.

Moreover, one of them was the current Emperor's tutor, while the other was the Director of the Imperial College—both of whom held the direct power to shape the destiny of his son, Zhao Hongwei!

He had always pinned all hopes of the Zhao family on Zhao Hongwei, so how could he not be terrified?

"Lord Zhao, since you just admitted your dereliction of duty, how do you plan to compensate me for my losses over the past few days?"

At this moment, Chen Fan asked with a mischievous smile.

Since they couldn't pin a crime directly on Zhao Hongwei, Chen Fan had no intention of letting the Zhao family off so easily.

Hearing this, Zhao达 immediately cast a guarded look at Chen Fan.

Last time, this brat had extorted six thousand taels from him with just a few words.

"What kind of compensation do you want?" Zhao Hongwei asked warily, staring at Chen Fan.

"Ten thousand taels," Chen Fan said, holding up a single finger.

That was by no means a small sum.

"Chen Fan, keep dreaming! Ten thousand taels? Why don't you look in the mirror and see if you're worth ten thousand taels?"

Before Zhao达 could speak, Zhao Hongwei shouted fiercely from the side.

He had already thrown a robe over his shoulders, though it looked somewhat mismatched and disheveled.

"Chen Fan, you are asking for an exorbitant sum! We will never give you ten thousand taels," Zhao达 also stated with a resolute expression.

He had deeply regretted giving Chen Fan those six thousand taels last time.

Director Liu and Fang Zhengru nearby also felt that Chen Fan was asking for a bit too much.

"How is this an exorbitant demand?"

"My books haven't been sold all these days. How should that loss be calculated?"

"As the sages say, an inch of time is worth an inch of gold. How do you compensate me for wasting my time these past few days?"

"I've been terrified out of my wits in that dungeon, unable to sleep or eat properly. I'll surely suffer from insomnia and nightmares for decades to come. How is this mental anguish to be compensated?"

"Most importantly, this wrongful conviction has severely damaged my reputation. You both know how important a person's reputation is; this cannot be measured in silver alone. Asking for ten thousand taels is actually cutting you a discount."

Chen Fan fired a series of rhetorical questions at Zhao达 and Zhao Hongwei.

Listening to these words, the father and son were momentarily stunned. They had never heard of any "mental anguish fee."

Yet, as they listened, it felt as though Chen Fan truly had suffered massive losses, making ten thousand taels not seem so unreasonable after all.

Not only did they harbor this thought, but Fang Zhengru and Director Liu standing beside them felt the same way.

"What Chen Fan says is quite reasonable. Ten thousand taels is actually a very fair price," Director Liu finally chimed in.

As soon as Director Liu finished speaking, Fang Zhengru stepped forward and added, "When one does wrong, one must find a way to make restitution. Chen Fan is not asking for too much."

Hearing Fang Zhengru say this, Zhao达 no longer dared to object.

"Fine, I will compensate you with ten thousand taels. However, I don't have that much silver on hand right now. I will pay you once I have the funds," Zhao达 said.

He certainly didn't dare admit in front of Fang Zhengru that he possessed ten thousand taels in cash, lest he be branded as a corrupt official.

Hearing this response, Chen Fan was far from satisfied.

"When you have money—how long will that be? Empty promises are worth nothing. Would Lord Zhao please be so kind as to write an IOU?" Chen Fan said with a smile.

The color drained entirely from Zhao达's face. He was a dignified county magistrate, yet a penniless youth was demanding that he write an IOU.

"Do you not trust me as an official?" Zhao达 asked coldly.

"Not at all. I simply cannot trust the moral character of the Zhao family," Chen Fan replied bluntly.

This left Zhao达 utterly humiliated and unable to step down with grace.

With gritted teeth, he had no choice but to take up a brush and write the IOU.

"Are you satisfied now?" Zhao达 handed the completed IOU to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan inspected it carefully before tucking it away into his tunic with a satisfied grin.

With all matters settled, Chen Fan respectfully escorted Director Liu and Fang Zhengru back to their inn.

"Chen Fan, the two of us old men traveled hundreds of miles over several days to save you. How do you plan to repay us?"

As soon as they entered the inn, Director Liu spoke up.

"This humble one is deeply grateful to both lords. If not for the two of you, I surely would have died a wrongful death."

"The money I just collected was actually requested on behalf of you two honored lords."

Without the slightest bit of reluctance, Chen Fan handed the warm IOU straight to the two elders.

Neither of them reached out to take it.

"That is not what we want," Director Liu said with a faint smile.

Chen Fan naturally knew what Director Liu was after—nothing more than wanting him to enroll in the Imperial College. But Chen Fan’s ambitions lay entirely elsewhere.

"Director Liu, Lord Fang, this humble one truly has no desire to study at the Imperial College, nor do I wish to pursue any official titles or honors."
"My only wish is to make money, take a wife, and enjoy a warm kang bed with my family. That is the life I aspire to."
"I humbly beg the two lords not to make things difficult for me," Chen Fan said with a helpless expression.

Hearing this, Director Liu instantly frowned.