Shu Yu stayed in the prefecture for another two days as the case was reopened.
However, the officers who went to Donggu County didn't bring back any useful evidence. Tracing the origin of the rumors from the bottom up resulted in nothing.
The whole Donggu County is so big; some people only heard a bit without knowing who spoke, nor did they recognize them. How would they know where the source came from?
After investigating repeatedly with no results, there was no direct evidence to prove that Qian Fangli was the one who spread the rumors.
Ultimately, after being imprisoned for two months, Qian Fangli was still released back home.
However, there was solid evidence of him instigating others to steal, and he was sentenced to compensate the couple, Madam Liang and her husband, with twenty taels of silver.
Additionally, the Qian family was prohibited from continuing to plant sunflowers, or produce sunflower oil and melon seeds.
