Chapter 10

Baili Chuan stopped behind her, smiled at her, and nodded slightly.

“Miss Jiang, there’s no need for thanks. I would have risked my life to save you no matter who it was today.” Baili Chuan’s expression was sincere. If it weren’t for that shrewd glint in his eyes, she might have believed him.

But Baili Chuan was too lazy to even bother to lie to her.

"Thank you very much, Young Master Li. I just don't know who your master is, that your martial arts are so high."

Her sudden question caught Baili Chuan off guard. When he understood the question, a faint murderous aura emanated from his body.

But Baili Chuan concealed it well, quickly suppressing it with a deep expression, cold eyes, and a smile on his lips.

“Why would Miss Jiang ask about this? I have no teacher; I just learn from others. If I were to say I have a teacher, it would be the entire village.”

She narrowed her eyes subtly. Baili Chuan's words, full of loopholes, made her want to laugh, but she didn't say anything more, only nodded.

Just as he was about to turn around, he thanked her again.

"Thank you so much, Young Master Li. If it weren't for your help, I probably wouldn't have been able to get in so quickly."

Baili Chuan looked at her meaningfully, his smile deepening, concealing the gloom and danger in his eyes.

"Miss Jiang, there's no need for thanks. As I just said, I would have helped whoever it was today, and I believe others would have done the same."

"Besides, I trust Uncle Jiang during my time at the Jiang family. There might be some misunderstanding in this matter."

Baili Chuan spoke slowly, his voice gentle and warm, and even his eyes softened and became more determined as he spoke.

The hostility dissipated, and he looked very sincere.

She smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Li, but I might be causing you trouble these days."

"It's alright."

She turned and continued toward the front yard, and Baili Chuan naturally followed her.

When the two arrived at the front hall, a large group of people had gathered inside.

Her second uncle and aunt were there, as was Jiang Yunzheng, whom she had originally planned to meet at the restaurant.

My aunt's family was also sitting in the front hall; her parents were frowning and silent.

When Jiang Shuyue saw her, she got up and came to greet her.

"Jiang Yunshu, you're finally back! Your uncle was about to come looking for you himself. What were you doing?"

"What exactly is going on at home?"

She glanced at everyone, and they all looked worried and distressed. Even her parents only glanced at her when they saw her return.

Jiang Shuyue then sighed.

“A few days ago, Youxian County was flooded, so my uncle thought of lowering the price of last year’s old rice so that more people could have food and not starve to death on the streets.”

Her father sighed deeply again, and her brows furrowed even more.

“We never had this problem with the old rice from previous years. I don’t know what’s going on this year. Many people have been poisoned after eating it, and even the doctors who went to the clinic couldn’t figure out what was wrong.”

"These people have latched onto the Jiang family, claiming that people died from eating the Jiang family's old rice, and that we deliberately poisoned it, selling it so cheaply to kill them!"

Jiang Shuyue became somewhat indignant as she spoke.

They're just businessmen; wouldn't they be throwing money away by doing these things?

“We just want money, how could we do something that harms others and doesn’t benefit ourselves? Besides, the Jiang family isn’t that black-hearted.”

She recalled the whole incident and felt that it was filled with a strong sense of conspiracy from beginning to end.

My gaze involuntarily drifted to Jiang Yunzheng, who was holding a teacup in front of him with a troubled expression. After taking a small sip, he sighed and put it down.

Their eyes met as they raised their eyebrows, and Jiang Yunzheng paused, saying, "There must be something fishy about this."

After she finished speaking, Baili Chuan behind her nodded in agreement.

“Brother Jiang is right. Why are these people so certain that this matter is related to the Jiang family? I’m afraid someone is stirring things up behind the scenes.”

Jiang Jinhong raised his hand and rubbed his temples vigorously: "This matter is indeed strange, but..."

He sighed. There are no absolute partners in business. Those people would frame the Jiang family behind their backs, and he had no way of investigating.

"Let's go out and calm everyone down first, otherwise it won't work if these people keep crowding the door."

Jiang Jinhong stood up with a worried look on his face and walked out with heavy steps.

She was still looking at Jiang Yunzheng. Baili Chuan had somehow sat down next to Jiang Yunzheng, and the two of them looked at Jiang Jinhong and spoke together.

"Uncle, I'll go."

"Uncle Jiang, I'll go."

Jiang Jinhong turned to look at the two of them, and Baili Chuan said again, "Those people are in a bad mood right now and won't listen to anything we say, so I'll go instead."

Jiang Jinhong shook his head: "We have to give them an explanation. Our Jiang family hasn't gotten by by running away all these years."

"Then I'll go with you."

Baili Chuan quickly added that Jiang Jinhong's expression was tinged with emotion.

She was filled with doubt, but she suspected that this matter was probably related to Baili Chuan.

Her gaze swept over Jiang Yunzheng again. He was hesitant, but he followed his father to the door.

They were quite a distance apart, and she wanted to go over, but Ruan Qingshang grabbed her and said, "You stay here. Those people outside are going crazy. If they get hurt, do you expect me to come and take care of Ayao for you?"

She had to stop and look around; Ayao wasn't in the front hall.

“Ayao couldn’t find you. You’re in my room right now, playing with Qingdai.”

She sat back down. She couldn't see the situation clearly with the Jiang family for the time being, but she was certain that it was inextricably linked to Baili Chuan and Jiang Yunzheng.

"Where is Jing Chu?" Ruan Qingshang asked.

She then remembered that Ling Jingchu was still at the clinic.

Then, thinking about how he had been poisoned, I felt incredibly guilty.

Looking into her mother's eyes, she decided to respect Ling Jingchu's choice. Even if this matter were to be told to her parents, it should be Ling Jingchu himself who said it.

"He said he had some business to attend to and rode in my carriage. Later, I heard about this on the street and came back. He was still outside."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingshang muttered again, "This child is always like this. I've told him so many times, but he's always thinking about those kids who don't come home. I don't even know how many times he's gone out at this time."

After saying that, he sighed again: "Well, it's good that we're out now, at least we don't have to worry about the Jiang family's affairs."

"These people don't seem to be leaving anytime soon; they don't look like they're going to stay."

Jiang Yunshu was also helpless. She didn't know how these people had been bewitched, as they had surrounded her house and shop.

Just then, a commotion came from the doorway.

"Whatever the Jiang family wants to do is just a casual remark. Do you expect all of us to frame your Jiang family?"

"Are the lives of the Jiang family members precious, but the lives of us are not?"

"Don't think you can fool us with a few words. We've lost a son and a life!"

"If we weren't older and still able to hold on, would anyone in the entire Jiangnan region be alive? I think the Jiang family is trying to kill us!"

"They even said they had a way to make our sons not pay taxes, but their own family members had already paid theirs. They wouldn't lend us any money, so they were trying to poison all our sons!"

Someone rushed forward and shouted at the top of their lungs: "Old man, how cruel you are!"

The man waved his hand and shouted to the crowd behind him, "Let's rush in together and lighten their burden!"

Everyone rushed forward, and even the servants in the mansion couldn't stop them.

Jiang Yunzheng, who knew no martial arts, retreated repeatedly.

Only Baili Chuan remained standing at the door, trying to stop people from rushing in.

She didn't actually know the martial arts moves of the Li Kingdom; she had never observed them in either of her lives. But Baili Chuan's current moves were clearly very different from the two moves he made at the back gate before.

It seemed like it was deliberately shown to her.

But Baili Chuan was clearly much more restrained, and these people rushed in after only a few exchanges.

Ruan Qingshang subconsciously pulled her behind him, and Jiang Shuyue was also pushed behind by his mother. The two looked at each other and she saw Jiang Shuyue's panic. She squeezed Jiang Shuyue's palm.

She said softly, "It's nothing."

Jiang Shuyue looked at her, her expression somewhat dazed, yet seemingly more dependent.

What are you going to do?!

Jiang Jinhong roared, and the man in the lead glanced at him and gave a mocking smile.

"What do we want to do? Your Jiang family has committed countless heinous crimes, yet you still have the nerve to ask us what we want to do?!"

"We will make you pay with your lives for our children!"

The man roared with bloodshot eyes, and the men behind him were also stirred up, each one filled with rage and their eyes bloodshot.

"You are the ones who deserve to die the most!"

The man picked up a white porcelain bottle from the yard and smashed it down hard.

*Smack!*

The crisp sound was like a war horn, and the group was completely enraged. They rushed in and smashed the things on the table on the ground.

Someone rushed forward and stopped her mother, pulling out a sharp knife from somewhere, laughing fiercely and arrogantly.

"Why do you all deserve to live such a good life? You people from the Jiang family should all die!"

Just as she was about to step forward and push the man away, Ruan Qingshang kicked him away, and the dagger fell to the ground.

She strode forward, stepped on the dagger, and kicked it even further into the house.

The man lying on the ground was even more furious, his eyes fixed on her, and he growled in a low voice: "You will die a horrible death for doing such a heinous thing. May all the people in your Jiang family die a horrible death!"

At this point, saying anything more would be superfluous.

Ruan Qingshang suddenly grabbed her hand and led her to the backyard, where the group of people were making a scene at the Jiang family's house without any regard for the situation.

Fortunately, only that person carried a sharp knife, so Qing Shuang was able to defend herself.

Jiang Shuyue, who had practiced martial arts for several years, led her parents to the backyard. Jiang Yunzheng, a scholar, was being protected by his second uncle as they retreated.

Everyone left quickly, and her father, Jiang Jinhong, was taken into custody by those people.

"It seems the Jiang family isn't as united as the rumors suggest. When something like this happens, they're the first to run away!"

"But wait a moment, we'll reunite your family down there!"

After saying that, he laughed with a ferocious expression, looking extremely pleased.

"Wait!" an urgent voice rang out. "This matter has not yet been investigated. How can you all be so certain that the Jiang family is the one who poisoned them?"

The burly man at the head of the group turned to look at the gate. Ling Jingchu's face was cold, his lips were still pale, but his eyes were sharp and cold.

"Master Ling?" The burly man sneered. "I advise you not to get involved in this mess. We all know about your connection with the Jiang family, but this matter is not something you scholars can understand with just a few words!"

"Human life is of paramount importance, you are right."

Ling Jingchu's voice became more steady. He stepped forward and looked directly at the big man: "But what if this matter has nothing to do with the Jiang family? You not only harmed the Jiang family, but also let go of the person who really killed your child behind the scenes."

"Are you really willing to let this kind of person get away with it?"