Help

"He must be deliberately making things difficult for me because of what happened with Zou Wuniang last time!"

Walking out of the main hall of the county government office, Zhao Mingyan was furious and clenched his fists in anger.

She had indeed heard that in order to help Zou Wuniang clear her name, Lord Qi not only ran around a lot, but also offended many celebrities and gentry. However, she believed that as an official, Lord Qi should fulfill his duties to the people.

But she never thought that one day he would use his power to take revenge on her.

"Actually, Lord Qi is right. This is indeed the law of our dynasty. I overestimated myself and thought he would be more lenient with us because I am a 'sir'." Merlin smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Mr. Mei, this is not your problem, he is targeting me... Ouch!"

Zhao Mingyan just rushed forward, wanting to leave this suffocating county government office as soon as possible and not bump into anyone at the gate.

She was caught off guard, but her footing was stable. She only staggered two steps before regaining her footing.

The person who collided with her was in a more embarrassing situation. She stumbled backwards and was about to fall. Fortunately, Merlin was quick-witted and stepped forward to support her.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Merlin asked hurriedly.

Zhao Mingyan looked up and saw that the other person was pregnant. Her heart immediately jumped up and she hurried over to apologize: "I'm sorry! I didn't pay attention to the road. Is everything okay, madam? Do you want to go to a nearby clinic?"

The pregnant woman took a few breaths before shaking her head. "I'm fine. I didn't look at the road myself. It's not entirely your fault."

Hearing this, Zhao Mingyan looked at her pale face and her belly, which looked to be four or five months pregnant, and asked softly, "Madam, are you going to the county government office to do some business?"

"I……"

The pregnant woman frowned slightly and hesitated.

Seeing this, Meilin winked at Zhao Mingyan and said to the pregnant woman, "Then you won't be hindered from doing your business. If you feel unwell later, you can send a letter to Huadengfang Private School and I will come to apologize."

"No, I'm fine."

The pregnant woman stroked her belly, nodded to the two of them, and left.

"Huh? Wasn't she going to the county government office just now?"

Watching her walk in another direction, Zhao Mingyan was puzzled.

Meilin also found it strange, but his current thoughts were all on the Zhao family's lawsuit. "Yan'er, if the county government doesn't accept our lawsuit, I'll go to the prefectural government. I have an old friend who works there as an official."

"Well, thank you for your help, Mr. Mei." Zhao Mingyan said with sincere gratitude.

Merlin smiled and shook his head. "Your family's affairs are my affairs. I promised my mentor that I would take good care of your mother."

Zhao Mingyan's eyes flickered slightly, and she felt mixed emotions when she thought that he was still unmarried.

How lucky my mother is!

After saying goodbye to Meilin outside the county government office, she planned to take Xiaozhu back to the Tan Mansion.

Right now, I can only wait for Mr. Mei...

"Yan'er?"

While Zhao Mingyan was thinking to himself, he heard a familiar voice.

"Uncle?"

I saw Tan Mozhu standing not far from the county government office, looking at me with an expression of surprise.

"Yan'er, what are you doing..."

He glanced at the county government gate behind Zhao Mingyan, then stepped forward and asked, "Did you just come out of the county government?"

Zhao Mingyan pursed her lips and nodded, "Come... come and do something."

"But have you run into trouble?" Tan Mozhu asked with concern.

Zhao Mingyan still pursed her lips, not knowing how to answer.

If she told the truth, the news would soon be reported back to the Tan family, and she didn't expect Tan Mozhu to keep it a secret for her.

Tan Mozhu glanced behind her again, then took her in his arms and walked towards a nearby teahouse. "Yan'er, you and I are family. If you encounter any difficulties, just ask. I have always felt a little sorry for not being able to help you find a suitable household last time..."

"Uncle!"

Zhao Mingyan suddenly interrupted his self-blame. After taking a deep breath, she looked up at him and said frankly in a deep voice, "Our family is in big trouble."

"Those side branches want to wipe out the entire family!"

…

"Master."

Tan Mansion, North Courtyard Study.

A slim young woman, slightly taller than Ayun, walked in.

"Aye, sit down."

When she came closer, Tan Linshuang raised his hand and smiled.

Although the other person was a woman, his attitude towards her showed no difference between men and women. The other person also looked quite heroic and behaved in the same dashing manner.

After Ayun made tea and brought it over, she left the study, closed the door and stood guard outside.

"Tea."

Tan Linshuang raised her hand again, then picked up the teacup and took a sip.

The woman called "Aye" also picked up the teacup, blew away the hot steam on the tea surface, and savored it.

"Hmm... a little dull. Is there something on my mind lately, Brother Yun?"

She felt that the taste of tea today was a little different from before, so she made such a guess.

"Ha ha!"

Tan Linshuang smiled softly. After hearing what she said, she felt the same way. "I don't think he's worried. I guess he's just unhappy because Xiaozhu has been giving him the cold shoulder lately."

"The maidservant that came with the young mistress."

Aye nodded to himself without asking any further questions.

She had no interest in prying into other people's secrets unless she had a mission to do so.

"Not counting the maidservants who came with the dowry."

Tan Linshuang quietly corrected him, took another sip of tea, and then turned to the main topic, "Did you find out my uncle's secret?"

Aye raised the corners of her lips, and a touch of delicate charm appeared on her ordinary face, which made her look more charming, like a white flower embellished by raindrops, which made her more lovely.

"Second Master, this really opened my eyes!"

"Oh?" Tan Linshuang immediately became interested.

Ah Ye put down his teacup and said with a rather proud tone, "Last time, I finally caught up with him. After wandering around Gujing Alley, I saw him enter a secret house. I thought he was hiding a mistress there."

"Isn't it a beautiful woman hidden in the golden house? Then... is it a boy hidden?" Tan Linshuang widened his eyes.

He was shocked and in disbelief. Although he knew that Tan Mozhu was a playboy, he was not interested in men...

"It's not a man, it's someone else's wife."

Seeing his messy face, Aye quickly spoke.

"Or a pregnant wife."

Tan Linshuang's pupils shrank and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Pregnant woman?"

This time, he was struck by lightning.

"Is the child...his?"

While he was questioning, his heartbeat suddenly quickened and sweat appeared on his palms.

"no."

Ah Ye shook his head and said firmly: "Someone else's wife, someone else's child."

Tan Linshuang felt relieved and thought that Tan Mozhu was blessed by the Goddess of Fertility and that he would have children instead of being infertile.

"However, he has changed his ways because the other party has given birth. Now, he has taken possession of another pregnant wife." Aye continued.

"you mean……"

Tan Linshuang frowned, and a thought that shocked him gradually emerged.

"yes!"

Aye is a straightforward person and doesn't like to play guessing games.

"From my observation, although the Second Master is lustful, he is particularly obsessed with pregnant women. For this reason, I once asked the mother of Zuixianlou if there are any customers who specifically choose pregnant women as their companions."

"She said there are, but very few. She said these customers are either seeking novelty or have a 'pregnancy fetish', similar to a 'pedophile'. They are all abnormal people here."

She raised her hand and tapped her head.

"But because these guests pay a lot of money, they will receive them. So once a girl becomes pregnant, she will be sent to serve these guests."

"I've heard from others that although the Second Master often visits the Drunken Immortals' House, he has never sought out pregnant women as his companions. The pregnant women he's attracted to are all young and beautiful, with clean backgrounds and abiding by the code of conduct for women."

"In short, he was hanging out in public, but behind the scenes, he was sneaking into the bed of a decent woman and defiling other men's pregnant wives."

"Damn it!" Tan Linshuang slammed the table, furious.

Besides being angry, I'm also disgusted.

"Do the husbands of those pregnant women know?"

As soon as I asked the question, I realized it was all in vain.

"How could I not know?"

Ah Ye's face was filled with sarcasm. "The lady who escaped from his clutches mistook me for his new wife. Out of guilt and shame, she told me the truth."

"Her husband is a salt merchant. To save money on transporting salt out of Shu, he wants to follow the example of other small salt merchants and rent a fleet from the Bamboo Forest Merchants."

"During this time, he met Erye. When he learned that he had a pregnant wife, he found an excuse to visit him. A few days later, he brought Erye home again and asked his wife to serve him."

"The lady was reluctant at first, but she couldn't resist her husband's pleading, threats, and inducements, so she had to comply. Fortunately, the Second Master didn't go there often, and his request wasn't excessive, so she had to endure the humiliation in tears."

"Now that she has given birth to a son, her husband is planning to move their family elsewhere, intending to start anew. I suspect the Second Master must have given them a large sum of money as hush money."

After saying this in one breath, Aye picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

"restart?"

Tan Linshuang sneered, "My wife was raped multiple times by other men while she was pregnant, and you can still start over?"

Aye shrugged. She was not a man and could not empathize with the feeling of a man being cuckolded.

"Where has that family moved to now?" asked Tan Linshuang.

Ah Ye said, "Tongchuan Prefecture, Suining County."

"We still can't do without well salt."

Tan Linshuang said casually, then asked, "You just said he has found a new love. Which family has suffered this time?"

"A river engineer in the county." Aye said.

"River engineer? What kind of exchange did he reach with the other party this time?" Tan Linshuang asked in a deep voice.

Ah Ye admitted: "I'm still investigating."

"Well, be careful." Tan Linshuang warned solemnly.

Ah Ye picked up the teapot, filled it for himself and Tan Linshuang, and asked casually, "I heard Ah Ri is back?"

"Want to see him?"

Tan Linshuang clasped her hands together and rested them on her chin, with a mischievous glint in her smiling eyes.

"No, just asking."

Ah Ye lowered his eyes and pretended to be calm, "Has he found out the whereabouts of those children?"

"Um."

When mentioning this, Tan Linshuang's smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"But he seems to have been exposed, so I asked him to return early. I have already written to the local authorities and hope they will be cleared of all charges."

"What if not?" Aye raised his eyes, a faint light flashing.

"Let them make the water more muddy, and then we can fish in troubled waters." Tan Linshuang's eyes were as bright as stars.

…

"Sir Qi, I am Tan Mozhu, the uncle of Tan Zhaoshi. I have come here to represent him in the lawsuit."

A few days later, Zhao Mingyan came to the county government office again to file a lawsuit, but this time, the person standing next to her was Tan Mozhu, her male relative.