"This is none of your business to haggle over! Hurry up and tell me, or I'll send someone to report to the county magistrate and let him decide!" the village chief snapped impatiently.

Wang Laizi shuddered and said with an expression of utter despair, "Widow Hao said that Jiang is, after all, just a woman. If I force myself on her, she can only follow her husband wherever he goes! Besides, she lives in a rather remote part of the village."

"As long as I'm careful, I won't be discovered if I sneak in, so... so... village chief, I was really blinded by greed, you... you mustn't..."

"Chengcai, Chengqian, you two will have to work hard tonight and keep a close eye on him. Don't let this guy get away!" The village chief impatiently interrupted Wang Laizi and turned to his two sons.

The village chief, Jiang Ling, and some onlookers walked over to Widow Hao. This time, Widow Hao was crying with tears streaming down her face, looking pitiful. However, Wang Laizi's words earlier had made everyone feel disgusted with the woman in front of them.

The village chief, his face stern, looked at Widow Hao and asked, "Widow Hao, tell me yourself, what exactly happened?"

Widow Hao didn't know what Wang Laizi had said inside, but she subconsciously felt that Wang Laizi had completely betrayed her. She gritted her teeth and frowned, saying, "Wang Laizi! It's all Wang Laizi's fault! That guy has long harbored improper thoughts about me. I thought that as a widow with three children to take care of, I might as well give in to him!"

"Who knew this guy was just a beast driven by his lower instincts? Not content with me, he also had his eye on Jiang from our village. But how could I, a woman, control him? Under his coercion, I could only... I could only..."

"You know you gave him a terrible idea, right?" Jiang Ling grabbed Widow Hao's chin and scolded her sharply.

Widow Hao had never seen anything like this before. She trembled and her eyes filled with tears again.

"Stop crying! That trick won't work on me! I find you utterly disgusting!" With that, he slapped Widow Hao's chin hard.

"You are the victim in this Jiang family matter. What do you think you should do?" The village chief walked up to Jiang Ling and asked.

"Take him to the county government tomorrow!" After saying this, Jiang Ling turned and left with a cold face without waiting for the village chief to say anything more.

The village chief glanced at the widow Hao, who was lying on the ground crying uncontrollably, and shook his head helplessly. He could only order a few people to keep an eye on the widow Hao and Wang Laizi, and make sure they didn't escape in the middle of the night.

The people of Lujia Village were destined to have a sleepless night, and Jiang Ling, with dark circles under her eyes, managed to coax four terrified children until dawn.

Jiang Ling, exhausted, distributed the peppermint syrup and peppermint paste she had made the night before to the three people, and briefly told them about what had happened the night before, informing them that she would be closing for the day.

Upon hearing Jiang Ling's plight, the three men were filled with righteous indignation. They even offered her some silver to help her with her lawsuit, but Jiang Ling declined their kindness.

Uncle Lu drove the oxcart to Jiang Ling's house. The village chief and his entourage were already sitting on the oxcart. When Wang Laizi and Widow Hao saw Jiang Ling, they hurriedly apologized to her, hoping to gain her forgiveness.

Jiang Ling turned her head away and ignored the two of them.

More than an hour later, the oxcart arrived at the gate of Pingxi County government office. Some time ago, thanks to Jiang Ling's mint water and Jiang Yaojie's discovery of the water source, the yamen runners here were quite familiar with Jiang Ling. Today, seeing Jiang Ling leading a large group of people, they couldn't help but ask curiously, "Aunt Jiang, what's going on?"

"Brother Cha, is Magistrate Duan here?" Jiang Ling asked.

The bailiffs were puzzled but nodded nonetheless. Jiang Ling walked over to the Dengwen Drum and picked up the drumsticks, starting to beat it loudly.

This action startled the yamen runners nearby, who quickly signaled to the yamen runners behind them to inform Magistrate Duan.

Soon, Jiang Ling and her entourage knelt in the hall. When Magistrate Duan, who was sitting upright, saw Jiang Ling, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He looked at Jiang Ling and asked, "Who beats the drum to appeal for justice?"

"This humble woman is Jiang!" Although Jiang Ling was kneeling on the ground, her back was straight.

Upon hearing Jiang Ling's words, Magistrate Duan felt a pang of unease, but he could only continue to inquire, "Who beat the drum to appeal for justice?"

Jiang Ling calmly and confidently recounted her experiences from the previous night, and then pointed to the village chief and several people from Lujia Village, saying that they were witnesses.

The magistrate grew angrier the more he listened. If it weren't for his official robes, he would have rushed over and kicked those two guys a few times.

He suppressed his anger and slammed the gavel down, then turned to the clerk beside him and said, "Clerk, what is the punishment for trespassing and plotting against a private residence?"

The clerk stroked his beard and said with a serious expression, "According to the law, he should be given fifty strokes of the cane and expelled from the corresponding village."

Upon hearing this, Wang Laizi and Widow Hao were terrified. They frantically kowtowed to Jiang Ling, begging for forgiveness and listing their faults. However, Jiang Ling remained unmoved. She did not believe that Wang Laizi and Widow Hao were truly repentant. She thought they were only apologizing to Jiang Ling because they regretted that their scheme had been exposed and they would be punished.

Jiang Ling kowtowed heavily to the ground and thanked Magistrate Duan. Soon, the screams of Wang Laizi and Widow Hao came from the back room. When the yamen runners dragged them out, they were already unconscious, and their buttocks were covered in blood and flesh, looking extremely gruesome.

Just as Jiang Ling was about to return with the village chief and his group, County Magistrate Duan chased after them. He noticed that Jiang Ling, who was usually quick-witted, was now somewhat hesitant.

"Lord Duan, is there something you need?" Jiang Ling asked Magistrate Duan.

“Well… Madam Jiang, please wait a moment,” Magistrate Duan said, scratching his head.

He then turned his gaze to the village chief, coughed lightly, and continued, "Village Chief Lu, we owe you a lot for this matter. You should take the others back first. Jiang and I have something we want to discuss."

The village chief was so overwhelmed by the sudden praise that he almost knelt down, but Magistrate Duan stopped him and waved for them to leave.

The village chief quickly led the group away from the government office.

At this moment, only Jiang Ling and Magistrate Duan remained at the yamen entrance. Jiang Ling pursed her lips and asked, "I wonder what business Magistrate Duan has with me?"

"Um...would you like to come in and sit down?" Magistrate Duan scratched his head for a long time before finally managing to utter these words.

Jiang Ling found it a bit strange, but since the other party was a county magistrate, she couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go inside with Magistrate Duan.

"What happened yesterday? You weren't hurt, were you?" Magistrate Duan asked anxiously as soon as Jiang Ling sat down.

Looking at Magistrate Duan's expression, a most improbable thought suddenly popped into Jiang Ling's mind.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Jiang Ling patted her head vigorously, trying to extinguish this absurd idea.

"Jiang, are you... are you feeling unwell?" Seeing Jiang Ling's somewhat strange behavior, Magistrate Duan couldn't help but worry.

Jiang Ling quickly shook her head and replied, "No...it's nothing, sir. You're overthinking it. May I ask what brings you here, sir?"