"Mother, you rushed me here just for this?" As Jiang Ling walked through the alley, she suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice.

"Son, your wife died young, leaving you no children. How old are you now? Do you want to end the Duan family line?" The old, stern voice reached Jiang Ling's ears.

Jiang Ling looked up following the sound, and what she saw was completely unexpected. The county magistrate, Duan, was arguing angrily with the old man in front of him.

Through the brief conversation, Jiang Ling had a very bad feeling; she seemed to have stumbled upon Magistrate Duan's little secret.

Jiang Ling stood there, somewhat at a loss. If she turned back, she would have to take a long detour, but if she walked forward so casually, it seemed that it wouldn't be good if Magistrate Duan found out.

Just as she was hesitating about what to do, a voice suddenly made Jiang Ling break out in a cold sweat.

"Jiang family, what a coincidence!" Magistrate Duan's brief question made Jiang Ling's heart start pounding.

"Yes...yes, what a...coincidence," Jiang Ling replied, forcing a smile.

"Son, who is this?" Old Mrs. Duan turned to look at Jiang Ling and asked with a gleam in her eyes.

“These… are just ordinary people from a village under my jurisdiction!” Magistrate Duan said after a moment’s hesitation.

Old Mrs. Duan kept scrutinizing Jiang Ling, making Jiang Ling feel very uncomfortable. When Magistrate Duan noticed this, he immediately asked, "Jiang, do you have something to discuss with me?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ling immediately shook her head vigorously, like a rattle drum. Magistrate Duan coughed lightly and said, "Oh, then you should leave quickly!"

Jiang Ling wasn't stupid; she knew that Magistrate Duan was giving her a way out. After bowing, she jogged away from the alley. However, as she passed Old Madam Duan, she seemed to vaguely hear Old Madam Duan muttering something like, "This one is not bad either."

However, Jiang Ling dared not linger at this moment, as she had absolutely no desire to have any dealings with these officials.

"Hey, did you hear? The shopkeeper got into an argument with someone!"

"That's right! That person seems to have been a student at Pingfu Academy in Pingxi County before..."

As soon as Jiang Ling stepped out of the alley, the chatter of passersby reached her ears. She ran a few steps and caught up with the two people who were talking, asking, "Excuse me for interrupting, but you were just talking about how the owner of the bookstore got into an argument with someone?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" The woman who was talking to Jiang Ling looked very young, probably in her early twenties. She looked at Jiang Ling with some curiosity and asked her.

"Then... was that person wearing a dark blue cloth shirt, about this tall, neither fat nor thin?" As she spoke, Jiang Ling began to gesture to indicate Jiang Zhishan's height.

"Hmm...it seems quite similar to what this lady described. Is it Xiao Fen?" the young woman asked, glancing at the woman next to her.

After listening, Xiaofen stroked her chin and thought for a few seconds, then nodded and said to Jiang Ling, "Yes, that person is about as Big Sister described!"

"Oh no!" Jiang Ling exclaimed inwardly. After thanking the two, she quickly walked towards the study.

The study was already crowded with people, and Jiang Ling could hear Jiang Zhishan's voice even before she reached it.

Jiang Ling quickened her pace and squeezed into the crowd. At this moment, Jiang Zhishan was arguing with the shopkeeper of the bookstore, his face flushed.

The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Zhishan with a disdainful expression.

"Zhishan, what's wrong?" Jiang Ling gently patted Jiang Zhishan's shoulder and asked.

Seeing Jiang Ling appear, Jiang Zhishan seemed to see a glimmer of hope. He turned his head and said anxiously, "Big sister! This shopkeeper insists that I stole something! He even said that I was expelled from Pingfu Academy because I was dishonest!"

"What? Is that so?" Jiang Ling frowned and looked at the shopkeeper, asking, "Shopkeeper, what evidence do you have that my brother stole something?"

"What evidence? He just passed by over there, and two of my books are missing. What evidence do you think I have?" The shopkeeper glanced at Jiang Ling disdainfully.

"Big sister! I...I really didn't steal anything!!" Jiang Zhishan's face turned red with anxiety as she kept trying to defend herself!

"Shopkeeper, your reasoning is far too far-fetched. If you have no concrete evidence, what makes you accuse my brother?" Jiang Ling shouted.

"I can't be bothered to argue with you. If he really didn't steal, then he should strip naked and prove his innocence!" the shopkeeper said, rolling his eyes.

"Fine! I'll take it off! I'm an upright person, what am I afraid of!" Jiang Zhishan was really angry and confused. He roared at the shopkeeper and reached out to start unbuttoning his clothes.

"Stop! Stop!" Jiang Ling immediately pressed down on Jiang Zhishan's trembling hands.

"Shopkeeper, don't be unreasonable! Why should we prove our innocence? You're making my brother take off his clothes in public! This is clearly an insult!" Jiang Ling argued vehemently.

"I'm too lazy to argue with you, woman. He has to take his clothes off today, whether he likes it or not. Otherwise, you'll just have to pay us six hundred copper coins and we'll call it even!" the shopkeeper said.

"Don't push your luck..."

"When did it become so noisy?" Magistrate Duan's voice interrupted Jiang Ling.

When the onlookers saw Magistrate Duan in the crowd, they immediately knelt down and paid their respects.

Magistrate Duan gestured for them to stand up, then his gaze fell on Jiang Ling.

"My lord! This boy is dishonest; he stole my book!" The shopkeeper, seeing that the visitor was Magistrate Duan, rushed to Magistrate Duan's side and knelt on the ground, pleading.

"You're talking nonsense! Stop spouting lies!" Jiang Zhishan trembled with anger and, disregarding the presence of Magistrate Duan, shouted at the bookstore owner.

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