Seeing Zhou Ling approaching Jiang Yimian, Zhang Duyun realized something was wrong and hurriedly shouted, "Young Master Zhou, no, please don't! I really have something to do, I... umm..."
With the noise finally gone, Zhou Ling's smile deepened, and his eyes gleamed as he stared at Jiang Yimian.
She was indeed a beauty. He had thought she was beautiful from a distance, but as soon as he got closer, his delicate skin made him feel hot all over.
As soon as he got close, he couldn't help but reach out and touch her fair face. "Beauty, let this young master pamper you tonight."
Jiang Yimian scoffed, reached out and grabbed the large hand that was reaching towards her, and with a forceful pull, the bone made a crisp "crack" sound.
Accompanying this was a bloodcurdling scream, like a pig being slaughtered.
Hearing the screams, Zhang Duyun quickly covered his eyes. Oh well, there was no stopping them now. They were all going to die in Qingnan.
He could only apologize to his wife, children, and eighty-year-old mother; his son had passed away first.
Zhou Ling was in so much pain that his face turned pale. He felt as if his arm was broken. He immediately shouted, "Ah, someone come here! Someone come here! Arrest these two bitches for me!"
"Those who dare to lay a hand on me, I will not let them get away with it!"
The guards immediately swarmed forward, raising their fists and swinging them at Jiang Yimian.
Jiang Yimian showed no fear whatsoever, her expression remaining calm. She grabbed Zhou Ling and threw him violently at the guards.
Instantly, all the guards who had been so proud and arrogant were knocked to the ground by Zhou Ling's huge body. Some of the unlucky ones were even knocked headfirst by him, lying on the ground bleeding from their noses and groaning in pain.
Zhou Ling felt as if his whole body was falling apart from the pain, and he was about to curse again when Jiang Yimian punched him in the face. The pain made him see stars, and he cried out while protecting his head, "No, stop hitting me, stop hitting me, I was wrong, I was wrong, I will never dare to tease you again."
Zhang Duyun felt a throbbing headache as he watched, swallowed hard, and worried about what to do next.
At that moment, the sounds of fighting erupted from the neighboring courtyard—the clashing of various weapons, accompanied by shouts from Wang San and his men.
Jiang Yimian frowned, sensing something was wrong. She ignored the people in the courtyard and went straight to the neighboring courtyard.
The courtyard was in complete chaos. Wang San and his group were fighting with the constables from the yamen, while nearby, Chen Tongzhi was leading another group of people, rummaging through the contents of the carriage. The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed.
Just as the adults said, these people were indeed strange.
He remembered that the supplies sent during the previous floods in Qingnan were not this many. Yesterday, he only glanced at them casually and felt that the number of carriages was not quite right.
They assumed that the Emperor had specially allocated more disaster relief funds to the Ministry of Works this year.
Only when he saw the wagons full of grain and clothing, as well as the several wagons full of medicinal herbs, did he realize something was wrong.
Even if the emperor allocated a lot of disaster relief funds, it would be impossible for a scout team that came to investigate first to transport so many supplies; it was clearly impossible.
In addition, he had already sent someone to find the official documents from Zhang Duyun yesterday, and the quantities of these supplies did not match those on the documents; there were quite a few extra.
I don't know where these extra things came from.
Just as he was wondering what was going on, he was suddenly kicked off the carriage and fell to the ground, letting out a cry of pain.
Just as he was about to see which bastard dared to lay a hand on him, he met Jiang Yimian's cold eyes.
He froze in fright, but still shouted, "How dare you lay a hand on me? Do you have a death wish?"
It's that lowly maid who warms the bed again! How dare she be so arrogant! Yesterday she was just being sarcastic, and today she dares to take action. She really doesn't know what's good for her.
Jiang Yimian glanced at him indifferently, her tone tinged with sarcasm, "Yesterday I said I was afraid that some people might have designs on these supplies, so I told the guards to keep a close watch on them."
I thought it was some thief stealing from the carriage, but it turned out to be an adult. I was mistaken.
"I wonder what your intentions are, sir? Bringing so many men to fight with the soldiers transporting supplies—one might think you, Lord Chen, intend to kill them to cover your tracks and embezzle the supplies."
Chen Tongzhi was furious. He glared at her and said irritably, "Stop talking nonsense and trying to pin a label on me."
I ask you, what's the deal with these guards? Their skills are completely different from those of the soldiers. And the supplies on these carriages are not listed on the official documents that Zhang Duyun was carrying.
"You bunch of scoundrels of unknown origin tried to infiltrate Yuncheng Prefecture with malicious intent, and now you dare to lay a hand on me! You'll be heading to jail!"
This little bitch dared to lay a hand on him even when she was about to die. Let's see how he tortures her later.
Such audacity! To sneak into the supply convoy, instead of keeping a low profile, they dare to be so arrogant.
Zhang Duyun and the Lin family brat actually dared to cover for this person; they're both just waiting to die.
Jiang Yimian narrowed her eyes. She had thought about the official document long ago. She had never intended to give it to the prefect of Yuncheng Prefecture. She only thought that after meeting the disaster victims, she would just distribute the supplies to them directly. She did not expect that this person would actually steal Zhang Duyun's official document.
She was too careless last night and didn't expect this person to pull such a move.
If they don't notice anything amiss in the city, she can bribe them, and they might turn a blind eye. After all, more supplies mean more room for maneuver.
But now, they probably won't let them off easily.
Unfortunately, Lu Cijian and the others haven't arrived yet, which is really troublesome.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Chen Tongzhi burst into laughter. "Speechless, are you? Guards, take all these people of unknown origin into the jail."
As soon as he finished speaking, many more people walked in from outside the courtyard.
They were all constables from the yamen, each holding a knife and their eyes filled with murderous intent.
Zhang Duyun and Lin Yan'an had just walked over when they saw this scene of swords drawn, and they were stunned for a moment, but quickly came to their senses.
Zhang, the transport commissioner, immediately rebuked him: "Chen, what do you mean by this? How dare you lay a hand on us? Believe me or not, I will go back to the capital and write a memorial to the Emperor, explaining that there is something strange about the flood in Qingnan."
The prefect not only turned a blind eye but also dared to threaten officials in the capital and misappropriate supplies without authorization.
Zhang Duyun spoke with such force and conviction that anyone who didn't know him would think he was an upright and honest official, completely unlike his previous image of being cowardly and afraid of death, which surprised Lin Yan'an.
I never expected that someone who always talks about protecting their own life would actually say such threatening things.
He then quickly added, "Chen Tongzhi's despicable behavior truly makes one doubt the prefect's character. With such character, who would dare to entrust supplies with peace of mind? What if Prefect Zhou did something underhanded?"
He really didn't expect this guy to be so blatant in rummaging through their supplies; he really didn't take them seriously at all.
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