Zhao Jie was puzzled and asked curiously, "Why did Supervisor Zhang and Lord Lin conceal the imperial supplies? Also, what unidentified person is this?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Shiwen immediately said respectfully, "Lord Lu, Lord Zhao, please do me the right thing."
This woman, whose origins are unknown, brought a considerable amount of supplies. Thanks to the cover provided by Zhang Duyun and Lin Yan'an, she infiltrated Qingnan and evaded the checks by the soldiers at the city gates along the way, even attempting to deceive her subordinates.
The origin of those supplies is unknown and there may be something wrong with them. I was afraid that this woman would be detrimental to the people of Qingnan, so I ordered people to come and arrest her.
Who would have thought that this woman would use the official's son as leverage? Such a ruthless and cunning person deserves to be imprisoned.
After saying that, he reached out and wiped the corner of his eye, looking heartbroken.
Zhao Jie was stunned by these words and was about to fly into a rage when he heard Lu Cijian say calmly, "Miss Jiang is the manager of Baoxiangfang. The reason she came with Zhang Duyun this time is only for the sake of the people of Qingnan, and she has no other purpose."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Shiwen stared wide-eyed in disbelief and angrily said, "Sir, this woman is definitely suspicious. You must be careful."
Even if she is the manager of Baoxiangfang, it's suspicious that she came with the supply convoy from the capital without permission.
Moreover, she even injured my son, who is now unconscious and we don't know if he's alive or dead. This person must not be allowed to live."
He really didn't expect that Lu Cijian would know this woman.
The plan was to accuse the woman first, imprison her and Zhang Duyun's group, and then find an opportunity to kill them.
Unexpectedly, Lu Cijian directly revealed the other party's identity.
If this woman stays, the King of Chu's supplies will absolutely not be able to be transported away.
He couldn't reveal that the supplies belonged to the King of Chu.
Thinking of this, he was filled with hatred and hurriedly continued, "Sir, this woman is malicious and intends to harm my son. She cannot be allowed to live. Please, sir, do me justice."
Lu Cijian glanced at the person on the ground and said indifferently, "I think the injuries on your son's body have nothing to do with this young lady."
Zhou Shiwen choked, looking at the numerous wounds, large and small, on Zhou Ling's body, all caused by plum blossom hidden weapons. He felt extremely distressed, but still stubbornly said, "How can it be unrelated to this woman? If this woman hadn't used my son as a shield against the hidden weapons, how could my son have ended up like this?"
Jiang Yimian just smiled and said, "Your words are truly frightening. It is clear that you attacked us without distinguishing right from wrong."
I explained several times, but the master didn't believe me and even tried to kill us. If the master hadn't been so cruel and ruthless, how could your son have ended up like this?
I see that your son is still breathing. If you, sir, do not go and fetch a doctor to treat him, I fear your son will truly be beyond saving.
Jiang Yimian smiled, and her words seemed to be for Zhou Shiwen's benefit.
But to Zhou Shiwen, it sounded strangely mocking and smug, which infuriated him.
But he knew Jiang Yimian was right, so he quickly ordered the people next to him to fetch a doctor and looked at Lu Cijian and said, "Lord Lu, do you not believe what I said?"
The source of this woman's supplies is unclear and may be problematic. We do not know her purpose, so please do not protect her just because you know her.
The people of Qingnan are now suffering terribly, and there is no room for even the slightest mistake.
He spoke with such conviction that anyone who didn't know better would think he was genuinely worried about the people of Qingnan.
Jiang Yimian smiled and said, "Why does my lord doubt the supplies I brought? I am the manager of Baoxiangfang, and the supplies naturally come from Baoxiangfang."
Is there any law in the Great Jin Dynasty that forbids shops from donating supplies?
If Your Excellency insists on convicting me of this crime, then wouldn't all the kind-hearted merchants and officials in the capital be guilty of crimes?
As for my malicious intentions, you have truly wronged me, sir. I came to the yamen wanting to see you so we could discuss the matter of saving the people of Qingnan.
But instead of meeting with us, the adults are now trying to arrest us and our companions without any evidence, accusing us of having ulterior motives.
"Sir, isn't that a bit too arbitrary? Or do you have any evidence to prove that there's something wrong with the supplies I brought?"
Zhou Shiwen gritted his teeth in anger and said, "If you really only want to donate supplies, why don't you just donate the supplies to the Lin family and have the Censorate escort them to Qingnan? Why do you have to come in person and bring so many powerful guards with you?"
If there were no ulterior motives, why would things be so complicated?
These supplies clearly belong to the King of Chu, yet this woman dares to claim they are from Baoxiangfang. She's shameless.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jie quickly denied it, saying, "Lord Zhou, what you said is somewhat inappropriate. There is no law in the Great Jin Dynasty that prohibits merchants from donating supplies, nor is there any law that forbids merchants from personally delivering supplies to the disaster-stricken areas."
If that's considered a crime, then Lord Zhou should first convict the King of Chu.
As for having so many powerful guards, that was inevitable. Even when the Censorate escorted supplies, soldiers would accompany them to prevent robbery.
What's wrong with bringing guards along to protect yourself and your supplies?
Moreover, since this young lady knows Lord Lu and came with Zhang Duyun's group, there is naturally no problem.
Even if there's a problem, Lord Lu is there to vouch for him. Does Lord Zhou have some unknown evidence to prove that the supplies she brought are problematic?
These words were spoken clearly and plainly, and everyone nodded in agreement.
Those in the Censorate and the Ministry of Works who had initially suspected Jiang Yimian of having impure motives now found her reasoning sound and mentally bestowed upon her the title of "beautiful inside and out."
Zhou Shiwen was furious and glared at Jiang Yimian for a long time without saying a word.
The King of Chu secretly sent him a message saying that the supplies had been stolen by a woman and a group of people, and that he should search for them in Qingnan.
He then overheard Chen Tongzhi mention that the supplies this time were more than before, and he immediately felt something was wrong. He asked Chen Tongzhi to check the official documents at Zhang Duyun's place and confirmed that the supplies brought by the woman had been stolen from the Prince of Chu.
But how could he possibly say such a thing?
After a while, he suppressed his anger and said, "It was my assumption. I was just worried that something might happen to the people of Qingnan."
The floods in Qingnan are severe, and the people have already suffered greatly. I did not want them to suffer further because of supplies of dubious origin, so I acted in a moment of desperation. I hope Lord Lu will forgive me.”
Lu Cijian simply said, "You should tell Miss Jiang this, sir. He almost lost his life because of your momentary panic."
Since Lord Zhou is prone to acting impulsively, I will take over the Qingnan matter, and you will assist him from the sidelines.”
Zhou Shiwen's eyes twitched with anger. He remained silent for a long time, his clenched hands wishing he could strangle the people in front of him.
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