With a creak, the old-fashioned wooden door opened from the inside, and the shopkeeper came out.
Shen Qing looked up at the sound and peeked inside through the crack in the closing door.
The person's entire appearance could not be seen; only a corner of their sleeve was visible, adorned with extremely intricate patterns, the kind reserved for tribute to the imperial court.
I last saw this pattern on that old scoundrel Zhao Yuanwai's clothes.
Shen Qing had a bad feeling.
The shopkeeper sat down in the armchair, placed the documents in front of her, and said apologetically, "Ms. Shen, I'm really sorry, but our boss doesn't agree to lend you this money."
Hopes dashed!
It was ruined again by that wretched Zhao Yuanwai!
Shen Qing glared at the door with resentment and deliberately asked loudly, "Is that Master Zhao sitting inside?"
The shopkeeper was startled and quickly waved his hand: "Of course not... Our boss's surname is Wang, how could he be Master Zhao?"
Shen Qing abruptly stood up, walked straight towards the door, and kicked it hard.
She kicked the door open, leaving a crack, and then kicked it a few more times until it was completely broken and wide open.
Master Zhao and another old man with gray hair sat together, chatting and laughing as they drank tea.
So the money shop owner wasn't Master Zhao, but because of his connections, the money shop refused her loan.
Shen Qing remembered that Gao Yuanqi was also acting under the orders of Master Zhao, and that she was now in this situation because of him. She could no longer contain her anger, rushed in, grabbed the hot tea on the table, and splashed it on that old bastard Master Zhao's face.
"Ah~~~" Master Zhao screamed, raising his hand to wipe his face, burning his hand in the process, and screaming even louder.
"You wretched woman! You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences! If I don't fuck you today, I'm not a Zhao!"
He lunged at Shen Qing and slapped him across the face.
The tall, burly middle-aged man was a head and a half taller than Shen Qing. He was strong and knocked Shen Qing unconscious.
While she was still in a daze, Master Zhao pushed her onto the daybed next to him, grabbed her neck tightly with one hand, and straddled her.
Just as his hand was about to slip under her skirt, Master Zhao suddenly froze and reached for his lower back.
He raised his hand again, and it was covered in blood. His face twitched violently in shock. He released his grip on Shen Qing's neck and stood up.
"Hero, spare my life... Hero, spare my life... Hero, spare my life..."
He cried and screamed, but dared not move, obediently raising his hands.
Shen Qing knew that someone was holding a sharp object like a knife to his back, so when he touched his lower back, blood immediately appeared, and he dared not move, raising his hands in surrender.
Shen Qing got off the daybed and saw a young man dressed in an ordinary long gown and wearing a melon-shaped hat pressing against Master Zhao.
Upon closer inspection, sideburns can be seen under the melon-shaped hat.
It's not a two-tone hairstyle!
She has the same short hair as Cheng Zhiwen!
"Boss Shen, let's go!" the man whispered a reminder.
Shen Qing came to her senses: "Thank you for saving me, hero!"
She lifted her jacket and rushed out of the room, downstairs.
As soon as we left the money exchange, we could hear the sound of horses' hooves in the distance.
Someone reported to the authorities, and people from the county government have arrived!
Shen Qing looked worriedly at the window on the second floor of the money exchange, wondering whether he should wait for the county officials to come and go to court together to testify for that hero.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flew out of the second-floor window, flew directly up to the big tree next to it, and disappeared into the lush foliage.
Knowing that the hero who saved him had escaped, Shen Qing breathed a sigh of relief and quickly blended into the crowd.
She immediately returned to the Gao family home, put Gao Liushi in the carriage, and asked Lao Xu to pick up Chunju and Sulan from the factory. Together they went to the prefectural government office.
The advisor led the family to a side room, where Shen Qing sat in Qi Zhenheng's study and recounted in detail what had happened at the money exchange.
"Short hair?" Qi Zhenheng frowned. "Madam, are you sure the person who saved you didn't have a long braid?"
Shen Qing explained, "He does have a long braid, but he also has hair growing at his sideburns. I saw it with my own eyes!"
Qi Zhenheng said with a solemn expression, "They might be revolutionaries. They shaved their heads to show their resolve, but because they were mingling among ordinary people, they had to dress like ordinary people and wore fake queues. That's why—hair grew on their long queues, because their long queues were fake and attached to their melon-shaped hats."
"Revolutionaries?"
Shen Qing was startled.
During the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi, anyone associated with the revolutionaries was subject to beheading and confiscation of their property!
She was trembling slightly, and stammered as she spoke to Qi Zhenheng, "Lord Qi... I... I'm just a small merchant... I only want to do business... I have no... no connection with those revolutionaries..."
Qi Zhenheng pressed her hand, gave her a wink, got up, opened the door, and glanced outside.
He then closed the door, sat back down, and said in a low voice, "Madam, you must never tell anyone other than me that the person who saved you today has hair on his sideburns!"
Shen Qing nodded blankly, then swallowed hard: "But... but what if someone sees us?"
"Just say that my wife was with me, and everyone in the prefectural government can testify to that!"
“Lord Qi…” Shen Qing hesitated, unable to accept Qi Zhenheng’s offer of help, “If you testify for me, it will implicate you… because that magistrate is in cahoots with Master Zhao… I’m afraid of them…”
I fear they might use my situation today to falsely accuse you of having ties with the revolutionaries, and take advantage of the situation to harm you.
Qi Zhenheng also looked solemn.
Looking at the crane painting behind the desk, he sighed, "I can still keep that magistrate in check for now. If I don't testify for you this time, I'm afraid you'll be captured and tortured again."
Shen Qing's eyes welled up with tears, and she shook her head: "Let them arrest me! I'm not afraid! At worst, we'll go to court! I'll definitely save myself!"
Seeing her like this, Qi Zhenheng also felt sorry for her.
He knew how miserable this woman's life was.
She was widowed less than half a year after her marriage. In order to protect the Gao family's territory, she was repeatedly arrested and tortured in the county government. She ran around doing business every day just to seek a little space to survive.
Qi Zhenheng gritted his teeth and stood up: "It's decided then! I'll negotiate with them! If I can't handle it, I'll ask my father to step in!"
"Lord Qi..."
With a "whoosh," the study door was pushed open from the outside.
Cheng Zhiwen stood outside with a cold face, looked at Shen Qing and Qi Zhenheng for a while, and then walked in with her hands in her pockets.
Seeing that Shen Qing's eyes were slightly red and her face was even more unpleasant, she looked at Qi Zhenheng and asked coldly, "What's wrong?"
Qi Zhenheng didn't reply, but stepped forward and put his arm around Shen Qing, leading her towards the door: "Madam, please rest next door first. Madam Gao and your maid and apprentice are all next door."
Shen Qing nodded: "Thank you, Lord Qi."
Qi Zhenheng escorted her back to the side room, and then quickly returned to the study.
As soon as the door closed, he strode up to Cheng Zhiwen and said in a low voice, "Jiang Shen has been exposed! You'll get Shen Qing killed this way! You know those people are just waiting for some clue to kill her!"
Cheng Zhiwen took a step forward, forcing him to retreat repeatedly, and asked with narrowed eyes, "What? Are you feeling sorry for him?"
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