The commotion alerted many people in the inn, and soon a crowd of onlookers gathered at the entrance, craning their necks to peer inside, but they dared not be too presumptuous due to the authority of the officials.
Hearing the commotion, Gan Mingyi and Gan Tian rushed over from the next room and squeezed in when they saw the situation.
"What are you doing? What right do you have to arrest my mother?" Gan Tian, who was usually as obedient as a kitten in front of Gan Li, suddenly bristled when she saw the group of officials trying to arrest her without saying a word. She bared her teeth and claws and stood in front of Gan Li.
"That's right, what do you want to do in broad daylight?" Although Gan Mingyi was somewhat afraid of these officials, he was worried that his sister would be bullied, so he mustered up his courage and stood in front of them.
The leading officer, seeing that the two men were obviously country bumpkins and didn't take them seriously, impatiently waved his hand. The two officers behind him immediately stepped forward and roughly shoved Gan Mingyi and Gan Tian aside.
Gan Li quickly caught the two of them, glared at the officer, and asked coldly, "Sir, what crime have I committed that you want to arrest me?"
The officer said with a forced smile, "What crime have you committed? You were caught red-handed stealing in the yamen today. Do you still want to deny it?"
"Theft?" Ganli asked as if she had heard a funny joke.
"I was at the county government office today, and I only lingered at the entrance for a short while. I didn't even go inside. How could there be any accusation of theft? On the contrary, you were clearly guarding the entrance and watching me. Didn't you even see me go in? Are you all blind?"
After his sharp retort, the officer blushed and, enraged, shouted, "You're so sharp-tongued! Guards, seize him!"
"Wait!" Gan Li shouted sharply, then glanced at him and suddenly laughed: "I know, you're not after the theft at all, but rather you've got your eyes on the secret formula I mentioned today and want to keep it all for yourselves, right?"
These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the onlookers.
"What secret recipe is it that's worth the officials making such a fuss about?"
"I don't know. I think this woman is probably making it up. If she wanted to offer up the secret recipe, she could have just taken it. Why bother coming all this way and making a big fuss?"
Seeing that his scheme had been exposed, the official stopped pretending and sneered:
"You still dare to be stubborn? We coveted your secret recipe? You clearly stole someone else's secret recipe. The victim complained to the magistrate, and that's why the magistrate sent me to arrest you!"
I advise you to come with me to the yamen now and hand over the prescription, otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!
Upon hearing this, those around suddenly realized, "I knew something was wrong! Sure enough, this woman stole the recipe herself and is now trying to frame me!"
"People like that deserve to be arrested!"
Ganli, however, had figured it out.
She was initially puzzled. She had gone to the county government office to ask the magistrate for a prescription, but she was driven away. Now, however, someone was sent to interrogate her about the prescription. She heard the official keep mentioning the magistrate, so she figured the problem must lie with him.
By the time she figured it out, the group of officers had already lost their patience. They rolled up their sleeves and roughly grabbed her.
"What are you doing? Don't touch my mother!" Gan Tian struggled fiercely, her little face flushed with anger.
Gan Mingyi also stood in front of his sister and niece, angrily saying, "You people are trying to frame my sister by turning black into white!"
Ganli was furious to see her family being bullied. She held Gantian in her arms while her mind raced, trying to think of a way to break the deadlock.
At this critical moment, a clear, cold voice suddenly came from behind:
"Stop! How dare you fabricate charges and arrest innocent people!"
Everyone was startled. Gan Li was also surprised to hear the familiar voice and couldn't help but turn around to look.
Suddenly, the girl in black who had been lying on the bed sat up and was leaning against the headboard, coldly watching the scene before her.
Although she was simply dressed, she exuded an aura of authority that made everyone present feel a chill.
The officials were taken aback at first, then came to their senses. Seeing that the woman was pretty, but dressed in rags and with these country bumpkins, they felt a surge of contempt and said disdainfully:
"Where did this wild girl come from, daring to meddle in our business? If you don't want trouble, get out of here!"
The girl in black seemed not to have heard him. Her cold gaze swept over the group of officials, finally settling on the leader, and she said in a cold voice, "Is the magistrate here Lu Yuan?"
“That’s right.” The official answered subconsciously, but then he came to his senses and angrily said, “How dare you address our magistrate by his given name!”
To everyone's surprise, the girl in black was not afraid at all, and even sneered, "Why wouldn't I dare? Not to mention him, I can even call out his father's name."
Such arrogance? Before the official could even react in surprise, the woman in black slowly pulled a jade pendant from her bosom and said calmly:
"Give this to Lu Yuan and tell him to come see me."
Upon closer inspection, the official saw that the jade pendant was entirely emerald green and crystal clear, clearly not an ordinary item.
Moreover, in front of so many people, she not only addressed the county magistrate by his given name but also acted so rudely. She must be either insane or her status is truly extraordinary.
His heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition surged into his mind.
"Who...who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling with fear.
The girl in black sneered, tossed the jade pendant forward, and said, word by word:
"You are not worthy to know my identity. I'll say it one last time: now, get out of here and call Lu Yuan to see me!"
Upon seeing this, the official quickly reached out to take it, and caught the jade pendant in his hand. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the jade pendant was not only made of superior material, but the patterns carved on it were also lifelike.
Upon seeing the patterns on the jade pendant, the official broke out in a cold sweat, his soul nearly leaving his body. He dared not utter a word, and hurriedly nodded and bowed in response:
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go right away, I'll go right away!"
After saying that, he scrambled out of the room, fearing that if he was even a step too late, disaster would befall him.
The official's attitude changed drastically, leaving everyone puzzled, while Gan Li looked at the girl with amazement.
Holy crap, she really did save a 'fairy'!
When the jade pendant was in the officer's hand, she glanced at it and saw the lifelike phoenix on it!
Even she knew that dragons and phoenixes had special symbolic meanings in ancient times, and ordinary people wouldn't dare to use them. Yet this girl dared to use a jade pendant carved with a phoenix and even dared to call the county magistrate by his name.
Considering the girl's background, Ganli vaguely guessed her identity...
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