Chapter 89 Chapter 89 "This is illegal!"...
Jasmine wanted to ride in her own carriage, but the old lady asked her to go with her.
The carriage drove away along the outer wall of the manor. Nanny Qian asked on behalf of the old lady, "Second Madam, are you sure that the Xu family will come to see us the day after tomorrow?"
Madam Qian used to be polite to Jasmine, but now she was even more respectful. She was even more respectful than the old lady.
Jasmine: “Not sure.”
"ah?"
The master and servant were dumbfounded when they heard this.
Aunt Qian: "How dare Madam..."
Jasmine: "Harsh words are worthless. We have to be as harsh as possible on those who go back on their word and lack integrity."
The master and servant looked at each other with sorrowful expressions.
Aunt Qian: "If they really don't come the day after tomorrow, won't we return empty-handed?"
"We won't return empty-handed." Jasmine lowered her voice and whispered to the old lady.
The old lady fell back in fear: "This is against the law!"
Jasmine said nonchalantly, "Second Master Xu could bribe those around you to plot against you, so what does it have to do with you stealing the key to the East Warehouse? It's just a matter of reciprocity, right, Madam Qian?"
Nanny Qian was stunned by the question. After a long while, she nodded to the old lady and said, "Second Madam, what you said makes some sense."
Jasmine said, "We have the key and the old marquis's letter. Perhaps the shopkeepers and clerks working under us will support us."
The old lady had a conflicted look on her face, but when she saw several faces in front of her nodding at her, she was also moved, but suddenly her face fell again.
"It's not easy to get the key. Maybe he hid it in anticipation of our attack. How can we find it?"
Jasmine grinned, "If mother is at ease, how about leaving this matter to your daughter-in-law?"
She is so positive! Too positive!
The old lady didn't dare to agree to her for a moment. She asked cautiously, "What are your intentions?"
Jasmine: "My wife's intentions can't be better than the key to the East Warehouse, right?"
The old lady thought about it and it made sense, so she kept silent. After a while, she nodded with a heavy face.
Two days later, the elders did not come.
Jasmine took Shancha out that evening. When she came back, she told the old lady, "Mother, wait for the good news."
It didn't take three days at all. Jasmine got the key the next day.
Early in the morning, Jasmine heard the familiar sound of birds and went to the gate to respond.
That’s right, not the back door, not the dog hole, but the main gate of the villa where they live!
It was Wutu who came, holding a broken bowl in his hand. When Jasmine arrived, she saw the little beggar struggling with the guard. When he saw her, his eyes lit up and he rushed over.
The guard tried to stop him, but Jasmine said, "Oh, who's this poor little kid? It's nothing serious."
The five rabbits pounced on her, then jumped up and ran away at an even faster speed.
Jasmine yelled, "Oh my, my purse is gone!"
"I'll chase him right away!" The guard saluted and was about to rush out.
Jasmine tried to stop him with a look of pity on her face: "Never mind. She's just a poor child. This lady will just treat it as alms for her."
Guard: "Madam, you are kind-hearted."
The crowd that stopped to watch said: "Oh, this lady is such a good person..."
"yes……"
Jasmine slowly turned and left amid the compliments.
"I guess Uncle Xu hasn't noticed the key is missing yet. Let's take advantage of this opportunity to quickly take over the East Warehouse."
The old lady burst into tears when she saw the key: "This is a real key. How...how did you get it?"
Jasmine urged, "Now isn't the time to talk about this. It'll be bad if Uncle Xu figures it out."
"That's right." The old lady made a quick decision and said loudly, "Bring all the guards with you and follow me."
Jasmine was in high spirits and followed closely behind.
Jasmine had never imagined that the east warehouse was actually a cave! A large double iron gate stood at the entrance, and dozens of Xu's servants took turns guarding it.
Xu, the leader, clearly recognized the old lady and asked her not to embarrass him. When the old lady took out the key and the letter from the old marquis, she was even more embarrassed.
The old lady insisted on opening the door no matter what. Just when she didn't want to waste any more time and was about to force her way in, Master Xu arrived on horseback with his men.
The Xuzhou county magistrate also came with them.
Mr. Xu only reported to the officials that the criminals had stolen the key to the east warehouse. The county magistrate was shocked. That was the Xu family's east warehouse! It should not be underestimated! The county magistrate immediately came with all the yamen runners to arrest the criminals.
But at this moment, the county magistrate looked at the old lady in shock.
Second Master Xu shouted, "Your Excellency, County Magistrate, it was them who stole the key to our Xu family's east storeroom. Now that they've been caught red-handed, please help me!"
Seeing them surrounded by yamen runners, Jasmine shouted to the county magistrate, "Sir, the person before you is the old lady of Duke Yan's mansion, and I am Duke Yan's legitimate wife. This is a family matter, but Uncle Xu insisted on reporting it to the authorities. So, I beg you to help us decide the difference today."
Jasmine then went on to explain the whole story in a concise and concise manner. The county magistrate was immediately overwhelmed. He said, "This is indeed a family affair of the Xu family. As the saying goes, even an honest official cannot judge family affairs. This matter is more delicate for the Second Master and the Old Madam to decide. Well, I have urgent matters to attend to in the office, so I will be leaving now. Goodbye!"
The county magistrate left immediately. Master Xu tried to stop him but couldn't. He gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, how can you leave? You promised me. Don't forget our friendship over the years!"
The county magistrate narrowed his eyes and looked back: "Second Master, are you threatening me?"
Mr. Xu just gritted his teeth and said nothing more.
After the county magistrate left, the eagle eyes glared at the old lady again: "Give it back to me!"
The county magistrate ran two miles when his trusted yamen runner reminded him, "Sir, if we leave like this, if they start fighting and a servant dies, that's fine, but if it's the master who dies, we won't be able to explain ourselves to either side."
The magistrate thought for a moment and reined in his horse. "You're right."
Thinking that his job was about to be lost, the county magistrate had no choice but to run back.
When they ran back, the two sides had already started fighting. It was obvious that the guards of the Duke's Mansion were much stronger, but Xu relied on their numbers and did not lose the upper hand for a while.
Master Xu had been reluctant to engage in direct conflict with the Duke's Mansion. Even if it was the old lady who stole the key, he simply wanted to report it to the authorities and let them make the final decision. Now that the magistrate had left, Master Xu was still discussing it with his trusted subordinate, the steward.
"Don't hurt anyone, just take the key back."
Who knew that the next moment he heard the other party yell, "Are you planning to use a knife?"
Mr. Xu immediately looked around at his own people: "Who is it? Who pulled the knife?!"
"Okay, come here, take away their swords!"
Another delicate shout was heard, and Master Xu blinked his eyes, and the two sides were already fighting in a group.
At first, the guards of the Duke's Mansion attacked, and the people of the Marquis' Mansion defended, but the guards of the Duke's Mansion were all trained warriors, and the servants of the Marquis' Mansion knew that their lives would be in danger if they continued like this, so they also rose up to resist.
Seeing that there was no turning back, Mr. Xu became furious and decided to fight the other party.
The old lady was extremely panicked. She had never seen these things when she was a maid in the Marquis' Mansion. Even when she later moved to the Duke's Mansion, she had lived a peaceful life for a while.
After living for decades, the old lady suddenly faced a fierce battle and wanted to faint. But her mind was very clear.
Madam Qian had never seen this either. The master and servant were so frightened that they huddled together. The old lady remembered the culprit and looked around for him: "Where's Jasmine?"
Jasmine was exploring the cave entrance. When she saw the keyhole, she ran back to the old lady and just heard the old lady asking her.
"I'm here. Mother, take this opportunity to open the door and see if the treasures inside are all there. Maybe Uncle Xu lost them."
She was really curious about what was inside.
The old lady looked at her, speechless.
Jasmine always felt that the old lady's eyes were very strange, but she didn't think much of it. She was immersed in the excitement of being dazzled by the golden mountain before her.
When Master Xu saw them trying to open the door, he yelled, "Stop them!"
But there are still too many guards in the Duke's Mansion guarding the master.
As Jasmine waited, the iron gate was slowly opened by two guards. It was pitch black, and Jasmine stepped in cautiously, using the light from outside to clearly see the ornaments inside.
...
The presence of the county magistrate prevented a major disaster. Several guards at the Duke's residence suffered minor injuries, while over twenty people at the Marquis' residence were injured, though none of them survived.
In the open space in front of the east warehouse, the guards of the Duke's Mansion and the servants of the Marquis' Mansion were separated by the yamen runners led by the county magistrate.
In November, the county magistrate wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief. He first ran to the old lady to persuade her, and then ran to Mr. Xu to reason with him earnestly.
Not long after, the county magistrate came back, this time with a shy smile on his face towards Jasmine.
"Your humble servant greets the Duke's wife. Madam, how about we both take a step back?"
The county magistrate just heard from Mr. Xu that the reason the two sides started fighting was because of her.
The county magistrate himself had also realized that the Duke's wife had the final say on the old lady's side.
"Whatever." Jasmine uttered these three words without much interest, then sat on a big rock and ate the melon seeds in Shancha's arms.
The county magistrate was stunned. He had thought she would be difficult to deal with. He hadn't expected her to be so easy to talk to.
The county magistrate bowed several times in gratitude, and then tried to persuade both sides.
If both sides compromised, there would be no need to see the officials. Otherwise, they would have to go to the government office for mediation. The old lady was unwilling to see the officials. Even if she asked her maid to go, she would feel embarrassed. Master Xu was naturally not happy about it either.
When it came to who would keep the key, no matter how much the county magistrate tried to persuade them, neither side would compromise.
Jasmine couldn't help but laugh and complained to Shancha, "What kind of treasure did I think I was? You guys fought over it, but it turns out it's just a bunch of junk."
Shancha agreed, "That's right. All our efforts were in vain. Wutu spent the whole night waiting for him, nearly losing his life, and in the end, he only got a broken key."
After finishing her last melon seed, Jasmine, seeing the two sides arguing endlessly, clapped her hands, stood up, and walked over to the old lady. "Mother, it seems like Uncle Xu won't let it go until we return the key. Why don't we just give it back to him first?"
The county magistrate happened to be at this end. When he heard what Jasmine said, his eyes lit up and he nodded continuously.
"Impossible!" He said these three words with a firm tone and a choked voice.
"This is what my father left me. I will protect it even until I die!"
The county magistrate looked at Jasmine with a sad face, waiting for her to persuade the old lady again.
Jasmine looked at the old lady's round profile, sighed, and held her chin in thought for a while. She then reached out and beckoned the nearest guard, "Please help me with something."
"Yes, I'll go right away!"
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