Chapter 25 Chapter 25 "Why not? I was just...
"Of course not? I just bought it from you, everyone saw it, don't try to deny it!" The middle-aged man frowned and glared.
Jiang Wan looked at him calmly: "Are you sure?"
The man paused, then took a deep breath and said in a slightly stronger voice, "Of course I'm sure!"
Jiang Wan, holding the broken porcelain bowl, walked straight to the center of the crowd and shouted, "Which distinguished guest has bought a porcelain bowl that's not broken? Could you lend it to me?"
The crowd was silent for a moment. A girl who looked about thirteen or fourteen squeezed forward and said softly, "I bought a porcelain bowl with the Chinese character 'Fu' on it. Is that okay?"
Jiang Wan bent down with a smile, took the porcelain bowl from the girl, thanked her slowly, and then asked her to stand further away.
When the girl walked behind her, Jiang Wan exerted force with her hand and knocked the bottom of the bowl against the cart. After a crisp sound, the bowl split in two from the bottom, the crack extending in a long, winding line, similar to the crack in the middle-aged man's bowl.
She pieced the two broken bowls together. "If you look closely, you'll see the cracks on these two bowls are different. The left bowl, the man's blank bowl, has cracks that are thinner at the top and thicker at the bottom, but they gradually widen from top to bottom. The right bowl, with the "Fu" character on it, has a consistent width at the top and suddenly widens at the bottom."
The little girl came over to take a look and exclaimed, "That's really it! Why is it different?"
"This is because the base of the porcelain bowls we make is thicker than the sides, while the entire bowl is of uniform thickness. Other porcelain bowls, on the other hand, increase in thickness evenly from top to bottom." Jiang Wan explained, looking at the middle-aged man with a cold gaze. "Sir, this porcelain bowl of yours is definitely not made by us."
That is, he came prepared, secretly replaced the porcelain bowls, and deliberately framed someone.
When the middle-aged man's trick was exposed, he panicked, his face turned pale, and he stammered, not knowing what to say.
The onlookers whispered, "No wonder he only bought one bowl, a blank one at that. It turns out he had been preparing to swap it out for a long time, but he couldn't guess what pattern Miss Jiang would come up with today, so he could only prepare a blank one."
"I noticed that the other cracked bowls were also blank. Could they have colluded?"
There were also voices of rebuttal: "Are you suffering from paranoia? Why would so many people want to harm her if there's nothing wrong? I think she just has too many enemies, or there's really something wrong with the porcelain."
After hearing these discussions, the middle-aged man also thought of an excuse: "I just bought a porcelain bowl, and there are people around. How can I have the opportunity to exchange it?"
The little girl who had been standing next to Jiang Wan pouted: "You can hide in your clothes!"
The man narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Do you dare to search me? Besides, I'm not the only one whose bowl is broken. So many people's bowls are broken. Could it be that you have a grudge against Miss Jiang and are deliberately framing her?"
The girl was so frightened by his venomous gaze that she hid behind Jiang Wan. Jiang Wan took a half step forward, shielding the girl behind him, and faced the middle-aged man's cold gaze. "There's no need for a body search. After all, you're paid for this service. The porcelain bowl that was replaced is of course in the possession of your employer."
The middle-aged man remained stubborn: "Where is the employer? Do you have any evidence?"
"Come to think of it, this employer is an acquaintance of mine." Jiang Wan smiled and stopped looking at him. Instead, he looked at the woman under the poplar tree with a sharp gaze: "Auntie Qian, you've been watching the show for so long, why don't you come and show your support?"
When Aunt Qian suddenly heard Jiang Wan calling out her name, she was shocked all over and wanted to slip away quietly like last time, but the gazes from all directions forced her to stay where she was.
She was holding a cloth bag, and her whole body was covered by a thick cotton coat, but her exposed fingers were trembling slightly. She thought that both the appearance and the cracks were perfectly imitated, but the little hoof still saw through it.
Last time, when the false accusation failed, she was able to remain calm, but this time the situation was different. If it was proven that she hired internet trolls to slander others, she would go to jail.
Jiang Wan noticed Aunt Qian's reaction and said coldly, "Auntie, could you open the bag and let us see?"
Aunt Qian immediately held the bag tightly and said, "No, this is my bag. Why are you looking at it?"
Jiang Wan didn't answer, but stared at the other person intently. She didn't have a stern face; she even smiled slightly, but Aunt Qian felt a wave of fear.
Of course it was her right not to open the cloth bag, but if she just left like that in this situation, it would almost be equivalent to admitting that she had hired someone to frame Jiang Wan.
The crowd had already formed a circle around Aunt Qian. She had never seen so many customers in all her years running the shop, and her palms were sweating.
Aunt Qian's hand trembled as she reached for the opening of the cloth bag. As everyone watched, she nervously twirled the elastic cord.
Then he slowly pulled the rope and untied the cloth bag.
The noisy crowd instantly quieted down, and those who were nearby quickly stretched their heads to look:
The cloth bag was empty, with only a piece of pork just bought at the market.
Aunt Qian slowly raised her head and said, "Are you satisfied, Miss Jiang? I wrongly accused you before, and I understand your resentment, but businessmen value their credibility above all else. It's best to refrain from such frame-ups."
The silent crowd became noisy again, but this time it was directed at Jiang Wan:
"It was a false alarm! I think the quality of this little girl's goods is not good enough!"
"That's right! At such a young age, you're already framing others. You really haven't learned your lesson."
...The noise almost drowned Jiang Wan, and some people even started throwing vegetables and eggs at Jiang Wan's cart. If they hadn't considered that she was a girl, they would probably have thrown them at her face.
"Sister Jiang Wan, please think of a solution quickly!" The girl hiding behind her looked at her anxiously and gently tugged at her sleeve.
Jiang Wan patted the girl's arm soothingly, his eyes carefully scanning Aunt Qian, his mind racing.
Aunt Qian feigned innocence, but the smugness of her conspiracy was unconcealed in her eyes. She would never blame Aunt Qian. She had just carefully observed that there was no place near her where the porcelain bowls could be hidden, and she had not come into contact with anyone carrying large bags or boxes.
The porcelain bowl should still be with her, either hidden in her clothes or in a cloth bag.
But hiding eight or nine porcelain bowls in a cotton-padded jacket wasn't easy. Aunt Qian stood up from under the poplar tree, her steps, her hands raised, and other movements were all smooth, without the awkwardness of someone carrying something hidden. That's why Jiang Wan concluded the porcelain bowls must be in the bag.
She recalled the process of Aunt Qian untying the cloth bag just now, and remembered that the other party seemed to rub the opening of the cloth bag unintentionally, and suddenly an idea flashed in her mind.
The problem lies with the cloth bag!
The crowd was still noisy and the insults were endless, but Jiang Wan's mind was working rapidly, and he put those voices behind him and was not affected.
Just kidding, she had seen far more scenes in her past life. If she was afraid of what people would say, she wouldn't have gone to such a high place.
But this scene looked very different to others.
Aigu, wearing a bamboo hat, stood by the wall, looking at Jiang Wan, who stood with his head bowed. Jiang Wan, a thin, frail man, stood quietly amid the clamor of insults, letting the eggs stain the cart. His eyes, distinctly black and white, betrayed no emotion. His lowered eyelids, his eyelashes trembling, only added to the illusion of aggrieved expression.
Even if condemned by thousands, it stubbornly refuses to retreat. Just like the hibiscus flower, even if the current pushes it away, it will desperately cling to the mud at the bottom of the water, struggling for years.
The young man frowned imperceptibly, pushed through the crowd and moved forward, but heard a cry of surprise in his ears.
"This cloth bag actually has a layer?"
Aigu looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jiang Wan squatting beside Aunt Qian, rubbing the mouth of the cloth bag a few times. The cloth separated into two layers. In between the two layers was a layer, and inside was eight or nine blank porcelain bowls.
It is unique to Jiang’s stall, the blue color of the sky after the rain.
Aunt Qian slumped on the ground, her face pale, her lips trembling, and her voice trembling as well: "No, no..."
The cursing suddenly stopped, and the passerby who had been cursing fiercely just now covered his mouth with a look of shame.
Jiang Wan took the porcelain bowl back from the bag and said mercilessly, "You've been causing trouble for me time and time again. I didn't pursue it before because I knew it was hard for everyone and I hoped you would repent and reform. Since you refuse to change and are even worse, I will not let you off easily this time."
She stood up, no longer looking at Aunt Qian, and just said, "See you at the government office."
The vegetable leaves that had been thrown at Jiang Wan changed direction and now flew towards Aunt Qian. The crowd roared again, but Aigu ignored them, his eyes following Jiang Wan.
She really looks a bit like her mother, but she is stronger and more resourceful than her mother.
Unconsciously, the voices gradually faded away. Jiang Wan felt his gaze and smiled back, "Your Highness seems to be enjoying the show, but why don't you say a few words to help me?"
She seemed completely unaffected, smiling brightly as she cleaned the cart. After this incident, her fame reached a new high, and her daily income reached as much as twenty taels.
"I helped you last time. If I speak up for you again, I'll be considered your accomplice," Aigu said with a face. "I've already had the hibiscus bowl you made delivered to Mother overnight. She loves it. I heard from the maid that Mother hasn't smiled much these days. Thank you, Jiang Wan."
Although it was clearly a playful expression, Jiang Wan could sense a hint of sadness in his expression and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"By the way, do you know of any famous hermit doctors around here? I've been to every clinic in the city these past few days, and none of them can tell what's ailing Mother." He stamped his foot in dissatisfaction, "I just don't believe it. Is there any disease in the world that can't be cured?"
"Can you tell me what the eldest princess's symptoms are?" Jiang Wan asked.
"It's strange that I don't have any symptoms. At first, I was just a little weak in Qi and blood. Mother had just given birth to me, and she thought I'd be fine after some rest. But after two whole years, not only did I not recover, I became even weaker. I gradually needed a maid to support me when I walked, and I gradually became thinner."
When Aigu talked about her mother's condition, her playful expression dropped, and her eyes and eyebrows were filled with pain and confusion. "My father has consulted many doctors, and they all said that my mother was just suffering from acclimatization. Even the doctors in your Great Zhou couldn't see what the problem was. However, I heard from my mother's maid that she was fine when she first got married."
Jiang Wan listened to Aigu's description and recalled the cases in modern medicine in her past life, but she had no clue. She was not a professional doctor and did not know much about this area, but she had a vague feeling in her heart:
Is it possible that the princess was not sick but poisoned?
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