Chapter 31 Chapter 31 The 20th day of the first lunar month. After...
The 20th day of the first lunar month.
After two days of treatment, Wang Er's injuries were almost healed. He was especially excited when he heard that Huang Xingquan had been confiscated and sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including kidnapping a child, forging a birth contract, and illegally collecting protection money. He was so angry that he almost jumped for joy, praising his master.
Master actually managed to take down the local tyrant who had been entrenched in Xiaofangpan City for years! If it were him, he wouldn't even dare to dream of it.
Wang Da held his brother's shoulder to prevent him from moving too much and tearing the wound. With a smile, he scolded, "I told you not to show off wearing that dress. Now you're suffering, aren't you? Luckily, Master rescued you, otherwise you'd be dead."
"Yeah! I'll definitely remember that later!"
Wang Da touched his brother's head and suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Master, is that Mr. Shen coming soon?"
"That should be it," Jiang Wan stood up. "Take good care of the second son. I'll go ask Zi Yan about Lord Shen's personality so we can be prepared."
After saying that, he picked up some fruits unique to Xiaofangpan City and a few homemade porcelain bowls and went to Zi Yan.
After Zi Yan's injury healed, he rented a wooden house in the city. The house faced the west gate, and when he opened the door, he could see the endless grassland outside the gate.
Jiang Wan stood in front of the door and admired it for a while, secretly praising it.
This person is not only good-looking and knowledgeable, but also has good taste.
Suddenly, I heard an unfamiliar male voice in the room: "You are so lucky, brewing wine here leisurely, while I am running so hard that my legs are about to break."
"You're a horseman." Zi Yan's voice sounded like the clashing of jade or the rippling of spring water in a mountain stream, but it was more playful than usual.
This man is used to being serious and old-fashioned, and it is rare to see him speak in a joking tone. It seems that the guest in the room is very familiar with him.
Jiang Wan wanted to listen a few more times and guess the identity of the guest, but she heard the man raise his voice and say in a nonchalant tone: "Miss, if you want to stay late, you can come in directly. No need to knock!"
...Jiang Wan was speechless for a while and didn't knock on the door. He just shouted at the door: "Then I'm coming in." Then he pushed the door open.
In the wooden house, Zi Yan and the guest sat opposite each other. They looked like they had already drunk half a pot of wine, but neither of them seemed tipsy. Zi Yan was in the main seat, while the man in the guest seat was dressed in a dark purple casual suit. His complexion was fair with a rosy glow, and he had an elegant demeanor and a handsome face, especially his peach blossom eyes.
That really shows how affectionate dogs are.
But Jiang Wan didn't think he was a playboy. She'd stepped so softly as she approached the cabin earlier that ordinary people wouldn't be able to hear. This man not only heard the footsteps, but also determined it was a woman from the lightness and rhythm of her breathing, proving he was either a highly skilled martial artist or had received professional training.
As she observed him, he was also observing her.
"Miss, are you here to see Zi Yan?" The purple-robed guest lazily waved the folding fan in his hand. "What's your name?"
"She is Jiang Wan," Zi Yan said with a "tsk" sound and snatched his fan with a look of disgust.
The purple-robed guest immediately reached out to grab the fan, but after several unsuccessful attempts, he had no choice but to withdraw his hand in frustration and turned to Jiang Wan, saying, "So you are Miss Jiang Wan. I am Shen Jianqing, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, hello, Lord Shen." Jiang Wan hurriedly bowed her head, but a thousand horses were galloping through her heart. Who said Lord Shen was impartial and incorruptible?... She really couldn't reconcile this seemingly careless face with the ruthless, investigative mastery of the Jinyiwei.
In comparison, Zi Yan is more in line with the image of a cold-blooded and ruthless Jinyiwei, okay.
"Before I came here, I heard that Miss Jiang was a master of porcelain making." Shen Jianqing looked at the basket she was carrying. "Seeing is believing. Can you let me take a look?"
Jiang Wan couldn't figure out his tricks, so he handed the basket to him obediently, explaining the production process while secretly guessing.
"It is indeed exquisite. Even the craftsmen in the capital don't apply blue glaze." Shen Jianqing picked up the porcelain bowl and looked at it carefully for a while, praising it. "I heard about the girl's reputation when I came to the city. Now I see that she is indeed worthy of the reputation."
"Your Excellency is very kind," Jiang Wan replied politely, and then said, "Master Shen, regarding the case a few days ago..."
"I heard that Miss Jiang made a lot of contributions to that case. If it weren't for your persuasion, Li Weimin would still be unrepentant and favor Huang Xingquan." Shen Jianqing flicked his folding fan, suddenly restrained his smile, and spoke in a more serious tone. "I didn't expect Miss Jiang to have such a close relationship with the county head. Not only did she rely on him to escape slavery, but she also accepted the task of the birthday gift."
This was a subtle way of asking her if she had colluded with Li Weimin. It seemed that although Shen Jianqing had just arrived in Xiaofangpan City, he had already found out most of what Li Weimin had done.
Although his words were spoken politely, his demeanor was completely different from when he was drinking wine and sipping tea just now. The pressure from his body was so heavy that if it were an ordinary person, they would probably be frightened to death.
It was not until this moment that Jiang Wan truly felt the other party's side as the commander of the Jinyiwei.
Fortunately, Jiang Wan was no ordinary person. Upon hearing this, he simply smiled and said, "In order to escape from my citizenship, I did agree to the birthday gift. Since Lord Shen asked, I do know two things that may help you with your case."
"Oh? What is it?" Shen Jianqing raised his eyebrows.
"First, the Huang family has two copies of the account book. One is in the manager's room, which is compared with Li Weimin's official account book. The other is under Huang Xingquan's pillow in his bedroom. That is the original account book, which contains the transaction records between him and Li Weimin."
"Secondly, some of the private money Li Weimin received was hidden inside the desk in his study."
Shen Jianqing asked her this because he suspected she and Li Weimin were colluding in some way he hadn't uncovered. As for the birthday gift, Jiang Wan hadn't even started working on it yet, and Li Weimin wouldn't dare entrust anything out of the ordinary to a convict he'd just met. But if Jiang Wan had done something else for Li Weimin in order to escape his criminal status, that would be a different story.
Explanations were useless for such probing. Therefore, Jiang Wan directly provided evidence that could convict Li Weimin. Shen Jianqing had just arrived, and even if he had discovered the magistrate's past beforehand, he wouldn't have had the time to find evidence. This was evident from the fact that Li Weimin was still sitting in the county office.
Providing evidence was to speed up the case and also to show that he had no collusion with Li Weimin, otherwise he would never dare to sell him out like this.
Shen Jianqing first looked at Jiang Wan in surprise, then showed a thoughtful expression and waved his hand. Two secret guards in flying fish uniforms immediately jumped out from the darkness.
"Investigate according to what Miss Jiang said." Shen Jianqing said.
His convoy was not due to arrive until seven days later. He had arrived early because he had quietly left the group and rushed over at full speed. Li Weimin's men had previously learned the time of the commander's convoy's arrival, so Li Weimin was completely unaware of it.
Huang Xingquan's case has basically been settled, but he cannot be exposed yet because there is a more important thing, which is also the real reason why he took the initiative to write a letter to inspect various states and counties.
The two secret guards bowed and soon disappeared.
Shen Jianqing stood up and bowed to Jiang Wan: "Miss, you are a smart person. I was rash in what I said just now. I hope you will forgive me."
Jiang Wan bowed politely, "No, Lord Shen, please be cautious. I understand."
Shen Jianqing returned to his previous casual demeanor and said with a smile, "When I came here, I heard Zi Yan say that you spent six taels of silver to rent a shop. After this case is over, the rent of the shop should return to normal prices. By then, the six taels of silver you have can rent two shops."
He squinted his eyes and shook his wine glass: "I'll make the decision. Let Miss Jiang choose first. This will be considered as an apology to you - but please don't reveal my whereabouts for the time being."
Jiang Wan also understood that he probably had other important matters to attend to, so she replied, "I understand. Thank you, sir!"
Shen Jianqing nodded: "I should have accompanied you, but I still have things to investigate, so let Zi Yan go with you."
After that, he winked at Zi Yan and said, "Just stay with the girl peacefully, and leave the rest to me."
Zi Yan looked at him quietly with his eyes. Just standing there, he was like a pine tree or a bamboo, with an extraordinary temperament, as if he could see through people's hearts and everything.
Shen Jianqing stamped his feet in anger: "I'm running errands tirelessly, but you're leisurely shopping with the girls. I should have ignored you earlier."
Jiang Wan watched Shen Jianqing's footsteps getting farther and farther away, and couldn't help but smiled and waved to Zi Yan: "Let's go, accompany me to pick a shop."
Zi Yan glanced at Jiang Wan and silently followed her out of the wooden house.
As the sky gradually darkened, Jiang Wan stood in front of two adjacent shops on the west side of the main street and said with satisfaction, "These are the two I'll take!"
The location is close to the center of the main street, with a large flow of customers and no similar shops nearby. The key is that it faces the sun. Jiang Wan likes to sit inside and feel the warmth of the sun.
It's just a little old, and there's dust on the door frame and the floor, which needs to be cleaned thoroughly.
"Are you sure about these two rooms?" Zi Yan suddenly asked, "They haven't been rented for a long time."
It was a simple sentence, but Jiang Wan heard some sadness in it and couldn't help but look back at him.
He hung his hands, looking up at the wooden sign above the door, but it was covered in cobwebs, and the shop's name was no longer discernible. The dim light fell on his cheeks, turning his pupils the color of dark blue.
Jiang Wan stared blankly at the young man in front of him. He felt the distant and tranquil atmosphere they had when they met at the clinic. Even though they were so close, he felt as if he were a long way away. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you?"
After thinking for a moment, he added, "I think these two shops are pretty good. Although they're a bit old, they can be cleaned up. They have a lot of customers, little competition, and most importantly, they face the sun..."
She swallowed the rest of her words because Zi Yan suddenly turned around and stared at her closely, with a slight redness at the corners of his eyes, which gave him a peculiar charm against his pale skin.
This was the first time she saw sadness in the eyes of this mysterious boy.
"Nothing, I'm fine." He said softly.
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