Chapter 139: Shelter
"Who are you?"
Zhao Liang stared at Jiang Lin with some suspicion. The waiter and the shopkeeper had been silenced by the undercurrents and dark winds, and they probably hadn't had time to communicate with Zhao Liang and the others. Jiang Lin closed his paper fan and tapped it twice on his palm. "You'll know when you meet your adoptive father later."
There are a lot of people in the general's mansion, and a large group of people might easily cause trouble.
Xu Jian and Anliu stayed behind, leaving the Qin family members to wait for news at the inn. Anfeng and Qin Feng escorted the criminals and officials, while Qin Xiangnuan and Jiang Lin followed them to the county government office. The shackles of exile from the General's Mansion came in handy at this moment, and they were all placed on Zhao Liang and the other officials. Ever since they entered the city, there had been constant chatter.
"Isn't that Mr. Zhao? Why is he..."
"Hush, don't talk nonsense, or we'll be in trouble! Have you forgotten those girls who went to the yamen to sue Mr. Zhao?" The people made way for them, their eyes lowered, not daring to look at Zhao Liang. Only a few brave ones looked at Jiang Lin and Qin Xiangnuan curiously, whispering to each other, "They look like outsiders. I wonder where they came from? How dare they touch them?"
Qin Xiangnuan and Jiang Lin both had sharp hearing, so they heard it clearly.
They followed behind, and Qin Xiangnuan said with interest: "It seems that we are kicking a hard stone this time. I wonder if the prince can move the stone! Don't let me be implicated. I can accept exile, but being locked up in prison is not good." She raised an eyebrow at Jiang Lin. He was dressed in men's clothes and looked handsome and elegant, like a dandy young man.
In order to conceal her identity as the legitimate daughter of the general's mansion, Jiang Lin reminded Qin Xiangnuan to change her clothes before setting off.
She has a petite figure and follows Jiang Lin, feeling like a younger brother to him.
"Don't worry." Jiang Lin uttered those two words, staring at Zhao Liang and speaking in a calm voice, "I didn't expect this place to have become like this."
Even in broad daylight, filth and dirt can hide in cracks, let alone in a small, remote town where the emperor is seldom seen. She had forgotten the situation here, believing she was in the capital, and had confidently left the waiter and the shopkeeper in Zhao Liang's care. Now that she thought about it, the officials who arrived at the inn didn't act like they were visiting for the first time. Instead, they acted as if they were at home, serving tea and water with a familiar air.
"Now that I think about it, all the gold, silver, jewelry, and money we didn't find in the inn should be in Zhao Liang's pocket."
After Jiang Lin finished speaking, Qin Xiangnuan pursed her red lips and looked at the official residence not far ahead. "Is it just Zhao Liang? Why did Anliu go to the government office to report the case, and they were the ones who came? You also heard what the people said. As an official, he committed crimes and colluded with bad people. He acted just like them. If there was no one protecting him from above, who would believe it? Since the governor is his adoptive father, I think he can't escape the connection."
"Why don't we just wait and see how muddy the water really is."
Qin Xiangnuan just said one sentence, and Jiang Lin immediately understood what she wanted to do. He signaled Anfeng to beat the drum to complain.
Boom, boom, boom—An Feng swung his drumstick, pounding the drums of grievance to a deafening roar, drawing many civilians to watch from outside. People quickly emerged from inside, stunned upon seeing Zhao Liang, and pointed at Jiang Lin, shouting, "How dare you touch an official! Come, arrest them!" They drew their swords and pointed at Jiang Lin and Qin Xiangnuan. Qin Feng and An Feng immediately stepped in front, glaring at them with blazing eyes.
The two sides were on the verge of a fight. Qin Xiangnuan patted Qin Feng on the shoulder and came out to smooth things over.
"Your Excellency, we don't know that we have something to discuss with the Governor. These people are doing evil things outside in the Governor's name. It's really despicable. We want to clear the Governor's name and are afraid that they will escape, so we are doing this. Why don't we go in and talk it out?" Qin Xiangnuan bowed and imitated the man's voice, "Then it will be clear who is right and who is wrong."
When the officer saw the waiter and the shopkeeper, he naturally understood what had been exposed.
They stared at each other, unsure of what to do. With so many eyes watching, it was difficult to resort to force. "Go report to the lord, I'll wait here," the official said to the other man, who then hurried back to tell the governor.
Soon, the person who announced it ran out and said, "The master said, let you all come in."
Qin Xiangnuan nodded, and asked Anfeng and Qin Feng to look after the shopkeeper and the waiter. She then nudged Zhao Liang towards the yamen's lobby. Beneath the words "clear mirror" hung high above sat the corpulent, overweight governor. Goodness, there was no need for further rhetoric or probing. Qin Xiangnuan was definitely not one to judge a person by appearances. However, the man before her had the words "I am a corrupt official" etched across his face, which made one have to...
She was thinking about this, and when she heard the sound of the gavel banging, she immediately came to her senses.
"Who is here and why are you beating the drum to complain? This... Liangliang? Why is it you..." When Zhaozhoufu saw clearly who was kneeling in the hall, he immediately sat up in shock and hurriedly pointed at the officers beside him and said, "What are you still standing there for? Let him go!" Zhao Liang's mouth was blocked and he could not say anything at the moment. He could only shake his head and hum.
The officer was ordered to approach, but before he could make a move, he was kicked away by An Feng.
Fighting in the government office was unheard of, let alone witnessed. The prefect of Zhaozhou was furious, pointing at Anfeng and shouting, "Anyone who dares to cause trouble here, I will drag them away, take them to the prison, and give them fifty lashes!" Fifty lashes? No questions asked, just a direct conviction. For an ordinary person, ten lashes would have cost them their life, let alone fifty lashes. The prefecture was sending them straight to hell.
Qin Xiangnuan was not worried at all. With An Feng's skills, even if all the people in the government office rushed over, they would not be his match.
"Wait a minute, sir, don't you want to ask why we're suing the police? Isn't this fifty lashes a bit hasty?" Jiang Lin began, and Zhaozhoufu only then noticed the other person in the hall. He looked at him carefully, feeling that Jiang Lin looked familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen him before. Jiang Lin's aura was so strong that he felt a little unsure, and he slowly sat down.
Since Zhao Liang has returned to the government office, there will naturally be no other problems.
Even if they were allowed to speak, even if the excuses couldn't cover it up, they could still find a reason to imprison Zhao Liang and then release him. Zhaozhou Prefecture was particularly adept at this sort of thing, and his emotions gradually calmed down. He sat back down, pretending to be a good official. "Since that's the case, tell me..."
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