Chapter 99 Saving Li Nian'er, Turning the Tables by Accusing the Official's Wife
Lu Zhaoruo hurriedly stepped forward, blocking her brother's path, and gave Li Nian'er a deep bow: "Young Master Li, please calm down! Please calm down!"
Li Nian'er coldly watched Lu Zhaoruo suddenly step forward.
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her head and continued, "My brother had no intention of disturbing you, young lady. The situation was truly critical. That horse has already trampled several people. If we let it run rampant, what would happen if something were to happen to someone as precious and noble as you?"
She turned slightly to the side, gesturing to the torch in Lu Bohong's hand: "As an inspector, it is my duty to protect the safety of the people. When he saw that the young lady was in danger, he was extremely anxious, but fearing that rushing forward would only increase the danger, he resorted to this desperate measure to use fire to stop the runaway horse."
"Although this method is crude and caused the young lady to fall due to fright, it is the only way to stop the mad horse as quickly as possible and avoid greater casualties."
She bowed her head again, her words earnest: "My brother was reckless and offended you, young lady. I apologize to you on his behalf. But please understand, young lady, that he was sincere and his intention was only to save people. He had no disrespect whatsoever!"
The surrounding people whispered among themselves, their words all leaning towards Lu Zhaoruo, feeling that everything she said made sense.
Li Nian'er was furious upon hearing this.
She really made a huge fool of herself today!
First, this horse was Young Master Meng's favorite mount, said to be a fine steed from the Western Regions, with a very spirited temperament.
She begged for a long time before Young Master Xie nodded casually. But the beast didn't recognize her at all. No matter how much she pulled on the reins, it wouldn't obey. Now, instead of showing off her superb riding skills, she was thrown to the ground by the beast and made a fool of herself in front of everyone.
Secondly, Li Nian'er was so powerful when she was in the capital, but now she has returned to this small place and was forced to fall off her horse in the street by a patrolman with a torch.
Her hairpins were smashed to pieces, her carefully chosen clothes were covered in mud, and her hair was disheveled, making her look like a madwoman.
The gazes of the lowly people around her stung her all over.
Thirdly, this horse is Young Master Meng's beloved possession. Now, not only has it been frightened by her riding it, but it has also been startled by a lowly person with a torch. What will Young Master Meng think when he sees this?
But.
The shrew in front of her spoke so logically that she couldn't bring herself to blame her.
Seeing that she remained silent, Lu Zhaoruo gave a slight curtsy and said softly, "Since the young lady is unharmed, my brother and I will take our leave now."
She didn't want her brother to have any further involvement with Li Nian'er.
Although she felt sorry for her brother who had been slapped for no reason, compared to the fate of being relentlessly pursued by this woman in her previous life, which ultimately forced her brother to marry her, this little grievance was nothing.
Although Li Nian'er was only the daughter of a county magistrate and her birth mother had died early, she had a powerful maternal family.
My aunt married a fifth-rank official, the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, and lived a respectable life as the mistress of the household in the capital.
Li Nian'er was raised in her aunt's house since childhood, so her perspective was naturally higher than that of ordinary county magistrate's daughters.
Lu Zhaoruo couldn't figure out why she had returned to Yong'an County ahead of schedule in this life.
She only remembered that in her previous life, she had startled her horse while riding it at full gallop, and was rescued by her brother Lu Bohong. From then on, she developed feelings of love for her heroic brother.
As for why she later "condescended" to take a fancy to a mere patrol inspector, Lu Zhaoruo learned about it from Geng Qionghua many years later when she went to the capital.
When she was in the capital, her aunt painstakingly arranged a marriage for her, and Geng Qionghua married into the Meng family, whose official rank was fourth-grade and who was in charge of the Maritime Trade Office.
They were referring to Meng Ye, the illegitimate son of the Meng family.
But Li Nian'er was ambitious and looked down on Meng Ye, who was born out of wedlock. Instead, she harbored delusions about Meng Xi, the rare legitimate son of the Meng family.
Regardless of the vast difference in their family backgrounds compared to Meng Xi's, just considering herself—her looks were merely average, and her temperament was neither particularly intelligent nor demure. To the Meng family, her little schemes were naturally a huge joke.
She later even did the disgraceful thing of offering herself as a bedmate, which completely angered her aunt, who felt she had lost all face and sent her back to her hometown in Yong'an County.
After this ordeal, her reputation was ruined, and she had no place to stand in the capital.
That's why she had to settle for second best and set her sights on the only person she could control, the heroic and upright Inspector Lu Bohong.
"stop."
A nonchalant shout came from ahead, blocking Lu Zhaoruo and Lu Bohong's path.
Lu Zhaoruo looked up and her heart sank.
They saw Li Yanei, leading seven or eight strong servants, brazenly blocking the middle of the street, staring at them with a forced smile.
Li Yanei swiftly unfolded his folding fan, brandished it pretentiously a couple of times, and glanced at Lu Zhaoruo before deliberately drawing out his words: "Oh, who do we have here? Isn't this Madam Shen Lu? What a coincidence..."
Before he could finish speaking, he abruptly slammed his fan shut, lightly slapped his forehead, and feigned sudden realization: "Ouch! Look at my mouth, I deserve a beating! I can't call you that anymore, I have to address you as Madam Lu, or Master Lu!"
He smiled and said, "After all, just half a month ago, you filed a lawsuit against your husband's entire Shen family. This extraordinary event caused a sensation throughout the city. Who doesn't know about it? I admire you, I truly admire you!"
Li Nian'er, who had been feeling aggrieved, immediately widened her eyes upon hearing this, her voice rising instantly to a level of exaggerated astonishment and disdain: "What? A woman actually sues her husband's family? I've never heard of such a thing! How could someone be so cruel and disobedient?"
She immediately rushed to Li Yanei's side, tightly gripping her brother's sleeve, tears streaming down her face, and cried out, "Brother! How dare those two siblings bully me! That brute scared my horse with fire, making me look bad in public, and I fell and my whole body aches!"
She sobbed as she spoke, “I’ve only been back from the capital for two days, and I’ve already suffered such a humiliation. Brother, you must stand up for me!”
Upon hearing this, Li Yanei was filled with both old and new grudges.
He suddenly remembered that last time he was just joking and said "let's be a couple for a while", but Commander Xiao caught him red-handed and he was beaten with eighty lashes on the spot, leaving him with torn skin and flesh, and he was bedridden for a whole month before he could move.
His father was so angry afterward that he confined him to his home for three months, and even now, the memory still makes his buttocks ache.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He immediately rebuked, "Inspector Lu! Your horse startled someone and injured my little sister, causing her to be humiliated in public. What is your punishment?"
Lu Bohong took a deep breath, clasped his hands, and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Li, please understand that I had no choice. My sister has already explained to your sister that the horse had already trampled several people. If it had been allowed to run wild, not only would your sister's safety have been in danger, but many more innocent people would have been harmed. In desperation, I used a torch to stop the wild horse. I had no intention of offending you."
After listening, Li Yanei gave a sarcastic "heh," snapped his fan shut, and pointed directly at Lu Bohong: "So, according to you, it's my little sister's fault for injuring someone while riding a horse? Are you blaming my little sister for being bad at riding, which forced you to 'startle the horse in a moment of panic'?"
He didn't give Lu Bohong a chance to speak at all, his tone sharp: "What a joke! Even if my little sister has done something wrong, she is disciplined by the Li family rules. Who gave you, a mere inspector, the right to overstep your bounds and provoke an official's wife in the street?"
He stepped forward, his gaze fixed fiercely on Lu Bohong: "Even if the horse had trampled and injured a few civilians, or even killed someone, the county government should have held a hearing and adjudicated the case according to the law! Who gave you the right to use private punishment and frighten the county magistrate's daughter? You are clearly lawless and committing insubordination!"
Finally, he snorted coldly and concluded: "Stop pretending to be benevolent! Offending an official's family is a serious crime. No matter how eloquent you are, don't even think about arguing!"
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