Tang Nian knew who Lou Mu was waiting for, but this kind of waiting was really boring.
She spoke slowly, her voice clear and firm: "Lord Wang, as the county magistrate, you should be protecting the people of this region, yet you condone your nephew's bullying of men and women, and his exploitation of the villagers. Do you know your crime?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Fu's heart tightened. He quietly looked up, only to see Lou Mu's inscrutable expression. He quickly lowered his head and hurriedly offered his explanation.
“Miss Tang, I had no choice. The Jia family is powerful, and I had no other option.”
Even if he had never heard of any female officials in the court, Lord Wang would not dare to offend Lou Mu, as he was by Lou Mu's side.
Not to mention, Lou Mu stood up for this girl this time.
Thinking of this, he raised his head and glared at his nephew, who was more trouble than he was worth.
Tang Nian sneered and said, "A helpless move? If I remember correctly, your sister is the matriarch of the Jia family, right? You must have received quite a few benefits from the Jia family over the years."
Wang Fu was speechless, never expecting that the two people from the capital had such a thorough understanding of his home.
Just then, the Jia family rushed over.
Lou Mu spoke when he saw servants dressed in Jia family attire approaching the edge of the crowd.
"Lord Wang, please hold off for now. Let's first calculate the crimes committed by Young Master Jia."
He took the notebook from the young prince and began to read it aloud in great detail.
With the young prince around, they couldn't possibly hide it from him.
No matter how well they are processed, His Highness will still be able to dig them all out.
With each sentence Lou Mu read, Wang Fu's face turned paler.
Jia Cheng didn't seem to be in any trouble, if you ignored the wet patch on his clothes.
As Jia Cheng's crimes were listed one by one in front of the people, they could no longer hold back and began throwing vegetable scraps and rotten eggs at him again.
No one stopped them, until...
"Wait!"
As a sharp female voice pierced the sky, a plump, gaudy-dressed middle-aged woman barged in with a group of servants, interrupting Lou Mu's words.
Her face was covered in thick makeup, and her lips were painted bright red, making her look like a man-eating monster.
As soon as she entered the door, she shouted aggressively, "Who dares to touch anyone from the Jia family? Do you think the Jia family is someone to be trifled with!"
The matriarch of the Jia family swept her gaze around the hall, finally settling on Tang Nian and Lou Mu.
She curled her lip and said disdainfully, "Hmph, who do we have here? It's just two greenhorns. Do you know the power of the Jia family in Jingning City? If you know what's good for you, release my family members right now, or you'll regret it!"
She didn't see at all that her dear brother was ashen-faced and barely daring to breathe.
Tang Nian and Lou Mu exchanged a smile; they were not intimidated by the threat posed by the matriarch of the Jia family.
They had already heard about the good deeds the Jia family had done on their way here.
Jingning City belongs to Liuzhou, and the Jia family has even bribed the governor of Liuzhou.
No wonder their crimes haven't been exposed all these years.
With such collusion between officials and businessmen, and officials protecting each other, Lou Mu would certainly not let this go easily.
He slammed his gavel down and shouted, "Guards, drag this woman away and give her twenty strokes of the cane!"
"Let's see who dares!"
Wang Cui, a spoiled woman, still thought she could call the shots in the court.
Unexpectedly, the constables standing to the side actually stepped forward and grabbed her.
"Let me go! Let me go! I am the mistress of the Jia family! Who dares to touch me!"
Wang Cui went berserk, punching and kicking, her nails, painted with red nail polish, frantically scratching at the faces of the yamen runners.
Tang Nian frowned, and with a slight flick of her finger, a blue light flashed, freezing Wang Cui in place, leaving her only able to open her mouth and shout.
"Disrupting court order, add another twenty strokes of the rod!"
Upon hearing the word "forty strokes of the cane," the three men below the hall nearly fainted.
The people, however, cheered and were in high spirits.
"Lord Lou! Lord Lou, please have mercy!"
Wang Fu mustered his courage, kowtowed, and cried out, but to no avail.
All she could hear was her sister's constant crying.
After Wang Cui finished receiving the forty strokes of the cane and was escorted back to the hall, her original dignified and elegant image had vanished.
Her face was as pale as paper, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders, with a few strands still sticking to sweat and dirt, making her look extremely disheveled.
Her dress was tattered, revealing the bloody wounds on her back, each one deeply embedded in her skin.
Tang Nian stared coldly into Wang Cui's vicious eyes and asked firmly and forcefully.
“Mistress of the Jia family, you keep saying that the Jia family has power in Jingning City. Don’t you know that there is still a law in Jingning City? Your son Jia Cheng oppresses the people and harasses respectable women. Do you think these crimes can be wiped off just because of the power of your Jia family?”
Wang Cui has always been the darling of her family and has never suffered such injustice. Even now, she is still unwilling to accept this situation.
She immediately glared at him and retorted loudly, "My Cheng'er may be a bit mischievous, but he has never done anything heinous. If you dare to lay a finger on him, the Jia family will absolutely not let you off!"
Seeing Wang Cui, who was struggling to even kneel on the ground, still trying to exonerate Jia Cheng, Tang Nian didn't know what to say.
A doting mother often spoils her son.
Wang Fu couldn't hold back any longer and gently tugged at Wang Cui's clothes.
But they forgot that Wang Cui's clothes were covered in blood and flesh, stuck together. When they pulled, Wang Cui's screams echoed through the sky as she cursed her brother.
"You won't let us go?" Lou Mu sneered. "I'd like to see how you're going to not let us go."
The Jia family's steward seemed to have some sense, but when he saw an extremely luxurious carriage stop outside the hall, he had no choice but to step forward and threaten it.
"Do you know the power of the Jia family? If you dare to lay a finger on us, the Jia family will make you pay a heavy price!"
The two people in the hall remained silent, watching the middle-aged man stride in as he lifted the curtain.
Why are they still sending them one after another?
"Master Jia, aren't you going to call down the distinguished guests you've invited as well?"
Before the Jia family head could speak, Lou Mu spoke first.
"Dealing with a greenhorn like you is no problem for me, an old man like myself!"
With a wave of his hand, the head of the Jia family made a bold statement.
He thought it was some minor local official who had come to visit and dared to bully the Jia family.
But he didn't see a person staggering down from his carriage, who rushed into the hall and knelt down without even having time to straighten his official hat.
"Chang Antong, Prefect of Liuzhou, pays his respects to the Grand Secretary."
Turning his head, he sternly rebuked the Jia family head, "Jia Feng, why aren't you paying your respects to the Grand Secretary!"
Only then did the Jia family head realize that they had kicked a hornet's nest. His arrogant smile vanished instantly, replaced by cold sweat and trembling legs as he knelt on the ground.
"This humble citizen, Jia Feng, pays his respects to Your Excellency the Grand Secretary."
"Master Jia, why don't you tell me how you intend to deal with me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com