Jiao's mother held her newborn grandson and wept with joy. Looking at the infant in her swaddling clothes, she said to Xue Zhen, "Look at him, doesn't he look like Shan'er?"
After looking at the child for a long time, Xue Zhen said with certainty, "I think this child looks more like my uncle!"
The uncle Xue Zhen mentioned was Sanlang. Sanlang was still a child, and his features hadn't fully developed yet. The child did indeed look more like him when he was a child.
Jiao's mother's expression shifted slightly, but she said nothing and carried the child into the living room.
Inside the room, the midwife and Wang Si Niang were helping Jiang Shan clean up the postpartum mess. Jiang Shan was exhausted, but she was worried about the shop and was still struggling to hold on while waiting for news.
Suddenly, Jiao's mother's angry shouts came from outside: "Who are you? What do you want... Give me back my child!"
"Thief! A thief is snatching a child! Someone come quick, catch the thief!" Xue Zhen's shrill cries for help rang out.
Jiang Shan was shocked and struggled to sit up in bed, but the midwife held her down firmly. "Girl, you can't keep going like this!"
Wang Si Niang grabbed a pair of scissors and rushed out, cursing, "Damn it, I'll fight you to the death!"
Outside the door, Jiao's mother was violently pushed to the ground, her head hitting the ground hard, and she couldn't get up for a long time. Xue Zhen's cheek was swollen, and she held tightly to the thief who had snatched the child, refusing to let go.
Seeing this, Wang Si Niang could no longer be afraid. She brandished the scissors in her hand, howled, and rushed forward, only to be kicked to the ground by the thief.
"Child! Give my child back to me!" Jiao's mother staggered after him.
Ignoring his own health, Jiang Shan grabbed a piece of cloth, wrapped it around his head, gritted his teeth, and walked out.
"Mother, where is the child?" she cried out as she rushed over and hugged Jiao's mother, asking anxiously.
Jiao's mother, clutching the bleeding wound on her head, pointed outside the door, trembling all over, "The child has been snatched away! Shan'er, quick, go and bring the child back!"
She had carried the child for ten months and given birth with great difficulty, and she hadn't even seen, held, kissed, or loved him yet. Now, someone had taken him away. Jiang Shan was so angry that her eyes were practically bleeding.
A mother's love erupted instantly; she ran to the backyard, grabbed a wood-chopping axe, and angrily chased after him.
The leader of the thieves never expected that a few women would dare to resist, let alone that a woman who had just given birth would fight them like a madwoman, swinging an axe and fighting desperately.
When the axe swung down, his brother, who was holding the child, almost lost his grip on the knife!
"Give me back my child!" Jiang Shan roared, hacking recklessly at the thief's waist, legs, and arms with his axe.
Her eyes blazed with fury as she stared intently at the child in the thief's arms, her heart pounding in her chest. She thought, if anything were to happen to the child, she would risk her life to avenge him!
"Boss, hurry! The soldiers are catching up!" Not far away, several more men in black rode up on horseback, looking back as they ran.
Upon hearing this, the leader's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he said coldly, "Take care of this woman, give me the child, and let's go!"
The child was handed over, and the thief, entangled with Jiang Shan, grinned and raised his knife.
Jiang Shan was already exhausted. In despair, she watched her child being taken away. In grief and anger, she raised her axe to meet the long knife in front of her.
A flash of silver light appeared out of Jiang Shan's sight. The thief's knife hesitated to fall, while Jiang Shan's axe swiftly cleaved into the man's chest.
"Give me back my child! Give me back my child!" Jiang Shan wailed, desperately waving the axe in his hand. Even after being tightly hugged from behind, he continued to swing the axe unconsciously.
Xue Zhen hugged Jiang Shan tightly, staring in shock at the bloodied and mangled thief Jiang Shan had hacked to pieces, trembling with fear.
The bandits riding ahead all inexplicably fell off their horses, one even breaking his leg. The bandits following behind cautiously looked around but failed to notice any ambush.
After a short while, one of the thieves cried out in despair, "Brother, the officials are here! We can't escape!"
At the corner at the end of the alley, a man in a white cloak galloped up on horseback, passing the leader of the thieves, snatched the child, and stopped his horse beside Jiang Shan.
He carefully dismounted and looked at the haggard, yet still fierce-looking woman before him, his heart aching beyond words.
"Shan'er, the child is here, I've brought him back!"
Jiang Shan's gaze, which had already crumbled, slowly shifted back to the child.
She stared blankly at the baby in the swaddling clothes, her eyes flashing for a moment before dimming again, and then she suddenly fell straight down.
"Shan'er!" Fu Qiyuan hugged Jiang Shan tightly, his expression changing drastically.
"Give me the child, and you quickly take Shan'er back inside. Then send someone to fetch a doctor!"
With Wang Siniang's help, Jiao's mother walked over with difficulty. She didn't have time to say anything, took the child and hugged him tightly in her arms. Her gaze fell on Jiang Shan's pale face, and her heart broke.
"Mother... Aunt Jiao, you're injured!" Fu Qiyuan swallowed the words he was about to say, his face showing a mixture of heartache and anger.
Jiao's mother closed her eyes, turned away from him, and carried the child back into the house.
In the alley, a real contest has just begun!
Magistrate Cao gave the order: "Capture all these thieves, but those who resist will be killed without mercy!"
The county officials and soldiers subdued the gang of thieves with almost no effort. The reason was simple: each of the thieves had injured kneecaps, and no one knew who had helped them behind the scenes.
All I can say is that he was incredibly lucky. During the pursuit of the thieves, he happened to run into this young nobleman who was entering the city. Upon hearing that the Jiang family's shop had been burned down by the thieves, he rushed over with his guards.
They even gave him a suggestion: to split up his forces into two groups and successfully corner the thugs in the alley to capture them all.
However, the Jiao family suffered a terrible fate. Not only was their shop burned down, but the shop assistant surnamed Qiao was also seriously burned, and several women were also injured. Alas!
Song Huan looked at the thief whose chest had been hacked open by Jiang Shan and said hesitantly, "Sir, one of them is dead. He has wounds from being slashed by Manager Jiang with an axe, as well as a fatal sword wound. However, the murder weapon was not found at the scene."
Magistrate Cao recalled the scene of Jiang Shan chopping someone with an axe. He shrank back, pursed his lips, and said, "Axe wounds are just external injuries; they look scary, so don't report them. The one with the sword is a true master; he kills without drawing blood!"
Song Huan rolled her eyes and asked again, "Sir, Young Master Fu's attitude towards Manager Jiang is quite special. You said he came all the way from the capital to this small Guyang County. What is it for?"
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. A sudden flash of inspiration struck Magistrate Cao, and a bold guess quickly popped into his head.
"Going to the capital... Madam, oh Madam, you've really been waiting for this! A powerful and influential person has indeed arrived!"
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