Little Gu's hair was grabbed, and she struggled in vain. Her fat body rolled and crawled on the ground, cursing incessantly.
Yun Niangzi cursed back, refusing to let go, and dragged the man out of the side courtyard in one go.
Jiang, the head constable, glared at Song Liyun with a stern face: "Miss Song, this is your elder. You just stand by and watch a servant girl humiliate herself without saying a word. Don't you think you are being extremely unfilial?"
Song Liyun also looked at him coldly: "Officer Jiang, this is a case under investigation. You just stood there dumbfounded and let an ignorant village woman fool you. You've lost face for decades. Aren't you ashamed?"
"you……"
Officer Jiang had suffered repeated setbacks at Baolin Residence, and his voice trembled with anger, "Don't be so arrogant just because you have the garrison backing you up. The government has its own ways of dealing with you, you troublemaker!"
Song Liyun nodded calmly and said, "Fabricating something out of nothing, extracting a confession through torture... whatever other methods you have, just tell me! Perhaps I can choose one I like!"
Jiang, the constable, was able to be dispatched out of the county because he was a prominent figure in Songfeng County, and he was always arrogant and haughty.
He had been frustrated by many things throughout the day, and Song Liyun's repeated sarcasm had completely enraged him.
Instead of drawing his sword, Constable Jiang raised his hand and slammed the sword, scabbard and all, against Song Liyun's back.
The official's waist knife, including its sheath, weighed over five pounds. If Constable Jiang had struck it with the force he was using in his anger, Song Liyun would have broken a rib, or at least suffered a large bruise and some physical pain.
This is just the basic operation that constables and yamen runners use to deal with troublemakers when enforcing the law; there are even more powerful methods to come.
But the situation is different now.
In the blink of an eye, Song Liyun swiftly retreated, dodging the attack of the waist knife. At the same time, a one-meter-long wooden stick, only as thick as a thumb, appeared in her hand.
The waist knife was only a little over a foot long, while the wooden stick, which was more than a meter long, was pressed against Jiang the constable's throat the moment it appeared, the thin tip of the stick pricking his skin painfully.
Chief Constable Jiang was terrified; he hadn't even seen where the wooden stick had come from.
Although it was just a thin stick, the feeling of it being pressed against my throat was no less than that of a knife.
It felt as if the other person only needed to move forward an inch more to pierce his vulnerable throat.
Compared to Song Liyun's slightly more agile movements, Constable Jiang was a genuine martial arts expert.
He was horrified and quickly retreated, but Song Liyun followed him like a shadow, the wooden stick always pressed against his throat.
"How dare you harm an official appointed by the imperial court?" Constable Jiang roared.
Song Liyun snorted coldly: "When did I hurt you? Do you have any proof?"
"You're holding this officer hostage! I'll beat you to death, you audacious scoundrel!"
With the buffer of retreat, Constable Jiang had already drawn his waist knife. With the knife in hand, his courage grew, and he began to slash at the wooden stick.
Song Liyun let go before the knife could strike, and the wooden stick was broken by Jiang the constable with a single touch.
How can it be so light?
Officer Jiang's strike was effective, but a chill ran through him: the feeling at the point of contact was off; it was too light.
Before he could react, a gust of wind swept in from behind.
Officer Jiang parried with his sword, barely managing to deflect the approaching attack.
Upon seeing who it was, he immediately roared, "You're resisting the law enforcement officers! Are you trying to rebel?"
The newcomer was Han Ming, who held a long military saber in his hand, exuding a majestic and murderous aura.
He first resolved Song Liyun's crisis with a single stroke, then followed up with another: "I, Han, will not rebel, nor will I allow anyone to use the government's name to commit banditry."
Jiang, the head constable, had fought with Han Ming before and knew that this man was evenly matched with him. At this moment, he dared not be careless and could only turn his sword to defend himself: "Nonsense, you are a thief for hoarding a long sword."
The constables from Qili County also joined the fray, shouting, "You Songfeng County people come here to cause trouble in my Qili County, and you even dare to kill someone in front of the magistrate! You know the law but break it, your crime is doubled!"
This was no longer the same move Han Ming and Xue Zhuang had made yesterday, where they only tried to stop and capture people. The yamen runners of Qili County were also government officials, and they acted without restraint.
Without any help, Officer Jiang had to fight two opponents at once, and was defeated in just three rounds, dropping his sword.
At the entrance of the side courtyard, Magistrate Jiang stood with his hands behind his back, his face as cold as ice: "Entering a private residence under the pretext of investigating stolen goods, and then killing someone under the pretext of resisting the law—this is how Songfeng County handles cases!"
"Men, seize these thieves and send them back to Songfeng County for punishment."
Jiang, the head constable, was extremely anxious. If he were arrested as a thief and imprisoned, and then sent back to Songfeng County for investigation, even if he was found not guilty, he would still lose face and his job.
The thought of losing his job and not being able to support his elderly parents, wife, two concubines, and five children made Jiang, the constable, kneel down with a thud: "My lord, spare my life! I made a mistake on duty! I was only attacked with a wooden stick and needed to defend myself."
"It was the Song family who attacked the lower ranks first, Your Excellency, please understand!" After saying this, he kowtowed repeatedly.
Song Liyun used her toe to pick up the "wooden stick" and kicked it next to Constable Jiang: "You mean to use this to attack you? This is just firewood that fell from the stove."
"Yes! You used this... ehhhh..."
Jiang, the head constable, stared wide-eyed as Song Liyun crushed the wooden stick into dust with a flick of her toe.
That's not a wooden stick at all; it's clearly some kind of straw.
Officer Jiang rushed over and picked up a piece; it was so light it broke with a single pinch.
He was so frightened by a piece of firewood that he picked up a knife.
Jiang, the head constable, felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his chest, his face turned ashen, and he pointed at Song Liyun but couldn't utter a single word. His whole body seemed to have been pierced by a hole, and he instantly wilted!
He was originally an official sent by Songfeng County, and to a certain extent, Jiang Feng could not restrict his freedom of investigation; on the contrary, he needed to actively cooperate.
But now there is no stolen goods, no witnesses, and there is further evidence of coercion against the suspect. In order to extricate himself, he must declare the case a miscarriage of justice and compensate the victim.
This Song family member just tried to extort money from me!
I was handed over to someone else and was manipulated.
Jiang Feng gave Song Liyun an appreciative look, and his goodwill towards her increased even further: she really is a smart woman.
Since Song Liyun had set a trap, how could Jiang Feng miss it?
He didn't give Constable Jiang a chance to argue: "Song is just a woman. Even if she were to pick up a piece of firewood or be holding a knife, Constable Jiang cannot act on his own. I will record this in the case file."
Jiang, the head constable, was filled with bitterness and could only admit that he had been reckless and had not seen clearly.
Song Liyun sneered inwardly: she was using rapeseed stalks.
It was long enough, as thick as a thumb, and grayish-white like a wooden stick, making it perfect for the head constable Jiang to make a mistake in his anger.
Now that we've seen both the front and side yards, there's naturally no evidence of the stolen goods that we imagined Song Lao Er's family would have.
Song Lao Er had already given up, but Xiao Gu Shi was frantic.
If the stolen goods cannot be found, not only will they lose their family property, but they will also have to go back to Songfeng County to go to jail.
At this moment, she disregarded her disheveled hair and focused solely on finding some clues.
After all, Madam Gu was a woman, and she was very observant. When Lord Jiang had already left Baolin Residence and the yamen runners of Qili County had begun to return to the county office to announce the closure of the case, she pulled out a cotton-padded jacket from the doghouse behind the gate.
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