Jiang Jiuniang nodded, seemingly to herself, and said, "That's strange. I thought you knew, otherwise why would they be chasing you all night?"
As she said this, she paid special attention to the little beggar's expression and indeed noticed that his movements froze for a moment.
He's still young, and he got dragged into this mess just to fill his stomach. They want him to do something and then kill him. They're being way too ruthless.
"Madam, who are they? Why do they want to kill me?"
The little beggar felt very wronged. He was just a poor child without parents. How could he have offended these powerful people?
Jiang Jiuniang was waiting for these words, and said in a lazy tone, "We don't know exactly who it was, but our people found out that the assassin who tried to kill you last night returned to the prefectural government office."
"It's actually the Prefect!"
The little beggar's pupils dilated in shock, his small hands clenched into fists, his heart filled with indescribable anger and panic.
The prefect is such a high-ranking official, why would he bother with a little beggar like him?
He only took three copper coins in total.
Peng Yuan finally spoke up: "Now that we've saved the little beggar, can we go to the prefect and point him out? For a dignified prefect to do something like this is truly a disgrace to the local officials!"
The little beggar nodded repeatedly: "I'm willing to identify those people! I have a good memory, I remember what they all look like!"
Peng Yuan was even happier, looking at Jiang Jiuniang with anticipation.
Jiang Jiuniang replied, "It's too late."
"Sister Jiu Niang, what do you mean?"
Peng Yuan blinked, looking innocent and curious. Jiang Jiuniang patiently explained to her, "If the little beggar had been successfully killed last night, the others would have lived. But the little beggar was saved by our people, so the other side would have no way to verify the truth. Where would they identify him now?"
She had thought of this when the little beggar was brought back last night.
The reason I didn't get involved further was because I felt it was unnecessary, since this matter alone wouldn't do anything to the Cao family; it would only cause more trouble.
Peng Yuan's face turned pale as she listened.
Although she knew that human life was worthless, it shouldn't be treated so lightly.
"How could they be so heartless? Those are their own people!"
The little beggar was also stunned with fear. If it weren't for the kindness of these two ladies, he would have been thrown to some mountain to be fed to the wolves.
"Madam, please save me!"
He knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. Although he was all alone and a penniless little beggar, he did not want to die in such an inexplicable way.
At the same time, I also understand a principle: not everyone's charity is well-intentioned; sometimes it can cost you your life.
There is only one way to save you now.
Jiang Jiuniang didn't answer Peng Yuan, but instead spoke to the little beggar.
Upon hearing that he could still be saved, the little beggar pricked up his ears to listen to Jiang Jiuniang's method.
Although he wasn't sure if Jiang Jiuniang was necessarily good, from another perspective, these two ladies were victims who were still willing to help him. Even though there was a possibility that they could be used, it was still better than dealing with the prefect's people. At least they wouldn't be so heartless as to help him and then be silenced.
So even knowing he was being used, he was willing to accept it!
Seeing that he seemed to be listening attentively, Jiang Jiuniang continued, "After you leave, tell everyone you meet that someone in the prefect's residence wants to kill you. If anyone asks you why, just say you don't know, but that yesterday someone arranged for you to almost bump into a lady on the street, and that someone wanted to kill you that night. Those people all went back to the prefect's office, so you guessed that the prefect wanted to kill you. The more this story spreads, the better, ideally to the point that everyone knows about it, so you can buy yourself a way out."
The little beggar was confused. If he did that, wouldn't he die even faster?
Peng Yuan understood and said with a smile, "If you go out now, the prefect's people will definitely still want to kill you, but as long as you spread the word and let the people know, the prefect's people will not dare to do anything to you anymore, because as long as something happens to you, the blame will be directed at the prefect, and he will not dare to touch you again."
Jiang Jiuniang glanced at Peng Yuan. Thankfully, she wasn't completely stupid yet; that was good enough.
After Peng Yuan's explanation, the little beggar finally understood. He kowtowed three times to Peng Yuan and Jiang Jiuniang and said, "I'll go and do it right away!"
Jiang Jiuniang said, "There's no rush. Chunhua, take him downstairs to get something to eat first."
You need to be well-fed to have the energy to work!
"Thank you, Madam!"
The little beggar's eyes sparkled. He hadn't expected to get a full meal before leaving. He thought to himself that he must do his job well, for himself and for the two benefactors.
Watching the little beggar leave, Peng Yuan asked, "Sister Jiu Niang, are you planning to ruin the prefect's reputation? What's the next step?"
"There's nothing we can do."
Jiang Jiuniang smiled mysteriously, making Peng Yuan's heart itch with desire: "Oh, dear sister, just tell me, my brain is too slow, I really can't think of anything."
Jiang Jiuniang had no choice but to say, "I really don't plan to do anything. Let them worry and panic on their own, and that'll be the end of it."
"ah?"
Peng Yuan couldn't believe it; this wasn't like her at all!
"Strike the snake at its vital spot. This little thing won't be enough to bring Cao Zheng down completely, and there's no need to keep harping on it. Let's go big and uproot him so he can never rise again. That would be more interesting."
Jiang Jiuniang spoke lightly, but gave people the feeling that she was in complete control.
Peng Yuan felt a surge of admiration, and her eyes sparkled like little stars.
If Cao Zheng hadn't done such a disgusting thing, causing the deaths of so many people for no reason, Jiang Jiuniang wouldn't have wanted to take such a drastic measure. After all, Cao Zheng's family was still quite respectful to them on the surface, and as long as it was acceptable on the surface, a small punishment would have been enough.
Yet he showed such disregard for human life, causing the deaths of so many people overnight without a shred of compassion. Such a person serving as an official on the border would be a great scourge.
Especially after they leave, Cao Zheng will become the local tyrant, and who knows how he will exploit the people. At that time, the economy that she worked so hard to build up will surely decline again.
Jiang Jiuniang couldn't allow the people she had wholeheartedly helped to fall into the hands of a hypocrite like Cao Zheng again. Therefore, she had to completely eradicate this cancer before she left.
"Okay, Sister Jiu Niang, I'll do whatever you say. Just tell me what I need to do!"
Her confident demeanor amused Jiang Jiuniang, who said, "You don't need to do anything. Just take good care of the baby in your belly. I'll talk to Brother Qin about the rest when he comes back."
This matter is aimed at Peng Yuan, and it is necessary to let Qin Jian know. In addition, the matter of dealing with Cao Zheng is also intended to be handed over to Qin Jian, after all, he is his wife and children, and he should be involved.
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