Jiang Jiuniang asked Chunhua, "Why hasn't Chuncao returned yet?"
Chunhua explained, "She wanted to investigate further and kept watch outside the prefect's office. I was worried that the ladies would get impatient, so I came back to inform them first."
Without Granny Pang causing trouble, Chunhua and Chuncao were completely loyal to Peng Yuan and wanted to prove themselves at a crucial moment to change their standing in Peng Yuan's eyes.
Jiang Jiuniang said, "You did a great job. You can go and keep an eye on things too. Report back if anything happens."
"yes."
After Jiang Jiuniang settled everyone in, Peng Yuan said somewhat flusteredly, "Sister Jiuniang, what should we do now? The courtyard we're staying in is still the prefect's villa, and I don't feel very safe there. Why don't we move to another place?"
Peng Yuan felt that she was really "pregnant and stupid" for three years. This was her first pregnancy, and she was completely at a loss when something happened.
Fortunately, Jiang Jiuniang was always there to help her deal with these things; otherwise, she really wouldn't know what to do.
"Don't panic, it's Cao Zheng's family who should be panicking."
Cao Zheng was the name of the prefect.
She continued to comfort him, "This villa is said to be his, but it's not entirely his. It was bought by the previous prefect, but because he colluded with Xun Wang, all his assets were confiscated, and this villa was left behind. Since he couldn't take it with him anyway, and the prefect's office was already somewhat dilapidated, the higher-ups gave this villa to the current prefect as compensation."
“But as the prefect, Cao Zheng was worried about being ridiculed if he didn’t live in the prefectural government office, so he renovated the office and his whole family lives there, leaving this villa empty. Since we’re not living here, this villa is empty anyway. It’s an official residence, so it can’t be easily bought, sold, or rented. It has no other use, so you don’t need to feel any pressure.”
This girl is so naive; she thinks that because she's staying in someone else's house, that's why they're targeting her.
In reality, things are never that simple.
However, she will not make any comments until Chunhua and Chuncao return, and will wait and see what the specific reason is.
At this moment, inside the prefectural government office, after hearing the servants' report, some people indeed began to panic.
However, it wasn't Cao Zheng himself, but Cao Zheng's daughter, Cao Shulan.
She paced back and forth anxiously, asking her relatively calmer mother, "Mother, what should we do? These good-for-nothings are more likely to cause trouble than get things done. They've not only failed to accomplish anything, but they've also gotten themselves into a mess!"
The person who returned said that Madam Lu seemed to have some suspicions, but in the end she let everyone go. Logically, there shouldn't be any problems, but she was still a little nervous.
She had met Jiang Jiuniang before; she was as beautiful as a fairy and was said to be a beautiful woman with both talent and intelligence. She was worried that Jiang Jiuniang was too clever and that the investigation might end up on her.
"Why are you panicking? Didn't I say everything was fine? With a guts like yours, what great things can you possibly achieve in the future?"
Madam Cao was getting impatient, thinking that her daughter was useless. She was already so scared before anything had even happened. If something really happened, wouldn't she be scared to death on the spot?
"But didn't they say that Jiang Jiuniang seemed a bit suspicious? Since Jiang Jiuniang came to Huizhou City, who doesn't know what she's been doing? Someone as clever as her might actually find out about us!"
It wasn't that she wanted to boost others' morale and diminish her own; it was simply that Jiang Jiuniang was so popular in Huizhou City that it was hard not to know about her.
I had planned to make my move when Jiang Jiuniang wasn't around, but Peng Yuan was like a lost soul. Every time she went out, Jiang Jiuniang would accompany her. If Jiang Jiuniang was busy at the workshop, she would stay in the courtyard all day without going out, so I never had a chance to make my move.
This led them to take a risky tactic and strike in the street.
There were only the two women on the street at the time. The other two skilled maids were far away and couldn't save them in time. It should have been a sure thing, but Jiang Jiuniang still managed to intercept them.
She had always known that Jiang Jiuniang was smart and capable, and also knew medicine, but she never expected that the woman would also know martial arts. In the blink of an eye, she lifted the little beggar up without touching Peng Yuan next to her at all. It was unbelievable.
The little beggar wasn't very young; he was eleven or twelve years old and quite strong, yet Jiang Jiuniang could lift him up with ease.
It was precisely because of this that Cao Shulan was so frightened that she couldn't sit still.
Ma smirked and said, "Even if they find out, so what? Where's the evidence?"
"The evidence is..."
Before Cao Shulan could finish speaking, she realized what she meant and asked incredulously, "What does Mother mean?"
As she spoke, she made a neck-piercing gesture.
The main evidence in this matter comes from the servants and the little beggar. The servants are all their own people, and their indentures are in their hands, so they can't do anything wrong. But the little beggar is a different story.
If Jiang Jiuniang realizes what's going on and tries to bribe the little beggar, then their secrets will fall into the other side's hands.
Madam Ma was very satisfied with her daughter's quick reaction and said, "To achieve great things, one cannot be soft-hearted. Don't you want to marry General Qin? If you don't want to be a concubine, then you need to be bold enough."
Cao Shulan was pale, clearly frightened by her mother's words, but she felt they made a lot of sense. She liked Qin Jian, and as the daughter of the prefect, her status was not low. She didn't want to be a concubine, but being a second wife would be fine.
If Peng Yuan wants to become a second wife, she and her unborn child must die.
Thinking of this, her expression softened considerably. To achieve great things, one must be bold.
"I understand, Mother. I'll send someone to take care of that little beggar right away."
That evening, just as Jiang Jiuniang finished checking Gou'er's homework and was about to go to sleep, Chunhua arrived.
"Madam, my young lady requests your presence."
Jiang Jiuniang glanced at the sky; it was already late at night. Peng Yuan should have been asleep long ago, so why was she looking for her now?
"What's wrong?"
"You'll know when you get there, Madam."
Chunhua lowered her head and didn't say anything more. Jiang Jiuniang didn't care much either. Anyway, Peng Yuan's courtyard was right next door, so they could talk about it when they got there.
When she arrived at Peng Yuan's courtyard, she found it still brightly lit with candles. Peng Yuan was sitting in the courtyard waiting for her. When she saw her coming, she said apologetically, "Sister Jiu Niang, look!"
She pointed to the unconscious little beggar on the ground and said, "The government sent people to take this little beggar's life under cover of night. Chunhua and Chuncao brought him back. I didn't know what to do with him, so I invited you here in the middle of the night."
Jiang Jiuniang instantly understood: "Are they planning to kill me to silence me? Just for such a trivial matter?"
Jiang Jiuniang was so angry she almost laughed. Cao Zheng, as the prefect of a city, actually treated human life so lightly!
Peng Yuan nodded, her face also looking very unpleasant. This little beggar was so young, and Cao Zheng couldn't even tolerate him. How could he be a good local official?
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