County government office —
The newly appointed county magistrate, surnamed Zhao, looked quite young, but spoke with a mature and experienced air.
He kept mentioning that he had met the county magistrate, as if he greatly admired her, his eyes filled with worship.
If it weren't for the fact that this Magistrate Zhao was young, the village chief would have suspected that he was plotting against their magistrate.
"Magistrate Zhao is young and promising. I believe that under your governance, Taohua County will surely enjoy favorable weather and abundant harvests in the future."
The suspect had already been taken away by the constables for questioning. Jiang Yue said a few polite words and then wanted to take her leave.
"I will certainly follow the example of the county magistrate and be a good official who serves the people!"
Clearly, this Lord Zhao was quite perceptive; whether his intentions were genuine or not, his attitude was very good.
That's good, it will save her a lot of trouble in dealing with people in the future.
"Lord Zhao, you're too kind. Please stay a while. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer."
"This humble official respectfully sees off the County Magistrate."
Magistrate Zhao bowed, showing no disrespect to the woman despite her being a woman.
Strictly speaking, when he first took office, his official rank was ninth grade. Only after serving for three years and achieving some political success could he be promoted to eighth grade.
The county magistrate was different; he was an eighth-rank official bestowed by the emperor, hence he referred to himself as "this humble official."
Outside the county government office, a blizzard raged.
Wu Jiahu's oxcart left first; Qingshan said it was because the other uncles had gone to buy food for the winter...
"You're so naive! You believe everything people say. You didn't even try to persuade them to stay, to have a meal together, or treat them to something nice..."
"Mother, I know I was wrong. I didn't realize it at the time, but I came to my senses later. By then, Uncle Jiahu and the others had already gone far away."
"Ahem, Your Highness, aren't you cold? My old bones are freezing. Why don't you get in the carriage first?"
Just as Jiang Yue was scolding her son, the village chief came over and smoothed things over, defusing the awkward situation.
"cold."
Jiang Yue climbed down the ladder, gave her son a reproachful look, but then stopped scolding him. She gathered her cloak together, held onto the corner of the carriage, and stepped into the carriage.
The village chief, supported by Qingshan, then came in and sat down.
"Mom, the shop has some new dishes recently. Let me take you and Grandpa Village Chief to eat hot pot. It's delicious."
"I'll flatter you," Qingshan said, rubbing his hands together and turning his head to reveal his ears, which were red from the cold.
The hot water bottle in Jiang Yue's hand had long since gone cold, so she had to put it in the hidden compartment.
Seeing this, I felt a little sorry for him, thinking, "Doesn't this silly boy know to go inside the carriage and wait for them?"
Thinking about how she had just scolded her son, she felt a little guilty and ashamed, so she put on a smile:
"Sure, it's been a while since I've had hot pot. Since we're on the way, you're treating today. I'll get to eat with your village chief grandpa!"
Qingshan closed the car door, retracted the footrest, sat in front of the car, and said in a strong voice:
"Alright, sit tight, Mom, I'm taking you to eat hot pot~"
"Giddy up!"
"Da da da~"
The carriage made a crisp sound as it traveled along the snow-covered road.
The roads were slippery due to the snow, so we added thick cushions to the car, which greatly reduced the bumpy ride.
Looking at the composed village chief, Jiang Yue couldn't help but ask:
"Uncle, this old Li is very shrewd. How did you find out about his plan?"
"Of course, someone informed on us."
There's no one else here, so there's no need to worry about causing trouble for Magistrate Jiang.
"Tattling?"
Jiang Yue raised an eyebrow. The informant was likely a family member. It seemed Old Li wasn't entirely innocent in his current predicament...
"That old Li poisoned the pharmaceutical factory, which is tantamount to harming our entire Wu family village. When I return to the village, I will gather the elders and villagers to expose his crimes, but..."
The village chief stroked his beard, his expression shifting from righteous indignation to one of embarrassment.
Jiang Yue gestured for the other person to continue, saying she was listening.
"However, his little granddaughter is innocent. This time, it was all thanks to his daughter-in-law, Zhao Xiuniang, who informed on him. Her condition was that no matter what punishment Old Li's family received, she hoped her daughter, Honghong, could be sent to school..."
The village chief sighed, "Actually, Old Li's daughter-in-law, Zhao Xiuniang, is also a pitiful person."
After marrying into the Li family, I heard from his wife that she had miscarried three or four girls before finally giving birth to Honghong.
Of course, the Li family didn't know that Honghong was a girl. The fortune teller said it was a boy, so she was born!
But to my surprise, it was a girl!
Perhaps the physical strain of giving birth to Honghong was too great, because for the next eight or nine years, I haven't been able to conceive again...
Jiang Yue felt deeply sorry after hearing about Zhao Xiuniang's ordeal.
Isn't this blatant sexism and mistreatment of the daughter-in-law?
No wonder Zhao Xiuniang betrayed them; no one would want their husband's family to have an easy time!
"Uncle, it's best not to tell anyone about this, otherwise Honghong and her mother might not even have a place to live."
Women shouldn't make things difficult for other women, and Jiang Yue never intended to make things difficult for this poor mother and daughter.
The mistake was in this era, and that was the case with Old Li's family.
She wasn't sure if the mother and daughter had the courage to leave that kind of family, so she told the village chief not to tell anyone.
"Sigh, I know, but given Zhao Xiuniang's husband's temper, she'll probably still be getting beaten up in the future..."
The village chief sighed, saying that whether he spoke up or not, it was a difficult situation.
"Get beaten up?"
Jiang Yue frowned. She had thought it was just mental bullying, but she didn't expect there to be physical bullying as well!
How could he continue to stay at Old Li's house? But if he left, he would only be divorced or have a separation.
The former represents the fate of most women who encounter injustice, while the latter is a very rare occurrence.
Not everyone has such open-minded in-laws as her husband's family, nor such tolerant relatives as her brothers and sisters-in-law from her own family!
"Yeah, that was pretty hard..."
The village chief sighed. He had tried to persuade him many times, but to no avail. Instead, Li Xiaoshan mocked him, saying he was disrespectful to his elders and wondered if he had taken a fancy to Zhao Xiuniang...
Jiang Yue remained silent for a long time. This was domestic violence!
It seems she should find an opportunity to sound out Zhao Xiuniang and gauge her intentions.
Although she had a way to get Zhao Xiuniang out of the Li family, she wouldn't be so kind as to be a pushover!
"Whoa~"
"Mom, we've arrived at the hot pot restaurant. I'm putting down the pedals. You and Grandpa Village Chief, take your time getting off!"
At this moment, Qingshan stopped the car, indicating that they had arrived at the store.
"Uncle, let's not think about anything else. Let's try the new dishes first, and then we can go back to the village later and discuss Zhao Xiuniang's matter."
Jiang Yue could already smell the aroma of the hot pot broth. It smelled like it; it must have had beef tallow added!
Sure enough, after getting off the car and arriving at the private room on the second floor, the new dish was beef rolls!
Tender beef!
Beef tongue and tripe!
While pleasantly surprised, Jiang Yue was also terrified.
Good heavens! Oxen are for plowing the land, and the government strictly forbids them from being cooked or killed!
That's illegal!
"Qingshan, tell your mother, where did you get all this beef?"
Jiang Yue's outstretched chopsticks froze in mid-air; she didn't want to go to jail!
"Mom, don't worry, all this beef and stuff is safe to eat. It's all from the right source, nothing will happen!"
Qingshan was both amused and exasperated. Was his mother worried about him, or about their whole family?
"Um?"
Beef~
The village chief hesitated for a moment, then eagerly started slicing the meat.
"I'm already one foot in the grave, so I'm not afraid~"
He then picked up a piece of cooked beef, dipped it in sauce, and began to eat it in large mouthfuls.
Delicious, smells so good!
It doesn't stick to your teeth~
Good meat!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com