Chapter 185 You still don't know who I am, do you?
"Yuanqing, do you think Madam will blame me?" Ling'er asked, her voice trembling with tears, as she buried her face in Yuanqing's arms.
"No, you've already done everything you could to protect Miss Qing."
"Won't the lady be very sad? She will never see her daughter again."
The lady always cherished her daughter as a treasure. How heartbroken she would be if she knew that her daughter was gone!
Ling'er could no longer speak, and could only lean her head against Yuan Qing, covering her mouth and sobbing softly.
Yuan Qing sighed inwardly, his brows furrowing slightly.
He didn't know whether he should tell Ling'er about Madam Shen's current appearance.
I'm afraid that when she goes in and sees Madam Shen's appearance, she'll cry for quite a while.
But seeing Ling'er's expectant look, he really couldn't bear to hide it from her.
He tried to remind her, "Lingjiao, actually...actually, Madam Shen..."
Hearing Yuan Qing hesitate, Ling'er lifted her head from his embrace, her eyes red as she looked at him, waiting for him to finish speaking.
Yuan Qing opened his mouth, but still couldn't say anything.
Not long after Miss Qing left, Madam Shen seemed to have gone mad again. He was afraid that his Lingjiao couldn't bear it.
Ling'er asked anxiously, "Tell me quickly, what's wrong with Madam? Has something happened?"
Yuan Qing spoke haltingly, "She..."
A sudden unease rose in Ling'er's heart, and she turned around and pushed open the door.
But the lady seemed to be sitting on the edge of the bed, with a simple woman's hairstyle, and her clothes were rich and clean. She was also holding the young lady's silver hairpin in her hand.
He didn't react to her arrival at all, as if he were in a daze.
Ling'er's heart tightened, thinking that the lady was missing her young lady, which was why she was so lost in thought.
She rushed to Su Wanyun, knelt down, and choked out, "Madam!"
But the woman in front of him still didn't react at all, just like before.
His eyes were devoid of any light, as if he hadn't heard her voice at all.
All that could be heard was her muttering something softly.
Ling'er wanted to listen, but couldn't hear what she was saying.
She glanced at Su Wanyun again and thought that the lady looked like a fool.
Ling'er stepped forward again and called out, "Madam, it's me, Ling'er!"
Su Wanyun still didn't look at her.
Ling'er finally realized that something was wrong with Su Wanyun. She turned around and asked, crying, "Yuanqing, what's wrong with Madam?"
"Madam, don't you recognize me?"
Yuan Qing stepped forward, gently supporting her shoulder, his voice tinged with helplessness as he said, "When I saw Madam Shen at the manor today, she looked just like this."
Looking at Su Wanyun's foolish appearance, Ling'er realized that she was completely different from the gentle and dignified lady she remembered.
Her heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife, and tears welled up in her eyes again: "How could this happen...?"
"I have already sent people to investigate."
Yuan Qing couldn't offer any words of comfort, so he could only tell Ling'er that he would not let the person who had harmed Madam Shen to such an extent get away with it.
Ling'er nodded vigorously, wiped away her tears, slowly walked to Su Wanyun's side, and took her hand.
He said softly, "Madam, I'll stay with you from now on..."
At that moment, a large group of people arrived outside the inn.
Seeing the situation, the innkeeper kindly ran to Xie Yanzhi's table to warn him, "Young master, be careful, Magistrate Jiang is here."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yanzhi looked up at the pedestrians.
The person walking at the front was dressed in an official robe, his hair was already somewhat gray, and his steps were steady but carried a hint of anxiety.
Six constables, each carrying a sword, stood guard beside Magistrate Jiang and strode in menacingly.
The magistrate's sharp gaze swept across the hall, his official authority pressing down on all the diners, who lowered their heads and dared not utter a word.
When Jiang Funian saw his father, the county magistrate, arrive, he cried out in distress, wanting him to see that he was being held captive.
Jiang Weiyuan heard the noise and looked over, only to see his son being grabbed forcefully.
His mouth was stuffed full of cloth, his face was red and swollen, and five finger marks were faintly visible.
His former high spirits were gone, leaving only a sorry state.
He walked quickly toward Jiang Funian, only to see a young nobleman sitting not far in front of Jiang Funian, leisurely drinking tea.
Everyone around him lowered their heads and looked at him respectfully, but he seemed not to notice him at all. He leisurely blew on the foam on the surface of his tea, took a small sip, and remained calm.
Jiang Weiyuan's anger flared up instantly, and he led his men straight toward Xie Yanzhi, his face showing no attempt to conceal his fury.
When the two guards beside him saw Magistrate Jiang rushing over in a huff, fearing he would be disrespectful to Xie Yanzhi, they were about to draw their swords and step forward, but Xie Yanzhi waved them away.
Jiang Weiyuan sneered inwardly when he saw Xie Yanzhi wave the guards away. He thought to himself that the kid knew better than to act recklessly in front of him.
He stood beside Xie Yanzhi's table, pointed at him, and said, "Who are you? Release my son at once!"
Xie Yanzhi seemed not to hear him, not even lifting his eyelids, but slowly bringing the teacup to his lips, about to drink the tea.
"Insolence!" Jiang Weiyuan's anger intensified upon seeing this.
He reached out and snatched the teacup from Xie Yanzhi's hand, then smashed it to the ground.
"Didn't you hear me? Tell your men to release my son!"
As the magistrate of a county, he was always the one whose word was law in Chengxi County, yet now he was being so disrespected by a young master of unknown origin.
With people watching, he felt utterly humiliated and was furious, vowing to teach the man a lesson.
Jiang Funian, standing to the side, felt extremely smug seeing Xie Yanzhi not daring to move in front of his father.
He glanced at the two guards beside him, the meaning of which was self-evident.
Release me right now!
The two guards looked at him with some doubt, as if they were looking at a fool.
Jiang Funian was immediately enraged and struggled to raise his foot to kick the guard beside him.
But one of them kicked him in the back of the knee, sending him crashing to his knees. The pain brought tears to his eyes.
Jiang Weiyuan was heartbroken to see his son being bullied like this.
Jiang Funian was the only son in the Jiang family, and seeing him injured was like taking his life.
He gestured for the six constables to rush up and save Jiang Funian, but four guards suddenly appeared from nowhere and beat the six constables so badly that they lay on the ground groaning in pain.
Seeing this, Jiang Weiyuan knew it was not a good idea to confront this person head-on. After thinking for a moment, he decided to use his power to make him submit.
He suppressed his anger, stood with his hands behind his back, and said with a hint of arrogance, "You're probably from out of town and don't know who I am, do you?"
"I am Jiang Weiyuan, the magistrate of Chengxi County. All matters, large and small, in Chengxi County are under my jurisdiction!"
Xie Yanzhi slowly raised his eyes, his gaze calmly landing on Jiang Weiyuan's face: "So what?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Weiyuan choked on his words.
This child doesn't seem like someone who is so unreasonable!
Before he could think too much, he heard Xie Yanzhi say, "You don't know who I am either!"
Jiang Weiyuan was stunned when he heard this.
Could this kid be some important figure?
But he hadn't heard of any important people coming to Chengxi these past few days.
Every year, he would send a lot of money and local specialties to the higher authorities. If a really important person were to come, those people would definitely give him a heads-up beforehand.
Thinking of this, Jiang Weiyuan felt emboldened again, and said with a disdainful tone, "I don't care who you are! Even if you come from the capital, you have to abide by my rules when you come to my Chengxi County!"
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