Faced with this probing question, Liang Shuqing's beautiful face remained completely calm, even revealing a faint smile.
She spoke, her voice clear and overwhelming all the surrounding noise: "I'm not only going to meddle in this, I'm determined to do so."
After saying that, Liang Shu raised her eyes and calmly looked at the official hat on Qian Dehai's head. "Lord Qian, instead of threatening unrelated people here, you should think about how long you can keep this official hat. Or rather, whether your head can stay on your neck in peace."
Upon hearing this, Qian Dehai's expression changed drastically.
Meanwhile, Meng Xin and his two companions found their leader. Meng Xin immediately stepped forward, pointed at Qian Dehai, and said sternly, "That's right! We're going to report this to the authorities! The magistrate of Qinghe County is abusing his power and disregarding human life. I'm going to the prefectural government to sue you!"
"Sue me?" Qian Dehai laughed arrogantly, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. He stuck out his fat belly and laughed wildly. "Hahahaha! Go ahead and sue me! Let me tell you the truth, my brother-in-law is the governor of Yanzhou! You bunch of scoundrels, go ahead and sue me, and we'll see who gets the blame!"
His laughter was grating and unpleasant, and the hope that had just ignited on the faces of the people dimmed again upon hearing it.
Governor, that's an extremely important official position!
After Qian Dehai finished laughing, his small eyes leered as he looked Liang Shu and Liang Yu up and down, his gaze so slick it was nauseating.
"Hehe, but I'm not an unreasonable person." He rubbed his hands together, revealing a set of yellow teeth.
"You two little beauties are quite pretty. How about this, if you obediently follow me and become my seventeenth or eighteenth concubine, and keep me happy, I might even give these three girls a job. What do you say?"
Anger instantly ignited in Liang Yu's beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
"You're asking for it!"
Before she could finish speaking, an even sharper voice came from the street corner.
"You fat bastard! I was only gone for a moment and you were already flirting with that vixen!"
A woman dressed in a bright red jacket and skirt with gold flecks, her hair adorned with gold hairpins and dangling ornaments, and with a bloated figure, rushed over menacingly, surrounded by a group of servants.
This woman is Qian Dehai's wife.
Without even asking what happened, she immediately pointed at Liang Shu and Liang Yu and started cursing: "Where did these sluts come from, daring to seduce my master! Get them! Beat these two shameless vixens to death! Smash their faces, and see how they seduce people then!"
A group of burly servants immediately surrounded them, their faces contorted with malice.
This utterly absurd scene turned Liang Shu and Liang Yu's faces completely dark.
The dignified Empress of Yu and the current Right Chancellor were actually mistaken for mistresses and threatened with a beating in broad daylight by the wife of a county magistrate.
"stop!"
Upon seeing this, Meng Xin, Liu Yan, and Zhang Tao rushed over without hesitation, spreading their arms to protect Liang Shu and Liang Yu.
Meng Xin trembled with rage and shouted, "Do you have any sense of reason?! It's clear that your Qian family has been pulling strings and manipulating things behind the scenes, giving our honors to your relatives! These two sisters were just speaking up for us because they saw injustice; what did they do wrong?"
Liu Yan cried out, "You wanted to take her as a concubine without saying a word, and your wife immediately started shouting for a fight! How come you two have acted out all the dramas in the world? According to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty, what right do you have to beat an innocent woman in the street?"
"The law?" Qian Dehai scoffed, tapping his chest with his finger, his face full of disdain. "In Qinghe County, my word is law! I am the law!"
Meng Xin and the other two were so angry that they couldn't speak, and a deep sense of despair welled up in their hearts.
When faced with officials like these, are the ideals they've strived for through years of hard work just a joke?
Just then, Meng Xin's gaze suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure at the edge of the crowd. The person was dressed in the official robes of a county magistrate and was peeking inside.
As if grasping at the last straw, she hurriedly shouted, "Lord Yu! Magistrate Yu! Please come and judge this matter! You are the magistrate of Yanggu County next door, and you are also an official appointed by the imperial court. Please come and see the justice in Qinghe County!"
When his name was called, County Magistrate Yu stiffened, and his expression became somewhat troubled.
He came here to find out the results of the imperial examination, but he never expected to run into something like this.
He was well aware of the Qian family's power and originally intended to slip away quietly, but Meng Xin called him out in public. Seeing the pleading and helpless eyes of those women, he finally couldn't hold back and forced himself to come out.
“Ahem… Lord Qian,” County Magistrate Yu bowed to Qian Dehai and said cautiously, “This… cheating in the imperial examinations is a serious crime, and beating a commoner in the street is also against the law. You see, is there some misunderstanding…”
"Misunderstanding?" Qian Dehai glanced at him sideways, his eyes blazing with disdain, and shouted, "Who do we have here? It's just Old Yu from Yanggu County. What, you, a county magistrate from a neighboring county, dare to interfere in the affairs of Qinghe County? Do you believe that I can write you a letter and have you stripped of your official hat and sent home by tomorrow?"
"Exactly!" Madam Qian crossed her arms and looked down at people. "What business is it of yours, a nobody like you, to interfere in our family affairs?"
County Magistrate Yu's face turned red from the rebuke, then pale. He opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't utter a word. He sighed dejectedly and stepped aside.
Even the last glimmer of hope had been extinguished. Only despair remained in the eyes of Meng Xin and the other two.
The people shook their heads and sighed, saying that the world was beyond saving.
Just when everyone was in despair, Liang Yu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke coldly.
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