When Ning Wan saw the gag being pulled out of her mouth, she burst into tears:
"Father, Mother, sob... Mother... save Wan'er!"
"Shut up! You're so noisy!"
The tall man slapped Ning Wan across the face, and the man next to him quickly stuffed a strip of cloth into Ning Wan's mouth.
"Well, now you know she's your daughter, right?"
The tall man said with an impatient expression.
Seeing his daughter being beaten, Ning Huaizhi was already consumed by rage. He didn't care about anything else at this moment and directly used his slingshot to shoot the right hand of the man who had hit him.
"Ouch! You dared to ambush me! It hurts like hell!"
Jiang Yuwei was taken aback, then whispered in Ning Huaizhi's ear:
“I know who these two are. Do you remember the two thugs who stopped us at the city gate that day?”
Ning Huaizhi pondered for a moment with a serious expression and then nodded.
Jiang Yuwei continued speaking:
"It's those two. I was wondering why their figures seemed familiar. It seems that Niu Da and Niu Er have been bribed by the Ge family. Even if we promise them we won't make paper anymore, it's useless. They must still have a backup plan. These two are cunning and will not let us off easily. Let's keep them calm for now. You need to be flexible and not act rashly. The government officials will be here soon."
Ning Huaizhi frowned upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words and said:
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Niu Da, still clutching his hand and yelling after being beaten by Ning Huaizhi, saw this and Niu Er, enraged, roughly grabbed Ning Wan and shouted:
"Don't be so arrogant! Your daughter is still in our hands. If you don't want her to die, you'd better agree to our demands!"
Jiang Yuwei's heart clenched as she watched Ning Wan struggle as she was lifted up. She quickly raised her hand and said:
"Don't pull Wan'er, put her down! I'll grant you all your requests!"
Niu Er glanced at the anxious Jiang Yuwei and slowly said:
"So you're promising not to sell paper in Ping'an Town anymore?"
Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi exchanged a glance, then Jiang Yuwei took a few steps forward and said sincerely:
"Yes, I promise you. Just put my daughter down first. If you don't trust me, I can write you a document. With this document, you'll be able to get things done."
Niu Er seemed somewhat tempted by these words, so he set Ning Wan aside and pointed at Jiang Yuwei, saying:
"You stay there and don't move. I need to discuss this with my older brother!"
Jiang Yuwei nodded:
"Okay, you can discuss it. Anyway, I won't lie to you, as long as you don't hurt my child."
Niu Er glanced at Jiang Yuwei warily, then pulled Niu Da, who was still grimacing in pain, close to his ear and whispered something.
Seeing that the two were having a great time discussing, Jiang Yuwei quickly rushed over without making a sound, grabbed Ning Wan, and ran outside.
Niu Da was the first to react and rushed forward to chase after her, but Ning Huaizhi quickly shot a mud ball at Niu Da's forehead, making Niu Da see stars. Seeing this, Niu Er also forgot about Niu Da and ran out of the pavilion to chase after Jiang Yuwei.
Just as Niu Er was about to grab Jiang Yuwei, she suddenly turned around and poured all the prepared chili water onto Niu Er's face.
"Damn it, pepper spray again! I can't see anything! Jiang Yuwei, you bitch, I'll never let you get away with this!"
Ignoring Niu Er's shouts from behind, Jiang Yuwei quickly carried Ning Wan onto the oxcart and gestured for Ning Huaizhi to drive away first.
Seeing the two about to run away, Niu Da, ignoring his dizziness, hurriedly chased after them.
"If we run into the city, we might run into the government officials!"
While talking to Ning Huaizhi, Jiang Yuwei loosened the ropes binding Ning Wan, looking with heartache at Ning Wan's arms, which were red from the ropes binding them. Jiang Yuwei kept stroking the marks on Ning Wan's body:
"Hoo hoo... Mother will blow on it for Wan'er. Wan'er, don't cry. It's all Mother's fault. I didn't watch you well and made you suffer."
Ning Wan stared at Jiang Yuwei with teary eyes and sobbed softly:
"Mommy, I thought I'd never see you and Daddy again. I promise I'll be a good girl and never run away again, boohoo..."
Jiang Yuwei quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe away Ning Wan's tears, then hugged her tightly and gently patted her back to comfort her.
"Alright, alright, Wan'er, don't cry. Father and Mother will not leave you."
Just then, Manager Xu, leading the government officials, encountered Ning Huaizhi's oxcart. Ning Huaizhi stopped the oxcart and bowed to the constable, saying:
"Those two thieves are chasing our oxcart. We'll have to trouble you all."
Upon hearing this, Constable Huang nodded hurriedly and led his men to arrest Niu Da and Niu Er, who were following behind. The two were unaware of what was happening when they saw government officials chasing after them. They no longer cared about chasing Jiang Yuwei's oxcart and hurriedly turned back to run towards Fengliu Pavilion.
Upon seeing this, Constable Huang immediately signaled to the two constables beside him to ride off and give chase.
Both were quickly apprehended and brought to justice. Ning Huaizhi and Jiang Yuwei also went to the yamen to explain what had happened. After the magistrate had thoroughly investigated the matter, he waved his hand dismissively:
"Niu Da and Niu Er, you have repeatedly committed crimes and shown no remorse. I think we should just throw you into the death row today and wait for your execution in the autumn!"
Upon hearing this, Niu Da was so frightened that he wet himself. Although he was a hoodlum, he was extremely timid and only his tall stature could intimidate people. Now, hearing that he would be executed in the autumn, he was so frightened that he could not even speak and kept kowtowing to the ground.
The magistrate frowned upon seeing Niu Da's appearance. This man was too easily frightened. Last time, he had also made his place reek of urine, and now it was happening again. The magistrate shook his head helplessly.
Upon seeing this, Niu Er hurriedly kowtowed while shouting:
"My lord, my lord, we are innocent! We were coerced into doing this!"
Upon hearing this, the county magistrate raised an eyebrow and asked with great interest:
"Oh? Who coerced you?"
Niu Er glanced back at Jiang Yuwei, then addressed the county magistrate:
"Yes, it was Manager Sun from Ge's Paper Mill. He told the two of us to cause trouble for Jiang Yuwei. Then, we followed his instructions and arrested Ning Wan. And then you all know what happened next."
Jiang Yuwei nodded:
“They did say just now that they would only let my daughter go if I agreed to stop selling paper in Ping'an Town. We did have a quarrel with the Ge family paper shop before. The Ge family wanted to monopolize the paper sales in Ping'an Town, but our family also runs a paper mill. The Ge family has always regarded us as a thorn in their side and tried every means to bring us down. But I don’t believe Niu Da and Niu Er when they say they were forced. After all, there have been similar examples before. As long as you pay them, they will do things for their employer. My husband and I were also stopped and threatened by these two in the street before.”
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