Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei took the portrait and went out. However, when she asked at each shop, everyone said they had never seen it before. Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to give up, she saw Manager Li of Taihe Bookstore drying books in front of his shop.
The two had a falling out over the paper-selling incident last time. Jiang Yuwei was about to turn and leave when Manager Li called her back.
"Jiang Yuwei, wait a minute!"
Jiang Yuwei assumed that Manager Li was about to start another argument, so she turned around and glared at him fiercely.
"What are you doing?!"
Manager Li was startled by Jiang Yuwei's gaze. He wanted to take a few steps forward to speak to her, but he stopped abruptly and slowly said:
"Um, I know you have a shop on North Street. I heard from your shop assistant that your business is pretty good."
Jiang Yuwei nodded impatiently; she didn't have time to chat with Manager Li right now.
Manager Li seemed to notice Jiang Yuwei's displeasure and quickly spoke up:
"I'm sorry about what happened last time. I was actually forced into this situation. I thought your small workshops wouldn't last long, and that the Ge family would sabotage them behind the scenes and they'd be forced out of business. So I didn't dare offend the Ge family and cooperate with you. Who would have thought you would actually open a shop, right across from the Ge family's shop? I underestimated you. You are indeed impressive..."
Jiang Yuwei said unhappily:
"Manager Li, that's enough, that's enough. I'm busy catching a thief right now, I don't have time for pleasantries, I'm leaving now!"
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei turned to leave.
Upon hearing this, Manager Li hurriedly said:
"Wait, wait a minute, you said you were catching a thief?"
Jiang Yuwei turned around and nodded impatiently at Manager Li.
Manager Li hurriedly stepped forward and asked with concern:
"Catch the thief! So, the man who was in your shop at 9 AM today was... was he... a thief?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei immediately turned around, handed the portrait to Manager Li, and asked:
"Manager Li, you mean you saw someone enter my shop? Then please take a closer look. Is that man the person in this portrait?"
Manager Li took the portrait, examined it carefully, and nodded:
"Yes, that's the man. I was wondering why he looked unfamiliar. I took a few more glances at him and thought he was a new employee in your shop, so I didn't think much of it and just assumed that you usually open your shop this early."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly bowed to Manager Li and said:
"Manager Li, I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I was so anxious to find the thief that I spoke without thinking. Please forgive me, Manager Li. This is the thief who stole from my shop. If the county magistrate decides to prosecute, I would appreciate it if you could testify in court. If the thief is not apprehended soon, all the shops on North Street will be living in constant fear!"
Upon hearing this, Manager Li nodded hurriedly and said:
"Okay, I understand. Don't worry, if necessary, I will definitely appear in court to identify the thief. The sooner we arrest him, the sooner we can put our minds at ease."
Seeing that Manager Li had agreed, Jiang Yuwei hurried back to the shop to wait for Officer Huang's message.
To her surprise, as soon as Jiang Yuwei returned to the shop, she saw Constable Huang coming out from the backyard, holding a piece of scrap cloth in his hand.
Jiang Yuwei hurriedly stepped forward and handed the portrait to Officer Huang, then truthfully recounted the information she had gathered. Officer Huang nodded in agreement.
“Alright, that makes things clearer. Now that the culprit has been identified, we need to go back to the yamen to inform the county magistrate. You can come back with us. My two men will take the captured person directly to the yamen.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly gave Ning Huaizhi some instructions and then followed Constable Huang to the yamen. Coincidentally, just as Jiang Yuwei and her group arrived at the yamen, they saw the two constables who had gone to Ningjia Village bring back Aunt Ning and her son together.
After everyone entered the yamen, Constable Huang recounted the entire incident. Upon hearing it, Magistrate Li slammed his gavel and shouted:
"Ning Sangu, Ning Qi, do you two know your crime?"
No matter how capable Aunt Ning was, she was still just a village woman. She had never seen such a scene before, and she was immediately at a loss for words. She could only stammer and glance at her son out of the corner of her eye.
"I, I, I don't know..."
Seeing this, Magistrate Li shouted again:
"How dare you!"
Upon seeing this, Ning Qi hurriedly kowtowed and cried out for justice:
"I'm innocent, Magistrate Li! I have no grudge against Jiang Yuwei, why would I steal from their shop?"
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly stepped forward and recounted how Aunt Ning had tried to sell land at her home but failed, leading to a falling out. Ning Qi was about to retort when Steward Zhang stormed in from outside the hall, pointing at Ning Qi and shouting:
"You've really screwed me over! You'd better pay me back my money right now!"
He was about to rush forward and tear at Ning Qi when Huang, the head constable, saw this and quickly stepped forward to stop Zhang, the steward, and shouted:
"Manager Zhang, calm down! This is the government office, not your shop's entrance! You can't be so insolent here. The magistrate will help you with the money!"
Manager Zhang was afraid of losing both his wife and his money. His private savings had been swindled away by Ning Qi, and he hadn't even gotten a single piece of gold powder paper. He was also afraid that Ning Qi might implicate him, which would put him in jail for no reason. That's why Manager Zhang stormed into the yamen earlier.
Jiang Yuwei stood aside silently, watching Manager Zhang's performance with amusement. This was the first time he had stood on her side.
Just as Ning Qi was about to retort to Manager Zhang, he saw Manager Li rush over, walk up to Ning Qi, examine him carefully, and nod.
"That's him! The man I met at Moxianzhai at 9 AM today is this one!"
Ning Qi glared fiercely at Manager Li and said angrily:
"You're blind! You've chosen the wrong person! How could I possibly go to Moxianzhai!"
Huang, the head constable, carefully examined Ning Qi's clothes, then took out a piece of cloth from his sleeve and compared it to Ning Qi's garment. Suddenly, he noticed a barely noticeable hole in the hem of Ning Qi's clothes, and quickly nodded, saying:
"Yes, the scraps of cloth I found in the backyard of the Ink Fragrance Studio are your clothes; the tear even matches!"
Upon seeing this, Ning Qi's face immediately turned pale, and he stammered:
No, no.
Seeing this, the two constables quickly handed over the silver they had found in Ning Sangu's house to Magistrate Li, saying:
"Your Honor, this silver was found at Aunt Ning's house just now. When we arrived, they were packing their bags, preparing to flee!"
Jiang Yuwei noticed the dagger tucked into Ning Qi's waist, and taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, she swiftly drew it. Seeing the bloodstains on it and judging by the size of the dagger, she exclaimed in surprise:
"It was this dagger that injured my black dog. If you need it, sir, I can bring the black dog here so you can compare the wound!"
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