When Granny Yao saw Jiang Yuwei's aggressive manner in trying to stand up for Liu, she immediately lost all her arrogance and could only wail and sob.
Seeing this, Liu quickly picked up the walking stick from the ground and handed it to Granny Yao with both hands.
Jiang Yuwei glanced at Liu Shi and said coldly:
"Aunt Yao, your son has been arrested. We're going to the yamen. Are you coming?"
Granny Yao glared at Liu Shi fiercely, but dared not hit her again. She just nodded hurriedly to Jiang Yuwei.
"Yes, I'll go! Madam Jiang, please take me there!"
Jiang Yuwei had Liu help Granny Yao into the carriage, and then she got in herself.
Yun Qing quickly drove the carriage to the gate of Shuntian Prefecture. By then, a large crowd had already gathered outside. Zhang Da could be heard shouting from inside:
"Your Honor, you must do me justice! I've suffered so much. Yao Guang beat me to death, and then denied it. I've been on the run for days, and I've finally caught him today."
Upon hearing this, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture slammed his gavel and looked at Yao Guang, asking:
"Yao Guang, do you agree with what Zhang Da said?"
Upon seeing this, Yao Guang quickly knelt down and said;
“Your Excellency, this matter was caused by Zhang Da, and I did not mean to hit him.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly pulled Liu Shi aside and pushed her way to the front. Seeing this, Granny Yao also followed with a limp.
“Your Excellency, I have something to say. It was Zhang Da who struck Liu first. Yao Guang fought with Zhang Da to protect Liu.”
Upon seeing this, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture slammed his gavel.
Is what you said true?
Upon seeing this, Liu, who was standing nearby, quickly knelt down beside Yao Guang.
"In response to your question, Your Excellency, everything Madam Jiang said is true. It was indeed Zhang Da who struck me first. Moreover, Zhang Da and Yao Guang fought together, and he did not suffer any loss. Yao Guang was also injured."
Jiang Yuwei looked at Liu Shi kneeling in front of her with some surprise. Just now, she was so timid and dared not speak in front of Granny Yao, but now, in order to protect Yao Guang, she could clearly explain the reasons in front of the Shuntian Prefect.
At this moment, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture also understood the reason, and looked at Zhang Dali and asked in a loud voice:
"Why didn't you explain the whole story just now? You just kept asking me to make decisions for you. I think you're the troublemaker!"
Zhang Da was also somewhat embarrassed at this moment, and hurriedly knelt on the ground without daring to make a sound, his previous arrogant arrogance gone.
When Granny Yao saw that Liu Shi, who had been like a mute wife just now, was now eloquent and spoke clearly to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, she realized that Liu Shi was not a useless person after all.
Seeing that the time was right, Jiang Yuwei quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Your Honor, since Zhang Da has come to you with this complaint, we implore you to make a decision. There's a proper order to things; since Zhang Da was the one who struck first..."
Jiang Yuwei paused and looked at Zhang Da, who was kneeling to the side.
"We want Zhang Da to apologize to Yao Guang and Liu Shi and pay for their medical expenses. In that case, we will have Yao Guang apologize to Zhang Da and pay for his medical expenses."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei looked at the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.
"Do you think this will work?"
The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture pondered for a moment,
"Madam Jiang is right, let's do it that way!"
Seeing that the prefect had spoken, Zhang Da dared not disobey. So he reluctantly apologized to Liu and Yao Guang and paid them 500 coins in compensation.
Yao Guang apologized to Zhang Da as well. Jiang Yuwei deliberately gave Zhang Da half a string of cash as compensation. He had just compensated two people with one string of cash, totaling five hundred coins. Now, Jiang Yuwei compensated him half a string of cash, two hundred and fifty coins, and he had no complaints.
Seeing that the matter was resolved, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture waved his hand and announced the adjournment of the court.
The matter was resolved without serious incident, and some silver was even earned in the process. Old Woman Yao was naturally delighted. She snatched the silver from Liu's hand and said with a beaming smile:
"It seems you're not entirely useless after all; you've already made money for our family before even entering the door."
Seeing this, Yao Guang quickly spoke up:
"Mother, that's Liu's money, don't steal it."
Granny Yao glared at Yao Guang and scolded:
"We'll be family soon, so there's no such thing as 'yours' or 'mine.' You young people don't know how to manage your money. It's safer to leave it with me. Don't worry about it. Liu won't care about a few coins, right?"
Liu had originally intended to return her meager savings to Jiang Yuwei, but seeing Granny Yao asking her this, she became meek and submissive again.
"Yes, please keep it."
Hearing this, Granny Yao put the silver directly into her bosom with satisfaction, then glanced at Jiang Yuwei's carriage with her eyes darting around.
“Madam Jiang, I see your carriage is just sitting idle anyway, so why don’t you let me ride it back? It’s not that I’m being lazy, I just want to get back quickly and raise enough money so I can marry Liu before the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
As she spoke, Granny Yao winked at Yao Guang, who was standing to the side.
Seeing this, Yao Guang quickly waved his hand and said:
"Madam, you don't need to listen to my mother's nonsense. You should go back first. Your carriage is not a place for us to ride in. I will take my mother back right away."
Jiang Yuwei nodded and ignored Granny Yao, then pulled Liu Shi into the carriage and left.
Sitting inside the carriage, Liu looked at Jiang Yuwei with a guilty expression.
"Madam, it's all my fault. I arranged this marriage and it's caused you so much worry and distress. I was just about to return my meager savings to you, but this Aunt Yao..."
Jiang Yuwei waved her hand.
"Why keep going back and forth with half-baked money? It doesn't sound good to others. People who don't know the situation might think you're calling me an idiot."
Upon hearing this, Liu hurriedly waved her hand and said:
"Madam, you've misunderstood. I never meant that."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and took her hand.
"Of course I know you didn't mean that. You saw Yao Guang's mother just now; she's a clueless old hag. Do you really want to marry into that family and suffer?"
After hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Liu lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then looked up at Jiang Yuwei and nodded firmly.
“Madam, I have never met anyone like Yao Guang. I don’t want to give him up because of Aunt Yao.”
Seeing Liu say this, Jiang Yuwei patted her hand as well.
“Alright, if you’ve made up your mind, then so be it. But I’m worried that you might be wronged in front of Granny Yao. Yao Guang seems like a good person right now, but I’m afraid that he might get annoyed and refuse to deal with the issues between you and his mother in the future, and pretend to be blind to it. That would make things difficult for you.”
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Liu couldn't help but purse her lips.
"I... I was thinking that it wasn't easy for Aunt Yao to raise Yao Guang all by herself, so I'll be more accommodating to her in the future, and then there won't be so many conflicts in the family."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com