After a while, shouts and curses came from behind Jiang Ling. Jiang Ling ignored them and strode away in her direction.
Back inside, seeing Jiang Suihe and Jiang Ling already asleep, Jiang Ling felt a little relieved.
He turned to Zhao Qianyu and asked, "How are you? Is anything bothering you?"
After thinking for a long time, Zhao Qianyu shook his head and said, "It's alright, but it still hurts a bit here!" As he spoke, Zhao Qianyu pointed to the area where he had bandaged his body.
Jiang Ling sat on the edge of the bed, feeling somewhat helpless. Zhao Qianyu's injuries probably wouldn't heal for a while. Although this matter had little to do with Jiang Ling, she doubted that Lord Zhao would think so.
If he really wanted to take my life, wouldn't that be easier than crushing an ant?
If Jiang Ling didn't want to suffer this injustice, she had to find the culprit. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling suddenly had an idea.
He called Jiang Yaojie over and whispered to him, "Tomorrow, after you finish delivering the goods, go to Pingxi County and find Magistrate Duan. Tell him that there have been some refugees appearing near Lujia Village recently, and you hope that Magistrate Duan can resolve the issue as soon as possible!"
Jiang Yaojie looked at Jiang Ling with some confusion and asked after a while, "Mother, Magistrate Duan has treated you well, why don't you go yourself?"
“Young Master Zhao and your sister Suihe both need someone to take care of them, and your uncle has to teach every day. What if more refugees appear now?” Jiang Ling sighed helplessly and looked at Zhao Qianyu on the bed.
After hearing this, Jiang Yaojie nodded and said nothing more.
To Jiang Ling's surprise, the next day at noon, Magistrate Duan appeared at Jiang Ling's door in a carriage with his advisor, Jiang Yaojie.
"There are refugees. Are you alright?" Magistrate Duan hurriedly jumped off the carriage and rushed to Jiang Ling's side.
Looking at Magistrate Duan's concerned eyes, Jiang Ling felt a flutter in her heart. Her cheeks flushed, and she tried to calm herself down, saying, "Thank you for your concern, sir. I'm fine!"
After hearing Jiang Ling's words, Magistrate Duan patted his chest and continued, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. Yaojie came to see me today..."
Magistrate Duan probably realized that he had lost his composure. He coughed nervously and changed the subject, saying, "When I came to your village today, I found that there were several burly men questioning and checking people at the gate. Was that your idea?"
Jiang Ling nodded, then lowered her voice and said, "That's right, Magistrate Duan, I have a favor to ask of you, I wonder..."
"What's this talk of begging? Just tell me what you need! There's no need for formalities!" Magistrate Duan waved his hand and said.
Jiang Ling pointed inside the door, then pointed to Magistrate Duan. Magistrate Duan immediately understood Jiang Ling's meaning. He turned to his advisor and said, "Let's go in together!"
Jiang Ling led the three of them to the courtyard. She pointed to her bedroom and then to Magistrate Duan. Magistrate Duan nodded and said, "Master, you rest here for a bit. I'll be right back!"
The advisor nodded and sat down in the chair. Jiang Ling then gestured for Jiang Yaojie to pour the advisor a cup of the prepared mint water, while she led Magistrate Duan toward the bedroom.
"This...this...this is?" Even the usually composed Magistrate Duan was somewhat flustered when he saw Zhao Qianyu lying on the bed.
"Hello, Uncle Duan!" Zhao Qianyu has become much more polite after this period of training.
"What's going on?" Magistrate Duan's tone became more serious as he carefully examined Zhao Qianyu.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Jiang Ling bent her knees and knelt heavily in front of Magistrate Duan, then kowtowed.
This startled the two people in the room. Zhao Qianyu and Magistrate Duan both reached out to help Jiang Ling, especially Zhao Qianyu, who jumped off the bed without even putting on his shoes.
Jiang Ling stubbornly refused to stand up. Instead, she grabbed Zhao Qianyu's hand and carefully rolled up both of Zhao Qianyu's sleeves.
Jiang Ling knelt upright, looking directly at Magistrate Duan, and said, "Magistrate Duan, I deserve to die for failing to take good care of Lord Zhao's son!"
"No! No, Uncle Duan, don't listen to Aunt Jiang's words. She treats me very well and is very devoted to me. My injury was caused by the refugees! It has nothing to do with Aunt Jiang!" Zhao Qianyu quickly broke free from Jiang Ling's hand and put down his sleeve to say.
"Refugees? What's going on here? Have these bandits become so bold as to rob and plunder in broad daylight?" Upon hearing Zhao Qianyu's words, Magistrate Duan became even more furious. He angrily flicked his sleeves and rebuked him.
"Yes, Uncle Duan, you don't know..." Zhao Qianyu wasn't stupid, so he naturally knew that those refugees were no good. Moreover, he had been injured because of these refugees, so when he told the story, he exaggerated a lot.
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Duan's face immediately darkened, and his drooping lips revealed his extreme anger.
"These damned refugees! It seems we must get rid of them!" Magistrate Duan sneered.
"My lord, you don't know this, but these refugees are very cunning. They've probably been lurking around my house for a long time, just because they know about my family's misfortune. Otherwise, how could they be so familiar with my family's situation? How could they commit crimes after we've all left? My poor daughter is the one who suffered. If it weren't for Young Master Zhao, I...I..." Jiang Ling didn't want to get so emotional, but the more she spoke, the angrier she became, and in the end, she burst into tears and sobbed.
When Magistrate Duan saw Jiang Ling crying, he immediately panicked. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Ling, saying, "Jiang, you... don't cry. Don't worry, I will make sure these refugees never return!"
After thanking Magistrate Duan, Jiang Ling wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and continued, "Sir, with the autumn harvest just around the corner, what will we unarmed commoners do if they really have wicked intentions? I heard that a few months ago, the Li family was robbed of grain by refugees, and they even killed a servant!"
“Those guys are all heartless beasts who lick blood from the edge of a knife! I reckon they just want to wait until our village has a good harvest before they come and rob us. If that’s the case, then our Lu Family Village is doomed!” Jiang Ling said, biting her lip and mumbling.
"Don't worry, Madam Jiang. Starting today, I will have some of our constables lie in ambush around Lu Family Village. If there's any disturbance, just blow this, and the constables will protect you!" As he spoke, Magistrate Duan deliberately placed a whistle-like object in Jiang Ling's hand.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ling immediately expressed her gratitude, but Magistrate Duan waved his hand repeatedly and gently helped Jiang Ling up. After exchanging a few more words, Magistrate Duan reluctantly left with Jiang Ling.
The clerk outside the door heard some commotion, but since Magistrate Duan hadn't given any orders, he didn't dare to go in rashly. He could only look around at the door. When he saw Magistrate Duan come out, the clerk quickly got up and ran towards him.
The advisor had been by Magistrate Duan's side for a long time, and this was the first time he had seen Magistrate Duan look so bad. He opened his mouth to say something, but dared not ask anything.
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