"Is that Mr. Zhang? Who is the old man next to him?" Hu Yue'er asked, frowning.
Jiang Ling nodded and said to Hu Yue'er, "Yes, that's Mr. Zhang, and his boss is next to him!"
After hearing this, Hu Yue'er quickly took out a money pouch from her bosom and placed it on the table, saying to Jiang Ling, "Elder sister, I know you've just been granted the title of Eighth-Rank Lady, and you can afford to pay ten times the compensation, but I still hope you'll accept this money!"
Looking at Hu Yue'er's sincere face, Jiang Ling couldn't help but flick her nose and tease her as she pretended to stuff the money pouch into her bosom, "What? So generous? If I give it all to you, how are you going to live this month?"
"I... I can just squeeze in with Zhou Daxia, or I can come to your house for a free meal if that doesn't work!" Hu Yue'er said with a simple smile.
Looking into Hu Yue'er's increasingly clear eyes, Jiang Ling genuinely liked the pregnant woman before her. She smiled and returned the money to Hu Yue'er, saying, "Don't worry, it's all settled. No compensation is needed, and a new delivery date has been agreed upon!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Yue'er immediately showed an excited expression. Grabbing Jiang Ling's body, she asked again incredulously, "Really? Really?"
Jiang Ling smiled slightly and said, "Of course, would I lie to you?"
"I'll go tell Lightning Girl! Otherwise she'll lose her appetite and can't eat or sleep!" Hu Yue'er said, and then ran towards the door.
Jiang Ling was worried that Hu Yue'er's vigorous activity might harm the baby, so she quickly chased after her outside and called out, "Yue'er, your belly! Be careful!"
Hu Yue'er simply waved her hand to indicate to Jiang Ling that she didn't need to worry.
The resolution of this matter was like the sun breaking through the clouds. Most of the people in Lujia Village returned to their usual smiles.
More than half a month later, Magistrate Duan, Zhao Liu, and Su Shunhe appeared before Jiang Ling together.
Jiang Ling looked at the three people in front of her with a puzzled expression, and asked with a frown, "What's going on with you?"
"Huh? You two know each other?" Magistrate Duan and Su Shunhe asked in unison.
Then the two glanced at each other and turned their heads away in disgust.
"This is Magistrate Duan of Pingxi County, and this is my customer in Yecheng, Mr. Su Shunhe!" Jiang Ling introduced them.
There was no change on Magistrate Duan's side, but Su Shunhe's eyes became somewhat fearful. He knelt down on both knees and said, "This humble subject kowtows to Your Excellency Magistrate. I was unaware of Your Excellency's identity before, and I hope Your Excellency will forgive me!"
“Ignorance is no excuse. Get up!” said Magistrate Duan.
Su Shunhe hurriedly stood up from the ground, but less than a minute after he stood up, the magistrate Duan's next words frightened Su Shunhe so much that he almost knelt down.
"Congratulations on your promotion of two ranks within a year!" Magistrate Duan smiled and gestured for Zhao Liu to bring out the prepared gifts.
"Two ranks? You...you are...?" Su Shunhe's face was deathly pale, and he began to stutter.
Jiang Ling smiled faintly and explained, "His Majesty has bestowed upon me the title of Eighth-Rank Lady! Don't kneel before me, I don't like the class distinctions to be too obvious!" Jiang Ling quickly said when she saw Su Shunhe about to kneel again.
Su Shunhe was almost screaming for his mother in fright. What kind of day was this? First, he met the county magistrate, and now his business partner was a lady of the imperial court.
Thinking of this, Su Shunhe smacked his head hard, trying hard to recall every word he had said to Jiang Ling in Yecheng, carefully considering whether each word was impolite or disrespectful.
"Mr. Su, is there something you need today? Our order will take about half a month to arrive!" Jiang Ling asked Su Shunhe.
At this moment, Su Shunhe was considering what he had said earlier when he was startled by Jiang Ling's sudden question. He subconsciously wanted to kneel down to pay his respects, but then he remembered what Jiang Ling had said earlier, and his slightly bent knees stopped in mid-air.
That pose just looked kind of ridiculous.
Su Shunhe quickly stood up, coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, and bowed to Jiang Ling, saying, "I found out some information about the identities of those two people from Ye City, and I thought I'd let you know."
Magistrate Duan, who had been standing by watching the show, immediately perked up his ears upon hearing Su Shunhe's words, wanting to understand what was going on.
However, Jiang Ling did not seem to offer Magistrate Duan such an opportunity.
Her gaze swept over Magistrate Duan, who asked, "Magistrate Duan, did you come here just to congratulate me?"
Magistrate Duan quickly shook his head and said to Jiang Ling, "Congratulations are only one thing. Secondly, you need to take Lu Youren and his wife to the yamen. The matters before the New Year must come to an end!"
After saying that, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and leave Jiang Ling's house with Zhao Liu.
Watching Magistrate Duan's departing figure, Su Shunhe's forehead was already covered in beads of sweat from nervousness.
"Mr. Su, are you very hot?" Jiang Ling asked, noticing that Su Shunhe was covered in sweat.
As Su Shunhe shook his head and wiped the sweat from his brow, he continued, "Have you ever heard of Qin Huang?"
Jiang Ling frowned for a moment, then immediately relaxed, deliberately showing a puzzled expression as she shook her head and asked, "Who is he?"
Su Shunhe was somewhat surprised but still patiently explained, "Strange, haven't you heard of their family? How come they have business dealings with you? The Qin family of Qingzhou is a well-known merchant family in the area. Outsiders respectfully call Qin Huang 'Old Qin.' It's said that their family has some connections with the imperial court!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ling was not surprised. Since ancient times, scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants have been the norm. Although merchants have money, they do not have power, and their social status is pitifully low.
Many wealthy merchant families would train their descendants to pass the imperial examinations, which would not only enhance their family's status but also consolidate their foundation.
Jiang Ling nodded and asked, "I have never heard of the Qin family of Qingzhou. The delivery note says a man named Zhang Qide."
Su Shunhe suddenly realized and blurted out, "Oh, him! No wonder you haven't heard of him. He's one of the most capable strategists under the Qin Emperor. It's said that he's a big, burly man with a fiery temper, but he's very clever and can always find various business opportunities. That's why the Qin family's power has developed so rapidly!"
Jiang Ling feigned surprise and remained silent, waiting for Su Shunhe to continue.
“I secretly followed those two guys for a while recently. They seem to have some connection with one of Old Master Qin’s personal maids. That maid is said to be Old Master Qin’s new favorite and is very much liked by him!” Su Shunhe said slowly, stroking his chin.
Jiang Ling was speechless for a moment after hearing this. Judging from Qin Lao's appearance, he was probably over fifty years old. His private life was so chaotic. It is true that only when a man is hung on the wall can he be honest.
She wasn't particularly interested in gossip about the Qin Emperor and quickly pressed on, "So you suspect that the personal maid stole Old Master Qin's delivery slip? And had those two forge it?"
Su Shunhe nodded. "That's right. There were indeed rumors at the time that Old Master Qin had lost something valuable, but nothing came of it. I suspect it was that incident!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ling asked curiously, "Mr. Su, how do you know all these things so clearly?"
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