The man glanced at Zhao Erleng's wife with disdain, revealing an impatient expression. "You peasant, this is none of your business! If you don't want to suffer, get lost!"
Zhao Erleng's wife has always been a quick-tongued person, and her temper isn't much better.
Thanks to Jiang Ling's spicy hot pot business and the seasonal factors, I've made a lot of money lately. Although I don't earn as much as Jiang Ling, my family is becoming increasingly well-off.
Especially their son, Zhao Dabao, who used to be sallow and thin, looking no different from a bean sprout, now has a rosy complexion and a strong body.
The Zhao family of three had always been grateful to Jiang Ling, and seeing Jiang Ling being "bullied" made them even angrier. However, Zhao Erleng's wife was a smart woman, and she knew that there was a huge power imbalance between men and women.
Her eyes darted around, and she immediately feigned fear, backing away as she ran frantically towards her home.
Seeing this, Jiang Ling did not blame Zhao Erleng's wife. This was originally a family matter, and she did not want to involve anyone else.
But to Jiang Ling's surprise, less than three minutes later, Zhao Erleng's wife led a group of people toward them in a menacing manner.
The village chief was leading the way, and Jiang Ling recognized most of the rest of the people. Even Hu Yue'er, who was still in her postpartum period, walked in the group with a huff, wearing a cloak.
The group quickly approached Jiang Ling and formed a human wall around her with their bodies, their gazes fixed unfriendly on Luo Miaoran's father.
Luo Miaoran's father had seen his share of storms; he wasn't a paper tiger that could be easily broken. He glanced at the crowd with disdain and clicked his tongue. "What? A meeting of peasants? You brought so many people? To scare me?"
The contemptuous tone only fueled the crowd's indignation, and their eyes flashed with anger. Had the village chief not warned them beforehand, some hot-tempered villagers would probably have thrown the stones they had picked up from the road at Luo Miaoran's father.
"Everyone, everyone, this is a family matter. I am already very grateful that you have come forward, but I don't want to make a big deal out of it. Please go back!" Jiang Ling was not worried at all that the other party would resort to violence. Even if the other party was powerful, it was impossible for one person to fight against twenty or thirty people.
"Did you hear that? This country bumpkin is telling you all to get back! Stop being so self-righteous. If you dare touch a single hair on my head, you won't be able to pay for it even if you sell yourself. Do you know what this is? Night-shining gauze. Do you know how much silver it costs per foot? You bumpkins! Bah!" Hearing Jiang Ling's words, Luo Miaoran's father thought that Jiang Ling was afraid of him, so he became even more smug and pointed to his sleeve as he spoke to the crowd.
"Damn it, this is outrageous! Beat them up! So what if it's a night-shining gauze! Our Lu Family Village isn't short of money to pay for it!" Luo Miaoran's father's words undoubtedly ignited the village chief's temper.
Before anyone could react, the village chief roared and threw the stone in his hand at Luo Miaoran's father.
Upon seeing the village chief give the order, everyone rushed towards Luo Miaoran's father. These villagers, who had long been engaged in farm work, were far superior to these merchants in both physical strength and power. The servants nearby were so frightened by this scene that they stood still and dared not make a move.
"I'll teach you to curse me! I'll teach you to curse me!" The one who was beating the most was Zhao Erleng's wife. In just a few seconds, countless nail scratches appeared on Luo Miaoran's father's greasy and fat face.
At this moment, Luo Miaoran's father was no longer as arrogant as before, and was surrounded by the crowd, screaming in agony.
Jiang Ling was worried that if Luo Miaoran's father was beaten, the villagers would face legal trouble, so she quickly shouted to everyone, "Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! What if you hurt him?"
Unfortunately, what Luo Miaoran's father said was so infuriating that the villagers, who were blinded by rage, didn't take Jiang Ling's words to heart at all.
"What are you doing! What are you doing! Stop it now! If you don't stop, it'll start pouring rain!" A shout rang out nearby, and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked toward the source of the sound.
Everyone felt a jolt of unease when they saw who had said those words.
Zhao Liu was driving his carriage at breakneck speed toward them. His gaze fell on Jiang Ling's side, and after parking the carriage, he walked straight over.
"What's going on?"
Lujia Village has always been known for its civility, kindness, and warm-heartedness. Zhao Liu is also a shrewd person. Seeing the scene in front of him, he did not rush to reveal his identity but asked Jiang Ling.
"Oh dear, you must be an official! Quick! Arrest these scoundrels and throw them in jail! These people beat me for no reason and ruined my luminous gauze dress! I want them to pay me back, I want them to be ruined, their families torn apart!" Luo Miaoran's father, whose head was almost swollen from being beaten, suddenly rushed to Zhao Liu's feet, hugged Zhao Liu's leg, and began to cry and recount the various "evil deeds" of the people of Lujia Village!
Looking at Luo Miaoran's father, who was crying his eyes out, the village chief suddenly regretted his impulsive actions. But then he thought, he was the village chief. How could he be a village chief if he turned a blind eye to his own village chief being bullied? Besides, Jiang Shi was now a commoner woman who had been granted a title. How could he stand idly by? Putting aside everything else, Jiang Shi had helped solve so many livelihood problems for his villagers in the past few months.
Thinking about everything Jiang Ling had done before, a thought suddenly popped into the village chief's mind—he would take the blame himself!
He was about to speak when Jiang Ling's gaze stopped him. She gently shook her head, signaling him not to rush. Seeing Jiang Ling's confident demeanor, the village chief's anxious heart suddenly calmed down.
"Damn, what kind of monster is this?" Zhao Liu muttered as he looked down at Luo Miao's father, whose head had been beaten into a pig's head.
"My lord, my lord, you must help this humble commoner seek justice!" Judging from Zhao Liu's appearance, Luo Miaoran's father guessed that Zhao Liu was probably an official. In any case, he didn't care what others thought of him; he just wanted to pour out his grievances first.
Zhao Liu frowned and glanced at Jiang Ling, who returned his gaze with a "let him speak" look.
Zhao Liu nodded, coughed lightly, and said in the tone of Magistrate Duan, "Oh? Is that so? Then tell me the details."
Luo Miaoran's father, thinking he had found a powerful patron, turned and glared angrily at everyone before saying to Zhao Liu, "My name is Luo Cheng, and I am Luo Miaoran's father. Luo Miaoran and this mud..."
"Um?"
"I'm studying at Linghui Academy with this village woman's daughter. Last night, Miaoran ran home crying, saying that she was bullied by this village woman's daughter, Jiang something, at school, and even humiliated in front of everyone! Sir, you don't know, I have few children, Luo Miaoran is my only daughter, I cherish her dearly! I never raise my voice to my Miaoran! I only came here today to ask for an explanation, but these people beat me up without saying a word. Sir, you must help me get justice!"
As Luo Cheng was speaking, he tried to kneel down and kowtow, but the slightest movement caused him excruciating pain all over his body. His kowtow motion froze in mid-air, looking both comical and laughable.
"You're talking nonsense! I clearly..." Upon hearing these distorted statements, Zhao Erleng's wife jumped out of the crowd, put her hands on her hips, pointed at Luo Cheng, and cursed loudly.
Jiang Ling quickly shook her head, signaling Zhao Erleng's wife to shut up. Although Zhao Erleng's wife didn't say anything, her eyes were like daggers piercing Luo Cheng.
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