Upon hearing about the peppermint water, Magistrate Duan immediately became interested. However, due to his status, he could only cough lightly and nod to Jiang Ling, who then led him inside.
As soon as he stepped inside, Magistrate Duan looked at the tidy courtyard and the quacking ducklings couldn't help but be a little surprised.
During his years as county magistrate, he had seen many women living alone with their children, but none of them lived in poverty or destitution. Some of their courtyards were even in a mess. This was the first time he had ever seen a county magistrate as neat and tidy as him.
He looked at the ducklings in the corner with some curiosity and asked, "Why did you suddenly decide to raise ducks?"
"Every part of a duck is valuable. When it grows up, it can lay eggs; when it gets old, it can be killed and eaten; even its feathers are good stuff!"
"Duck feathers?" Magistrate Duan asked with some curiosity, but still maintained a calm expression, "What are duck feathers used for? For decoration?"
“No, duck feathers can be made into down, which can then be used to fill winter clothes. It’s not only warm but also very lightweight. Down is much better than reeds in both warmth and lightness. The feathers from about ten ducklings can make one winter coat, and you don’t need to kill the ducks when processing their feathers!” Jiang Ling explained.
The more Magistrate Duan listened, the more curious he became. Just as he was about to ask more questions, his advisor walked over to him and whispered something in his ear.
Then, the sound of approaching hooves came from Jiang Ling's house.
Magistrate Duan nodded and said to Jiang Ling, "Jiang, please wait a moment."
Magistrate Duan and his advisor walked toward Jiang Ling's gate.
Before long, Magistrate Duan and his advisor entered with five boys who were about the same age as Jiang Zhishan.
They were all dressed in the same dark blue cloth shirts, but each of them wore a hint of resentment on their faces.
"Mrs. Jiang, these are the students who framed Jiang Zhishan. I've brought them to you!"
The village chief stole a glance at the students' faces, and when he saw Zhao Qianyu, the son of the magistrate of Guangping County, cold sweat instantly soaked the back of his clothes.
Although he had a million questions in his mind, he didn't dare to ask them with Magistrate Duan present. His only relief was that Jiang Zhishan wasn't from their Lu Family Village. Otherwise, if he had offended the son of an official, he probably wouldn't have had a peaceful life for the rest of his days. Thinking of this, the village chief breathed a sigh of relief.
Before Magistrate Duan could say anything, the sound of horses' hooves came from Jiang Ling's door again. This time, the sound was very fast, and they arrived at Jiang Ling's door in an instant.
"Let's see who dares to touch my son!" An unusually serious voice came from outside. The door of Jiang Ling's house was pushed open roughly, and a man dressed in official robes almost identical to those of Magistrate Duan appeared before everyone.
Unlike Magistrate Duan, this man was tall and thin, with beady eyes that kept darting around, his pupils darting around every now and then. His face was full of sharp and meanness. Just by looking at him, you could tell that this must be Zhao Tianqi, the magistrate of Guangping County.
"Lord Zhao, what brings you here?" Magistrate Duan asked with a forced smile.
"Heh. It seems Magistrate Duan really has a bad memory! Don't you know why I came?" Magistrate Zhao glared at Magistrate Duan, then his gaze fell on Zhao Qianyu, who was standing next to Magistrate Duan.
Upon seeing his father arrive, Zhao Qianyu immediately became proud, puffing out his chest and saying, "Dad! I'm here! I'm here!"
He rushed over to Lord Zhao's side, and Lord Zhao gently patted Zhao Qianyu's head, whispered a few words of comfort, then turned to look at Magistrate Duan with a stern face and said, "Magistrate Duan, you have gone too far!"
The village chief, witnessing the tense scene before him, was terrified. Had there not been something to lean against, he would have surely collapsed to the ground.
“This is going too far! I wonder what you mean by that, Lord Zhao?” Magistrate Duan said calmly and nonchalantly.
"You! Duan Kang'an, what right do you have to take my son away?" Lord Zhao asked, his face blank with displeasure.
"Oh? Lord Zhao, it is true that I took your son away, but I did not do anything to him. Besides, I needed to investigate the case!" Magistrate Duan replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"You..." Magistrate Zhao was so angry that he was speechless and could only flick his sleeve angrily.
"Why are you two so angry! Since you're here, you're guests. I've prepared some mint water for you all to cool down! Yaojie..." Jiang Ling said, giving Jiang Yaojie a meaningful look.
Jiang Yaojie deftly placed the things Jiang Ling had prepared into the hands of the two adults.
Lord Zhao frowned as he looked at the pale green liquid in the glass, seemingly recalling something. After a while, his gaze fell on Jiang Ling and he asked, "Who are you, and what is this?"
"I am just a village woman from Lujia Village. This is my grandmother's recipe. It is called mint water. It is refreshing and relieves summer heat!" Jiang Ling said, bowing to Lord Zhao.
"Oh? How come you have mint water from the Imperial Kitchen and Hua Cui Lou here? Do you think a country bumpkin like you would buy it to drink?" Zhao Qianyu, the son of Lord Zhao, was very impolite, and his words were full of sarcasm.
"You..." Jiang Zhishan immediately wanted to scold him upon hearing this.
Jiang Ling shook her head at Jiang Zhishan. Ignoring Zhao Qianyu, she turned and walked to Magistrate Duan. She said softly, "Magistrate Duan, I have a question for you."
"Hey, you country bumpkin, how can you be so rude? I'm asking you a question!" Zhao Qianyu felt ignored by Jiang Ling and asked her with a displeased expression.
Jiang Ling smiled faintly and ignored him. County Magistrate Duan nodded and replied, "If Jiang has any questions, you can ask her directly."
"My lord, my question is very simple. I would like to ask you, among the four categories of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, are all the most basic things made by us farmers?"
Magistrate Duan immediately understood the significance of Jiang Ling's question. He smiled knowingly and said, "Of course. It's not just about food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. If there are continuous disasters, there will inevitably be refugees running around. If the local area is not peaceful, we, the local officials, may not be able to keep our official hats. Isn't that right, Lord Zhao?"
As he spoke, Magistrate Duan gave Lord Zhao a meaningful glance.
Lord Zhao's face immediately darkened. He glared at his son and snapped, "Shut up! You brat, all you do is cause me trouble!"
Zhao Qianyu frowned and glared, looking very unhappy. He had never been scolded by his father in public before. He glared at Jiang Ling with hostility. If there were no other people present, he would definitely have started a fight with Jiang Ling right now.
Lord Zhao glanced at his good-for-nothing son, then fixed his gaze on Jiang Zhishan and said, "You must be Jiang Zhishan. My son was naughty and ignorant before, but he has learned his lesson now, so let's just let this matter go!"
Lord Zhao's tone softened considerably. He glanced at Jiang Ling again, feeling that this village woman from Lujia Village was not easy to deal with. Since she could persuade Duan Kang'an to overturn her brother's case and run the mint water business so successfully, she could not possibly be as simple as an ordinary village woman.
Although he was serving as the magistrate of Guangping County, he had heard about the peppermint water quite often.
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