The embroiderer's words caused an uproar among the crowd.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhang's face flushed with rage, and he roared furiously, "Stop your nonsense! This indenture was clearly signed with your own hand. How could it be false?"
Wanniang was also furious, and shouted with grief and indignation on her face: "The person you saw was definitely not me, but my cousin!"
Mr. Zhang's eyes widened in disbelief as he retorted, "Absolutely impossible! Your cousin clearly doesn't have a mole on her face, how could she be impersonating you?"
Wanniang snorted coldly and replied indignantly: "That mole is a fake!"
Mr. Zhang still shook his head, refusing to believe it. He pointed at the indenture and shouted, "Even so, compare the handprints yourself. Could it be that even this handprint is a fake?"
Facing Mr. Zhang's aggressive questioning, Wanniang's face suddenly turned extremely pale, and she spoke the truth in a miserable voice: "That was the mark left by Second Aunt when she forcibly grabbed my hand and pressed it when I was seriously ill in bed!"
At this point, Wanniang was already sobbing.
However, Mr. Zhang mercilessly scolded her, "What nonsense! I think you, a woman, are just greedy for the money of our Zhang family and deliberately fabricated lies to deceive everyone!"
Upon hearing this, Wanniang suddenly raised her head, looked directly at Mr. Zhang with a firm gaze, and righteously retorted, "I have never had such thoughts! I have plenty of money myself, and I also have superb embroidery skills. I don't need to rely on your money to make a living!"
Just as the two were deadlocked, the shopkeeper finally couldn't help but stand up and speak for Wanniang again: "Mr. Zhang, this Wanniang is one of the best embroiderers in our shop. Her embroidery skills are unparalleled. Selling herself for a mere 100 taels of silver is not a wise move. There must be something hidden behind this!"
Xu Ning, watching the two sides arguing intensify, felt a headache coming on. She rubbed her temples and shouted, "Stop arguing! Since this matter is difficult to resolve right now, why don't we go to the county government office together and ask the county magistrate to make the final decision?"
"And you, is Qi Songbo really your brother-in-law? The kind of biological brother-in-law? You must think carefully before answering!" Xu Ning looked at Mr. Zhang sharply, with a barely perceptible sneer on his face.
Zhang Da Hu's heart skipped a beat when he heard Xu Ning so easily pronounce the County Magistrate's name. He instantly realized that this man must be an acquaintance of the Qi County Magistrate. At this thought, Zhang Da Hu began to sweat.
"Hurry up and speak! Is Qi Songbo your brother-in-law?" Xu Ning urged impatiently.
She thought to herself that if Qi Songbo really hooked up with another woman behind Pei Jiao's back, then let alone what would happen to Pei Jiao in the future, she would never let him go easily and would never let him have the chance to see her sister Pei again!
At that moment, Xu Ning's eyes were as cold as ice, faintly emitting the aura of a superior. This invisible pressure made Zhang Da Hu feel uneasy. He swallowed hard and stammered, "No... not my biological brother-in-law, but... but he likes my sister!"
"Oh? Who is your sister?" Xu Ning's eyes were burning with anger. She never expected that Qi Songbo, who seemed gentle and handsome on weekdays, was actually a fickle and playboy!
Just as Mr. Zhang was about to answer, Xu Ning suddenly noticed that the people around him who were watching the excitement stretched their necks, pricked up their ears, and looked like they were eating melons.
Xu Ning's face changed slightly. This matter involved other people's privacy, and Qi Songbo was the magistrate of a county after all. If it caused a big uproar here, it would not be good if it got out.
So, she made a quick decision, grabbed Mr. Zhang's arm, and said sternly, "Come on, follow me to the county government office and make things clear!"
After saying this, he dragged Mr. Zhang towards the county government office without further explanation. The onlookers, although curious, did not dare to stop them and could only watch the two walk away.
"Manager Ni, quickly take the embroiderer with you to the county government office. I will get to the bottom of this matter today and find out who is behind this!"
However, unexpectedly, when they were halfway there, they found that Qi Songbo had already been waiting at the gate of the county government office.
Qi Songbo stood with his hands behind his back, his posture as straight as a pine tree, his expression calm and composed, but there was a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
At this time, when Mr. Zhang, who was following behind Xu Ning, saw Qi Songbo, he felt like he had met a long-lost relative. He couldn't help but want to walk forward to greet him.
But who would have thought that just after he took two steps, he was glared at by Qi Songbo. The sharp gaze was like a flash of lightning, which scared Zhang Da Hu so much that he trembled all over and stopped in his tracks.
When Xu Ning and his group approached, Qi Songbo hurriedly bowed and said, "Madam Jiang, there are indeed many misunderstandings in this matter. I can swear to heaven that this county magistrate is absolutely innocent and has a clear conscience."
"As for the matter of the embroiderer...it was actually all orchestrated by her second aunt! The whole thing was nothing more than her second aunt and her family trying to seize the embroiderer's property, resorting to such despicable means to wipe out the family! I hope Madam Jiang will be discerning and not wrongly accuse a good person!"
Qi Songbo finished a long speech in one breath and couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. He was really afraid that Xu Ning would go to Pei Jiao to complain about him.
Mr. Zhang was already numb when he heard Qi Songbo calling Xu Ning "Madam Jiang Shao". He wanted to explain, but his clothes were soaked with sweat. He suddenly felt a black screen in front of his eyes. It seemed that God was going to kill him!
"Oh, you figured it out so quickly?" Xu Ning's anger subsided a little, and he also remembered Mr. Zhang. "Master Qi, I heard that this person is your brother-in-law? Why do I remember you weren't married yet?"
The threat in Xu Ning's eyes was so obvious that Qi Songbo felt the sky darken. He took a deep breath and continued to explain: "It really is a misunderstanding! Come in and sit down and listen to me slowly. It's hard to explain it all at once. I've already given instructions about the embroiderer's matter and I promise to handle it properly!"
"Okay, I'll go in and listen to you. No matter what you say, I will tell it to my sister without missing a word!" Xu Ning's sister is a real sister, the kind that really treats her as a relative!
"Mr. Zhang, get in here too!" Qi Songbo's face immediately changed when he faced Mr. Zhang. It was also the first time that Mr. Zhang saw Qi Songbo get angry, and his heart sank immediately!
The shopkeeper and the embroiderer were taken away by the county magistrate. Xu Ning walked into the backyard of the county government office as if he knew the place well, sat down beside the tea and snacks that the servant had prepared long ago, and looked at Qi Songbo and Mr. Zhang who had his head hung down with a half-smile.
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