“Master, I just think that you and that young girl are just strangers who met by chance. If you admire the young girl’s temperament, you could just give her some money and food. But instead, you gave her a food box with our mansion’s mark.”
Now look what's happened! She actually used that as a token and brought you trouble. Madam Qi knew that her husband wasn't really angry with her.
They had been married for many years, and she knew her husband's character better than anyone.
I really can't understand how my usually calm and steady husband could act so impulsively and carelessly at his age.
Hearing his wife's words, Wei Junpei shook his head helplessly and did not respond further, but looked anxiously towards the door.
Soon, the steward led in a woman and a young girl, who appeared to be a mother and daughter.
"Lord Wei, your humble servant Shen Yue'e and her daughter Nie Xue kowtow to you." As soon as she entered the room, upon seeing the dignified old man in official robes before her, Madam Shen immediately knelt down.
After entering the mansion, Xue'er was so nervous that she didn't dare to lift her head. She kept staring at her mother's back as she walked. When she saw her mother kneeling, she quickly knelt down and kowtowed as well.
"You two, stand up and speak," Wei Junpei said gently.
When he first saw the faces of the mother and daughter, although he couldn't be sure of their specific reasons for seeking him out, he was certain that Hong Xiaoduo had brought them here because they were indeed people in need of help.
"My lord, I have come to beg you for help in seeking justice. This is a letter from Miss Hong to you," Madam Shen said, sobbing. Without getting up, she took out the letter she had hidden and held it up.
“If you want to seek justice, you can go to the yamen to beat the drum and appeal. Why come to our mansion?” Madam Qi said from the side.
As soon as she finished speaking, she sensed something was wrong. She turned her head and saw that her husband's face had darkened.
“Even if you’re here to seek justice from my master, you should still stand up and speak,” Madam Qi quickly said.
She knew she was wrong just now; she had never argued with her husband since they got married.
Seeing that his wife realized her mistake, Wei Junpei's expression softened slightly: "This is my wife. She is right. No matter what you want from me, you should stand up and speak. After all, this is not a courtroom."
If you insist on kneeling, then you should leave.
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen hurriedly stood up, and Xue'er behind her also quickly got up.
Wei Junpei sat down, took the letter from the steward from Madam Shen, gestured for Madam Shen and her daughter to sit down as well, and began to read it himself.
Madam Shen wanted to say that there was no need to sit, and that she could just stand and reply, but remembering what Lord Wei had just said, she quickly went to sit down in a seat to the side.
However, Xue'er didn't dare to sit down and instead stood behind her mother.
"How did you meet Hong Xiaoduo? Are you an old acquaintance or a relative?" Wei Junpei still wanted to hear more details after reading the letter.
"Your Excellency, I did not know Lady Hong before. It was my son, Nie Qing, who encountered Lady Hong and her party on the way to Dawu Pass..." Shen told Lord Wei the whole story she knew.
Wei Junpei listened, stroking his beard and nodding from time to time.
Qi sat to the side, watching her old man. When he heard about the young lady Hong, he smiled, but when he heard about the Shen family's plight, his brows furrowed.
After Shen finished speaking, she looked nervously at Lord Wei in front of her.
After a long and arduous journey, we finally arrived in the capital. Thanks to Miss Hong, we finally met this lord. Now that everything that needed to be said has been said, we are just waiting for Lord Wei to speak.
After a moment of silence, Wei Junpei asked a few more questions about the case, such as who the officials presiding over the case were.
“Madam, she and her daughter have traveled a long way and are unfamiliar with the capital. They have no relatives or friends here, so they will stay at our residence for the time being. We would be grateful if you could make the arrangements for them,” Wei Junpei said to his wife.
After hearing about the Shen family's plight, Madam Qi felt great sympathy for the mother and daughter, and her previous emotions subsided. She said "good."
"My lord, perhaps we should stay at an inn instead," Madam Shen quickly suggested.
Judging from Lord Wei's tone just now, he intends to help me, and that's enough. How could I possibly stay at his residence?
Wei Junpei smiled and said, "Don't feel embarrassed. I will take care of your family's affairs to the end. Your son Nie Qing's case is not so simple. The case is full of loopholes. How dare the official convict him like that? It shows how arrogant he is."
The reason he's so arrogant is, of course, because he has connections in higher positions.
There's a common saying among ordinary people about officials protecting each other. If you want to overturn your son's case, to put it bluntly, it's very likely that pulling up a radish will bring up the mud along with it.
What if they have accomplices in the capital? What if they get the news and do something to you and your daughter?
Therefore, to be on the safe side, you should stay at my residence; it's more secure that way.
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen was stunned for a moment, but then she realized that what Lord Wei said was not an exaggeration.
"Then, thank you, sir, thank you, madam." Madam Shen got up and knelt down again to kowtow.
"Alright, you and your daughter look so tired, come and rest with me." Madam Qi said as she stepped forward.
Madam Shen hurriedly got up with her daughter, and as they were about to leave the hall, Madam Shen suddenly stopped, turned around and said, "Sir, the person outside the gate is the one who escorted us."
"Alright, I will make the arrangements," Wei Junpei replied.
Watching his wife lead Shen and her daughter away, Wei Junpei ordered the steward to call in the person who had escorted Shen and her daughter outside the mansion gate and arrange for him to stay in the mansion as well.
However, the steward soon returned and said, "Master, that man said he's a member of a beggar gang in the area, so it's not appropriate for him to come in."
"Go and tell him that no matter what he does or what his status is, I don't mind. Then, arrange a guest room for him to stay in, and don't neglect him," Wei Junpei instructed.
The steward agreed, but he was very curious about what kind of person this Miss Hong was.
Why would her family think so highly of her?
Otherwise, why would even a beggar's rickshaw puller care so much?
However, as curious as one may be, one should not ask adults.
Later, we can ask the people who went out with the adults back then, who were they? A-Dian? I think Fang Tian was also there?
The steward was curious because, as anyone his age knows, time will tell, but how did his master manage to hit it off so well with someone he met by chance on the road?
Just now, when Madam Shen recounted her family's ordeal, the master believed her immediately? No, the master didn't believe Madam Shen, but rather the person who introduced Madam Shen and her daughter—that young lady Hong!
Sigh, I wonder what bad luck the person who framed Shen's son had. He probably never imagined that the one who ruined his plans was a chivalrous and meddlesome young woman...
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