Chapter 488: Chapter 489: Accusation

County Magistrate Wu didn’t dare to object. "I apologize for the trouble, Mrs. Gu. Please don’t concern yourself with these ignorant commoners. Once I’ve investigated the cause, I will be sure to give you a satisfactory explanation."

This was exactly what Jin Qianqian intended. "Then I shall trouble you, Lord Wu. I won’t disturb you from presiding over the case."

After Jin Qianqian spoke, she swept her gaze over the crowd, and the gawking onlookers were so intimidated they quickly lowered their heads.

’She looks like such a gentle, kind lady from a prominent family, but who knew she was so ruthless.’

’They only voiced a few doubts and ended up like this. There’s a reason they say commoners shouldn’t fight officials; it’s really true.’

Jin Qianqian didn’t know what they were thinking, but if she had, she would have merely chuckled. She was a most law-abiding person; she had only just acted in accordance with the law.

If she didn’t have a cheat up her sleeve, she would likely be the one unable to defend herself right now.

"Madam, I feel there’s something strange about this," Lichun said the moment she entered the room.

Jin Qianqian replied, "It was probably aimed at me. I just don’t understand why they didn’t find anything in our rooms."

Lichun said, "Madam, I believe these people must be connected to the Tian Family of Le City.

"How could there be such a coincidence? They were traveling with valuable goods and just happened to lose them in this remote village."

We stayed in inns the entire way here, so it wouldn’t have been so easy for them to plant evidence.

It was only because we couldn’t reach the county town ahead before the gates closed for the night that we had to find lodging in this small village at the last minute.

Seeing how poor this village is, you can tell the villagers wouldn’t have the guts or the audacity to do something so malicious.

Li Qiu added, "The main thing is, the items they were carrying were far too valuable, and they were supposedly just a few merchants traveling together. The more you think about it, the more abnormal it seems."

Jin Qianqian took a sip of hot tea, which finally chased away some of the chill. "Just imagine, if those things had been found in our rooms, what kind of situation would I be facing?"

Her two senior maids shivered in unison at the implication. If it was truly as the Madam suspected, then those people’s intentions were wicked enough to warrant death.

But judging from all the signs, it was a very real possibility.

"Madam, those people are too malicious! Forty strikes with the plank was letting them off too easy."

"Madam, should we send someone to speak with County Magistrate Wu?

"Even though this county magistrate seems a bit indecisive, he’s still the ’parents official’ of a county, isn’t he? He ought to see that we get justice."

Jin Qianqian simply smiled and said nothing. ’They probably won’t even need the County Magistrate to act,’ she thought. ’When those two leaders go back, they’re sure to meet a bad end.’

’Losing such a large fortune is a sign of incompetence. If their master is ruthless, he definitely won’t spare them.’

All these delays meant it was impossible to continue their journey today.

After what had happened, a rift had formed between the villagers and them, so the villagers were naturally unwilling to let the escort team stay another night.

Jin Qianqian didn’t press the matter. After discussing with the leader of the escort, they decided everyone would move to the county town.

Before they left, Li Xia took a guard around the village and managed to acquire some wild game, as well as some farm-raised chickens and ducks.

With these provisions, everyone would be able to replenish their strength over the next few days.

The next day, Jin Qianqian and her group departed as planned. As for the men who had been beaten, they were still waiting in a side room at the County Magistrate’s Office.

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"What do you think happened?" Xu Mutou asked once they were alone.

He still couldn’t figure it out. It was as if the other party had known their plan; otherwise, how was it that all the ones who got beaten were their men?

"How should I know? We were all in on it together. How could the items just vanish into thin air?" Cao Lei’s face was dark. "Right now, we should be thinking about how to get a message to the Master."

"And then what? You think the Master will come and save us?" Although Xu Mutou wasn’t as sharp as Cao Lei, he wasn’t an idiot.

He looked at Cao Lei and sneered, "I bet the Lord County Magistrate has already sent people to Huacheng to look for that ’lover’ of yours."

"Of all the lies you could have told, you had to make it sound so convincing, even coming up with a street name."

"And now you’ve dug a hole for yourself. Once the magistrate investigates and finds nothing, he’ll know we’re both lying. I bet severe torture is what’s waiting for us next."

"I say we stop struggling. We’re probably not getting out of this in one piece anyway. Might as well find a quick way to end it."

"It hasn’t come to that," Cao Lei snorted. "After a while, when the Master doesn’t hear from us, he’ll send people to investigate."

Xu Mutou retorted, "So what? Don’t forget, we lost a fortune. That was real gold and silver the Master entrusted to us. Do you think our lives are worth that much?"

Cao Lei fell silent for a moment. "...Tell me, how did those things disappear? Could that Gu woman have hidden them?"

Xu Mutou shook his head. "Unlikely. We planted them just as the sky was getting light at dawn. Even if they wanted to hide everything, they wouldn’t have had enough time."

"I’m starting to suspect the villagers found out what we were doing, and someone played the role of the oriole waiting in the wings."

"Don’t forget, even though we didn’t find anything in the village, there’s that huge forest on the mountain behind it. For villagers who know the local terrain, that forest is like their own backyard."

Cao Lei snapped, "If that’s what you thought, why didn’t you mention it earlier?"

"Hah! Don’t you try to pin this on me. In that situation, how was I supposed to bring it up?"

"I don’t believe it didn’t occur to you too. Were you just waiting for me to be the one to stick my neck out?"

Cao Lei didn’t even want to talk anymore. ’What a self-righteous fool.’

’All I can do now is hope the Master sends someone soon. Maybe there’s still a chance to recover the lost items.’

...

Jin Qianqian sat in the swaying carriage, using her spiritual power to examine the items she had spirited away earlier.

Besides a box of gold and silver jewelry and another box of gold ingots that she had already looked at, the rest of the items were just as the men had confessed.

A few scattered, inexpensive items had likely been pilfered from the other merchants by Xu and his men; their value wasn’t great.

’It made sense,’ she thought. ’These were just goods piled outside; how valuable could they be? This way, the other merchants’ losses were negligible.’

’No wonder they weren’t willing to press the issue and withdrew from the conflict so quickly.’

’The bulk of the goods, however, must have been prepared specifically to frame her.’

’Fine silks and satins, some exquisite porcelain, and even a few ancient books?’

’They really spared no expense.’ Jin Qianqian mused as she casually looked through the items, then her eyes narrowed, focusing on a step-shaking hairpin.

Upon closer inspection, she saw the character for "Tian" on it. Jin Qianqian had a flash of insight. ’So, it was them behind this all along.’

That explained everything. Her journey had been uneventful until now, and the only enemy she had made was Tian Zhuang.

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