Chapter 105
Chapter 105
Ji Yan’an looked at the yamen runners walking in and pulled Jiang Yunsui to his side to give her instructions.
“In a moment, you run first. Go to the inn-”
Before he could finish, he looked down and found that the person beside him had already vanished.
Jiang Yunsui’s tiny figure darted through the street. In just a few breaths, she was nowhere to be seen.
Ji Yan’an: “…”
Apparently, that reminder had been completely unnecessary.
He wasn’t worried that the little girl would get into trouble. After all, she was bold enough to charge into a bandit den.
In the end, Ji Yan’an and the others were arrested.
Meanwhile, inside the county yamen.
County Deputy Magistrate Ma sipped his tea. “Fan He has left the county? Do we know what he went to do?”
“Not yet. Our men are following him.”
“Hmph. Since he’s left, he can forget about coming back. He got lucky and escaped last time. He won’t be so fortunate this time.”
“Go tell the Li Family this news.”
“And what about those witnesses from before?”
“Well… we still don’t know where Fan He hid them.”
“Useless trash. You can’t even find a few people? Hurry up and keep looking!”
“Yes, yes…”
As soon as that man left, Yamen Runner Huang walked in.
“County Deputy Magistrate Ma, your jade shop has been smashed.”
At those words, County Deputy Magistrate Ma’s hand trembled around his teacup. He shot to his feet.
“What?!”
That jade shop had taken him ages of connections, favors, and money to finally open.
“How much was smashed?”
“Nearly everything displayed in the shop. All of it.”
County Deputy Magistrate Ma’s vision went black, and he almost failed to stay upright.
“Who? Who smashed it? Where are they?”
“They’ve been arrested.”
“Good!”
County Deputy Magistrate Ma’s expression twisted savagely, his teeth practically grinding together. “I’ll interrogate them myself!”
They must have a death wish to dare smash his shop.
But before he could go interrogate them, someone came to report that a woman had brought a child to see him.
…
At that moment, Jiang Yunsui had run all the way back to the inn. First, she put every valuable thing she had on her person.
Then she prepared to go look for Ji Yan’an and the others.
That’s right. She had run back just to get the money.
She wasn’t worried that anything would happen to Ji Yan’an and the rest, either.
When they had discussed their plan earlier, they hadn’t hidden it from her. Although she hadn’t understood most of it, Jiang Yunsui knew they were planning to stir up trouble.
She stepped onto the street, ready to march boldly toward the county yamen, only to be hooked by a waft of delicious fragrance.
She followed the scent.
By the time she set out again, Jiang Yunsui’s little belly was round and full.
Three whole hours had passed.
She patted her belly and muttered, “You can’t blame me. There are too many temptations on this street.”
She was still carrying some food in her hands: a roast chicken, some steamed buns and stuffed buns, a packet of pastries, and tea.
Mm. She had bought gifts for Ji Yan’an and the others. Time to go.
Soon, Jiang Yunsui continued forward.
But in the blink of an eye, she disappeared again.
The person who had been following Ji Yan’an rubbed his eyes hard. “Where’d she go?”
Public order around here could hardly be called good. Pickpockets and petty thieves were everywhere. Jiang Yunsui was just a little girl, with no adult at her side, and she spent money with exceptional generosity. It would have been stranger if she hadn’t been targeted.
They had been waiting for a chance to rob her outright.
But who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the fat sheep they had set their sights on would slip into the crowd and vanish?
Huh? Was that even possible?
Jiang Yunsui had no idea she had been targeted. After walking for a while, she arrived at the county yamen.
She still didn’t know where the jail was, so she had to search around.
She didn’t find the jail, but along the way, she did overhear quite a bit of gossip.
For example, a certain cook in the kitchen had been unhappy with someone, so she had deliberately spat into his bowl of food.
For example, County Deputy Magistrate Ma had a secret mistress living in some alley. His wife was a concubine-born daughter of the current head of the Li Mansion, so he didn’t dare bring her home. Rumor had it the child was already five years old.
“Seriously? I remember County Deputy Magistrate Ma’s wife is really fierce.”
“Of course it’s true. My second cousin’s wife on my great-aunt’s side lives in that alley. She saw County Deputy Magistrate Ma go to that Widow Liu’s house with her own eyes. The child looks like he was carved from the same mold as County Deputy Magistrate Ma. No mistake about it.”
“I also heard that before that woman married her husband, she probably already had something going on with County Deputy Magistrate Ma. She gave birth only eight months after marrying over, though they claimed it was a premature birth.”
“But what kind of premature baby grows up so chubby and lively? And not long after that, Widow Liu’s husband got drunk out in town, fell into a ditch, and drowned. If there wasn’t something fishy going on there, would you believe it?”
Of course they didn’t believe it.
But so what if they knew? They only dared whisper about it in private. If County Deputy Magistrate Ma found out, they’d be dead for sure.
“I saw a woman bring a child to look for County Deputy Magistrate Ma today. Could she be the one you’re talking about?”
“What? That Widow Liu’s got some nerve. If Lady Ma heard about it, the whole place would turn upside down. I heard she’s no easy target either.”
“Shh, let’s talk about something else.”
After gossiping for a while, they didn’t dare say any more. If they were overheard, it would be disastrous, so they quickly changed the subject.
Jiang Yunsui was crouched not far away, munching on peeled melon seeds.
Mm-hmm, peeled kernels. After all, cracking melon seeds made noise, and if she was heard, she’d be exposed.
“Do you smell a melon-seed fragrance?”
“I think there is a little.”
Jiang Yunsui hurriedly slipped away.
She hadn’t gone far when she saw a sturdy, plump woman leading a crowd straight into the county yamen with an aggressive air.
“Madam, why have you come?”
The moment the yamen runners saw her, their hearts sank.
“Where’s that Ma surname bastard?”
“Th-this…”
“Madam, County Deputy Magistrate Ma is handling official business right now.”
“Hah. Handling official business? I think he’s handling some little slut instead.”
With that, she shoved the yamen runner blocking her way aside with one hand.
“Ma Hongwen, get your ass out here!”
Jiang Yunsui was practically vibrating with excitement. So she’d just finished hearing people gossip, and now she was actually running into the real wife catching the cheating husband in the act?
That was the right phrase, wasn’t it?
Whatever. If she didn’t join a scene like this, she wouldn’t be Little Mushroom.
So she hurried after Lady Ma.
She watched as Lady Ma reached the door and lifted her foot.
The instant she kicked down, the door was pushed open from inside, and County Deputy Magistrate Ma came out.
That kick landed squarely on County Deputy Magistrate Ma, sending him stumbling several steps backward.
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Oh my, how bold-who…”
Lady Ma strode in. “Who are you calling bold?”
Her eyes swept the room. “Say it. Where did you hide that little slut?”
County Deputy Magistrate Ma felt guilty.
“What are you talking about? What person would there be?”
“Madam, don’t listen to outsiders’ rumors. I, Ma Hongwen, only have you.”
“Is that so?”
Lady Ma started pacing around the room.
“Madam, Madam, if you have something to say, let’s sit down and talk slowly. Why make such a huge scene? You must be tired. I’ll have someone prepare something for you to eat.”
County Deputy Magistrate Ma was sweating buckets.
Jiang Yunsui also wandered around the room, and then she spotted a pair of feet that hadn’t been properly hidden behind the bed curtains.
Her big eyes immediately rolled mischievously.