County Magistrate Li Ruoyu insisted on catching up with Jiang Sen, and naturally, Lin Shi accompanied them. They had left in a hurry, and the test papers that Jiang Chan had stuffed into Lin Shi’s hand were still clenched there.
After Li Ruoyu exchanged a few words with Jiang Sen, his gaze fell on the rice paper in Lin Shi’s hand. Jiang Sen laughed heartily, “These are the autumn exam questions my unworthy daughter worked on last night. My wife was in such a hurry that she brought them out with her.”
Hearing this, Li Ruoyu immediately became interested. Although he had only been in office for a month, he had heard quite a bit about Jiang Chan, particularly about the dim sum she made, as he had a sweet tooth.
Therefore, Li Ruoyu naturally knew that Jiang Chan was Jiang Sen’s adopted daughter. He had heard that she was illiterate in the past, so how could she now be able to answer the autumn exam questions?
“Sister-in-law, let me take a look and see how my niece’s writing is,” Li Ruoyu eagerly requested. Jiang Sen nodded slightly, and Lin Shi handed over the few sheets of rice paper she was holding.
Now Li Ruoyu couldn’t even bother catching up with Jiang Sen. He held the article written by Jiang Chan, frowning from time to time, sometimes lost in thought, and then suddenly enlightened. Honestly, Lin Shi hadn’t had the time to read it yet, and seeing Li Ruoyu’s expression, she was extremely curious.
After a long while, Li Ruoyu finally set down Jiang Chan’s test papers and let out a long sigh, “Brother Jiang, your niece is truly talented!”
Jiang Sen nodded proudly, “Of course, I taught her!”
Li Ruoyu changed his tone and said, “It’s a pity she’s a girl from a boudoir. If she were a man, she would definitely rise to the top!”
Jiang Sen nodded, “Great minds think alike. But she’s doing well enough as she is now.”
Although Lin Shi didn’t know what Jiang Chan had written that earned such praise, she quietly listened from the side. Hearing others praise Jiang Chan made her exceptionally happy and proud.
“The ideas are very unique, but the writing style needs improvement; it’s quite plain. Brother Jiang, you need to guide her more in this regard.”
Jiang Sen’s face turned serious, “Of course, she’s my precious gem. Naturally, I have to teach her well.”
Li Ruoyu took a sip of tea, “Brother Jiang, the new emperor has just ascended the throne, and the country is in a state of rebuilding. Currently, there are two factions in the court: the old faction, which believes in prioritizing agriculture over commerce, and another faction, like your niece, which advocates for the vigorous development of industry and commerce.”
“The court is in a deadlock, with both sides having valid points, yet neither can convince the other.”
Jiang Sen said calmly, “Let’s not talk about anything else. Just talk about my daughter’s article, and stop bringing up other things.”
Li Ruoyu sighed, “Alright, let’s talk about something else…”
——
When Jiang Mu’s family returned, it was very quiet. There were indeed few villagers working in town, but there were some, at least Jiang Hai and Jiang He were in town.
With such a significant event happening in town, how could they not know? Although the villagers didn’t know yet, Jiang Hai and Jiang He mentioned it when they returned, and Jiang Lin and Zhang Shi immediately understood.
Zhang Shi was wiping the table, “No wonder the third sister hasn’t come out these past few days, and it’s been Jiang Xing doing all the work. It turns out they were beaten and are now resting in bed.”
Jiang Hai, being more talkative, said, “Exactly! There was quite a commotion in the courthouse, and Little Aunt was incoherent. In just a few words, the county magistrate managed to get her to reveal her true intentions.”
Jiang Lin sighed, “Alright, let’s just discuss this at home and not talk about it outside. It’s a disgrace to our Jiang family’s reputation.”
Jiang Hai was indifferent, “Why should we be ashamed? If Little Uncle’s family isn’t afraid of losing face by doing such things, why should we be? In my opinion, getting beaten serves them right. Who told her to covet Jiang Chan’s things?”
Jiang He added, “I think Little Uncle and cousin Jiang Miao must have discussed this too. Otherwise, why would the whole family go to the courthouse? In the end, Little Aunt just took the blame herself.”
Zhang Shi snorted, “I see that Jiang Xing, that girl, has also been quite cold-hearted inside. That girl has always been a white-eyed wolf, never appreciative. Do you still remember when she herself suggested that she wanted to be adopted by Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law?”
Comparing the two, Jiang Chan, though not talkative, did practical things, whereas Jiang Xing only had a big mouth, wanting all the benefits for herself.
So Zhang Shi had a very bad impression of Jiang Xing, especially compared to Jiang Chan. It’s the same old saying, the same rice can nurture a hundred different kinds of people.
Although Jiang Lin instructed not to speak about Wang Shi getting beaten, there are no secrets in this world. The news that Wang Shi and others attempted to steal the dim sum recipes from the adopted daughter spread quickly throughout the village.
That day, Jiang Xing went to the small river at the entrance of the village to do the laundry, but she was stopped by Chun Ni, who was not on good terms with her. Chun Ni was the youngest daughter of the village head and was usually quite pampered.
Chun Ni was straightforward and outspoken, and she couldn’t stand Jiang Xing’s pretense. So, in front of many aunts, she deliberately raised her voice and asked.
“Xingzi, I heard the aunts say this morning that your aunt got beaten at the county office, is that true?”
Hearing this, all the aunties who were washing clothes perked up their ears. They had only heard rumors and weren’t sure if it was true. Now, with someone asking Jiang Xing directly, they all held their breath and listened intently.
Jiang Xing, thinking that no one in the village knew, was caught off guard by Chun Ni’s loud question.
She was both ashamed and angry, stomping her foot, “Sister Chun Ni, don’t listen to the rumors. My mother wasn’t beaten; she’s just been feeling unwell and resting at home.”
No matter what, Jiang Xing couldn’t admit that Wang Shi was beaten. Even if it was an open secret, she couldn’t admit it. If she did, how could her mother face anyone in the future?
Seeing Jiang Xing unwilling to admit, Chun Ni wasn’t out of ideas. She rolled her eyes and said, “Alright then, if you say there’s nothing, then there’s nothing. It seems everyone misunderstood. By the way, Xingzi, what does the county office look like? Is the courthouse bigger than the ancestral hall in our village?”
Jiang Xing replied without thinking, “Of course, the courthouse is bigger than our ancestral hall, with yamen officers standing on both sides, and the county magistrate sitting…”
After saying just a few words, Jiang Xing realized she had slipped up and turned pale. Holding the basin in one hand and pointing at Chun Ni with the other, she said, “You tricked me on purpose!”
Chun Ni smiled mischievously, “I didn’t trick you. Who made you stupid? You were lying. If you hadn’t been to the courthouse, how would you know so well? I guess the rumor about your mother getting beaten isn’t false, right?”
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