Yo ho!
Lin Qingge eyed the white lotus, who was crying as easily as a turned tap and exuding a certain "green tea" aura, with great interest.
The woman's cries drew curious glances from passersby.
Seeing this, Dong'er, the maid, pointed a finger at Lin Qingge and chided, "How can you, with such a decent appearance, use your numbers to bully a weak woman who can't even lift a chicken in broad daylight! Do you know who our young lady is? You'd probably die of fright if I told you! Our young lady is the eldest daughter of Lord Wang Shixing, the Minister of Revenue!"
Lin Qingge's eyes narrowed slightly, the name "Wang" sounding familiar. She recalled that during the murder case of Xu Xiyao, both the wealthy merchant Xu and the murderer Xu Shouxin had died in the yamen. Xu Shouxin's sister, Xu Xiyuan, had, with the Wang family's support, become a concubine to the late emperor. Because of her father and brother's deaths, Xu Xiyuan had first dealt a fatal blow to Xu Xiyao's mother, Madam Ma, and then attempted to retaliate against her and her family, who had investigated the case. The Imperial Concubine Xu, residing in the palace, had to rely on the Wang family for messengers and communications. In other words, the Wang family was also complicit in the murder!
A dragon has scales that cannot be touched. Retribution may be delayed, but it will come. Since they had come knocking, wouldn't it be ungrateful not to repay their kindness?
As Lin Qingge pondered, a crowd had gathered outside the jewelry shop. A beauty in tears, weeping prettily and eliciting sympathy, immediately drew the support of many passing young gentlemen. "Under the broad daylight and in this just world, openly bullying a frail woman—you gentlemen truly shame the word 'man'!" Lin Qingge glanced at these chivalrous protectors and nodded in agreement, "Yes, they are quite idiotic."
The crowd fell silent.
At that moment, a loud shout echoed from the back of the onlookers, "Shun Tian Prefecture constables are here! What is happening up ahead?"
"Officer, you must uphold justice for my young lady!" Dong'er removed the handkerchief from her waist and wailed dramatically, "Officer, those two sets of hair ornaments were what my young lady fancied. Not only did these people forcefully seize them, but they also insulted my young lady with such foul and unbearable language! Our young lady is not yet married; how will she be able to live her life now?"
Hearing the baseless accusations, Lin Qingge's lips curved into a slight smile. "My dear girl, if your young lady can't be a human, you can let her be a dog with you! They say servants follow their masters, but it seems your master follows her servants."
"You—" To her surprise, instead of being intimidated, Dong'er grew bolder. She turned to the constable who had just arrived and complained, "Officer, listen to what they are saying! Is this human speech?"
However, to Dong'er's astonishment, the constable looked on with approval. "Yes! Makes perfect sense!"
???
This time, not only Dong'er, but even Miss Wang, was so surprised she forgot to shed tears.
Immediately after, the man who claimed to be a Shun Tian Prefecture constable walked up to the man in the green robe and clasped his fist. "My lord, this subordinate has delivered Minister Zhu's leave request to Prime Minister Feng's residence."
"Mm, Constable Yan, you have worked hard." Lin Qingge nodded slightly, showing no surprise on her face. After all, for a Shun Tian Prefecture constable who loved to join in the fun, listen to gossip, and had an overflowing sense of justice, it could only be Yan Tinghao, that foolish deer. Moreover, even Lin Zimo could recognize him just by his naive voice.
After reporting his task, Yan Tinghao looked around, scratching his head in confusion, "My lord, what has happened here?" Lin Yan leaned into Yan Tinghao's ear and concisely recounted the events.
Upon hearing this, Yan Tinghao shouted, "How dare you! You two wicked women, not only slandering my lord but also relying on the Wang family's backing to forcibly snatch the ornaments that my lady fancied! Such a case of the thief crying 'stop thief,' twisting facts, and spewing lies—these women should be imprisoned and undergo tongue-cutting!"
Wang Menghan, who had sought help but instead received a torrent of abuse, clenched her fists, still maintaining a look of being deeply wronged. "Officer, this young lady does not know your relationship with them that makes you speak for them. However, I was merely passing by today and intended to purchase the hair ornaments I fancied a few days ago. Unexpectedly, they forcefully took them without regard for who came first, and then insulted and verbally abused me. My maid simply couldn't stand it and spoke up for me."
As Wang Menghan spoke, the maid Dong'er immediately pointed at Yan Tinghao's nose and questioned, "Yes, you and they are clearly in cahoots! You claim to be a constable, but who has ever seen you at the Shun Tian Prefecture yamen? You, you are a swindler!"
Yan Tinghao, hearing this, immediately took offense. "You're the swindler! I am indeed a constable of Shun Tian Prefecture, newly assigned to the capital from Fengtian Prefecture! Also, woman, you can cry if you want, but don't cry so fake; it gives me goosebumps. Can you stop crying?"
Lin Qingge, who hadn't expected this foolish deer Yan Tinghao to possess such keen judgment of deception, looked at him with newfound appreciation and then said with a smile, "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lin Jingxing, the newly appointed Prefect of Shun Tian Prefecture, and the person before me is indeed a genuine constable. If you don't believe me, I have my letter of appointment here."
As Lin Qingge spoke casually, Wang Menghan's expression shifted multiple times. Seeing the crowd, who had been indignant moments ago, now pointing fingers, she gritted her teeth and said, "Lord Lin is magnanimous; my maid and I have been greatly disrespectful. I hope Lord Lin will overlook our shortcomings. However, those ornaments were indeed what I fancied first."
Yan Tinghao, feeling uncomfortable with the sweet, simpering voice, rubbed his arms and asked the shopkeeper impatiently, "Shopkeeper, who fancied those ornaments first?"
"Shopkeeper, you must tell the truth!" Dong'er quickly chimed in, but her gaze towards the shopkeeper carried a hint of warning. The Prefect of Shun Tian Prefecture was only a fourth-rank official, while her master, the Minister of Revenue, was a third-rank official due to his ancestors' blessings. Therefore, anyone could discern the weight of importance.
However, Dong'er and her mistress's scheme once again fell through. The shopkeeper bowed to the man who claimed to be a constable and replied, "Reporting to the young master, Miss Wang did indeed look at these two pieces of jewelry a few days ago, but she found them too plain and unsuitable for her radiant appearance, so she did not fancy them."