"Hey, hey, hey, Master Shi Ye, don't leave! We have urgent business with the magistrate, please call him back!" Madam Kang shouted.
Master Shi Ye: "..."
Just wait. If the magistrate doesn't want to deal with you, you'll never see him in your life.
"What kind of attitude is that, hmph!"
Madam Kang rolled her eyes, turned back, and took Cai Kexin's hand. "It's fine. Since we're already here, I don't believe the magistrate won't come back..."
Cai Kexin listened and smiled slightly, "Mother, you're the one with the most ideas. I've already inquired about the old Yun family. I heard that Zhao Guihua has completely lost the use of her legs and cries all day, wishing she were dead. Forget about warming the magistrate's bed, she needs someone to help her with even eating, drinking, and using the latrine..."
Speaking of which, Cai Kexin's smile bloomed like a flower, overjoyed. "Mother, think about it, what man in this world would want a wife like that? Lying on the kang all day, unable to even cook, isn't that just useless!"
Madam Kang nodded gently upon hearing this. "What you say is true, but we can't be too lax. After all, the magistrate seems impervious to reason and doesn't seem to have any intention of remarrying!"
"So, mother and daughter need to think of a plan. Let's make it a done deal. Then you can say you've lost your purity and have no face to live, and the magistrate will have to marry you whether he wants to or not..."
A sinister glint flashed in Madam Kang's eyes, her every move revealing hypocrisy and cunning.
Cai Kexin blinked her eyes, curiously asking, "Mother, what method do you have?"
As far as she knew, if a man truly disliked a woman, no method would work...
Madam Kang looked around the court and finally fixed her gaze on the kitchen. "I heard the magistrate often stays up late handling cases and no one makes him late-night snacks. You can make him a bowl of noodle soup!"
Hmph, can a living person be suffocated by urine?
If there are no conditions, you create conditions and get it done...
"But, but this is the county office. What if the magistrate doesn't come back for a long time, and the constables chase us out!" Cai Kexin worried.
Madam Kang had already thought of this problem, so she wasn't flustered at all.
She took out a small packet from her sleeve, put it into Cai Kexin's hand, and whispered, "I'll handle other matters. After you make the noodle soup, remember to pour this packet of medicine into it. If the magistrate drinks it, I guarantee he'll be so tormented he won't be able to get out of bed, hehe..."
Cai Kexin's face instantly turned red upon hearing this. "Oh, Mother, I'm not a prostitute from a brothel, you think too lewdly of me!"
"This is called 'all's fair in war.' As long as the goal can be achieved, what's wrong with using some tricks?" Madam Kang chuckled slyly.
The summer days darkened late. Often after dinner, one would visit a neighbor, have a small drink, or stroll by the ditches and lakes to buy a couple of fish. By the time they returned home, the sky was just beginning to darken...
Yun Daman sat in the inner room, having drunk two or three pots of plain herbal tea. He was extremely uncomfortable from holding his urine.
Tea couldn't fill his stomach. The mealtime had already passed for almost an hour, and Yun Daman's mouth was watering with hunger...
"They still haven't left? This is too disgusting!" Yun Daman peeked outside through the crack in the door.
There was no chamber pot in this inner room, and he couldn't just stand by the wall and pee against it...
Just as he was about to burst and rush out, Master Shi Ye suddenly appeared.
Seeing Madam Kang and her daughter kneeling on the ground, Master Shi Ye's face immediately soured. "No, why are you two still here? Is there no end to this?"
"Wuwu, Master Shi Ye, please, please call the magistrate back. My daughter and I truly have a grievance..." Madam Kang choked back sobs.
Master Shi Ye heard this and roared, "What are you crying for? I've already told you, the magistrate is out on official business and not at the county office. If you continue to make trouble like this, you are obstructing official duties. I'll have the constables carry you out right now!"
Damn it, why are there such ungrateful and wicked people in this world?
He thought that after leaving them to cool off for an afternoon, Madam Kang and her daughter would retreat. He didn't expect them to escalate and become more demanding...
Madam Kang rolled her eyes, got up, and bowed to Master Shi Ye. "Master Shi Ye, since the magistrate is not here, let me tell you our grievance. If you can help, that would be best. If you can't, then Kexin and I will never bother the magistrate again, alright?"
"What grievance do you have?"
Master Shi Ye looked suspicious and said impatiently, "Isn't it about the matter of Cai Village being attacked by mountain bandits? The magistrate has already reported it to the prefectural city, and soldiers will be here in a couple of days to clear the mountains of bandits..."
"No, it's not about that!" Madam Kang shook her head.
Master Shi Ye's eyes widened, and he was so angry he was about to spew fire. "Then what is it?"
If it weren't for Madam Kang's age, Master Shi Ye would have slapped her a couple of times...
She was so boisterous, clearly an old, cunning fox.
Madam Kang pursed her lips and smiled, pointing outside. "Master Shi Ye, let's talk outside. I've been suffocated in this court all day, I'm about to suffocate, and I want to go out for some fresh air..."
After speaking, Madam Kang secretly gave Cai Kexin a look, then pulled Master Shi Ye out.
"So many demands!" Master Shi Ye brushed off Madam Kang's hand and walked out of the court reluctantly.
Seeing this, Cai Kexin's eyes gleamed with mischief. She quickly rushed to the door of the inner room, pressed her ear against the door panel, and listened carefully...
Heh heh, Mother was right. The magistrate never went out on official business; he'd been hiding from them all along.
Thinking of this, Cai Kexin coughed lightly. Just as she was about to say something, she heard a loud "clang." The door was suddenly pushed open forcefully, and Magistrate Yun, with a contorted face, rushed out...
Cai Kexin pretended to look surprised and asked in astonishment, "Mag-Magistrate, you were in the county office?"
Yun Daman ignored her completely and ran straight to the outhouse to relieve himself.
Cai Kexin covered her mouth and chuckled. "The magistrate is quite cute. If Mother and I never leave, will he wet his pants, hehe..."
At this hour, the constables and officials of the county office had long since finished their shifts. Only two younger constables remained on duty.
The kitchen was cold and desolate. The stove was not lit, and there wasn't even any hot water.
While Yun Daman was in the outhouse, Cai Kexin quickly ran into the kitchen, lit the fire, prepared the dough, and started making noodle soup for Yun Daman...
"Huh? Is there no scallion?" Cai Kexin looked around. "Can noodle soup still be eaten without chopped scallions?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Daman strode into the kitchen, grabbed Cai Kexin by the collar, and dragged her out.
"Get out, scram..."