Chapter 141: If you wish to frame someone, you

As Xiu Mei spoke those words, Xiao Qidi was carrying a basket of washed medicinal herbs in through the back door into the main hall, and the little girl, having smelled the meat aroma, followed him inside.

Hearing this tirade that sounded like a mortal-enemy curse, not only Ning Jinli froze, but Xiao Qidi also stiffened in place.

What's going on?

How does this even involve Xiao Qidi?

What did he do?

Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi exchanged a glance across the room, both seeing shock and bewilderment in each other's eyes.

"Mommy, mommy! It smells so good—what delicious thing did you cook?" the little girl's question broke the silence.

Xiu Mei quickly wiped her tears, "Come on, come on, the fairy sister has brought us lots of tasty food—quick, kowtow to the fairy sister."

The little girl stared at the pot bubbling and steaming.

She was too short to see what was cooking in the pot on the stove, but she could smell the aroma, which made her eyes light up and she kept swallowing saliva.

Even so, she held herself back, walked up to Ning Jinli and was about to kneel.

"No, no, no!" Ning Jinli hurriedly stopped her, taking the little girl's hand and saying, "Are you starving? Sister and this big brother will eat with your family, okay?"

"Okay!" the little girl's eyes shone with hope as she vigorously nodded her head.

Xiao Qidi furrowed his brow, his thin lips twitching as he prepared to ask Xiu Mei why she had said such a thing.

But before he could speak, Ning Jinli noticed, gave him a subtle look, and signaled him not to ask those things in front of the child.

So he silently handed the bamboo basket of medicinal herbs to Xiu Mei.

Xiu Mei said, "You eat first; I still need to decoct the medicine."

The little girl opened her mouth and shouted toward the inner room, "Grandma! Eat—"

Xiu Mei quickly covered her daughter's mouth and whispered, "Be good—let the fairy sister and big brother who are guests in our house eat first; Grandma, Father, and Mother will eat last."

"That won't do," Ning Jinli immediately said, "If we eat, we eat together."

Xiao Qidi asked, "Are these herbs of any use?"

Xiu Mei's eyes reddened, "They can only help a little, just ease his pain…… I need to decoct the medicine, otherwise if he doesn't get to drink it later he'll suffer terribly……"

"Wait," Ning Jinli said, "if you trust me, hand over your husband to me."

Xiu Mei burst into tears again, "Will the fairy save him?"

"You, your daughter, and your mother-in-law eat first; Xiao Qidi and I will take your husband out for a bit and be back soon."

After saying that, Ning Jinli glanced at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi naturally understood, went straight to the inner room, and shortly afterward carried out Xiu Mei's husband, who had fallen into a deep stupor.

Since the fairy was effecting the rescue, Xiu Mei could not ask for more and dared not utter another word; she stood in the main hall watching Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, who bore her husband, leave the thatched hut.

Ning Jinli led Xiao Qidi to the time‑space gate she had just opened, linked the spacetime portal to Yaowang Gu, and then they stepped through together.

Given the circumstances, sending Xiu Mei's husband to Yaowang Gu would be relatively more convenient.

After the two left.

Xiu Mei's daughter, sniffing the aroma from the pot, said pleadingly, "Mom… I'm hungry, may I eat?"

Seeing her daughter's expectant look, Xiu Mei felt heartbroken but still said, "Good girl, bear with it a little longer; when the fairy elder sister and big brother return, we'll eat together."

"All right…" the little girl licked the corner of her mouth.

Xiu Mei thought, then tore off a small piece of meat, split it in two, fed one piece to her mother‑in‑law and handed the other to her daughter, saying, "Mom, An An, you two try a taste first."

"Ah, what… what is this? How can it be so delicious!" the old woman exclaimed as soon as she put it in her mouth, and instantly it seemed even her blind, cloudy eyes glimmered with light.

The little girl jumped up even more, exclaiming how incredibly tasty it was.

Xiu Mei also didn't know how to explain it to her mother‑in‑law; even she herself, despite having heard the fairy's explanation, still couldn't quite grasp it.

"Hey, what are you eating? It smells so good—I caught the scent from far away!" Suddenly a voice rang out, and a man in official‑stride clothing strode in.

"Zhao… Captain Zhao…" Xiu Mei's face changed dramatically as she hurried forward, "You… why have you come?"

Captain Zhao sucked in a few breaths, narrowed his eyes, glanced behind Xiu Mei, and said, "You don't know what you've done? Or are you pretending not to?"

Xiu Mei hastily replied, "I, the commoner woman, will certainly… certainly make up the money."

"And those two people—where are they?" Captain Zhao asked.

Xiu Mei forced a smile, "The commoner woman… doesn't know."

"You don't know?" Captain Zhao seized Xiu Mei's throat, "That man and woman brought you to forcefully breach the checkpoint—tell me now, you claim you don't know where they are?"

"Mommy!" An An lunged at Captain Zhao, grabbing his pant leg and shouting, "Let go of my mommy!"

"Get out of the way." Captain Zhao casually lifted his leg and knocked the little girl over.

"Granddaughter… granddaughter!" the old lady trembled in panic, crawled toward the sound, knelt on the ground, and pulled the little girl into her arms.

Xiu Mei strained to say, "An An… be good, don't make a fuss, go with… go with Grandma into the inner room……"

"Captain Zhao, we've searched everywhere and didn't see those two people," several constables reported as they ran in.

"You really don't know where they went?" Captain Zhao stared fixedly at Xiu Mei's face, which was growing redder with suppressed anger.

Xiu Mei shook her head, "I… I don't know… them… I really… don't know……"

Captain Zhao saw she didn't seem to be lying, released his grip, then paced to the stove, widened his eyes at what was cooking in the pot, and remarked, "Huh? You actually eat this well?"

The other constables also gathered around, staring at the pot and drooling.

"We've been busy catching those two fellows and haven't even had lunch yet," Captain Zhao said while swallowing saliva.

Knowing she couldn't cope, Xiu Mei forced a smile, "You've worked hard; if you don't mind… please help yourselves……"

"That's what you said," Captain Zhao waved his hand, "Brothers! Let's dig in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, they all dug in without restraint, gobbling down the food.

One pot of stewed cabbage, pork, and vermicelli, and one pot of rice, were divided among them in a few bites, leaving nothing behind.

An An stood nearby, on the verge of tears from watching, yet dared not say anything else.

Tsk tsk! Zhao smacked his lips, still unsatisfied, and exclaimed in surprise, "Just these dishes, meat, and rice—nothing an ordinary household could get hold of, and this flavor… it's simply unprecedentedly delicious; I doubt even our county magistrate has tasted it. I'm telling you, Xiu Mei, your family has struck it rich!"

Xiu Mei shook her head repeatedly, giving a bitter smile, and said, "Captain Zhao, you know this humble woman's household situation—how could we possibly strike it rich?"

"This is strange," Zhao licked his fingers, eyes full of suspicion, "tell me, where did these things come from?"

"I, I… this…" Xiu Mei didn't know how to explain for a moment, and she stammered.

"Hey? Captain, look, this pot is really special!" a constable picked up the iron pot.

Just now we were only focused on eating, but now we finally noticed the pot is also out of the ordinary.

The constables all exclaimed in amazement:

"This shape has never been seen before!"

"The craftsmanship is truly extraordinarily fine, almost as if no human could have forged it!"

"And that's not all! Look at this texture! It doesn't look like bronze……"

The constables' eyes were practically bulging out.

Zhao snatched the iron pot, examined it closely, his pupils began to tremble, and he cried out, "This seems to be made of refined iron!"

"Refined iron?!" the other constables were terrified, "Captain, you haven't got it wrong, have you?!"

Zhao's eyes lit up, his fingers trembling as he touched the iron pot, "No mistake, definitely not! I once had the fortune to see a wine cup made by a top-tier craftsman of Yu Guo, forged with their finest iron-refining technique! And these two pots are likely the finest of refined iron!"

"Just the top-grade refined iron used to forge these two pots is probably worth a fortune!"

"Add this exquisite craftsmanship… it's the ultimate of the ultimate, a treasure! Absolutely a treasure!"

Hearing this, the constables' hearts pounded wildly, their eyes burning with fervor.

After taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Zhao asked again, "Xiu Mei, how does your family come to have such fine things?"

Xiu Mei really had no way out, she steeled herself and said, "Actually… it was sent by an immortal…"

"Sent by an immortal?" Zhao pressed, "What immortal?"

Xiu Mei gritted her teeth, "Anyway, it's an immortal."

Zhao's expression turned doubtful and uncertain.

Such a treasure could never be obtained by ordinary folk; saying it was a gift from an immortal actually makes sense.

If someone claimed it was ancestral, found, or bought, he wouldn't believe it.

In that instant, he thought of simply seizing the two pots, but as a constable of the county office, it would be improper to do so; now that he heard it was a gift from an immortal, he certainly couldn't act openly.

Zhao pondered briefly, an idea forming, he set down the iron pot, hands behind his back, pacing, and said, "Xiu Mei, do you realize you've committed an offense?"

Xiu Mei knelt on the ground, speaking softly, "Captain Zhao, this humble woman guarantees to you that I will make up the money owed for today's gate toll."

"When will you repay?" Zhao asked leisurely, "I can give you an extension, but the county magistrate cannot."

Xiu Mei continued, "The wages for the odd jobs I did a few days ago haven't been settled yet; I'll go collect them this afternoon and will surely make up the payment then."

"Being able to repay the gate fee…" Zhao's voice suddenly turned stern, "Do you know what a serious crime it is to let outsiders enter without paying the fee?!"

"Ah!" Xiu Mei lifted her head, "Captain Zhao, didn't I tell you? This humble woman doesn't know those two people at all, and… and their intrusion has nothing to do with me!"

Zhao glared and shouted, "If you don't know that man and woman, why would they help you?! Speak! Who exactly are they?!"

"This humble woman… truly doesn't know!" Xiu Mei insisted, "I have never left He Wan County in my life; only after my husband fell ill and we couldn't afford a doctor or medicine did I go out to gather herbs in the mountains a few miles away. They are outsiders—how could I possibly know them?"

Zhao flared in anger, "Still making excuses? Fine, even if you don't know them, if they were assassins, thieves, or bandits coming to He Wan County to commit wrongdoing, you couldn't escape responsibility either!"

Xiu Mei blurted out, "They are definitely not bad people!"

"Whether they're bad people isn't up to you to decide!" Zhao's face darkened with a cold expression, "I now suspect those two might not be mere criminals; they could even be enemy spies! Don't you know Daxuan is about to go to war with Yu Guo? And at this very moment, two strangers of unknown background have slipped into He Wan County……"

Upon hearing that, Xiu Mei panicked instantly, realizing Zhao was trying to pin a big black pot on her deliberately.

Originally she had noticed Zhao had set his sights on those two pots.

But they were a gift from the fairy, and she couldn't bear to give them away.

The situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable; she thought, now that she's been targeted, given her family's circumstances, she probably couldn't keep those two pots in the end.

"Captain Zhao…" Xiu Mei gritted her teeth, "This humble woman is truly innocent; if you want to punish me, I'll accept it, but I beg you to consider that I have elders and youngsters to care for, plus a gravely ill husband—please show leniency."

Wanting to add a crime, there's no lack of excuses; she couldn't defy the officials, so she could only compromise and yield.

Zhao's mouth curled up, his tone immediately softened, "This attitude is just right! After all, I and all the folks of He Wan County are neighbors who see each other every day; I don't want to fall out with you. Considering your family's situation, I won't arrest you and throw you in jail, but the fine is unavoidable."

"Yes… Captain Zhao, you decide." Xiu Mei helplessly closed her eyes.

Zhao went along, "Looking it over, your family has nothing else to cover the fine, so how about these two pots?"

Xiu Mei's fingers tensed, her fingernails digging into the dirt, "I'll go along with whatever you say, Captain Zhao."

"Good good good!" Zhao beamed, "Then I'll be off; I still need to go capture those two outsiders!"

Xiu Mei silently let out a breath of relief, "Take your time…"

Zhao immediately took off his outer garment, wrapped the two iron pots, held them in his arms, and, with several subordinate constables, swaggered out of the thatched hut.

After walking a short distance, Zhao immediately told his subordinates, "Don't say I don't look after you; these two treasures, we all get a share, but nobody is to leak this—otherwise don't blame me for being unsympathetic!"

The several subordinates nodded repeatedly.

"Sure sure! We all understand, Captain—rest easy!"

"If anyone dares to leak it, not even you, Captain, will we let them off!"

At that moment, a constable suddenly said, "Captain, what if Xiu Mei and her family blab about this? Such fine goods in our hands—could she bear to lose them? Even if she can't get them back, if she just lets it slip… wouldn't we then be eyed by covetous troublemakers?"

Upon hearing that, everyone, including Zhao, changed expression.

"Simply put, if we're going to do it, we might as well go all the way…" someone whispered a suggestion, making a throat-slashing gesture.

Zhao turned his head to look at the distant dilapidated thatched hut, his eyes growing ever darker, "We are constables, not bandits who kill and plunder."

The constables' faces grew grave, they were at a loss what to do.

Zhao shifted his tone, "But that doesn't mean we can't do anything."

The constables' eyes lit up, "Captain, what do you mean?"