Chapter 238: Lord Cishi Visits the Soap Shop

As it approached late autumn, the sky darkened earlier and earlier.

Seeing that there were no customers coming, Jiang Xiaoxiao was about to call Xiao Linzi to close the shop and rest, when suddenly there was a sound of carriage wheels, from far to near.

A low-key and luxurious carriage stopped in front of the shop.

Two guards in plain clothes lifted the carriage curtain, and two middle-aged men walked out of the carriage.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked up and saw the Yong'an County Magistrate, Du Hong, leading the way in front.

County Magistrate Du led the middle-aged man behind him into the soap shop respectfully. The man was dressed in magnificent clothes, with a feather crown on his head, a jade pendant hanging from his waist, and his demeanor was calm and composed, giving people a steady and majestic feeling.

Xiao Linzi was the most observant and hurriedly greeted them.

Jiang Wei, who was looking at the account book behind the counter, saw this and hurriedly walked out.

According to the laws of Dayin, ordinary people must kneel and pay respects when seeing officials.

Even if the mother and daughter were not people of this world, they understood that they had to follow the rules here. They were just about to bend down and kneel when they were personally stopped by County Magistrate Du: "No need to salute, we are out for a private visit this time, everything is simplified."

Xiao Linzi's legs were trembling, and he didn't dare to stand up while bending over. He had already recognized the County Magistrate.

During the day, he followed to watch the excitement at the county yamen. Although it was crowded, he could barely see the situation of the trial in the main hall from outside the crowd, and he had naturally glimpsed the County Magistrate's appearance a few times.

He didn't recognize him when he entered the door just now, thinking it was some wealthy family, but he didn't expect it to be the County Magistrate, the parent official of the entire Yong'an County. How could he not be afraid.

Jiang Wei saw Xiao Linzi's nervousness and fear and simply let him go to rest first.

Xiao Linzi returned to the backyard in fear.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at the two guards guarding the door. Although they were dressed in plain clothes, the swords hanging from their waists were really hard to ignore. If passersby saw this, they would definitely notice something wrong at a glance.

Jiang Wei obviously thought of this too and simply took everyone to the backyard of the shop.

There happened to be tables and chairs in the courtyard. Since the County Magistrate had come, they couldn't let people stand and talk.

Jiang Xiaoxiao even went to serve tea and snacks. Fortunately, they had stayed in town many times recently, and these foods were ready-made, so there was no need to prepare them extra.

After County Magistrate Du and the middle-aged man sat down, Jiang Xiaoxiao stood quietly on the side.

She noticed that the two guards were also standing not far away, not far or near, seemingly without any defense, but their right hands were always gripping the swords hanging from their waists, seemingly maintaining vigilance at all times.

It seemed that these two guards dressed in plain clothes were not ordinary guards.

For a time, Jiang Xiaoxiao had a rough guess about the identity of the middle-aged man brought by County Magistrate Du.

While Jiang Xiaoxiao was observing the two yamen servants, Xie Cheng was also observing Jiang Xiaoxiao without a trace.

Clearly, she looked like an ordinary five-year-old little girl, her face exquisite and fair, her expression innocent, cute, and charming, but there was a hidden maturity and shrewdness unique to adults between her brows.

He couldn't help but smile and beckoned to Jiang Xiaoxiao: "Come over and sit."

Jiang Xiaoxiao was stunned and subconsciously pointed at herself.

Letting her, a five-year-old little girl, sit at the same table with an imperial official, was this okay?

The middle-aged man brought by County Magistrate Du was none other than the Cishi mentioned by Shen Que—Xie Cheng.

A Cishi was not an ordinary official.

In this country of Dayin, the one in charge of the county was the County Magistrate, and the official above the County Magistrate was the Prefect.

The Prefect was the biggest official in Xuzhou, which was equivalent to a modern mayor, with responsibilities such as issuing national political decrees, governing the people, judging lawsuits, and collecting taxes.

And above the Prefect, that was the Cishi.

The Cishi was different from these local officials. He was a capital official, sent by the imperial court in the capital to check and balance the power of local officials, with the responsibility of governing the entire state and county, in charge of military and political power, and was a fourth-rank official.

It was enough that the imperial official came to her small shop, but he even let her sit at the same table. Was this too shocking?

However, shock was shock, Jiang Xiaoxiao was not a hesitant person. After hesitating for two seconds, she walked over decisively and sat at the table.

Similarly, Xie Cheng also let Jiang Wei come over and sit down.

Jiang Wei didn't hesitate at all and sat down with a thud. The straightforward appearance made County Magistrate Du look at her a few more times.

He had long heard that this Little Lady Jiang was not like an ordinary person, but he didn't expect her to have such courage. If it were an ordinary woman, she would have been trembling and unable to raise her head when seeing him, this County Magistrate. This Little Lady Jiang looked as if she was used to it.

But then again, someone who even that big Buddha couldn't handle was naturally not an ordinary person...

"You must be Xiaoxiao." Xie Cheng looked Jiang Xiaoxiao over. His voice was completely at odds with his serious and steady exterior, revealing a touch of approachable gentleness. "Shen Que has mentioned you in his letters more than once. Now that I see you in person, you really are a clever and endearing little girl."

In front of an imperial official, Jiang Xiaoxiao dared not be too relaxed and could only offer a dry laugh: "Haha, I didn't expect Lord Shen to mention me in his letters. It is truly a great honor for this commoner..."

Although she said this, her toes were already curling in embarrassment.

Why did that guy Shen Que have to mention her in his letters for no reason?

It was already tiring enough to pretend to be a five-year-old child; she didn't want to attract any more attention.

Fortunately, Xie Cheng did not continue to bring up the contents of Shen Que's letters, but instead turned to the case of the Huang family: "The crimes committed by the Huang family are no small matter. In a few days, I will personally escort them back to the capital to be handed over to the Dali Temple for interrogation. Do you have anything to add? I can report it on your behalf."

The mother and daughter shook their heads in unison.

Based on what they currently knew, the crimes committed by the Huang family were nothing more than the trafficking of children and the selling of official posts. As for what other monstrous crimes they might have committed, she knew nothing and did not want to get involved.

Since Shen Que had chased all the way here for that account book, it likely wasn't as simple as just sending the Huang family to prison.

"If that is the case..." Xie Cheng nodded slightly. He gave a signal to the Du County Magistrate beside him. The Du County Magistrate immediately sat up straight, took a stack of contracts from his bosom, and said: "These are the land deeds for the Huang family's residence and the several shops under their name. Both the land deeds and house deeds are here."

A thick stack of contracts lay on the table, very eye-catching.

Jiang Xiaoxiao swallowed hard.

What did this mean?

So many land and house deeds... were they going to be given to her family?

"Lord Xie, what is the meaning of this?" Jiang Wei spoke in a calm voice. She swept a faint glance over the contracts on the table without moving, and there was not a hint of joy in her eyes.

Seeing this, the Du County Magistrate could not help but secretly praise her in his heart. The Huang family's massive residence and several shops combined were worth over tens of thousands of taels; even he couldn't help but be tempted, yet this young lady of the Jiang family showed not the slightest sign of being swayed.