Internal Strife

Upon hearing this, Master Qian breathed a sigh of relief, but feigned a look of disappointment: "You're so foolish! How could you treat human life so lightly?"

Since Master Qian arrived, Jiang Yun Ning had remained silent, watching his performance. Only after he finished wailing did she speak: "Fu Gui, I have no grudge against you. What was your motive for setting the fire?"

Master Qian was taken aback, then said, "Fugui's son is seriously ill and needs money. Perhaps he saw that your family is wealthy, Miss Jiang, and wanted to steal from us."

Fugui's mind had stopped working; he could only nod along.

Jiang Yun Ning laughed and kowtowed to the county magistrate: "Your Honor, I have never met Fu Gui. How would he know if my family is rich or poor? And how did he find out my address? Moreover, if it is theft, he should be more careful. Why go to the trouble of pouring oil and setting fire? He clearly wanted to burn my whole family to death."

Jiang Yuntian suddenly remembered that a few nights ago someone had tried to climb over the wall but failed.

"Sir, a few nights ago, someone tried to climb over the wall to steal, but failed. I suspect those two were also instructed by Master Qian. One of them even had an arrow in his shoulder."

The magistrate beckoned: "Then go to Master Qian's house and see if there's anyone with an arrow wound to the shoulder."

Master Qian knelt on the ground, his face pale, large beads of sweat uncontrollably sliding down his forehead, soaking his inner garment.

"Sir, this really has nothing to do with me. I have so many servants in my household, I don't know what they do every day." He anxiously tried to defend himself, wanting to clear himself of any involvement.

I'm also afraid that those two idiots will actually be brought here.

Jiang Yun Ning looked at Fu Gui, her voice somewhat cold: "Fu Gui, the crimes of the principal offender and the accomplice are different. If you honestly confess who gave the orders, you might be able to reduce your punishment."

Then, he whispered something only Fugui could hear: "Your son is still waiting for you at home. You don't really think that after you die, someone as ruthless as Master Qian will take care of your whole family, do you?"

Fu Gui shuddered suddenly.

He knew very well what kind of person Master Qian was: a ruthless and mercenary man who cared nothing for profit. He was extremely greedy and lustful, and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

Would such a person really treat his family well after his death?

Moreover, Master Qian didn't even know where he lived, so how could he possibly take his son to the clinic for treatment?

So all of that was just to trick him into confessing and taking the blame?

Fugui raised his head and looked at Master Qian: "Master Qian, has my son come down to greet you today?"

Master Qian was filled with fear and didn't think twice before saying, "Let's welcome them, let's welcome them."

But no sooner had those words left his lips than a shout rang out: "My lord! I confess! It was all Master Qian's coercion and bribery. He said he'd give me a hundred taels if I set a fire. He knows my son is seriously ill and needs money. He even said if I didn't go, he'd fire me, leaving the whole county without anyone willing to hire me!"

Master Qian collapsed to the ground, his obese belly jiggling. "What do you mean! You're slandering me! Don't you want to treat your son's illness anymore?"

Fu Gui, his eyes red, raised his hand and fiercely wiped away his tears: "My son was hit by a carriage and injured his leg! You just kept saying you took my son to the clinic, how come you didn't notice he couldn't stand up at all! You're lying to me, just to make me take the blame for you!"

Jiang Yunning knelt quietly to the side, pulling the dumbfounded Jiang Yuntian to watch the show.

After a long while, Jiang Yuntian finally came to his senses and tugged at Jiang Yunning's sleeve: "What's going on? Why are you fighting amongst yourselves all of a sudden?"

Jiang Yun Ning smiled but didn't say anything.

What infighting?

Both Fu Gui and Qian Yuanwai had their own ulterior motives.

Because they were bound together by interests, they eventually discovered that they hadn't gotten their hands on the benefits, so of course they might accept the wealth and status.

She looked at Master Qian, hoping that if he had been more honest and fair in his dealings with others, he would have left a trustworthy impression on Fugui. Her two lukewarm remarks had failed to provoke him.

"Enough!" The county magistrate's head was buzzing as he looked at the trembling Qian Yuanwai: "What else do you have to say?"

Master Qian opened his mouth, about to say something, when he heard another cry behind him.

"My lord, I'm innocent! Master Qian gave me ten taels of silver to steal the recipe. I failed! I didn't even climb over the wall before running away. I was even hit by an arrow."

That damned Mr. Qian is really something else. Not only did he not pay for the medical expenses, but he also only gave me five taels of the ten taels of silver.

Now, Master Qian was truly terrified. He had no desire to exonerate himself and only wanted to beg for leniency: "Sir, I was confused for a moment. I'll give you money, I'll pay you back. Please don't send me to jail."

With a "smack," the gavel slammed down.

"Master Qian, you hired someone to commit arson and are trying to evade responsibility. Considering the fire was extinguished in time and no one was injured, you are sentenced to fifty strokes of the cane and two years of penal servitude. As an accomplice, you are sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane and one year of penal servitude."

As soon as the words fell, Master Qian and Fugui were dragged out, leaving only the man who had been shot in the shoulder and was trembling.

"As for you," the magistrate said, looking at him, "you will receive thirty strokes of the cane."

Soon, a series of painful screams came from outside.

Jiang Yunning was in a great mood and pulled Jiang Yuntian out of the yamen.

Another carriage has appeared at the alley entrance where carriages are parked. Its ostentatious decorations clearly indicate that it belongs to Master Qian.

Jiang Yun Ning raised an eyebrow, wondering if the coachman knew that Qian Yuan was not coming back. They would have to wait two years to pick him up.

"Sir, young lady!" Lai Cai jumped down immediately upon seeing the two of them come out. "How was it?"

Jiang Yuntian said smugly, "With my sister on the field, we've never lost."

Just as the group was about to board the carriage, an old woman with half-white hair approached and said, "Miss Jiang, my matriarch invites you to have a chat. Would you do me the honor?"

Jiang Yun Ning frowned, but before she could speak, Jiang Yun Tian had already stood in front of her, blocking the old woman: "We don't know you, let alone your old lady."

The carriage curtain was gently lifted, revealing a face that was over fifty years old but still very well-maintained.

"Miss Jiang, I meant no harm, I just wanted to thank you."

Jiang Yun Ning frowned, thinking that there was no one in the Qian family's carriage. Why was there a beautiful woman sitting there?

"You are, Mrs. Qian?"

She asked somewhat uncertainly.

The woman nodded: "Exactly."

Jiang Yuntian became even more nervous, and even Lai Cai looked at her warily.

Jiang Yunning scrutinized Madam Qian's eyes, but indeed saw no malice. He then patted Jiang Yuntian's arm: "It's alright, brother. I'll go check. If anything happens, I'll call you."

With that, he stepped into the Qian family's carriage.

As soon as she sat down, Madam Qian took off the jade bracelet from her wrist and stuffed it directly into Jiang Yun Ning's arms: "Miss Jiang, Old Qian can't get out, can he?"

Jiang Yun Ning frowned and pushed the bracelet back: "Hmm. You'll have to serve two years."

Just when she thought that Madam Qian wanted to plead for leniency, she only heard one sentence: "That would be wonderful."