USWHC -Chapter 389 The Mysterious Master (Part 9)

“Go—bring her back to me!” the county magistrate ordered through gritted teeth, so furious he could barely contain himself.

But none of the men below moved. Then Constable Hao spoke up, “My lord, if we go directly like this, we’ll only alert the enemy. Besides, even if we capture her here, can we really escort her to the capital to serve the Imperial Consort? Once she gets there, she might just file a complaint against us!”

The magistrate paused—he had a point. If she said anything reckless in front of Consort Li, not only would his patron be finished, even the official hat on his own head might not stay on.

“Then what do you suggest? Am I supposed to go beg her?” the magistrate snapped angrily.

“That kind of shrew—how could you lower yourself like that, my lord?” the advisor immediately objected. “She’s just a woman. There are plenty of ways to make her obedient. There’s no need for you to go in person!”

He truly didn’t want to go. Just thinking about how he—a learned man—had been tricked by a group of ignorant peasants made him grind his teeth in fury. If he had to go and beg them again, he might as well die of anger.

“Not only should we not beg them, we should teach them a lesson—let them know who the real authority is!” Constable Hao added, fanning the flames.

Yes, they had to be taught a proper lesson. Ideally, he even wanted to strip Old Madam Ji’s trousers in public to vent his anger.

The magistrate declared loudly, “Good! I’ll leave this matter to you. Within three days, that Ji Mei must willingly go to the capital to serve Consort Li!”

“Yes, my lord—just leave it to us!” Constable Hao replied with a sly grin. Willingly? Hah—he would make her cry and beg him to spare them!

“My lord, it’s right there,” a Jinyiwei pointed at the Ji family’s gate.

Zhao Xuguang frowned. A place like this? Could it really be? The Ji household looked utterly shabby—its house wasn’t even as decent as the latrine in his own home. Could she really be living here? Impossible.

“Hey, Auntie Ji, I heard your Erhan is getting married?” At that moment, a village woman walked out, and another quickly joined her. The two stood at the gate chatting loudly.

“Getting married? It’s still the same girl—they’re just formally holding the ceremony now!” said the stout woman with a booming voice. Without even trying, Zhao Xuguang could hear every word clearly—even the pride in her tone. This must be Old Madam Ji.

But how could someone like her be acknowledged as a mother by that person? The more he looked, the more suspicious he became. This Old Madam Ji likely couldn’t even read a single character. So crude and vulgar—could she really tolerate her?

“I heard it was Yi himself who paid for the ceremony. Oh my, Auntie Ji, you’re so lucky—your son even covers the cost of his own wedding!” the other woman said with a hint of envy.

Just then, a young girl came out and called loudly, “Mother, have you gone to Erhan’s place? Are everything prepared? Did you buy meat?”

Her voice noticeably rose at the last question, her face full of excitement—clearly someone who hadn’t seen much of the world.

Judging by her age—around fourteen or fifteen—this must be the Ji family’s daughter.

Zhao Xuguang turned his head and asked his subordinate, “How many daughters does this family have?”

“Only one,” the Jinyiwei replied softly.

“Not her,” Zhao Xuguang said coldly. “There must be something else going on here.”

At that moment, people in the distance were also chatting animatedly:

“Not just meat—I heard they carried back a whole pig! And not only that, they even prepared betrothal gifts and a dowry for themselves. My goodness, those who saw it said Erhan must have struck it rich—everything was top quality!”

Hearing this, Ji Mei’s eyes immediately lit up. Good stuff? Then she definitely had to go take a look—maybe she could even pocket a few things for her own dowry.