Chapter 720 - 722: Dog Fights Dog, Mouth Full Of Fur
Regaining herself, Madame Hao quickly said, "How was I to know the hairpin would end up with her? Perhaps someone stole it and deliberately framed me. It must be Bai Ruozhu, she has quite a few skilled martial arts guards around her."
Jiang Yichun shot a glare at Madame Hao, urging himself to scold her for being so impulsive. But they were in the Public Hall, where outbursts were inappropriate, so he held his tongue.
"I heard that you don’t honour your trading commitments. You rented the shop to Bai Ruozhu, but once you saw her successful business, you wanted the shop back. Is this true?" Kuai Minglang asked.
Madame Hao blinked her eyes frantically and said hastily, "Your Honour, I planned to give that shop to my younger sister-in-law to manage so that it could serve as her dowry in the future. As for the matter of compensation, I planned to pay the Commerce Association in the next few days. There’s no reason that Bai Ruozhu would not be allowed to conduct her business."
Kuai Minglang asked several other questions, with Madame Hao maintaining that she did not know how her hairpin had made its way to Li Meinang, and that she had not known Li Meinang previously, stating that their encounter at the Qiao Residence was the first time they had met.
An officer leaned into Kuai Minglang’s ear to whisper a few words. Kuai Minglang’s eyes brightened, "Call in the witness."
The one who entered was a waiter who bowed to Kuai Minglang, then quickly told how he had seen Madame Hao and Li Meinang at their tea house last month. Although the two went into a private room, he remembered it because Madame Hao, dressed in opulent attire, did not spare him a single penny for tip.
"Madame Hao, now that we have both witness and material evidence, what do you have to say for yourself?" Kuai Minglang demanded, "Judge Jiang, Li Meinang had your personal belongings at her home, and your wife is conspiring with her. What is your explanation?"
Both of them naturally denied the accusations, which further infuriated Kuai Minglang. He thundered, "Madame Hao, now that we have both witness and material evidence, your denial can only result in forcing us to proceed with the penalty." He then tossed his command plaque and called for Madame Hao to receive twenty heavy beatings on the spot.
Madame Hao turned pale at the prospect of receiving twenty beatings. Even if she survived, she was likely to be left handicapped. So in her panic, she blurted out, "All these incidents have nothing to do with me or my husband. We were framed! As for Li Meinang’s unborn child, it belongs to Kuai Wenlin!"
There was uproar in the Hall. Li Meinang turned white with shock and kept repeating, "Not him, not him, I do not even know him."
Kuai Wenlin also quickly knelt down, pleading, "Your Honour, I do not know the lady Li at all."
"Madame Hao, didn’t you say you don’t even know Li Meinang? How then do you know whose child she is carrying? If it is indeed Kuai Wenlin’s, why didn’t you inform the Qiao Family and instead vouched for the Li Family? Officer, carry out the punishment!" Kuai Minglang ordered.
The officer began hitting Madame Hao right in the Main Hall. The crack of the board against flesh sent chills down the spine of everyone present. Jiang Yichun kept pleading for his wife, but the material and human evidence were clear, and the magistrate had the right to inflict physical penalty on her.
Madame Hao sobbed uncontrollably, and in despair, she cried out that it was all Kuai Wenlin’s doing, that the child was indeed Kuai Wenlin’s.
Kuai Minglang turned to Li Meinang, his face cold, "Who is the father of the child you have been carrying? Is it Jiang Yichun or Kuai Wenlin?"
Li Meinang looked panicked and quickly responded, "It’s not Kuai Wenlin, it’s not Kuai Wenlin."
She truly harbored feelings for Kuai Wenlin, otherwise, she wouldn’t have helped him harm Qiao Qiyu, nor would she be refusing to confess Kuai Wenlin’s involvement even now.
When news of the ongoing strife was reported back to Bai Ruozhu by Jianqi, the scene in the hall had already descended into a dog-eat-dog spectacle.
"Master Kuai has passed judgement on Kuai Wenlin. Unable to endure the suffering, he confessed that Madame Hao instructed him to harm Qiao Qiyu. He also confessed that Madame Hao provided him with some drugs to lace the food and drinks with, which made Qiao Qiyu muddleheaded, leading him to the casino. They are currently in the midst of a heated disagreement," Jianqi reported.
A hint of a smile appeared on Bai Ruozhu’s face, "Let the dogs bite each other, and continue their ruckus. Master Kuai will probably detain them soon for closer scrutiny. You all should not make any moves, to avoid ruining the situation. And don’t disclose anything to the guards either."
"Yes." Jianqi acknowledged and left.
Cui Fan was gazing longingly from in the yard, a look of disappointment flashing in his eyes. Was he being replaced by the dark guards? Would he end up reduced to the mundane role of protector in the future?
Bai Ruozhu caught sight of Cui Fan’s lost expression and immediately understood his feelings. She called him over and asked, "Cui Fan, I have a task I would like to give you. Are you interested in training guards? I’m not talking about ordinary training, but I want you to train a batch of protectors who are organized and disciplined, to match the standards of an army."
Cui Fan was stunned, an army? How is that possible?
"Are we talking about the guards brought in from outside?" He couldn’t help but ask.
Bai Ruozhu started laughing, "Exactly, therein lies the challenge. If it were simple, it wouldn’t be very interesting, right? If we succeed, you’ll be the commander of the Bai Family’s guards. You’ll be in charge of all overt defense operations, while Jianqi and his men lurk in the shadows. Of course, if that doesn’t interest you, you can choose to work under Jianqi and transfer to shadow operations."
Cui Fan gave it some thought. It is obviously better to be a guard commander rather than to live covertly as a dark guard. And if he switched to Jianqi’s command, he’d probably be the last in line. As the old saying goes, better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a peacock."
"Miss Bai, I am willing to take charge of training the guards," he said firmly upon making his decision.
Immediately, Bai Ruozhu drew out her plan, introducing him to the military training methods of her past life. Although she had never officially served in the military, she had received military training and had seen many military movies, so she knew a thing or two.
As he listened, Cui Fan’s eyes sparkled. It was as if a whole new world had just opened up to him.
As the day came to an end and Jiang Yichun returned, Bai Ruozhu quickly filled him in on the dog-against-dog scheme between the Hao Family and Kuai Wenlin. Jiang Yichun chuckled, "Isn’t this exactly what you expected?"
Bai Ruozhu grinned, her eyes crinkling, as she hooked his arm and said, "I guess we’ll have to delay our departure for a few days. With this issue unresolved, I don’t feel safe leaving. Now that we have the backing of the Commerce Association, I should be relatively safe for now, right?"
Unable to resist the impulse, Jiang Yichun playfully tapped her nose, "You’re safe, but if I delay much longer, the Emperor might hold me accountable."
Bai Ruozhu looked concerned and quickly asked, "Would delaying for three days cause any trouble for you?"
Jiang Yichun chuckled as he ruffled her hair, "Silly girl, I’m just teasing. But we can only afford to delay for another five days at most."
Bai Ruozhu’s face lit up, but it was quickly replaced with a frown, "We’re running out of living quarters. Should we purchase a larger mansion?"
"That won’t be necessary. The property next door is owned by a grumpy official named Su. He is returning to his home town and plans to lease out his house. You can rent it for our guards and servants to live in," said Jiang Yichun.
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes sparkled, "You mean the grumpy Mr. Su from next door?"
With a hushing gesture, Jiang Yichun whispered, "Keep your voice down, he has sharp ears and if he hears you, he might refuse to rent to us."