Although there was a torch to illuminate, Captain Gongsun did not see Wei Jingshu's expression clearly, and he did not hear her reply for a long time. He thought he had frightened the little girl, so he softened his tone and comforted her: "This matter has affected the family, so I was inevitably a little harsh. You should bear with it."
As he spoke, he was afraid that he was too gentle and frightened the little girl, so he added: "But if it happens again next time, I won't be as easy to talk to as today."
"Okay." Wei Jingshu stammered in response. Captain
Gongsun continued: "As I said, the gang committed the crime, and the risk factor is high. I am afraid that the government cannot give you a reward openly. I will send someone to send it to you privately. You just wait."
Wei Jingshu thought it was her duty to catch the criminal, and did not take the reward that Captain Gongsun said to heart.
Captain Gongsun was afraid that Wei Jingshu would be remembered by this group of people, so before forcing her out, he sent someone to send Wei Jingshu to the arranged inn in advance, and Wei Shiqi was also arranged here.
He waited at the door of the inn, and when he saw Wei Jingshu return safely, his heart finally settled down.
Wei Jingshu saw that he was hesitant to speak, so she took the initiative to approach him and said, "Brother Shiqi, do you have something to say?" Wei Jingshu
asked, and Wei Shiqi did not hide it. He pointed to his bandaged neck and said with a bitter face, "Sister Shu, I guess you have to go back by yourself tomorrow. Although my wound is not deep, my mother will be heartbroken when she sees it. I will stay in the county for a few days and go back after the wound scabs over."
"Please tell my mother that I am staying at my classmate's house for a few days and reviewing with him."
Wei Jingshu wrote down everything one by one, yawned tiredly, and nodded, "Brother Shiqi, I remember it."
Seeing this, Wei Shiqi said no more and took Wei Jingshu to her room.
The next morning, Wei Jingshu prepared to return to the village early. With money in hand, she had the confidence to hire a carriage luxuriously.
Wei Shiqi was still unwilling to accept the money, so she simply drew three tickets and gave them to Wei Shiqi, asking him to help out in the city for a few days and buy some things for her, and the rest of the money would be his.
Only after she said that did Wei Shiqi agree.
When the carriage arrived at the gate of the county town, it suddenly braked sharply, and Wei Jingshu leaned forward and almost fell out of the carriage.
Just as she stabilized herself, she heard a shrew-like curse from outside: "What kind of precious person could be in your carriage? I'll give you one or two taels of silver, and you drive the people in the carriage away and send me back to Yuan Village. If one or two taels is not enough, I'll give you two taels."
Wei Jingshu lifted the curtain and took a look. The one who was spending money generously was Zhou.
At this time, Zhou had lost her former wealth and grandeur. Her clothes were filthy, and she stood in the middle of the road with a messy head of rough hair. She put her hands on her hips and spoke with a fierce look on her face and spitting. No matter how
you look at it, Zhou doesn't look like someone who can easily give one or two taels of silver to ride in a carriage.
The driver naturally thought she was a rogue, and whipped his horse whip across the air, making a series of cracking sounds.
Zhou was frightened and staggered, sitting on the ground with a pale face and a blank mind. In a flash, she slapped the ground with her left and right hands alternately, and began to throw a tantrum.
"Is there any justice in the world? I just want to ride in a carriage, and it's not like I don't want to pay. Why do you bully me like this? Aren't you trying to kill me..."
She shouted with all her might, calling passers-by to come over.
Soon, the carriage was surrounded by people, and passers-by kept pointing and talking. Although there were people who saw the whole story and helped to speak, more and more people came, and the rumors gradually suppressed the truth.
The driver's face turned blue with anger. He opened his mouth to explain, but because he was not as aggressive as Zhou, he was often blocked and speechless.
Zhou was proud in her heart, but her face was full of pain. She shouted the name of the carriage company and wantonly ruined the reputation of the other party: "Your Qi's carriage company is great, but you can't bully customers with your size!"
"Don't talk nonsense." The driver couldn't stand it anymore. "It's obviously you who blocked the road and asked me to take you, but I already have a customer, so naturally I have to take the customer to the destination."
"Look, he started to frame people when he was unreasonable." Zhou cried and shouted to the onlookers around.
Accusations arose, and the driver was speechless.
Amid the condemnation, Wei Jingshu expressionlessly lowered the curtain that had been lifted a little, and knocked on the wall of the carriage.
The dull knocking sound was particularly clear in the noisy voices, and the crowd stopped at the same time and looked at the carriage.
The people in the carriage did not come out, but just spoke: "Since the dispute is unresolved, why not report it to the authorities!"
"Yes, yes!" The driver, who was led by public opinion, came back to his senses, glared at Zhou, and said calmly, "Can someone help me report it to the authorities, and then go to Qi's Carriage Shop to find our boss, and I will pay for the errands."
"If what this mother-in-law said is true, I will ask her to drive this carriage." Wei Jingshu added in the carriage.
She could see clearly that Zhou had just come out of the carriage, had no money in her pocket, and was unwilling to walk back to Yuan Village, so she could only throw a tantrum and ask for a carriage to sit back.
The driver, who was driving the carriage, had never encountered such a thing before. He was disturbed by everyone's discussion and didn't know what to say. There were
many people who liked to watch the excitement, and there were also errand fees, so many people were scrambling to go to the government office and Qi's Carriage Shop.
"Don't worry, mother-in-law, they won't bully you." The kind-hearted person helped Zhou up and comforted her for a while.
When Zhou heard about the yamen, her legs went weak and she almost fell back. She had just come out from there and was frightened when she heard it. She smiled awkwardly and pretended to be calm: "Forget it, it's not easy for them to do business. I won't take this car. Please don't make things difficult for them."
"How can it be difficult?" Wei Jingshu, who was separated by a curtain, glared slightly and said the truth, "Everyone is trying to help you and is afraid that you will be wronged. It's not a difficult thing."
The coachman also echoed: "Everyone is kind-hearted. Please take a good look and see if our Qi's car shop is a bully."
The crowd clamored to take a look, but Zhou's legs went even weaker and she laughed dryly: "I won't take this car."
"Didn't you want to take it just now? You also said you would give two taels of silver." Wei Jingshu continued Zhou's words and easily pushed Zhou to the forefront.
"Two taels of silver? With this attire, is it possible that someone would spend two taels of silver to ride in a car?"
"Don't be a rogue. If you want to get on someone else's car, then we'll be your pawn."
Zhou was sweating profusely after keenly catching the truth that was inadvertently said by the crowd. As the sun was setting and the people who went to the government office to report were about to come back, Zhou became more and more panicked.
Then, many people comforted her. If she dared to make trouble at this time, what she said before would be self-defeating.
"Make way, the official is here--"
A shout came from outside the crowd, and Zhou's mind was confused.
She couldn't go into that broken place again!