Dongli's senses were sharp; almost the moment after the government official left, he noticed something and whispered, "Lord..."
"Hmm."
Xiao Yi walked steadily forward, saying casually, "Just a few incompetent rats; let's see what they plan to do.
Dongli, later you go check the Peng Family's case in private."
As he spoke, a shadow crossed his eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "County Magistrate Sun has been working so hard to stop me from meddling in this case; how could I let him down?"
Beside him, Dongli was speechless: "..."
Our Lord can infuriate people with just a cold face.
No wonder Zhao Liulang often says the Lord has a vile personality! Serves him right for not getting a good wife!
Ah, no, why should our Lord deserve not to get a good wife? Zhao Liulang is still a bachelor, worse off than our Lord!
This matter has always been a thorn in Dongli's side, making him feel an ache every time he thinks about it.
Xiao Yi went straight into the archive room of the county government, sat on the long bench, and began flipping through the dossiers he was halfway through yesterday.
Dongli hesitantly ground the ink for his Lord and poured tea. Seizing the moment when Sun Youcai left the archive room, he cleared his throat and said, "I wonder how Young Lord is now. At the time, we went out without telling him. When he finds out that you've left, he will surely be very sad and might even cry secretly again."
Xiao Yi's eyes didn't leave the dossier; his brow moved slightly, seemingly without expression.
Dongli watched his Lord sneakily, sighed deeply, and said, "Ever since we took Young Lord away from that wicked woman, he's always been cautious, as if he's afraid you won't like him. He doesn't even dare to cry in front of us, only daring to cry secretly under the covers. Even a man like me feels heartbroken for Young Lord.
The Lord is usually busy with affairs, unable to always attend to Young Lord..."
Xiao Yi raised his hand to rub his temples gently, finding the dossier in his hand unreadable no matter how he tried, and said coldly, "Dongli, shut up."
However, Dongli, having been with Xiao Yi for so long, knew when it was safe to continue testing his limits and when to stop.
He took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and said, "My Lord, I truly believe our family needs a proper mistress; even if not for yourself, you should consider Young Lord."
He never regarded that prior wicked woman as his mistress.
At most, she was a shameless woman clinging to their Lord thick-skinnedly.
Xiao Yi's face suddenly turned cold, and his dark eyes gazed at a certain spot in the air. After a moment of silence, he said word by word, "I'll say it again, I don't need a woman. Women only hold me back."
Dongli was slightly stunned; this wasn't the first time the Lord had said such things. He couldn't help but feel a bit panicked, "My Lord..."
"Dongli."
Xiao Yi was never an easy person to contend with, being interrupted in his tasks repeatedly had exhausted his patience completely. With a "snap," he closed the dossier and looked up, his gaze chilling, "If you don't want to work properly, go back to the Western Capital."
Dongli: "..."
Damn, I've really pissed off the Lord.
The Lord puts great emphasis on rules; even if someone close to him violates his taboos, he won't show mercy.
Dongli immediately knelt with a "thud," his forehead touching the ground, trying his best to keep his voice steady, "It was my transgression, please forgive me, my Lord! I'll... I'll go handle affairs right away!"
After speaking, he didn't dare delay any further and scrambled up, running out.
Xiao Yi stared in the direction he left, frowning, his lips tightly pressed, not moving for a long time.
Thinking of the little one at home, always careful, always looking at him with yearning and reliance, Xiao Yi couldn't help but rub his temples again.
Everyone says he's a prodigious talent, brilliant and capable of anything, yet little do they know he also has times when he doesn't know what to do.
Women and children, these are the two types of people he's the least adept at dealing with.
Especially women. He once thought he would never have any dealings with women in this lifetime.
Xiao Yi gathered his thoughts, and when he opened his eyes again, his dark eyes had returned to their usual calm and clarity.
He spread the dossier open again, lowering his eyes to read.
The most important thing now, is the work at hand.
Only when he's handling official matters does his heart remain calm and steady, devoid of any extraneous emotions.
However, it wasn't long before Dongli hurriedly ran back.
Xiao Yi paused slightly and looked up at him with displeasure.
Dongli knew the Lord was still angry about what happened earlier and hastily said, "No, my Lord. I had just left the county government when a woman stopped me. She first asked if I was someone close to Vice Minister Xiao, then... then gave me a note, saying it was entrusted by someone and must be handed to Vice Minister Xiao."
After speaking, he respectfully bowed his head, presenting the neatly folded note to Xiao Yi with both hands.
Xiao Yi looked at the note for a long time before taking it and slowly unfolding it.
Seeing the content inside, even Xiao Yi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, staring at the words on the paper, speechless for a long moment.
He had a premonition, troublesome affairs were about to begin anew.
Elsewhere, Xu Jing was escorted by a group of government officials into the county jail.
Anping County's government was not large, and its jail didn't separate men from women; everyone was held together.
In the small, dimly lit space, two rows of cells were lined up, almost every cell contained people. The ground was filthy and disordered, and the air was filled with a stench of rotten food mixed with body odor, sweat, and even the smell of excrement and urine.
Chunyang and Chunxiang nearly couldn't help but vomit.
Chunyang desperately covered her mouth, her eyes turning red from holding it in. But when she turned her head, she saw her Lady standing there calmly, observing the surroundings, and asked in astonishment, "Lady, are... are you alright?"
The Lady was much more particular than they were; she wouldn't use a slightly dirty outhouse, so how could she seem so unperturbed now?
Xu Jing glanced at her and said in a low voice, "If you've ever seen a corpse rotting for months in summer and personally autopsied it, you'd find the smell here rather mild and pleasant."
Chunyang, feeling uncomfortable, watched her lady's lips move, and couldn't help but ask, "Lady, what are you saying?"
"Nothing."
Xu Jing bent down, gathered the scattered dry grass, finding it relatively clean, and sat down, patting the space beside her, saying, "You should come and sit too."
Chunxiang barely managed to swallow the rising bile, her eyes teary as she looked at Xu Jing, "Lady, how can you be so calm? If this goes on, we really will be convicted.
Lady, please don't give up; the lady in heaven will surely protect us!"
Aside from giving up, Chunxiang couldn't find any other words to explain her Lady's current composure.
Xu Jing was slightly stunned and chuckled, "What use is losing one's cool? Will crying out loud solve the problem? If it could, I'd start shouting right now..."
Before she finished speaking, a strange, eerie chuckle suddenly emerged from a nearby cell—
"Heh... heh... heh..."