Chapter 38 Deliberately Causing Trouble

Chapter 38 Deliberately Causing Trouble

Jiang Yutang's heart tightened, and she quickly stood up and stood in front of the cart.

"I made the wheelchair myself, and the cart was used to transport the wounded. Don't make false accusations!"

"Yo—"

The man sneered, stepped forward, pointed at the wheelchair beneath Jiang Sheng'an, and said in an even louder voice, "Who doesn't walk on the road to exile? Only your old man can sit? I bet you bribed the officials, otherwise how could you carry all this stuff!"

As he spoke, he shouted at the surrounding vagrants, "Look everyone! Why can they have all this while we have to suffer? This is not fair! The yamen runners should confiscate their things and we should all share them equally!"

The surrounding migrants, already exhausted from their journey and harboring resentment, were stirred up by the man's words and immediately began to discuss and echo his sentiments.

"Yeah, why should they be special?"

"Take the items out and divide them equally!"

"Go find a constable! Let the constable judge this!"

Jiang Shengan sat in a wheelchair, his face pale with anger. He tried to speak but coughed because of his agitation.

Jiang Songzhi immediately stepped in front of his father and warned the man, "My father has injured his leg. This wheelchair is a lifesaver. How can it be divided equally?"

"Who doesn't have sore legs when they walk? Your family must have bribed them!" The man retorted, reaching out to shove Jiang Songzhi. "I'm doing this for everyone's sake! This stuff must be confiscated today!"

Some of the surrounding refugees even started pushing forward, and it looked like they were about to start grabbing things.

Jiang Yutang's mind went blank. She knew that attracting attention would bring trouble, so she always avoided other people, but the man in front of her was clearly looking for trouble.

She clenched her fists tightly, her mind racing. There were too many people around, and a direct confrontation was definitely not an option.

The clamor of the refugees grew louder and louder, attracting more people to gather around. Even other refugees resting in the distance peeked over to look in their direction.

Just then, two rough footsteps approached from afar, accompanied by the impatient curses of the yamen runners: "What's all the noise about! You bunch of lowly commoners, are you looking for death?"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw four constables escorting them walking quickly towards them. The one in front still had grease stains on the corner of his mouth that he hadn't wiped off.

Seeing the refugees blocking his way, he kicked them without saying a word. Several refugees who were nearby staggered and fell to the ground, wincing in pain but daring not to make a sound.

The constable who was in charge of their group frowned and looked around, his gaze finally settling on the man who was making the most noise.

"What exactly happened?"

The man in the lead immediately put on a grinning face, strode forward, pointed at the Jiang family's cart and wheelchair, and spoke with a deliberately ingratiating tone.

“Sir, look at their house. They have a cart, a wheelchair, pots and pans. We are all exiles. Why do they get special treatment? I suspect... I suspect they may have secretly bribed you. Otherwise, why would you allow them to bring so much stuff?”

Upon hearing this, the constable's face instantly darkened.

The reason he confiscated the things brought by the Jiang family was because there were few people in the group at the beginning, and he was too lazy to care. In addition, Jiang Yutang also gave them a lot of things. But now he has been exposed in public and implied that he accepted bribes. This is a serious crime that can land him in jail!

His face immediately flushed red, and he roared at the man, "What nonsense are you spouting! When have I ever accepted anything I shouldn't have? If word gets out, can you handle the consequences?"

To distance himself from the situation, he turned to Jiang Yutang's family with a fierce look in his eyes.

"I think you hid it too well! We weren't paying attention while we were on the road, and it turns out you were secretly carrying so many prohibited items! According to the rules, all of these things must be confiscated!"

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the cart, reaching out to lift the pot from it.

Jiang Yutang's heart tightened, and she quickly stepped forward to stop him again. Although her voice was a little hurried, she tried her best to keep it steady: "Big brother, wait! Let me tell you!"

Instantly, everyone's eyes were focused on her.

The refugees watched with bated breath, their families behind them filled with worry, while the troublemaker crossed his arms and a gloating smile played on his lips.

Jiang Yutang forced herself to calm down; now she could only find a breakthrough from the perspective of "reason and emotion".

She composed herself, chuckled at the constable, and spoke with a familiar tone.

“Brothers, this pot and cart are not our private possessions! We found them on the road for everyone to use! A few days ago, when it rained heavily, many people in the team caught colds. We used this pot to boil ginger soup and distributed it to everyone to ward off the cold. You even praised us for making the ginger soup in time!”

The constable paused, his brow furrowing as if he were recalling something.

He had been rushing around and was so busy that he couldn't remember whether he had used this pot when making ginger soup, but Jiang Yutang spoke so convincingly, and in front of so many people, he couldn't just deny it directly.

"That's definitely true..."

He gave a vague reply, then immediately straightened his face: "Even if you've made ginger soup, you should hand it in after you're done. Why is it still here with you?"

Jiang Yutang immediately lowered her eyes, putting on a wronged and helpless look, and softened her voice.

"We just didn't want to cause you both any trouble! We thought that if we kept this pot with us, we could cook some hot soup whenever someone felt unwell, saving you the trouble of going back and forth."

Seeing that the two constables were somewhat moved, she immediately put in more effort.

"Besides, we don't use it for our own purposes. You see, we're just about to cook another pot of ginger soup to warm everyone up. This pot is a bit small, but it's our way of showing our appreciation. We were thinking that you four are busy looking after the team and must be very tired, so we didn't want to bother you."

These words both gave the constable face and pointed out the "legitimate reason" for leaving the items behind.

Upon hearing this, the constable straightened his back immediately, his anger subsided considerably, and he even looked at the two constables from the other team with a hint of smugness, raising his voice: "Did you hear that? A few days ago, during the heavy rain, someone in our team caught a cold, and it was this little girl's ginger soup that saved the day! Unlike your team, I heard that three people even died from illness there?"

The other team of constables, already distressed by the deaths of some of their displaced men, were even more troubled by this news. They exchanged a glance and nodded helplessly.

"Since it's for everyone's good, let's leave this at their house so we don't have to bother looking after it."

Upon hearing that they could drink ginger soup, the surrounding refugees immediately stopped objecting and instead gathered around, looking at Jiang Yutang with eager eyes.

Some people couldn't help but ask, "Girl, when will the ginger soup be ready? I've been feeling cold all over these past few days."

Jiang Yutang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gently at everyone: "Don't worry, everyone, I'll go gather firewood and start a fire right away. It will be cooked soon."

The man who had started the trouble looked at the unexpected turn of events, his eyes flickered, and he stared at Jiang Yutang thoughtfully, seemingly surprised that this seemingly weak girl was so eloquent.

A moment later, he sneered, said nothing more, turned and pushed through the crowd, and strode away.

Meanwhile, the Cheng family, sitting at the other end, watched the entire play from beginning to end.

Cheng Daier leaned closer and whispered to Cheng Lanzhou, "Have you noticed that Jiang Yutang has changed a lot?"