Chapter 194 Inspector

Chapter 194 Inspector

The girl listened and cried, so much so that Xie Wanniang was a little numb from crying.

Unbeknownst to her, the official's attendant was on the second floor of the clothing shop opposite the restaurant. He couldn't hear what Xie Wanniang was saying, but he could see the girl crying with tears streaming down her face, looking incredibly pitiful.

Judging from the situation inside the private room, the young man initially ruled out the possibility that Xie Wanniang and the elderly couple were human traffickers, but he still needed to observe further to determine whether they harbored goodwill or ill intentions towards the girl.

To his surprise, the moment the thought crossed his mind, Xie Wanniang gestured for Haitang to pay the bill.

She stood up and said to the girl, "Now that I've finished speaking, I'll be leaving. If you still don't want to report to the authorities for protection, you can secretly come to me for help later, away from those people. Although I can't interfere in your family's affairs, I can still make sure you live to see your father safely."

The girl quickly stood up, curtsied to Xie Wanniang, and said, "Thank you for your great kindness, Miss Xie. I will always remember it."

She will also remember the kindness of the innkeeper who gave her advice.

Thinking this, the girl's eyes gradually hardened.

Tomorrow is her auspicious wedding day, and she can't possibly find her father in half a day, so naturally she wouldn't dare to go to the inn and walk into a trap.

But she wouldn't just let those two pairs of wicked mothers and daughters manipulate her like that. She had to find a way to make those two pairs of wicked mothers and daughters receive the punishment they deserved without damaging the family's reputation.

Just as I was thinking this, a series of very rhythmic knocks suddenly came from the door of the private room.

She glanced at the elderly couple, then took a deep breath, walked over, and opened the door.

The man who came was the young man she had met once before; he had come to check if she needed help.

After all, although Xie Wanniang has left, she may very well make a comeback later, and judging from her relationship with the old couple, they are clearly not relatives or master and servant.

The young man didn't have much time to keep an eye on her, so he simply chose to come and confirm with the girl in person.

The girl never expected that a conflict she caused due to her own inattentiveness would have further repercussions soon afterward.

She silently watched the young man who stood just across the threshold from her with a gaze that was half suspicious and half wary.

The young man sensed the girl's distrust of him, which didn't surprise him at all. After all, any normal person with a brain would be wary of a stranger who suddenly showed up at their door.

They were just strangers who bumped into each other on the street. He suddenly came looking for them, and even if they said they hadn't been following him, the other person certainly wouldn't believe them.

In this situation, the only thing the young man can do is reveal his identity.

He took out his waist token and said, "I am also an official, not a suspicious person."

The girl had never dealt with government officials before, so she couldn't tell whether his waist tag was real or fake. But the young man suggested that she report him to the authorities as soon as he opened his mouth, and he was openly walking on the street with a sword hanging from his waist, so he was obviously involved with the government.

She invited the person into a private room and got straight to the point, asking about their purpose for coming.

The young man didn't beat around the bush with her. "My family saw someone following you and were worried that they might have ulterior motives, so they sent me to keep an eye on things secretly."

The girl thought he was referring to the elderly couple, so she simply explained, "They are my saviors. Yesterday, I was knocked unconscious and thrown into the river. They rescued me and took me in for the night."

The young man frowned. "You were knocked unconscious and thrown into the river?"

The girl smiled bitterly and nodded slightly. "Family scandals should not be aired in public. If I take this matter to court, I'm afraid I will have no place in the family anymore."

Moreover, if she, a young woman, were to beat the grievance drum and sue her stepmother and aunt, her reputation would be completely ruined without them even having to intervene.

The girl wanted revenge, but she didn't want to do it in a way that would get her killed.

It was only then that the young man realized why the girl, despite being reduced to wandering the streets in a daze, had so quickly refused to report the incident to the authorities.

He asked the girl, "Those two people who ate here with you earlier...?"

"Them," the girl said, her feelings complicated as she mentioned Xie Wanniang and Haitang. "They stayed at the same inn as the people who harmed me. They were probably afraid that I would be in danger if I went there rashly, so they invited me here under the pretext of apologizing and told me some things they knew."

Like that fellow, Xie Wanniang was just a stranger to her, yet they were all extending kindness to her.

On the contrary, those who had spent so much time with her, and those who were related to her by blood, were plotting to kill her.

The stark contrast between the two completely shattered the girl's blind faith in blood ties and affection.

She is confused because she doesn't know where her future lies, but at the same time she is very clear-headed, clearly aware of her past naivety and foolishness.

The young man looked at her and felt that she was in much better spirits than when she was wandering aimlessly in the street.

After a moment's thought, he said, "My master is on the job of an inspector. If you don't want to go to the county office to beat the drum and appeal for justice, you might as well come with me to see my master."

His family members hold many custodial positions, but there isn't much work that he actually needs to do.

This position as an imperial inspector was obtained because he suddenly had a whim to make a trip to the northern border. In order to leave the capital legitimately, he specifically asked the emperor for this seemingly legitimate position.

The young man explained to the girl what an inspector censor was, and the girl was immediately smitten.

After a moment's consideration, she left with the young man, along with the completely bewildered elderly couple.

Although the elderly couple were powerless to do anything if the young man truly harbored ill intentions towards her, she decided, after much deliberation, to bring them along for her own courage.

Xie Wanniang was unaware that after she left, someone approached the girl, and the girl actually left with that person. After parting ways with the girl, Xie Wanniang returned to the inn to wait for news from the Marquis's residence.

Because she was bored from sitting there, she even spontaneously decided to take a nap.

After she crawled out of bed, she pulled Haitang to practice martial arts with her.

As the two were exchanging blows and sparring, one of the Lady Hou's trusted maids arrived.

The waiter led them to the entrance of the small courtyard where they were staying. Upon hearing the knock, Haitang ran over to open the door, while Xie Wanniang grabbed a cloth and hastily wiped her slightly sweaty face.