A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Gu Xixi continued, "I'm going to Beijing with Boss An to do some small business."

"As for Brother Zichu..."

She looked at Jiang Mingyuan and let him speak for himself.

For some reason, Jiang Mingyuan was staring blankly in this direction.

Seeing Gu Xixi looking at him, he suddenly realized what was happening, quickly looked away, and said, "I'm going to the capital to take the imperial examination."

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Lü Jing blushed with embarrassment and kept nodding and apologizing to the three of them.

An Qinghe still insisted on asking Lü Jing why she guessed who Gu Xixi's husband was, and why she didn't guess it was him.

Lu Jing stammered, too embarrassed to say it to his face: "Because you are a Hu person, it is clear that Young Master Jiang and Miss Xixi are a better match."

It wasn't until Gu Xixi glared fiercely at An Qinghe, urging him to eat, that Lü Jing was finally extricated from the predicament.

Jiang Mingyuan, on the other hand, seemed to be in a very good mood.

Having also stayed up all night, he was still riding a horse, yet his face was radiant and he showed no signs of fatigue.

This inn has good facilities, so naturally it's not cheap.

To save money, the four of them decided that two men and two women would each book a guest room.

Each guest room consists of two suites, an outer suite and an inner suite. The outer suite has a soft couch that can be used by one person to sleep comfortably.

As soon as Lü Jing entered the room, she placed her small bundle on the soft couch. "Xi Xi, you sleep inside."

Gu Xixi knew that the more polite she was to Lü Jing, the more uneasy she would feel.

So she smiled and accepted her kindness.

They rested for a day and continued their journey the next morning.

With a gentle spring breeze, Gu Xixi simply rolled up the curtain to make it easier to talk to the two people outside.

Jiang Mingyuan, who had been riding his horse to protect the carriage, received a wink from Gu Xixi and said seemingly casually, "Miss Lü's family has been wronged, why don't you go to the county government to sue the evildoers?"

Lu Jing bit her lip, her face immediately turning ugly.

Jiang Mingyuan said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was just curious why a young lady like you would go to the capital and suffer so much. If Miss Lü doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't."

Lü Jing shook her head. "No, I don't blame Young Master Jiang. I have nothing to hide from my benefactors. If anyone's to blame, blame that villain Fan Dongping! And those corrupt officials in the county government!!"

When her enemy was mentioned, intense hatred rose in Lü Jing's eyes.

Her recollection is like this...

The Lü family in Anning Village are well-known tea growers in the area.

Although the tea plantation is not very large, the tea is not well-known, and there is no sales channel of its own.

However, local tea merchants regularly come to collect the tea every year.

Therefore, the tea plantation provides a stable income, and the family of three lives a comfortable life.

The family also spent money to hire several long-term tea pickers.

Spring tea, in particular, fetches the highest price, and spring is the time that the Lü family values ​​most.

The tragedy occurred in early spring this year, on the day of Grain Rain, when it was drizzling and the tea garden was opening for the first time after the winter.

Lu Jing wanted to pick the spring flowers herself, so she went to the tea garden against her mother's wishes.

She witnessed a scene she would never forget.

Father lay in the mud and water, surrounded by a group of wicked servants who punched and kicked him.

Lu Jing was unaware of what was happening. She threw down her umbrella and ran over, yelling, "Why are you hitting people! Let go! Let go of my dad!"

However, she was too weak to save her father and cried desperately as she tried to push those people away.

Then, she heard a man's laughter behind her, "Oh, what a scene of Cao E saving her father, what a beautiful pear blossom in the rain, it breaks my heart to see her like this."

"Why don't I take care of you too?"

Lu Jing turned around tremblingly and saw the man who would later haunt her nightmares... Fan Dongping.

Fan Dongping flirted with Lü Jing on the spot.

Enraged, Mr. Lü struggled to his feet, ready to fight these wicked people to the death. "Let go of my daughter! You damned devils deserve to go to the eighteenth level of hell, and may your ancestors never be reincarnated!"

"I'd rather die than agree to sell the tea plantation to you!"

Fan Dongping was still laughing even as Lü's father scolded him.

In his view, this was nothing more than the howling of the weak.

Upon hearing that Lu's father refused to sell the tea garden even in the face of death, Fan Dongping's expression immediately turned sinister.

He shoved Lü Jing aside and said indifferently, "Kill him right here, use his flesh and blood as fertilizer."

The wicked slaves no longer held back, and their fists rained down like a storm.

Lu Jing was pushed down, and the father and daughter looked at each other across the muddy ground.

As Mr. Lü's eyes glazed over, he made a final, trembling sound towards his daughter.

At this point, Lü Jing covered her face and wept, "I know what Father meant."

"He said, 'Xiaojing, run! Go home and bring your mother! Run!'"

But when she ran home, the county officials were sealing off her family's tea warehouse, saying that tea shipped from there had poisoned people.

No one in the household was allowed to leave, and one of the family heads was to be taken to the yamen for questioning.

Mother Lü was a woman who didn't concern herself with outside affairs, and Lü Jing was young; neither of them had ever seen such a scene before.

Mother Lü was unaware of the incident at the tea plantation and was still asking about her husband's whereabouts.

Lu Jing looked at her mother, sobbing uncontrollably, unable to utter a word, and not knowing what else she could do.

At this moment, Fan Dongping appeared brazenly and said, "The male head of the household has run away, so arresting this woman won't change anything. After all, they are a couple, and poisoning is definitely a conspiracy."

Lu's mother was taken away by the county government officials, and three days later, the government notified Lu Jing to collect her body.

The cause of death was hanging himself with his own belt.

Lu Jing buried her mother, but her father's body could not be found, so she could only bury him with his clothes and hat.

Yesterday, she took out the silver notes her parents had hidden, intending to go to the capital to file a complaint.

However, Fan Dongping's informants still discovered it, which led to the scene that Gu Xixi and the others witnessed.

Jiang Mingyuan slammed his fist on the window frame. "This is utterly disregard for the law, and extremely arrogant!"

He took the imperial examination with the ambition of becoming an official who could serve the country and its people. He had also met many upright and honest officials in the Northwest.

Hearing the Nan Yi County government act in this way, how could one not be indignant?

With tears in her eyes, Lü Jing said, "Anyway, I don't believe that my mother hanged herself."

"They killed my parents. If I don't avenge them, I will have lived a life unworthy of being a daughter!"

After hearing about Lü Jing's experience, Gu Xixi and An Qinghe couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.

An Qinghe roared, "These bastards! We'll teach them a lesson they'll learn!"

Gu Xixi invited Lü Jing to come along again, saying, "Since you want justice, what could be more important than getting to the capital as soon as possible?"

"Besides, we're going the same way, it's no trouble at all."

This time, Lü Jing did not refuse.

This immense kindness cannot be expressed in words.

She didn't say a word, but solemnly bowed in gratitude to Gu Xixi, Jiang Mingyuan, and An Qinghe in three directions.

An Qing glanced back, a smirk playing on his lips. "Let's hurry to the capital!"

When they arrived at the inn in the evening, Anqing went to see what food was available, while Lü Jing went to the outhouse.

Jiang Mingyuan looked around and said to Gu Xixi, "Her statements are consistent, and considering the testimonies of those wicked servants, the matter concerning the Lü family should be true."

Gu Xixi nodded, "Then we can take her with us without worry."

No wonder Gu Xixi was suspicious. Even if a stranger she encountered while out and about was a woman, she should be wary of her before figuring out her identity and intentions.

“However…” Jiang Mingyuan said solemnly, “we can’t rest easy yet, things might even get more complicated.”