Female Supremacy and Rise to Power: Lin Shu's Imperial Examination Adventures

Chapter 258 Anxian County Magistrate - Gu Qing

Despite Huai Mu's reluctance, the group eventually arrived in An County before nightfall.

Upon entering the county town, they all dismounted and walked slowly.

Indeed, An County is the closest county to the prefectural capital within the jurisdiction of Mengzhou Prefecture. Its prosperity is unmatched by other small county towns. Even as night falls, there are still a few people coming and going on both sides of the street.

"Hey! An County is quite lively here." Ji Wan led his horse and stood on tiptoe to look around.

Shen Lin nodded in agreement: "Judging from the living conditions of the people, this magistrate of An County should be a good official."

Lin Shu did not respond immediately. Instead, she looked at the sky and said, "Let's find a place to rest first. We'll find out the rest when we go to the county government office tomorrow."

Everyone agreed and began to discuss where to stay.

Xu Jingyun glanced sideways at Huai Mu, who was huddled behind Ji Wan, deliberately slowing his pace and getting further and further away from the others, and suddenly said teasingly:

"Tsk! How could we forget about Young Master Huaimu? He knows An County very well! Why don't we have him lead the way? Huh? Where is Young Master Huaimu?"

Huai Mu, who was bending down and taking a step back, trying to sneak away, felt a prickling sensation on his back when he heard this. His hair stood on end. When he looked up, he saw that everyone was staring at him with puzzled and complicated looks.

"Oh! Young Master Huai Mu, are you planning to... run away?" Xu Jingyun raised her eyebrows as she looked at the foot the other person had taken, her face full of dissatisfaction that 'we stood up for you and you want to run away.'

Huai Mu felt guilty and nervously rubbed his sleeves, gritting his teeth inwardly. What did this man mean? Why was he targeting him and making things difficult for him?

Thinking of this, Huai Mu gritted his teeth, not yet having figured out how to refute it, so he could only pretend to speak softly and try to gloss over the matter:

"No, no, no...I...I was...I was..."

"What is it?" Xu Jingyun deliberately took a few steps forward, as if afraid of missing a single word.

"I understand!" Ji Wan suddenly announced loudly, startling everyone, including Huai Mu, whose heart was in his throat. Then, while Huai Mu was so nervous he dared not breathe, Ji Wan stroked his chin and said seriously:

"We must have walked too fast, and this delicate man couldn't keep up! Sigh! Men are such a hassle."

"Ah? Oh! Right, right! The ladies walked too fast, I couldn't keep up for a moment." Huai Mu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly seized the opportunity to back down, going along with Ji Wan's words.

Xu Jingyun chuckled but didn't say anything.

Lin Shu then spoke up, "Let's go!"

Lin Shu made the final decision, and the five of them headed towards the nearest inn.

However, her sudden voice broke the eerie atmosphere that had been hanging over them, making it seem as if she was helping Huai Mu out of a predicament.

along the way.

Xu Jingyun kept her eyes narrowed, glancing at Lin Shu with a dangerous look every now and then.

Lin Shu was helpless. How could she not feel this unease? In the end, she could only turn around and ask with her eyes: What's wrong?

Xu Jingyun looked Lin Shu up and down, then, with a forced smile, said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"They only look a little alike, my dear A-Shu wouldn't even look at that!"

Similar? Lin Shu thought for a moment and then it suddenly dawned on her. She suddenly remembered Huai Mu's phoenix eyes. No wonder he looked familiar. It turned out that he looked like A Mu.

However, the two had completely different temperaments. Amu had a cool and scholarly air about him, while Huaimu had a fawning attitude. No wonder Lin Shu only felt that the two looked familiar at first, but never connected them.

Seeing Lin Shu remain silent, seemingly deep in thought, Xu Jingyun, disregarding what the other was thinking, immediately furrowed her brows, revealing a hint of fierceness, and said in a lazy, indifferent voice:

"I have no objection to A-Shu wanting to marry a husband, but if it's this fake... tsk! Then this young master can only rid the future brothers of the manor of this menace."

However, I trust Ah Shu's judgment.

Upon hearing the last sentence, Lin Shu's lips twitched involuntarily. Xu Jingyun's expression was clearly a blatant threat, showing absolutely no trust in her!

However, her taste is not that bad!

……

An County, the magistrate's residence, the inner quarters.

A petite and adorable man dressed in a light blue brocade robe sat in the main seat, letting a servant massage his legs. A lingering sense of melancholy hung between his brows.

Suddenly, footsteps and the servant's voice came from outside.

Soon, the footsteps grew closer, clearly indicating that the servant outside had failed to stop the person.

The man in the main seat closed his eyes and sighed softly, then said calmly to the servant massaging his legs on the ground, "Ah Cong, you go first..."

Before he could finish speaking, the owner of the footsteps had already arrived, and without any regard for the consequences, questioned him directly in front of the servants:

"Did you send someone to kill him? Who gave you the audacity to hire someone to kill someone? Is there no law anymore?!"

The speaker was a young woman dressed in the robes of a seventh-rank official; she had a pretty face and an angry expression.

"What is my wife saying?" The man looked at the woman with a puzzled expression, as if he didn't understand.

"Stop pretending! Father agreed to let Mu'er in the house the day before yesterday, and Qingyan Lane caught fire last night! Who else could it be but you! How could you be so cruel? My child is only five months old... How could you do such a thing! You're simply... a..."

The woman was clearly a refined scholar; she wanted to curse but couldn't utter a coherent sentence, instead turning her face red with frustration.

"What? A poisoner? Gu Qing, is that how you see me? Do you know that your beloved Mu'er is having an affair with another woman, and that child might not even be yours!"

After the man finished speaking, he stood up, pretending to be sorrowful, and stared intently at Gu Qing.

Gu Qing's pupils constricted, and she shook her head: "Impossible, Mu'er wouldn't... You're lying to me..."

"Lie to you? Ha! Someone saw them together with their own eyes, how could it be fake?" The man forced a smile, then continued with a bitter expression:

"Fine! Explanation is useless. Since my wife has already decided that I did it, she probably won't believe what I say. She might as well just give me a letter of divorce, throw me in jail, and torture me!"

As she spoke, a single tear slowly rolled down her cheek, making the woman named Gu Qing feel guilty. She could no longer vent her anger from the journey, and she began to believe the man's words somewhat. After hesitating for a long time, she finally said:

"I...that's not what I meant."

The man ignored Gu Qingruo, instead lowering his head to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief, sobbing softly.

"...Gu Qing, are you so infatuated with your brother? Even now, you still can't forget him? You've humiliated me like this for someone who bears a slight resemblance to him..."

It seems she's heartbroken.

Gu Qing felt even more guilty. She took a few steps forward, grabbed the man's hand, and explained:

"Husband, don't be angry. It's all...it's all my fault for acting impulsively! But you know, since An County came under my jurisdiction, there are still two unsolved murder cases. I was just afraid that your impulsive actions would harm the Gu family..."

As she spoke, she pulled the man into her arms.

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