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Officer Zhao quickly entered the master bedroom. Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao saw his grim expression and immediately asked, “What happened?”

Officer Zhao glanced at Xie Yunjin and then at Lu Jiao before he spoke in a somber tone, “Last night, Assistant Magistrate Yang and Administrator Peng committed suicide.”

Xie Yunjin frowned deeply. Lu Jiao was the first to speak, “They committed suicide to protect their families, right?”

Assistant Magistrate Yang and Administrator Peng were involved with influential merchants from Qinghe County. Although merchants had low social statuses, they were wealthy, and money could make the impossible happen.

Moreover, even if Peng and Yang exposed these merchants, the merchants would likely only sacrifice one or two individuals from their families to take the blame. Then, the merchants might retaliate against Peng and Yang’s wives, children, and relatives. So, their only option was to take their own lives. Officer Zhao also thought about this and remained silent without saying anything.

Although Yang and Peng were deeply corrupt, they had worked together for many years. Now that both of them had taken their own lives, Officer Zhao felt uneasy in his heart.

Previously, he had asked them why they were so greedy for money that they couldn’t use and only dared to hoard it. What was the point of it all? At that time, Yang and Peng replied with bitter smiles, saying that having money was the ultimate goal for the poor. Once they saw the cash, they couldn’t resist the temptation. Initially, they had tried their best to restrain themselves.

However, they couldn’t resist when people kept offering them money. Each time they saw the silver coins that they had to return, they felt like their hearts were bleeding. Later, they thought they would take the money just once, but their audacity grew, and they ended up in an irredeemable situation. “They both committed suicide, so we can’t do anything to those detestable merchants.

Xie Yunjin said coldly. “The setback is temporary. Now that the merchants don’t have protection, we will find an opportunity to deal with them sooner or later.”

Officer Zhao nodded, looked at Xie Yunjin, and continued, “You should rest and recover from your injuries. As for me, I will help Magistrate Hu to reorganize the county office. Previously, Yang and Peng had control over the county office. Many people there were connected through personal relationships and took bribes. So, the Magistrate is investigating, and anyone involved in bribery will not escape punishment.”

Xie Yunjin nodded, and Officer Zhao added, “In a few days, when you have time, I will personally investigate the whereabouts of Shen Xiu. We must find this woman.”

“Alright.”

Xie Yunjin thought of Shen Xiu, and his expression turned dark.

Officer Zhao said a few more words about resting and recovering, then turned to leave.

In the room, Xie Yunjin turned to look at Lu Jiao, “Now you can move freely.

The merchants from Qinghe County won’t easily act against us for now. But be prepared; they might try to win us over in an attempt to rebuild their network.

I’ll be staying at home to recover from my injuries, so they won’t easily come to win me over. During this time, they might focus on you. Be careful when you go out, and make sure to take Ruan Zhu with you.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Lu Jiao nodded and replied. Because of being watched, she had been cautious and didn’t dare to act rashly. She didn’t even go to see the thousand acres of medicinal fields she purchased or visit her three shops.

Now that those merchants could no longer act rashly, she could take this opportunity to visit the medicinal fields and workshops.

As Lu Jiao planned it out, Lu Gui came in quickly from outside and reported,

“Sister, Lady Xu has returned.”

Lu Jiao nodded, looking at Xie Yunjin, she said, “I’ll go to the back and entertain Lady Xu first, then we’ll go to the medicinal fields.”

Xie Yunjin smiled and reminded Lu Jiao, “Remember to take Feng Zhi and Ruan

Zhu with you.”

Lu Jiao had previously told him about Ruan Zhu’s formidable martial arts skills, so he felt more at ease when she was with Lu Jiao.

Lu Jiao nodded and turned to leave. However, just as she was about to step out,

Xie Yunjin suddenly called out, “Jiaojiao.”

Lu Jiao thought he needed something and instinctively stopped and turned around to look at him. She saw the man on the bed looking serious as he said, “I will obediently stay at home to recover, so don’t worry about me.”

Outside the door, Lu Jiao couldn’t help but glare fiercely at Xie Yunjin. Who is worrying about you? Who?

But she couldn’t be bothered to say more to this guy and turned around to leave. Behind her, Xie Yunjin couldn’t help but chuckle.

He now enjoyed teasing Lu Jiao. Was it improper? But he couldn’t resist it. Seeing the usually calm and composed woman showing various expressions when he teased her, he couldn’t help but want to tease her even more.

Lu Jiao took Feng Zhi and Ruan Zhu to the back courtyard. Lady Xu and her daughter, Jinxiu, had already been invited over by Lu Gui.

When they saw Lu Jiao enter, Lady Xu and Jinxiu immediately stood up and respectfully greeted her, “Lady Lu, have you been doing well recently?”

“Aunt Lu, are you alright?”

The Xu family lived quite far from Qinghe County, so they were not aware of the recent events in the county. It wasn’t until they arrived in town that they heard about the various incidents. They were surprised to learn that Yang and Peng turned out to be two big scoundrels, each accepting bribes of more than ten thousand taels of silver.

They also heard about the recent troubles in the Xie family. The Second Born had been kidnapped by bad people.

After listening to Lady Xu’s concern, Lu Jiao smiled and said, “Everything is fine now. It’s all over.’

Lady Xu nodded, “As long as nothing happens, that’s good.”

After Lady Xu finished speaking, a little embarrassed, she gestured towards two large bags of produce brought from the countryside and said, “Although I know that you have everything, I still wanted to give you a small token of my appreciation. Recently, Jinxiu and I have been going up the mountain to collect some wild vegetables and fruits. We dried them and brought some for you.” Lu Jiao immediately smiled and said, “You know, I really like this.”

With that, she looked at Feng Zhi and said, “Take these two large bags of wild vegetables and fruits to the kitchen and tell Aunt Hua to use some of the wild vegetables to prepare dishes for today.”

“Yes.”

Feng Zhi happily picked up the two large bags of wild vegetables and fruits and took them to the back courtyard.

Lady Xu and Jinxiu were also delighted when they saw Feng Zhi’s reaction. They had been worried that Lady Lu would find it inappropriate.

Now, it seemed they had worried too much.

Lu Jiao turned to look at Lady Xu and Jinxiu and said, “Both of you should stay for lunch today.”

Lady Xu shook her head in refusal, “Previously, you had asked me to help you look after the fields. Shouldn’t we go and take a look there first?”

Lady Xu didn’t want to stay at the Xie residence for lunch because their neighbors were the Su family. Although she had divorced Su Dahai, she still felt awkward being so close to her ex-husband’s family.

Lu Jiao could sense Lady Xu’s discomfort and didn’t insist on her staying.

Just as Lu Jiao was about to get up and go to Baohe Tang with Lady Xu, Lu Gui ran in with a big smile, reporting, “Sister, someone from Xie Village has come.” Lu Jiao turned her head to look at Lu Gui in surprise and asked, “Who came?”

“Brother-in-law’s second brother came. He said he wanted to ask about raising leeches. It seems that some of their leeches have died recently. Second Brother is worried that something might be wrong, so he personally rushed to Qinghe County to find you and ask where the problem lies..”