Chapter 11: The Authorities Won’t Let You Go

Yang Xianglan felt like she had swallowed a fly—utterly disgusted.
“You’re talking nonsense! Hand over my man right now!”

Jiang Jiuyue crossed her arms and looked at her.
“I already told you, your man isn’t in my house. If you keep slandering my mother-in-law’s reputation, I’ll go find someone to settle this fairly!”

Yang Xianglan was frantic, but her father had warned her that Jiang Jiuyue was a lunatic, and the few people she had brought with her weren’t enough to confront her. She had no choice but to stand at the door and shout loudly.

“The father of my child! Zhao Kun! Are you in there? Say something if you are!”

She shouted for a long while, but no one answered.

Ma Guichun cautiously stepped out from the main room. Only after checking Jiang Jiuyue’s expression did she dare to speak.
“Sister Xianglan, your man really isn’t here. You should try looking elsewhere.”

Yang Xianglan still didn’t believe it, so Ma Guichun added,
“He really isn’t. There’s no place to hide anyone in this house. If you don’t believe me, come in and see for yourself.”

Ma Guichun had already said as much, and everyone knew the Liang house had no space to hide a full-grown man like Zhao Kun. Even if Yang Xianglan didn’t want to believe it, she had no choice but to accept it.

Left with no other option, she had to leave and go find her father to think of another plan—maybe search elsewhere for Zhao Kun.

Once she was gone, Ma Guichun turned to Jiang Jiuyue with a fawning smile.
“Third daughter-in-law, she’s gone now. You can go back to your room and rest.”

Jiang Jiuyue nodded and even praised her.
“Second sister-in-law, you did well.”

Ma Guichun was delighted. She thought that if she could keep winning Jiang Jiuyue’s favor, maybe the second household’s treatment would improve. Who knows, perhaps Jiuyue might even agree to let them split off from the main family.

Meanwhile, back at the village chief’s house, things were in chaos due to Zhao Kun’s disappearance.

Yang Xianglan was beside herself with worry. A perfectly good person had just vanished. He wasn’t at the Liang house, nor at anyone else’s place. So where had he gone?

Besides, Zhao Kun wasn’t even that familiar with Shanghe Village. The villagers were all afraid of him—no one would have dared invite him over as a guest. So how could he have just disappeared out of nowhere?

The village chief couldn’t make sense of it either. They had agreed that Zhao Kun would go to the Liang house to arrest Jiang Jiuyue. So how come not only did he fail to capture her, but he himself had gone missing?

But Zhao Kun was truly gone. The chief had no choice but to mobilize the entire village to search for him. They turned Shanghe Village upside down—no matter what, they had to find him.

Since the village chief had given the order, the villagers had to search whether they liked it or not. After all, Zhao Kun was a government official. If he disappeared in their village and the authorities investigated, everyone would be in trouble.

At that time, Chuntao, who was working at home, also found out that Zhao Kun had gone to the Liang house to trouble Jiang Jiuyue but ended up missing instead. Her heart started pounding with panic.

Just yesterday, Jiang Jiuyue had promised her they’d escape in the middle of the night. So why hadn’t she left?

Chuntao was terrified. She had a strong feeling that Jiang Jiuyue was definitely involved in all of this.

With that thought, she couldn’t sit still any longer. She dropped what she was doing and ran to the Liang house.

Fortunately, everyone was busy searching for Zhao Kun, so no one noticed her movements.

When she arrived at the Liang house, the gate happened to be open. She rushed in and quietly called out Jiang Jiuyue’s name.

Jiang Jiuyue opened her door and, seeing Chuntao’s panicked face, quickly pulled her into the room.

Before Jiang Jiuyue could speak, Chuntao blurted out in a panic,
“The village chief’s son-in-law is missing. Was it you?”

Jiang Jiuyue didn’t respond—but she also didn’t deny it. In Chuntao’s eyes, that was as good as an admission.

Chuntao’s eyes reddened with anxiety.
“Jiuyue, he’s an official! If you killed him, the authorities won’t let you off!”

Jiang Jiuyue chuckled.
“Chuntao, what are you thinking? I didn’t kill anyone. I’m doing perfectly fine—why would I kill him?”

Chuntao blinked.
“Huh? You didn’t kill him? Then where is he?”

Jiang Jiuyue touched her chin thoughtfully.
“He ran off after I scared him. With courage that small, he still dared to mess with me? The yamen hiring him as a constable is pointless—he’d be the first to run in danger. What protection could he offer the people?”

Chuntao was half-convinced.
“Really? He ran away? Then why didn’t he go home? Everyone in the village is looking for him, but no one has seen a trace of him!”

Jiang Jiuyue shrugged innocently.
“That I don’t know. He ran—how would I know where he went?”

Chuntao was still uneasy. She was worried that if Zhao Kun truly couldn’t be found, the village chief would pin the whole thing on Jiang Jiuyue. Then the authorities would still come after her.

After a moment’s thought, she urged,
“Jiuyue, you should run. The village chief said Zhao Kun disappeared after going to your house to arrest you. If he tells the authorities you did it, they won’t let you off. Run now while there’s chaos—don’t come back!”

Jiang Jiuyue shook her head.
“I didn’t kill him. Why should the authorities believe only what the village chief’s family says? Besides, if I run, it’ll look like I’m guilty. Then the government will issue a warrant, and what—am I supposed to be a fugitive with a child for the rest of my life?”

Chuntao was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.
“Then what should we do? Zhao Kun is a government official. The authorities won’t just ignore it if he disappears. The village chief will definitely blame you.”

Jiang Jiuyue rubbed her cheek comfortingly.
“Alright, don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”

Chuntao’s eyes widened.
“What plan?”

Jiang Jiuyue gave a mysterious shake of her head like some hidden master.
“That’s a heavenly secret—I can’t reveal it.”

Chuntao didn’t quite understand, but since Jiang Jiuyue wasn’t willing to say more, she didn’t press. As long as she was sure Jiang Jiuyue hadn’t killed Zhao Kun, she could rest easy.

“As long as you know what you’re doing. I’ll go now. Everyone’s out searching for Zhao Kun—if they see me leaving your place, they might get suspicious.”

Not daring to stay longer, Chuntao quickly left.

Once she was sure Chuntao was far enough away and no one could hear them, Jiang Bao’er finally dared to ask,
“Mom, if that constable is found, will we have to run?”

The three sisters had seen Jiang Jiuyue throw Zhao Kun into the woodshed and then take him out again. Hearing from Chuntao that the villagers were searching everywhere for him, they were worried that if Zhao Kun was found, their mother would be in serious trouble.

Jiang Jiuyue smiled.
“We won’t have to run. You girls just stay in the room. I’m going out for a bit.”

Chuntao’s warning did remind her—if Zhao Kun stayed missing too long, the village chief’s family might report it to the authorities. That would be a much bigger headache. It would be better to settle the Zhao Kun issue once and for all.

Jiang Jiuyue avoided people on her way up the mountain. Using her supernatural ability to move faster, she soon reached the cave where Zhao Kun was.

“Help! Help! Aaaaahhh!”

Zhao Kun’s wailing echoed from the cave. Jiang Jiuyue flashed inside just in time to see a wolf baring its fangs, ready to bite through his neck.

She struck instantly, using her powers to control the wolf and fling it aside.

Zhao Kun had been utterly hopeless. Just as he caught the stench of the wolf’s breath and thought death was certain—someone came to save him!

He opened his eyes to see—it was Jiang Jiuyue!

Tears burst from his eyes as he sobbed,
“You finally came! Grandma Jiuyue! I almost died! Thank heavens you saved me!”