Madam Lin never liked noise. It was said that several years ago, she had a miscarriage by accident and hurt her body. Since then, she had never stepped out of her house and had refused to receive guests. Instead, she had devoted herself to chanting scriptures and praying to Buddha.
This time, she came out on a trip with Commissioner Lin. It was said that Commissioner Lin was afraid that she would fall ill if she stayed in the room all day long, so he insisted on taking her with him.
She didn't stay in the post - house in the town like Commissioner Lin. Instead, she directly chose a Buddhist hall for self - cultivation. Commissioner Lin couldn't stop her and had to reluctantly agree. Neither the townspeople nor the attendants dared to disturb her.
Li Ying bowed to Madam Lin and said in a deep voice, "Madam, you are kind - hearted. You must understand a mother's desperate love for her son, right?"
Before Madam Lin could say a word, Lian Ji stubbornly interrupted, "Li Ying, what on earth are you up to? You know that Madam Lin has no children, yet you deliberately make her sad. Stop being a rabid dog and get out of here quickly!"
Li Ying ignored her shouting. Just then, as if hearing her voice, there came faintly the wronged cries of a child from the Buddhist hall!
Li Ying recognized that it was her own Mianmian. A mother and daughter are connected in heart, and she immediately became extremely anxious.
She said "Forgive my rudeness" and then pushed Lian Ji aside without hesitation and rushed straight to the small incense hall where they were praying.
Several fisherwomen and fishermen accompanied her. In the corner of the incense hall, they saw Granny Sun tied up like a mummy, and Mianmian curled up on the ground like a kitten.
Mianmian's clothes were soaked. The bluestone floor was cold, and her small body was shivering. Her fair and delicate face was tinged with a faint blue from the cold.
The moment Li Ying saw her, her heart ached. She ran forward in two steps and hugged Mianmian tightly in her arms.
The little girl knew her mother had come and stopped crying obediently. She buried her small head in her mother's arms, obviously having suffered a great deal of grievances.
Granny Sun was also untied by everyone in a hurry. Wrapped in a dry and thick coat, she stood shivering beside Li Ying and then told her exactly what had happened.
Sure enough, as Li Ying had expected, when Granny Sun carried the child to the seaside, the pirates lurking underwater suddenly ignited the coconut - shell gunpowder. Taking advantage of the towering white waves, they dragged Granny Sun and the little girl into the water.
Granny Sun was caught off guard. Although she was a good swimmer, being old, she still accidentally choked on a couple of mouthfuls of water. In the panic, she was hit hard on the back of her head and lost consciousness.
The villagers in the fishing village searched everywhere but found nothing because the pirates had come prepared and had long since taken the two of them away.
Mrs. Li lovingly escorted Granny Sun and Mianmian back to the village first. Li Ying stared sharply at Lian Ji, enunciating each word clearly.
"Lian Ji, you must give me an explanation for today's incident."
She rarely spoke to others so aggressively. But Lian Ji had fought a desperate battle and had now reached out to her beloved family. There was a hint of coldness in Li Ying's voice. For some reason, Lian Ji felt a bit guilty when she saw Li Ying like this.
"What explanation? I don't understand what you're talking about."
She stubbornly refused to admit it and pretended to be completely in the dark.
Li Ying was too lazy to waste her breath on her. She turned to Madam Lin and said calmly, "According to the laws of our dynasty, accomplices of bandits should be punished jointly. As the wife of the commissioner, Madam Lin should know this, right?"
Lian Ji and Commissioner Lin had been in cahoots. Now, he pretended to be deaf and dumb, ignoring everything. It seemed that he had already thought about splitting up.
Lian Ji, having no way out, had to take a desperate gamble and send the "hostages" to the Buddhist hall where Madam Lin was cultivating, trying to drag her into the trouble.
When Madam Lin heard the words "joint punishment", her expression flickered.
But Lian Ji confidently patted her on the shoulder and looked at Li Ying triumphantly.
"Li Ying, your threats can't scare me."
She clapped her hands, and several pirates appeared, brandishing their weapons and looking menacingly at her.
"Li Ying, think it over. If we hadn't made full preparations and been waiting for you to walk into our trap, would we have made such a stupid move?"
The pirates were just waiting for her order to rush forward.
They lived a life on the edge of a knife and hated Li Ying to the bone. They would surely show no mercy. In their eyes, these unarmed villagers were just like ants, not worth mentioning.
"Madam Lin, it's never too late to mend the fold after the sheep have been stolen. Do you really want to be an accomplice to evil and watch everything you have now destroyed when the truth comes out?"
Li Ying coaxed patiently. Madam Lin frowned tightly upon hearing this. Finally, she closed her eyes, turned around, and chanted the Buddha's name, "Amitabha."
Lian Ji waved her hand, and the glinting swords and daggers immediately rushed towards everyone.
"Stop! How dare you!"
At the critical moment, there came a familiar shout from behind.
Li Ying turned around and saw that it was Su Buchi, accompanied by the prefect in a hurry. There was also a group of strong yamen runners behind them.
"Bold pirates! How dare you escape from prison! You are already criminals awaiting punishment. Instead of repenting, you are still stubborn and deliberately hurt people!"
Dozens of yamen runners surrounded the pirates. Outnumbered, no matter how fierce they were, they were no match. Soon, they all honestly admitted their crimes and submitted.
Li Ying was both surprised and overjoyed. She had thought that if she couldn't delay until Lu Xunguang came to help, she would surely suffer a great loss. But unexpectedly, Su Buchi had appeared out of nowhere. Finally, she could breathe a sigh of relief.
"Little Master - Uncle? Weren't you traveling around the famous mountains and great rivers? Why are you back?"
Seeing her happiness, Su Buchi also showed a hint of a smile on his face.
"Miss Li, it's really a coincidence. It's a long story."
The most urgent matter now was how to deal with Lian Ji and these pirates.
As for Madam Lin, since the prefect had rushed in with his men, she had gritted her teeth and claimed that she had been coerced by Lian Ji and had never embezzled property or ignored human lives.
Although the prefect was a disciple of Yan Lian, he was an upright and honest gentleman. However, he was in the officialdom after all, and Commissioner Lin had much higher power than him. How to deal with his wife was really a problem.
Just when he was in a dilemma, Commissioner Lin finally arrived late. Seeing this, Madam Lin seemed to have seen a life - saving straw. She quickly shifted all the blame onto Lian Ji and absolved herself completely.
Li Ying watched coldly and felt disgusted.
Looking back at Lian Ji, she saw that her face was ashen, and she couldn't help but feel a bit sad.
This woman was best at using others as her daggers. When things went wrong, she would always push others out to take the blame.
Now, she was also abandoned by the Lin couple. Truly, karma is fair, and retribution is swift.