She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 234 - 233: According to the Law, One Must Face a Lawsuit

Chapter 234: Chapter 233: According to the Law, One Must Face a Lawsuit

Jiang Yifan dismounted outside the crowd, tossed the reins to a servant, and several government officials parted the onlookers, "Make way, make way, Yamen is here."

"People from the Yamen", "It’s the Yamen officers" the surrounding crowd commented, stepping back to create a wide gap while they spoke.

As soon as Steward Chang heard that Yamen had arrived, he immediately felt emboldened, and crawled over, wailing, "My lord, my lord, we are from the Liang Residence, from Green Willow Alley, my lord, please come and apprehend these scoundrels and uphold justice for us."

Lian Gui had been standing with his arms folded, watching from the side. Seeing that it was Jiang Yifan who had arrived, he called out and summoned back his people. The servants and guards of Duke An’s Mansion promptly stopped and retreated. Realizing that the Yamen had arrived, Qi Ercheng, under Nanny Jin’s command, also pulled back the Great Crane House staff.

With the crowd dispersed, the several family servants of the Liang family suddenly stood out conspicuously at the scene. Just moments ago, they had attacked like ferocious wolves. Now, aside from Steward Chang, who had just picked himself up, none of the other five could even stand properly, not to mention those rolling on the ground. Even those who managed to struggle to their feet did so clutching their waists and grimacing in pain.

Qi Ercheng signaled with his eyes, instructing the Great Crane House people to slip away while Nanny Jin stood with several old woman servants, waiting to see what the Yamen would say.

The government officials, seeing the one-sided aftermath of the fight, were at first stunned, then recognized those in the advantageous group as being from the Qi family in Clear Water Village, especially the nannies, who had once served them meals. Ah, the leisure snack shop, no wonder, it’s the Qi family’s business.

In view of the public gathering and adhering to the principle of fairness, the government officials asked both groups, "What’s all this? Making such a commotion and fighting in the street, are you looking for a lawsuit?"

Steward Chang hadn’t yet grasped the situation and rushed forward, clutching his waist, shouting to Jiang Yifan who had followed behind, "My lord, Lord Jiang, I’m Steward Chang from the Liang Residence. I brought a few brothers to patronize the snack shop, but who could have expected, relying on their booming business nowadays, they pay no mind to regular customers and easily resort to violence, my lord. Just look at us, we were all beaten by these thugs."

Steward Chang gestured toward the people in front of him and at his feet, some with bruised faces, others holding their waists or dragging their legs, whimpering and crying out in pain.

The onlookers also pointed out that the people from the snack shop were too domineering, barely exchanging a few words before they started to fight. In no time at all, they had beaten several sturdy men into this state.

Lian Gui stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My humble self greets the lord. I heard that there have been scoundrels causing trouble at the snack shop these past few days, so I came to have a look. The nannies from the snack shop repeatedly apologized, saying they couldn’t serve them today and asked them to dine elsewhere, but these scoundrels rushed into the shop without a word, and this man even shouted to beat them to death. My humble self feared there would be a fatality, so I stepped in to intervene."

Someone in the crowd mentioned, "I seem to recall hearing someone say to beat them to death; I just didn’t notice who said it."

"Right, right, I heard it too, that’s why I came over to watch the fun," people began to interject with different comments.

Steward Chang glared fiercely at the nearby gossips, avoiding Lian Gui’s gaze, and yelled, "Is that you intervening? Is it really? You’re just in cahoots with the snack shop, bullying and bossing the market!"

Jiang Yifan looked at the pitiable state of Steward Chang and the rest of the Liang Residence’s people, then at Duke An’s guards, who might as well have been the ones beaten up. He then turned to inquire of Nanny Jin, "Is what the Liang Residence’s steward has said the truth?"

Nanny Jin stepped forward a few steps, curtsied, and said, "Lord, this Manager Chang claims he is from the Liang Residence. He has been patronizing our store for three days now, coming early each morning and not leaving until we close for the night. They even bring those two girls, claiming they are from the Liang family and should not be jostled by others."

Nanny Jin pointed to two maids hiding off to the side, "After they ordered something, they wouldn’t allow other customers to patronize our store, lingering until we closed in the afternoon. For three consecutive days, it has been like this. With such management, the store’s expenses exceed its income, which is why we did not let them in today. These people did not listen to our explanations and attempted to force their way in, even threatening to beat up our employees to death. That’s when the conflict started."

Nanny Jin spoke loudly enough that many people who had arrived later began to ask each other about how it all started.

Some pointed to the two maids and inquired, "The Liang family only has one young miss, so these two must be maids, right? The Liang family sure has become particular, valuing even their maids so highly."

Another person added, hunching their shoulders, "Just two maids, and they take over a small store, not letting it conduct other business. If the Young Miss of the Liang Family herself came, doesn’t that mean the whole street couldn’t do business?"

"Things have changed for the Liang family. Do you know about Yuyuan City? Their brother-in-law is the biggest official in the largest Yamen there, said to be a Prefecture Magistrate. With such a powerful backing, it’s natural for the Liang family to be fastidious," someone explained.

There was a lot of commotion as everyone had something to say.

Jiang Yifan turned to Steward Chang and asked, "Is this the grandeur the Liang family’s maids display when they go out?"

Steward Chang was unafraid, as even the onlookers knew that his Liang family was the maternal uncle of the Prefecture Magistrate’s Wife. How could the Liang family fear anyone? Seeing Jiang Yifan looking at him, Steward Chang stiffened his neck and replied, "Their establishment exists to serve patrons, and guests who come to patronize must be satisfied. Our family’s women must adhere to proper decorum when they go out, otherwise, wouldn’t it disgrace our family’s reputation? We eat and chat in the store— isn’t it a place for people to relax? Could it be wrong for us to patronize their establishment?"

Jiang Yifan frowned upon hearing this response, thinking that they were clearly looking for trouble. Given that the Liang and Qi families likely had no reason to interact, what was the point of this provocation?

Nanny Jin took a step forward and said, "Lord, the day before Manager Chang visited our store, the Liang family sent someone over to say the female relatives of the Liang family enjoyed our store’s pastries but it was inconvenient for them to show their faces in public. They requested that our Young Lady come to their home and make some of her specialties. I responded that our Young Lady also has affairs to manage and is very busy daily, making it inconvenient for her to go there. Afterwards, for three consecutive days, those from the Liang Residence have been occupying our store, preventing us from doing business."

Hearing this, the people around erupted in discussion, mostly about how the Liang family was bullying others with their status.

Jiang Yifan’s expression turned dark in contemplation, growing uglier as he listened.

The brother of the Prefecture Magistrate’s Wife was truly arrogant, even imposing on Ye Xinyan. If Ye Zi obliged and made pastries for their household, wouldn’t they be afraid it could bring disaster upon them!

With anger rising in his heart and a menacing look in his eyes, Jiang Yifan turned to Steward Chang with a gloomy face and said, "I will not ask further. Take your people and go. If you have been able to come here for three days straight, I presume it is with your household master’s consent. When you get back, tell your household master that if you continue to disrupt the marketplace’s prosperity, the law prescribes caning and detention."