Chapter 19: Reporting to the Authorities – A Woman Among Women
Before Lin Guilan could retrieve the rope, she saw the burly man charging at her like a fiend. Her eyes turned cold as she delivered a fierce kick to the thin man’s forehead, causing his eyes to roll back as he instantly lost consciousness.
She quickly rose to her feet, casually dusting off her hands as if the thin man had dirtied them.
The burly man didn’t slow his momentum, crashing toward Lin Guilan with his massive frame. Jiang Zhimiao held his breath for his mother. From his vantage point, he clearly saw the disdainful expression on her face, and this time he could make out her movements… She raised her leg high and delivered a powerful kick that sent the burly man flying backward.
Jiang Zhimiao’s eyes widened in disbelief.
What just happened…
No, he hadn’t mistaken it—his mother had indeed kicked away a man two or three times her size.
Seizing the advantage, his mother closed the distance in quick strides and unleashed a flurry of kicks on the burly man who lay sprawled on the ground. Before he could react, he was thoroughly beaten. Then, with a stern expression, Lin Guilan threw the kitchen knife in her hand to the ground. The burly man turned pale with terror as the knife hurtled straight toward his face. Regret flooded his heart—who would have thought he’d crossed paths with such a formidable woman? Today, his life would end at her hands… He shut his eyes, feeling a warm stream gush from between his legs, but the expected pain never came. Cracking one eye open, he saw the knife embedded firmly in the ground beside his face. The slightest movement made him feel the chilling cold emanating from the blade.
Lin Guilan looked down at him as if he were an ant about to be crushed.
“Speak. Who sent you?”
Having narrowly escaped death, the burly man was now terrified out of his wits, with none of his earlier bravado remaining. He scrambled to his knees, kowtowing frantically to Lin Guilan.
“Spare me, noble lady! It was Butcher Liu’s wife, You Zhen, who sent us! She told us to ruin your reputation so your business would fail!”
“So it’s her.” Lin Guilan picked up the kitchen knife from the ground, running her fingers over the blade as a faint smile touched her lips. “I don’t provoke others unless they provoke me, but this Lin the Second isn’t someone to be bullied! My younger uncle was an escort. Since childhood, I traveled with him on escort missions, and he taught me martial arts. He often said that if I were born a man, I would have become the finest bodyguard in the land. But as I grew older, my father and brother feared my wild ways would make me unmarriageable, so they stopped letting me roam the country with my uncle. They also forbade me from revealing my martial arts skills to outsiders. Still, I kept all the martial arts manuals my uncle gave me, and I’ve been practicing from them in my spare time… Over the years, I’ve achieved modest proficiency.”
Lin Guilan raised the kitchen knife, her gaze inscrutable as she observed the burly man’s pathetic display of begging for mercy.
“I’ve chosen to set aside my past and focus on homemaking because I love my husband and son. I never imagined this would become an excuse for you to bully me. I’ve been honest and diligent in running my small business, kneading dough and making pancakes until I’m drenched in sweat, earning just a few coppers at a time. Yet you thought you could use the notion of ‘chastity’ to destroy my livelihood.”
“Spare us, warrior maiden! We were blinded by greed, we’ll never dare do this again!” The fat man kept begging for mercy, not even caring that the urine streaming down his legs was soaking the ground. Aunt Zhao looked at him with disgust, lightly covering her nose and mouth. “Get up.” Lin Guilan’s voice remained cold as she pointed the kitchen knife at the fat man. “What will people think if they see this? How am I supposed to run my business? Since you’re conscious, take this rope and tie up the other one. Both of you wait over there, and you’ll be responsible for guarding him. I’m closing early today, and you’ll come with me to report this to the county magistrate. Today’s matter cannot be let go so easily.”
Mother truly embodies the essence of womanhood! Even in such a situation, she didn’t forget her priorities… Witnessing that thrilling scene just now, Jiang Zhimiao was nearly moved to tears. How many more surprises did his mother have that he didn’t know about?
But through this incident, he came to understand more profoundly that although she was his mother, she had her own remarkable life. Hadn’t she given up her own vast horizons for the sake of their small family?
While his father burned the midnight oil studying every day, his mother worked from dawn to dusk to provide them with a better life. He had no right not to work hard himself… Jiang Zhimiao secretly resolved that he would distinguish himself in the future, so his mother could freely choose the life she wanted.
The two big men, perhaps genuinely terrified, actually obeyed Lin Guilan and huddled in the corner without moving. Passersby found it somewhat strange but, seeing their bruised and swollen faces, didn’t dare ask questions. Although Lin Guilan had just been through such an ordeal, she enthusiastically greeted customers and made pastries just as before, seemingly completely unaffected by what had happened.
She also gave some money to Aunt Zhao, insisting she see a doctor in town. Aunt Zhao naturally refused, saying her old bones weren’t so delicate, but Lin Guilan insisted.
“Aunt Zhao, you still need to accompany me to report this to the magistrate later. How will you go if you’re unwell?”
Aunt Zhao hesitated, then looked at Lin Guilan: “Guilan, must we take it this far? You weren’t hurt, and these two scoundrels have been subdued… Reporting it to the authorities might not reflect well on a woman.”
“Aunt Zhao, I must report this.” Lin Guilan listened patiently. “It’s not just for myself. If I swallow this humiliation, these villains will just go bully others. This is what my husband taught me. He often said that those without conscience won’t reform just because you yield. If they don’t pay the price they deserve, it will only embolden them, making them think they can get away with such behavior.”
Aunt Zhao didn’t fully understand, but seeing the determination in Lin Guilan’s eyes, she nodded in agreement.
Lin Guilan closed her stall earlier than usual that day. After packing up, she took Aunt Zhao on her ox cart. As for the two big men, Lin Guilan didn’t want them dirtying her ox cart, so she made them rent their own. The group then proceeded in a small procession toward the county magistrate’s office.
Lin Guilan did not get to see the magistrate. The county’s Zhubu received them instead. Lin Guilan recounted the entire incident in detail, and with Aunt Zhao serving as a witness, the two burly recruiters confessed readily. The Zhubu ordered the matter to be recorded, then commanded the two men to be detained, stating that You Zhen would be summoned for questioning the next day.
After handling the matter, Lin Guilan expressed her gratitude to the county officials, then hurried back to Xichun Town by ox cart.
With all the commotion, it was already quite late by the time she finished. When Lin Guilan returned home, the sun was setting. Afraid that Jiang Qingshi would worry, she deliberately put on a carefree demeanor and entered the house with light, brisk steps.
“Wife?”
Surprisingly, Jiang Qingshi wasn’t reading. It seemed he had been waiting for her for some time. Seeing her come in, he slowly rose from a bamboo-woven chair.
Feeling somewhat guilty, Lin Guilan intentionally initiated conversation: “Husband, do you know what happened today? Our Miao Ge’er has started walking! Isn’t our Miao Ge’er exceptionally clever? It must have been the illness holding him back before, but now everything is getting better!”
“Guilan,” Jiang Qingshi patiently waited for her to finish before speaking, “Guilan, you’re not very good at lying. Tell me what happened—don’t make me worry.”