When the bound Ah Cai and Mrs Wang saw that the head of their family had come, they shouted for help.
Two of the bailiffs came up to arrest Chu Lian and her servants, but two of House Jing’an’s manservants blocked them while Wenqing and Wenlan hid Chu Lian behind them.
Chu Lian wasn’t even the slightest bit anxious, even in this situation. Conversely, she felt that this Wang family was being too theatrical.
She didn’t retreat like they expected. Instead, she stepped forward, chin slightly raised as she looked straight at the leader of the bailiffs with a serious gaze. “Dear sir, do think carefully on who you’re going to arrest today. If you arrest the wrong person, it won’t be good for you.”
The bearded leader was stunned by Chu Lian’s words. He visibly hesitated for a moment.
He was just a normal bailiff on patrol on Anle Lane, where most of the population were common citizens. However, in this capital, you could find officials almost anywhere. If you threw a rock, there was a high chance that it might land on some prince or noble. He had managed to eke out a peaceful living with this career thus far due to his caution in dealing with people and making sure not to offend the wrong person.
He knew that Guilin Restaurant was owned by House Jing’an. Although they were considered a noble house, in this huge capital, they stood somewhere in the middle of the rankings. There were still a bunch of imperial family members and important officials above them.
The head bailiff debated with himself for a little longer.
While their leader was hesitating, the other bailiffs paused their actions as well.
Manager Wang got anxious upon seeing this. “Sirs, look at how those people are dressed. They don’t look like nobles at all. They’re just trying to deceive us all! Don’t listen to them!”
When the leader took a closer look at how Chu Lian’s party was dressed, he frowned. As Manager Wang had said, they were only dressed like slightly richer common folk.
Chu Lian knew that the bailiff’s thoughts had started going in the wrong direction, but she was too lazy to continue this farce further. She looked at Wenqing, and the maidservant quickly moved forward. The bailiff before her tried to stop her, but Wenqing casually leaped up and swept the two bailiffs to the floor in just two kicks. The bailiffs groaned in pain and couldn’t get up.
She walked up to the head bailiff and extended the jade token in her hands to the bailiff.
When the bearded bailiff saw the jade token, his legs turned to jelly and he almost collapsed to the ground.
“Im… Imperial family…”
Wenqing harrumphed and kept the jade token before returning back to Chu Lian’s side. She then spoke loudly to the bearded bailiff. “Do you understand who you’re trying to arrest now?!”
The bearded bailiff immediately knelt down in fear and anxiety. “This humble one has startled Honoured One, this humble one deserves to die!”
The other bailiffs had also recognised the jade token that Wenqing took out. Even Manager Wang managed to get a good look at it. The moment he laid his eyes on that token, Manager Wang felt as if he was about to collapse.
His expression was full of utter shock. He hadn’t expected this ordinary young madam to have brought out a jade token that only the imperial family was supposed to have!
In the Great Wu Dynasty, the Ministry of Internal Affairs would issue a jade token to anyone with a noble title. Although the jade tokens had different carvings on them, the quality was the same, and it was a mark of the imperial family.
The token that Chu Lian had given to Wenqing to show had been delivered together with the imperial decree.
She hadn’t thought that it would come in handy so soon.
Once the bearded bailiff came back to his senses, the one to be arrested turned into Manager Wang.
Manager Wang didn’t dare to say a single word. Even House Jing’an was ranked lower than the imperial family.
The shouting Mrs Wang and Ah Cai had also deflated like balloons. Their heads were down and they kept as quiet as a mouse.
