"My lord, let me tell you, that Qin woman, tsk tsk, she struck fast and fierce. As soon as the other woman mentioned her husband's surname was Yu, Qin slapped her and sent her flying."
"I'm telling you, several pots of the prefect's wife's chrysanthemums were crushed, with a person-shaped imprint on them. Now that's what I call chrysanthemum appreciation - those flowers were truly a sight to behold."
"My lord, next time don't bring out those dear, obedient, kind girls of yours - Lu'er and Guo'er. It's embarrassing."
...
After attending the prefect's wife's chrysanthemum viewing party, all the ladies had something to say when they returned home.
They couldn't resist sharing with their husbands about Mrs. Jiang beating Lord Yu's concubine.
They also took the opportunity to tighten the reins on their own husbands.
Of course, some clever ladies had a different perspective on the matter.
"Mrs. Jiang gifted the prefect's wife a pot of black chrysanthemums, which she adored, instantly elevating Mrs. Jiang to an honored guest. That Mrs. Jiang seems quite cunning. Her beating of Lord Yu's concubine may appear rash and impulsive, but she likely knows her husband doesn't get along with Lord Yu. After all, Lord Yu openly led people to search the Jiang Manor, showing complete disregard for the Jiang family."
"The Jiang family's young daughter is indeed stunningly beautiful. Madam Meng wasn't present today, but rumors of her beauty rivaling Daji's must be true. As for those rumors about her fate, someone must be spreading them deliberately."
Whether it was the clever ladies, the jealous ones, or those lacking in wit, by the time they finished sharing gossip with their husbands, their spouses had an even bigger piece of news to report:
Lord Yu was dead.
All the ladies felt a chill run down their spines.
They had come home chattering away, perhaps with a touch of schadenfreude, intending to express to their husbands, "See how other men's wives cause trouble? I've never given you any trouble, I've even tolerated those little hussies in your back courtyard. You should show me some respect."
But now, Lord Yu was dead!
They had been worried Mrs. Jiang might face retaliation from Lord Yu.
Instead, he was already dead?
It happened too quickly.
From a blossoming young girl, he had pampered her into the current wife as plump as two blossoming young girls.
"I understand, you can trust me to handle things. Commander Jiang's daughter is also extremely pretty and lovable. Oh my, seeing her makes me want to have another child," the prefect's wife said, smiling so broadly her eyes became mere slits in her chubby face.
Lord Zhou's body shuddered, and he stood up uncomfortably. "I still have official business to attend to. I'll go handle it now."
...
The next day.
The weather was fine.
Due to Judicial Commissioner Yu's unexpected death, an emergency meeting was called.
Everyone privately thought, how could there be so many accidents?
He had just had a conflict with Commander Jiang's family, Mrs. Jiang had beaten Lord Yu's concubine in broad daylight, and that very night Lord Yu died in an accident.
They were all curious about what Commander Jiang would do and how he would prove his innocence.
They were even more intrigued by this new colleague.
Today, Jiang Changtian wore his official robes, looking more handsome and dashing than all the other gentlemen present, young and old.
When the matter of Judicial Commissioner Yu was brought up, Commander Jiang resolutely stood up and volunteered:
"Lord Yu and I were as close as brothers. We were both colleagues who accepted amnesty and joined the government. All the other officials here have experience in officialdom, while we lacked such experience and might have easily offended others. With Brother Yu's unfortunate incident, I bear an unavoidable responsibility. I must find the culprit. I don't believe that someone as cautious as Lord Yu would accidentally fall off a cliff. There must be more to this story. Prefect, please entrust this matter to me. I will get to the bottom of it and give everyone an explanation."
Everyone: ...
Prefect Zhou: Granted.
The meeting adjourned.
As a group of officials walked out together, one noticed a stain on Commander Jiang's official robe and hurriedly pointed it out. Commander Jiang smiled and said, "It's nothing, nothing. I was painting with my daughter this morning and accidentally got it dirty."